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AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
Coltrane "Live" At The Village Vanguard  Lives Again!
Michael Fremer  |  Jan 27, 2022  |  23 comments
Listening today to this record originally released February, 1962—60 years ago—it’s difficult to understand why it created controversy so intense that Downbeat’s editor at the time invited Coltrane and Eric Dolphy to “defend” it in print. On the other hand, if you’re looking for a jazz album entry point, this live album probably wouldn’t be it—especially side two. Sixty years on, “Chasin’ The Trane” (name given by RVG who said he literally had to “chase Coltrane” on mic to capture him during the performances) might still send some running for cover (or covers, of which there’s but one on here, Hammerstein and Romberg’s beautiful “Softly As In a Morning Sunrise”).

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AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
Love and Theft  Bob Dylan’s Southern Journey Through Time Finally Shines On Mobile Fidelity Vinyl (Where's Your Copy?)
Michael Fremer  |  Oct 27, 2020  |  34 comments
Talk about bad luck: Love And Theft Bob Dylan’s first album in four years, his 43rd (at the time, including live and studio) and the follow up to the million-selling, triple-Grammy Award winning (including “Album of the Year”) Time Out of Mind had a September 11th, 2001 drop date. Buildings dropped instead.

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AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
"Afternoon in Paris" A Musical and Sonic Delight
Michael Fremer  |  Nov 03, 2015  |  6 comments
If you're looking for a good place to delve into the Sam Records reissue catalog beyond the obvious Chet Baker entry point, try this record featuring pianist John Lewis originally issued by Disques Versailles (MEDX 12005) in 1956.

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AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
"Buddy Holly" Sounding Better Than Ever on This Analogue Productions 200g Reissue
Michael Fremer  |  Jun 05, 2018  |  3 comments
Buddy Holly's last album before "the day the music died" released in 1958 belongs in every rock-based record collection. It's not even a close call. And this reissue sourced from the original analog tapes still in superb condition and cut by Kevin Gray is by far the best sounding edition ever.

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AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
"Dameronia With Strings" Ferit Odman's Tadd Dameron Tribute Will Wow You
Michael Fremer  |  Feb 11, 2016  |  17 comments
“Too expensive to record to analog tape” we often hear from major label representatives, from producers and from artists. And there are those who don’t think the sonics are better or as good as ProTools.

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AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
"Desmond Blue": Buy This, Not This!
Michael Fremer  |  Aug 23, 2017  |  9 comments
Alto saxophonist Paul Desmond (Paul Emil Breitenfeld) best known for his work with Dave Brubeck made solo albums of greater musical consequence than his string-accented confection, including his duet album Two of A Mind (RCA LSP-2624) with Gerry Mulligan, also on RCA-Victor. Nonetheless, this album pleases every play.

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AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
"Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Cole Porter Songbook" Coming Soon From Analog Spark
Michael Fremer  |  Oct 15, 2016  |  14 comments
Originally released as a double LP back in 1956, Ella Fitzerald Sings the Cole Porter Song Book was both the first of her "songbook" albums and the first release on Norman Granz's then brand new Verve Records (MG V-4001/2).

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AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
"Forest Flower" in Full Flower on Speakers Corner AAA Reissue
Michael Fremer  |  Jun 26, 2017  |  3 comments
Charles Lloyd's young group, together but a year, played this set September 8th 1966 at the Monterey Jazz Festival, opening with the title tune—actually the two-in-one "Forest Flower-Sunrise" and "Forest Flower-Sunset", both lilting, hypnotic and mesmerizing "hippie-like" tunes that presaged in its mood the next year's "Summer of Love" Monterey Pop Festival.

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AAA VinylNews
"Gene Clark" Coming Soon AAA From Intervention
Michael Fremer  |  Jun 05, 2018  |  9 comments
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AAA Vinyl
"Jack Johnson"---Miles Makes a Rock Album
Michael Fremer  |  Jun 22, 2016  |  24 comments
1971's Jack Johnson is Miles Davis making as close to a rock record as he's made.

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AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
"Music for Viola and Cello" Reissued by The Electric Recording Company
Michael Fremer  |  Oct 15, 2017  |  11 comments
Musical cults in the rock world can't compare to what goes on in classical music—as anyone who's perused some of the used record prices on popsike.com surely knows. That's certainly true of the late, legendary cellist Jacqueline Du Pré.

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AAA VinylNews
"New Orleans Shuffle" From John Fahey's 1973 Album "After the Ball"
Michael Fremer  |  Jan 19, 2016  |  5 comments
In 1973 the late guitarist, music historian, fanatical record collector and audiophile John Fahey recorded for Reprise Records the album "After the Ball" (MS 2145)—an album of original and "period" pieces including this track: New Orleans Shuffle by the pianist Bill Whitmore, originally recorded in 1925 by The Halfway House Orchestra.

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AAA VinylFeatures
"Spirit & Time", Blue Note Review Number Two is Musical and Packaging Perfection
Michael Fremer  |  May 17, 2019  |  4 comments
The first bi-annual Blue Note Review may have been a somewhat tentative and ill-focused project as label head Don Was worked to re-establish with a younger generation the Blue Note brand identity and “community”, yet few who purchased were disappointed (the set sold-out) other than in the digitally mastered Blue Mitchell album and its grade B jacket.

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AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
"Sunday at the Village Vanguard" Mobile Fidelity Ultradisc Sells Out
Michael Fremer  |  Jun 26, 2017  |  19 comments
Bassist Scott LaFaro's death in a Geneva, New York car accident ten days after the Sunday, June 25th, 1961 recording of this Village Vanguard set did more than add a tragic luster to the story. It upended what might have been a very different track order here and on Waltz For Debby, the second record sourced using tracks recorded that day by engineer David Jones on a modified Ampex 350 using Scotch 111 tape.

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AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
"Tea For the Tillerman" at 45 rpm From Analogue Productions
Michael Fremer  |  Apr 12, 2015  |  27 comments
Analogue Productions has just released Tea For the Tillerman on a double 45rpm 200g, numbered, limited to 3500 copies edition, mastered by George Marino. What? Didn't he pass away a few years ago? Yes. The double 45s were cut when the tape was available "just in case". And it's "in case" time. Especially since AP's license on the title is about to expire, so it's also "get it while you can" time, "in case" you really like this record.

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