LATEST ADDITIONS

Is it possible to now write anything that hasn’t already been written or said about this record? I haven’t any fresh insights to offer that might advance what you probably already know. A good Kind of Blue pressing puts you in the 30th Street studio to hear the performance. Ashley Kahn’s “Kind of Blue” book sets the pre-recording stage, offering both musical and technical details and puts you as much in the control room as in front of the band.

In May of 1913, just one year before the start of the first World War, Igor Stravinsky premiered his third ballet with the Ballets Russes in Paris: Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring). The premiere would go down in history for a number of reasons, primarily due to the unruly Parisian audience that descended into what could be referred to as a riot. What was so scandalous about the Rite? Stravinsky, along with choreographer Vaslav Nijinsky, wanted to evoke a picture of Russia from the distant, pagan past. A story of an ancient pagan rite where a young maiden would be chosen to dance herself to death to appease the ancestors and secure a bountiful harvest. The music, while stylistically not a huge departure from Stravinsky’s two previous and successful Parisian ballets, was dissonant, brutal, and rhythmically disorienting. Likewise, Nijinsky’s choreography was rigid, and was meant to mimic the flat, two-dimensional style of prehistoric paintings. The audience that night was not having it, but their uproar helped launch the Rite into infamy, helping it to become one of the most talked about and often performed works of the 20th century.

Register to win a London Maroon Cartridge (Value $950.00 ea) and a StylusTimer (value $19.95) we are giving away.

According to the company:

"The legendary London (Decca) cartridge is known for its extraordinary and unmatched musicality, delivered by its unique transducer design. With a StylusTimer (2021 Stereophile Recommended Component) you can track cartridge break in-time, total stylus time, and the time you spend enjoying music, while preserving your system’s sound quality and protecting your records from damage from a worn stylus."

[This Sweepstakes is now closed.]

Join Acoustic Sounds' "All Star" live panel discussion Saturday May 8th at 12:00PM CST (Central Standard Time, 1:00PM EST, 10:00AM PT) with Acoustic Sounds/Analogue Productions/QRP's Chad Kassem, Mastering Engineer Bernie Grundman, Classic Records founder Mike Hobson, 45 RPM Audiophile's Michael Ludwigs, QRP Plating Wizard and Finebuilt press operator Gary Salstrom and AnalogPlanet Editor Michael Fremer when we discuss "all things Kind of Blue and UHQR followed by a Q&A.