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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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News
Pink Floyd's Animals 2018 Remix by James Guthrie Finally Arriving on 180g LP September 16; Deluxe Gatefold Multidisc Version Set for October 7
Mike Mettler  |  Jul 08, 2022  |  12 comments

Have you heard the news? Just like the headline says, Pink Floyd's Animals 2018 Remix by James Guthrie is finally arriving on September 16 on 180g black vinyl. A Deluxe Gatefold Multidisc Version containing 1LP/1CD/1DVD/1BD will then follow on October 7.

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Album Reviews
QRP-Pressed 180g Vinyl Reissue of Bill Evans Trio’s Trio ’65 Does Full Justice to a Laid Back, Forward-Leaning & Quite Dynamic Recording
Mark Smotroff  |  Jul 08, 2022  |  2 comments

Trio ’65 showcases pianist Bill Evans as a career artist in a growth phase. This Acoustic Sounds Series, QRP-Pressed 180g LP reissue of a consummate Verve Records/Rudy Van Gelder classic handily answers the following question very much in the affirmative: Do I really need this version in my collection?

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News
The Best Of Roxy Music 180g 2LP Set, Half-Speed Mastered by Miles Showell, Coming September 2
Mike Mettler  |  Jul 05, 2022  |  28 comments

Roxy Music always did have a hook on me, and they’ve done it again with their upcoming 180g 2LP best-of collection. To wit: The Best Of Roxy Music is scheduled for release on September 2, 2022 via Virgin/UMe. It's the first time this official career-spanning Roxy Music best-of collection is being made available on wax. Even better, Best of has been half-speed mastered by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios.

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Album Reviews
The Beach Boys’ Very Best 180g 6LP Box Set: A Super-Sunny 21st Century Soundtrack for Endless Summers
Mark Smotroff  |  Jul 01, 2022  |  13 comments
Reviewing The Very Best of The Beach Boys: The Sounds of Summer, the massive new 60th Anniversary 180g 6LP Beach Boys box set retrospective from UMe/Capitol/Brother Records, has been a daunting yet fun challenge. That said, having its contents mixed and mastered by the band’s longtime engineer/archivist Mark Linett has enabled a remarkable continuity from track to track — no small task, given the diversity of music and technological differences in recording across a 60-year period.
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News
Fidelity Announces California-Based Record Pressing Facility Will Start Vinyl LP Production in Q1 2023
Mike Mettler  |  Jun 29, 2022  |  10 comments
This is some most welcome pressing news indeed. To wit: Fidelity Record Pressing (Fidelity) has just announced a state-of-the-art record-pressing facility is being constructed from the ground up in Oxnard (Ventura County), California, and it will launch in Q1 2023.
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Album Reviews
Poll Winners Win Again: Barney Kessel, Shelly Manne, and Ray Brown Score on Craft Recordings' QRP-Pressed, Grundman-Mastered 180g Vinyl Reissue
Mark Smotroff  |  Jun 24, 2022  |  23 comments

There’s a striking new reissue from Craft Recordings I’m sure many jazz fans and collectors are as excited about as I am: 1957’s The Poll Winners. This LP features three of the greatest jazz musicians of their time — Barney Kessel on guitar, backed by Shelly Manne on drums and Ray Brown on bass. How does Craft's QRP-pressed 180g reissue sound and compare to my original LP? In short, it is pretty fantastic. The new edition is much bigger-sounding in many ways, notably on the low end. Read on to find out more. . .

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