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News
Mobile Fidelity Shares Statement About the Company’s Mastering Process
Mike Mettler  |  Jul 28, 2022  |  124 comments

Jim Davis, president of Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, posted an official statement yesterday about the company’s mastering process, following a recent spate of customer concerns about the possibility of digital steps in said mastering process. We are including his statement here verbatim, and invite your Comments below.

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News
Ray Sings, Basie Swings on 140g 2LP Collection from Tangerine Records on September 23
Mike Mettler  |  Jul 27, 2022  |  2 comments

To slightly modify a line from “Let the Good Times Roll” . . . hey y’all, tell everybody Ray Charles is back on wax — and this time, he's got the Count Basie Orchestra with him. To wit: Tangerine Records will re-release the October 2006 album Ray Sings, Basie Swings on September 23, 2022, in a 140g 2LP collection pressed by IRP.

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Analog Gear News
Ten New Turntables Include Something for Every Analog Lover’s Budget
Leslie Shapiro  |  Jul 26, 2022  |  16 comments

There is never a bad time for a roundup of current turntable offerings, so today’s the day! We’ve compiled ten new and notable ’tables that span a range of MSRPs, from the instantly affordable to the champagne-budget compatible. There’s something here for everyone in our ever-expanding Analog Planet universe, so read on, and spin on. . .

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Album Reviews
Explorin’ the Open Sounds of the Bernie Grundman-Mastered, RTI One-Step-Pressed, Craft Recordings Small Batch Series 180g 1LP Release of Relaxin’ With The Miles Davis Quintet
Mark Smotroff  |  Jul 22, 2022  |  22 comments

The prospect of reviewing a new, ultra-deluxe 180g version of the March 1958 hard-bop classic Relaxin’ With The Miles Davis Quintet has been simultaneously daunting and exciting. It is the first time I’ve gotten my hands on one of these tasty, fancy editions that’s an upstanding member of Craft Recordings’ popular and acclaimed Small Batch series. This series uses RTI’s noted one-step vinyl manufacturing process, which effectively delivers a pressing made off a first-generation metal mother made from the original lacquer. Good news: The Craft Relaxin’ LP is nicely centered, fairly flat, and RTI’s special Neotech’s VR900 vinyl formulation is especially quiet and transparent. Read on to glean more. . .

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Interviews
Bruce Hornsby on Grinding and Grinding to Get Impeccably Satisfying ’Flicted Album Mixes on Vinyl
Mike Mettler  |  Jul 20, 2022  |  7 comments

“I’m a bit of a restless soul, and I’m interested in trying new ways and new approaches to things,” says pianist/vocalist Bruce Hornsby, quantifying the artistic scope of the even-dozen tracks that comprise his current, and quite vibrant, May 2022 studio release, ’Flicted (Zappo Productions/Thirty Tigers). ’Flicted is now available on 180g 1LP vinyl pressed by IRP in Bordentown, New Jersey, with lacquers cut by Chris Muth. Recently, Bruce Hornsby and Mike Mettler got on Zoom together to discuss why ’Flicted is perfectly suited for vinyl, why Hornsby was so meticulous about the album’s sequencing, and how he and his longtime engineer Wayne Pooley figure out what sounds work best for him in the studio.

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News
Regina Spektor Celebrates 20th Anniversary of Debut Album 11:11 With Limited-Edition 180g 3LP Box Set on August 26
Mike Mettler  |  Jul 19, 2022  |  2 comments

She’s got time, and so do we. Russian/American singer/songwriter Regina Spektor is set to release a limited-edition 180g 3LP box set that includes her self-released debut album 11:11 in celebration of its 20th anniversary. This 3LP box also includes Papa’s Bootlegs, 2LPs of previously unreleased of-era live material. The entire set is due on August 26 via Sire/Rhino.

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Album Reviews
Hampton Hawes’ Four! Is Another Spirited 180g Entry in Craft Recordings’ Acoustic Sounds Series, Thanks to a QRP-Pressed, All-Analog Master by Bernie Grundman
Mark Smotroff  |  Jul 15, 2022  |  12 comments
In some ways, it is curious that Craft Recordings has chosen to reissue Hampton Hawes’ 1958 outing Four! (exclamation point very much included) as the first entry in his Acoustic Sounds series, as Hawes’ earlier quartet sessions with guitarist Jim Hall were apparently highly regarded back in the day. Personally, I’m glad they have reissued this album. For one thing, the all-analog mastering by Bernie Grundman feels very sympathetic to the time period and to the recording. Read on for more...

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News
Emerson, Lake & Palmer’s Singles, the Trio’s First-Ever 7-inch 45s Box Set, Is Coming Via BMG on August 26
Mike Mettler  |  Jul 14, 2022  |  10 comments

Still... they turn us on. Emerson, Lake & Palmer’s first-ever singles box set, a deluxe collection featuring an even-dozen remastered 7-inch 45s culled from UK and international pressings and sporting rare, original picture sleeves and label artwork, is heading our way via BMG on August 26.

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News
American Vinyl Co Launches Live-to-Vinyl 1920s Recording Booth in Asheville, North Carolina
Mike Mettler  |  Jul 12, 2022  |  4 comments

If you’ve ever had aspirations to cut your own record, here’s your chance. American Vinyl Co has just launched a new live-to-vinyl recording booth in the company’s Asheville, North Carolina location. More details in the story that follows...

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News
Beastie Boys’ Check Your Head 180g 4LP Deluxe Limited Edition Set for August 12 Release
Mike Mettler  |  Jul 11, 2022  |  9 comments

So what’cha, what’cha, what’cha want? If your first instinct upon reading that phraseology is to think “Beastie Boys,” then you’ve come to the right place. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Beasties’ multiplatinum April 1992 album Check Your Head, UMe will release a limited-edition reissue of the rare 4LP deluxe version of it on August 12.

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