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Interviews
Ian Hunter May No Longer Be a Young Dude, But He Proves How Hard He Can Still Rock on Vinyl With a Little Help From His Friends on a Killer New Solo LP, Defiance Part 1
Mike Mettler  |  May 11, 2023  |  1 comments

Ian Hunter is a survivor. Not only that, but the veteran British vocalist of Mott the Hoople fame and a lengthy and fruitful solo career shows no signs of slowing down at age 83. The keen evidence laid out before us are the ten balls-out rockers populating his latest solo album, Defiance Part 1, released via Blue Cat/Sun Records on April 21 on black vinyl. In a recent Zoom audio interview with AP editor Mike Mettler, Hunter discusses what he means by recording his music “back to front,” why Mott the Hoople’s version of “All the Young Dudes” endures to this day, and how Jerry Lee Lewis first got his juices a-goin’ to become a killer performer and recording artist. Don’t be shy — read on to get fully bitten by the Hunter mystique on vinyl. . .

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Album Reviews
Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis & Shirley Scott Serve Up a Tasty Soul Jazz Recipe For a New Historical All-Analog Grundman-Remastered 180g 4LP Stereo Box Set, Cookin’ With Jaws and the Queen: The Legendary Prestige Cookbook Albums
Mark Smotroff  |  May 10, 2023  |  2 comments

Cookin’ With Jaws and the Queen: The Legendary Prestige Cookbook Albums is a wonderful new 4LP stereo box set collection from Craft Recordings that offers cause for rejoicing among fans of soul jazz, and most specifically fans of saxophonist Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis in particular. Culled from three classic 1958 Cookbook session recordings, the albums in this box are some of the backbone entries of a musical artform that would explode in popularity over the next 20 years, and ultimately onward into the 21st century. Read Mark Smotroff’s ready-to-serve review to see if the Cookin’ With Jaws and the Queen box set is indeed tasty enough to add to your regular LP-listening diet. . .

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Analog Gear News
Plinius Koru Phono Preamp
Mike Mettler  |  May 09, 2023  |  14 comments

When we saw some cool Plinius gear in the system utilized for a Kuzma demo at AXPONA 2023, it reminded us that we needed to see what’s been going on with the vaunted New Zealand-born company of late — and thus, here we are with our eye firmly planted on the Plinius Koru phono preamp. Read on to get all the Koru spec details. . .

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News
On This Week's Vinyl Obsession, Ajay Popoff of Lit & Vocalist Chris Kirkpatrick Choose Their Top 5 LPs
Mike Mettler  |  May 06, 2023  |  4 comments

Who's making their picks on this week's episode of AXS TV's Vinyl Obsession? Glad you asked. This upcoming Sunday, May 7, Ajay Popoff of Lit and 'NSYNC vocalist Chris Kirkpatrick bring us along during their respective shopping trips at Grimey's in Nashville as they each seek out their Top 5 LPs. Read on to get an AP-exclusive sneak preview of that ep. . .

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Short Cuts
Prominent Ambient Jazz Label ECM Records Returns to Vinyl With a Slew of New LP Releases From John Scofield, Avishai Cohen, Tord Gustavsen, Enrico Rava & Mark Turner
Mark Smotroff  |  May 05, 2023  |  13 comments

ECM Records is back! Well, they never really went away in the eyes and ears of many audiophiles, but now the legendary ambient jazz label has decided to rejoin us here in the vinyl pool, and the idea couldn’t have come at a better time. Read on to glean Mark Smotroff’s capsule reviews of five current ECM LP releases from John Scofield, Avishai Cohen, Tord Gustavsen, Enrico Rava & Mark Turner. . .

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Interviews
Steve Howe Explores the Science Behind Having His Short-Lived 1960s Band Tomorrow Reimagined on Vinyl Today, Plus He Unveils Some Other Topographic Revelations From the World of Yes
Mike Mettler  |  May 04, 2023  |  2 comments

It’s never too late to reclaim your legacy on vinyl. British guitar icon Steve Howe knows this concept quite well, in fact, and it’s the main impetus for what you see here —namely, the full revamping of his pre-Yes 1960s band Tomorrow’s debut February 1968 LP, now duly recast and retitled Permanent Dream, which was released in its new, 140g 1LP form by Spirit of Unicorn Music/Parlophone on April 28. In a recent Zoom interview with AP editor Mike Mettler, Howe discusses his “psychedelicized” impetus for revamping the original Tomorrow album, why the Permanent Dream tracklisting needed to be both revised and resequenced, and why the song that takes up the entirety of Side 1 of Yes’ iconic December 1973 double LP Tales From Topographic Oceans is actually shorter than it was intended to be. Read on to found out how Howe decided to bring Tomorrow into the vinyl world of today. . .

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Album Reviews
Paul McCartney and Wings’ Red Rose Speedway Finally Gets Its Due on Vinyl, Thanks to a Half-Speed-Mastered 180g 1LP Release on Record Store Day 2023
Mark Smotroff  |  May 03, 2023  |  15 comments

Beatles fans generally fall into two camps when it comes to how they feel about Paul McCartney’s solo and Wings eras — they either love them, or they more or less loathe them. That said, one Wings album we’ve really grown to love over the years is April 1973’s Red Rose Speedway. We’ve explored different pressings of this LP all along the way, and it’s always hinted there might be something sonically stronger hidden within the grooves. And now, with the half-speed mastered Record Store Day 2023 180g 1LP release of Red Rose Speedway, we finally have an answer. Read Mark Smotroff’s review to find out why this new RSD 2023 vinyl edition is worth your spinning time. . .

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Analog Gear News
AXPONA Show Report, Part 2
Julie Mullins  |  May 01, 2023  |  3 comments

Welcome back for Part 2 of our AXPONA 2023 show report! Furthering what we did in Part 1, we continue to dive even deeper into our reporting on some of the truly amazing turntables and other cool analog gear we saw and heard in some of the listening rooms and expo-hall booths alike at this truly great Chicagoland event. Read on to see what our Julie Mullins found during Part 2 of her in-person AXPONA adventure. . .

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News
On This Week's Vinyl Obsession, Charles Kelley of Lady A & Country Singer RaeLynn Each Pick Their Top 5 LPs
Mike Mettler  |  Apr 28, 2023  |  2 comments

Who's on this week's episode of AXS TV's Vinyl Obsession? Glad you asked. This upcoming Sunday, April 30, Charles Kelley of Lady A and country singer RaeLynn take us along during their respective shopping trips at Grimey's in Nashville as they each seek out their Top 5 LPs. Read on to get an AP-exclusive sneak preview of that show. . .

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Interviews
Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson Tells the Spiritual Tale of The Band’s New Album RökFlöte, and Further Decrees the Importance of Letting Things Breathe on Vinyl
Mike Mettler  |  Apr 26, 2023  |  7 comments

Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson has been on a deeply entrenched spiritual quest of late. On Tull’s latest and 23rd studio album overall, RökFlöte, which was released on vinyl via InsideOut Music on April 21, he addresses the tenets of Norse paganism. In a recent Zoom interview with AP editor Mike Mettler, Jethro Tull’s once and future leader discusses the inner workings of RökFlöte, when he finally felt like Jethro Tull had gotten the right mix of their music on vinyl, and how the act of breathing is vitally important when it comes to both his singing and his flute playing. Read on to glean all of Ian Anderson’s earthly vinyl proclivities. . .

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