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Analog Corner
Analog Corner #85
Michael Fremer  |  Jun 11, 2018  |  First Published: Aug 01, 2002  |  12 comments
A.J. van den Hul's vintage, limited-edition Thorens Reference turntable was a hit at the 2002 Frankfurt Show.

"I was worried about doing it," Speakers Corner's Kai Seemann told me. "If it didn't sell, I'd be out a substantial sum, but I took a chance and pressed 1500 copies, figuring if I did manage to sell them all, it would probably take three years."

Seemann was talking about Ella Fitzgerald's legendary 1950s Gershwin Song Book boxed set, originally released on Verve, which his reissue label had meticulously reproduced on vinyl. "Seven months later, and they're all gone!" he exclaimed wonderingly.

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News
"On the Radio" Exhibit at San Francisco International Airport
Michael Fremer  |  Jun 07, 2018  |  9 comments
Heading home after addressing the San Francisco Audiophile Society last April, your editor noticed and video'd this cool exhibition of old radios on display at SFA. He's always got you on his mind. Well often anyway.

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News
Analog "Guru" Wally Malewicz R.I.P.
Michael Fremer  |  Jun 07, 2018  |  12 comments
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Album Reviews
Cocteau Twins "Head Over Heels" Reissued by 4AD
Michael Fremer  |  Jun 06, 2018  |  8 comments
Sounding more like the recording engineer accidentally fed only the reverb buss to the 2 channel master instead of the intended mix of "dry and wet", the Cocteau Twins' ethereal, reverb drenched Head Over Heels released in 1983 became a much imitated template for "wave", "shoe gazing" and other musical genres that followed in its wake.

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News
Spinroad Vinyl Factory, A New Pressing Plant, Opens in Gothenburg, Sweden
Michael Fremer  |  Jun 05, 2018  |  2 comments
Spinroad Vinyl Factory just opened within Spinneriet (The Cotton Mill), an old textile factory located in the outskirts of Gothenburg, Sweden. It's currently Sweden's only pressing plant. Currently the facility has two presses. Of course they are the new Pheenix Alpha presses made in Solna, Sweden. For now lacquer cutting and plating is done in The Netherlands (probably at Record Industry) but the company hopes to eventually add that to the in-house mix.

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AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
"Buddy Holly" Sounding Better Than Ever on This Analogue Productions 200g Reissue
Michael Fremer  |  Jun 05, 2018  |  3 comments
Buddy Holly's last album before "the day the music died" released in 1958 belongs in every rock-based record collection. It's not even a close call. And this reissue sourced from the original analog tapes still in superb condition and cut by Kevin Gray is by far the best sounding edition ever.

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Album Reviews
Duck Baker's "Les Blues Du Richmond: Demos and Outtakes 1973-1979"
Michael Fremer  |  Jun 05, 2018  |  1 comments
In his 2017 liner notes for this new release, finger style guitarist/musicologist Duck Baker writes "It may seem obvious that folkies would not want to hear some kid trying to sound like Eric Dolphy with a nylon-strung guitar, but back in the 1960s and early '70s this was not quite so clear-cut. Sandy Bull had recorded with Ornette's drummer Billy Higgins, after all, and people did talk about blending genres quite a bit (they still do talk about it, anyway).

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AAA VinylNews
"Gene Clark" Coming Soon AAA From Intervention
Michael Fremer  |  Jun 05, 2018  |  9 comments
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AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
Katie Mahan Plays Gershwin (Direct-to-Disc)
Michael Fremer  |  Jun 05, 2018  |  2 comments
It takes nerves of steel and a healthy serving of humility to agree to record direct-to-disc a solo piano recital but that's what Katie Mahan signed on for here. The results are both musically and sonically rewarding. Mahan gave her first piano recital at age 6, having decided at age 4 that she wanted to be a concert pianist after attending a performance of Gershwin's "American in Paris". From her online bio:

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Analog Corner
Analog Corner #84
Michael Fremer  |  Jun 02, 2018  |  First Published: Jul 01, 2002  |  3 comments
Sign of the times: My local Compact Disc World store in Paramus, New Jersey, now has a vinyl section—a good one. The LPs are selling well enough that some folks I know shop there often so they don't miss out. Even Burger King is in on the action. If the artwork on its new soft-drink cup is any indication, the fast-food franchise has transferred its familiar "Have it your way" slogan from hamburgers to music carriers...
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