Features

The 1990s were a decade of transition. It was a time when recording artists had to figure out how to move on from MTV-era preening and get back to creating their music more for aural satisfaction, not just visual pleasure. Everclear, an alt-rock trio from Portland, Oregon, made quite a splash during the ’90s — see “Santa Monica,” “Everything to Everyone,” and “Father of Mine,” for starters — but as the calendar turned to the 2000s, bandleader and chief songwriter Art Alexakis had a vision to chronicle how his life was falling apart, in two parts. The first half of that heart-wrenching story, July 2000’s Songs From an American Movie Vol. One: Learning How to Smile, was a smash hit on CD, but it never made its way onto vinyl. Intervention Records righted that wrong back in September 2024 with their limited-edition 140g 1LP translucent yellow version of Vol. One, which is one of AP’s Best Reissues of 2024. During a recent Zoom interview with AP editor Mike Mettler, Alexakis discusses why SFAAM Vol. One sounds better on vinyl, why he always sequences his albums with vinyl in mind, and if a second LP of the overarching SFAAM storyline is in the offing.. . .

A year after Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) and world's apart from it, Eno released what many consider to be his most innovative and evocative album, Another Green World. It took two months to produce-twice as long as each of the previous two albums. Though synthesizer based, the album sounds organic and almost leafy. The set of mostly short, prehistoric and tropical sounding instrumental collages marked a distinct turning point for Eno, a change that would eventually come to dominate his solo recorded efforts and profoundly affect his collaborations with other.

Before recording began, Eno and artist Peter Schmidt created a deck of cards that they called "Oblique Strategies". The cards, each of which contained a specific instruction, were like a more sophisticated version of the old "Magic Eight Ball,” which only answered "yes" or "no". The cards were more about exploring possibilities and choosing directions. Eno used them to help guide him in the production of the record.

“The album became a legend. Songs and beautiful musical fragments would emerge over the years, but Smile was to have been a whole musical direction, and the individual songs, taken from their natural surroundings, were deprived of what could have been a stunning collective emotional effort. The work had started with “Good Vibrations” and it had expanded with the help of a friend (Van Dyke Parks) Brian met on Cielo Drive. Now, a year later (1967), Smile was still a dream. Too much pressure. Too many drugs. Too much anticipation. Too little support. It was the end of an era.” - Byron Preiss (“The Beach Boys”/1979)

In recent years, Capital Audiofest has continued expanding to encompass exhibit rooms across more than four floors in addition to dozens of other exhibitors in conference rooms and halls throughout the hotel — 125 rooms, and 50 booths in all — including vinyl and accessories sellers in the atrium. We here at AP figured we’d approach things a bit differently this year and post multiple, short-form analog-centric highlights from the show across several brief installments — so, without further preamble, here’s Part 1 of Julie Mullins’ show report, featuring gear from Belleson, Rega, Linear Tube Audio, Volti Audio, and Anticables. . .