Album Reviews

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Mark Smotroff  |  Sep 21, 2023  |  7 comments

How great is it that jazz pianist Thelonious Monk’s April 1957 breakthrough album Brilliant Corners is the latest entry in Craft Recordings’ notable Small Batch series of limited-edition, definitive, all-analog, audiophile-grade releases? Read Mark Smotroff’s review to see if the Small Batch 180g 1LP edition of Brilliant Corners is the right Monk fit for you. . .

Matthew Greenwald  |  Jan 01, 2005  |  1 comments

The first studio album proper by the duet since 1976's Whistling Down The Wire, Crosby-Nash - a two-CD set - is an interesting, intriguing and overall thoughtful affair. To say something like that it reflects the 'lives in the balance' vibe that we are all surrounded by here in 2004 through the minds of these two firebrands would be accurate, but there's more, much more.

Michael Fremer  |  Aug 01, 2005  |  0 comments

The South African trumpet and flugelhorn player Hugh Masekela first became known to American audiences as a pop star with his 1968 hit “Grazing in the Grass.” He played trumpet on The Byrds' hit “So You Want to Be a Rock and Roll Star,” and among audiophiles, his song “Stimela (Coaltrain),” recorded live, is a sonic standout as well as an inspiring track.

Michael Fremer  |  Sep 01, 2005  |  1 comments

Spoon returns with a more stripped down, rhythmic groove-of-a-set compared to the more heavily produced and subtle Kill the Moonlight.

Mark Smotroff  |  Oct 21, 2022  |  18 comments

If you are considering buying the new 180g 4LP/1EP Super Deluxe Edition vinyl box set celebrating The Beatles’ landmark August 1966 album Revolver that’s set for release on October 28, then you’ve come to the right place. Read on to discover why this landmark Beatles box set is worth the coin for mono and stereo fans alike. . .

Michael Fremer  |  Sep 01, 2007  |  0 comments

Dept. of Corrections: Due to a miscommunication between myself and Speakers Corner's Kai Seeman, I was led to believe this lush, yet detailed reissue was the first to be mastered by Maarten DeBoer, after the retirement of Willem Makkee at the newly refurbished Berliner Mastering facility in Hanover, Germany.

Michael Fremer  |  Sep 01, 2010  |  1 comments

The precedent for this sprawling, personal three record set might be Joni Mitchell’s Blue but don’t expect to be humming the tunes as you head for the exits.

Michael Fremer  |  Mar 14, 2017  |  6 comments
You’ve probably seen or at least heard about Damien Chazelle’s musical “La La Land”, about a musician (Ryan Gosling) whose less than fully expressed mission was to “save jazz”. He brings his turntable and retro-record collection to Los Angeles where he lives in a crummy apartment and makes ends meet by playing in a piano bar.

Michael Fremer  |  Jul 02, 2012  |  3 comments
NIck Lowe has aged more than gracefully—he's never been better melodically and especially lyrically. On his latest release, issued by Yep Roc on a "wide groove 45rpm" record, Lowe waxes both melancholic and bemused about a break up.
Mark Smotroff  |  Sep 20, 2024  |  4 comments

The prospect of reviewing a new album by Nick Lowe is both exciting and daunting. How do you fairly encapsulate a new release from a man whose reputation is etched into the music history books via his many classic LPs and production work that arguably helped shape the sound of the late-’70s and early ’80s new-wave movement? Well, when you produce an album that sounds as good as Lowe’s new Indoor Safari LP does, it’s less daunting to review a record that can stand proudly alongside his legacy creations. Read Mark Smotroff’s review to see why Indoor Safari — which also happens to be “powered by” Lowe’s current tourmates, Los Straitjackets — belongs on your turntable today. . .

Michael Fremer  |  Feb 01, 2007  |  0 comments

Recorded and released during one of the most tumultuous and disturbing periods in contemporary American history, Emergency Ward! is a grand, exasperated plea for peace and understanding by one of the great soul/jazz voices of the 20th century.

Michael Fremer  |  Jun 21, 2016  |  14 comments
Seeing the superb documentary “What Happened, Miss Simone” isn’t mandatory but you’ll so much more enjoy this astonishing debut album recorded in 1957 (but not released until 1959) that it’s highly recommended, especially if you have Netflix. You’ll sit transfixed by this exceptional woman’s remarkable and often tragic life story.

Michael Fremer  |  Dec 18, 2020  |  9 comments
As a value proposition the 2016 “The Philips Years” seven LP box set covering all of Nina Simone’s recorded output between 1964 and 1967 can’t be beat. Digitized at 96/24 resolution at Abbey Road using the original master tapes and well-pressed at Record Industry, the seven LPs sound very good. However!

Michael Fremer  |  Nov 01, 2010  |  1 comments

It’s difficult to believe this November 18th, 1993 Sony Music Studios performance is almost seventeen years old. Though it aired on MTV a month later, it wasn’t issued on vinyl or CD until November 1st, 1994, six months after Kurt Cobain’s suicide.

Brent Raynor  |  Jan 01, 2009  |  0 comments

There is two kinds of music, the good and the bad�

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