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Short Cuts
Review Explosion, Short Cuts Edition Vol. 2: Billy Joel’s 2LP RSD Exclusive Live ’75 San Francisco Set, Solomon Burke’s 180g 2LP 20th Anniversary Grammy-Winner Reissue, and Larkin Poe’s Latest Southern-Rockin’ 1LP Sibling Offering
Mark Smotroff  |  Jul 01, 2023  |  4 comments

Welcome to our second installment of Review Explosion Short Cuts! Here in Vol. 2, we tackle three more LP releases worthy of your attention: 1) Billy Joel’s Live At The Great American Music Hall, 1975, a 2LP RSD 2023 title that had proven somewhat elusive to obtain until recently; 2) the 20th anniversary 2LP reissue of acclaimed soul giant Solomon Burke’s Grammy-winning 2002 album Don’t Give Up on Me; and 3) Blood Harmony, the latest 1LP release from Larkin Poe, those great blues-rockin’ guitar-slingin’ sisters of Southern origin. Read Mark Smotroff’s triple-play review to get the full scoop on all three of these highly recommended LPs. . .

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Album Reviews
Tears For Fears Exhibit a Consistently Timeless and Innovative Nature on the New Abbey Road Half-Speed-Mastered 40th Anniversary 180g 1LP Reissue of Their Synth-Centric 1983 Debut Album, The Hurting
Mark Smotroff  |  Jun 29, 2023  |  7 comments

Tears For Fears’ synth-centric March 1983 debut album The Hurting set the stage for the broader scope of their ensuing worldwide mega-breakthrough. This key album is now being properly feted with a 180 1LP reissue from Mercury/UMC, as half-speed mastered by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios. Read Mark Smotroff’s review of the fine new 40th anniversary edition of The Hurting to see just how Tears For Fears laid the groundwork for their still-innovative soundscapes. . .

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News
Third Man Records & Blue Note Records Partner Up for New 313 Reissue Series With Five Classic Detroit-Themed LPs Newly Remastered From Original Tapes & Pressed on 180g Vinyl at Third Man’s Detroit Facility
Mike Mettler  |  Jun 28, 2023  |  4 comments

313 is officially in the LP house. To wit: Third Man Records and Blue Note Records have just announced their new 313 Series Partnership, which will showcase five Detroit-themed albums from the Blue Note catalog — a combo of vintage and long-lost titles from Thad Jones, Donald Byrd, Elvin Jones, Kenny Cox and The Contemporary Jazz Quintet, and Grant Green — all of them specially chosen for re-release by Blue Note Records President Don Was. Read on to find out more about the content of these five fine 180g LPs that have been newly remastered from the original tapes at Third Man’s Detroit mastering and pressing facility, and when they’ll be released accordingly. . .

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Turntable Reviews
European Audio Team C-Dur Turntable
Ken Micallef  |  Jun 26, 2023  |  2 comments

When you take a closer look at the lineup of gear available from Austrian manufacturer European Audio Team — perhaps better known by their more precise acronym, E.A.T. — you’ll find beautiful electro-mechanical designs reflected in graceful lines, unusual exterior choices, and well-appointed materials. Read Ken Micallef’s review to find out if E.A.T.’s latest offering, the C-Dur turntable, is able to match natural, nuanced, and detailed sound with the company’s equally outstanding design acumen. . .

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Album Reviews
Ape House Reissues Excellent New Limited Edition 200g 2LP Version of XTC’s Classic 1978 Sophomore Album Go 2 on LP1, With Rare Companion Go+ Dub Remixes EP on LP2
Mark Smotroff  |  Jun 23, 2023  |  2 comments

For the first time in many decades, XTC’s October 1978 sophomore album Go 2 is available again on vinyl, this time as a limited-edition 200g 2LP set via Ape House that includes the ever-elusive companion Go+ EP of dub remixes on its own disc. Read Mark Smotroff’s review to see why this new, expanded edition of Go 2 is worth both the time and listening investment. . .

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Interviews
Drummer Stewart Copeland Explains How He Maximizes the Dynamic Range on His New Police Deranged for Orchestra LP, and Why Its Most Primal Elements Sound Best on Vinyl
Mike Mettler  |  Jun 22, 2023  |  10 comments

Stewart Copeland has always followed the beat of his own drum — or, rather, he’s always been the consummate rhythmatist who’s unwaveringly laid down his own style of drumming perpetually in service of the song at hand. And now, the sonic fruit of his latest twisted muse, if you will, has manifested itself in a solo project somewhat cheekily dubbed Police Deranged for Orchestra, consisting of ten classic and deep-cut Police tracks rearranged — or “deranged,” in Copeland’s titular parlance — as released in its 1LP form by Shelter/BMG this Friday, June 23. During a recent Zoom interview with AP editor Mike Mettler, Copeland discusses how he opened up the dynamic range with all the Derangements he came up with for this album, how he shepherded the “perfect” snare, and just how meticulous he got when he wrote out the entire Deranged score for each orchestra member to follow. . .

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Analog Gear News
The Wand 14-5 Turntable & Dark-Light Tonearm
Mike Mettler  |  Jun 21, 2023  |  1 comments

Here’s another cool turntable and tonearm combo that caught our collective eye of late: namely, The Wand 14-5 turntable — which follows in the considerable wake of the New Zealand company’s deservedly vaunted 14-4 ’table — and The Wand Dark-Light tonearm, which follows their original, notable, and standard-named Tonearm. Both new products were shown at High End Munich 2023 back in May, and they will subsequently travel across the Pond to be shown at the upcoming Pacific Audio Fest in Seattle, which is being held June 23-25. Read on to learn why the 14-5 is likely to be a worthy successor to the 14-4 as well as why the Dark-Light is a formidable follow-up to The Wand Tonearm accordingly. . .

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Analog Gear News
Klaudio Magnezar Turntable
Mike Mettler  |  Jun 20, 2023  |  8 comments

Just ahead of an official upcoming trade show unveiling, Klaudio has duly seen fit to let us know they plan on displaying their new Magnezar turntable at the Pacific Audio Fest in Seattle, which is being held June 23-25. Read on to learn more about the Magnezar and its many specs and features accordingly. . .

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Album Reviews
Alice Cooper’s Ascension to Rock Royalty Is Duly Documented With Rhino’s Great-Sounding and Beautifully Packaged 180g 3LP Expanded 50th Anniversary Editions for Two Top-Shelf Early-’70s Albums, Killer and School’s Out
Mark Smotroff  |  Jun 16, 2023  |  13 comments
Alice Cooper ascended to rock royalty with the raw punch and power of a pair of impactful back-to-back albums, November 1971’s Killer and June 1972’s School’s Out. Realizing that just reissuing the original LPs in simply remastered form was not going to be quite enough to properly celebrate the golden anniversaries of these two landmark records, the Warner/Rhino braintrust have seen fit to include a bounty of bonus materials on both 180g 3LP collections including live recordings, alternate takes, demos, and single mixes. Read Mark Smotroff’s combo review of a pair of now-expanded seminal Alice Cooper albums made better with their respective 50th anniversary vinyl editions. . .

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Short Cuts
Review Explosion, Short Cuts Edition: Three Fine RSD 2023 Exclusive LP Releases From Hal Blaine, Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band, and Prefab Sprout
Mark Smotroff  |  Jun 15, 2023  |  6 comments

Our latest Review Explosion Short Cuts extravaganza focuses on three prime, and quite diverse, Record Store Day 2023 releases — namely, an LP’s worth of Wrecking Crew drummer Hal Blaine’s late-’60s psychedelic explorations, a live 2LP release from the ever-brilliant funky-quirky Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band, and a solo 1LP Prefab Sprout production from Paddy McAloon, the main driver of one of England’s greatly underrated pop outfits. Read on to get Mark Smotroff’s take on a trio of fine RSD 2023 releases you are going to want to track down for your own listening enjoyment, forthwith. . .

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