Fleet Foxes’ new live and mostly acoustic A Very Lonely Solstice LP leans more toward the full-album concert experience I was hoping for on record. There is a nice sense of the church ambiance — this performance was recorded live at St. Ann & The Holy Trinity Church in Brooklyn, New York in December 2020 — that wonderfully captures the woody essence of Fleet Foxes bandleader Robin Pecknold’s strummy nylon-string guitar. Read on to learn more. . .

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.

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.

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. . .

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. . .

“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.

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.

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.

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...