AAA Vinyl

You can see it in their eyes, but is it really any surprise to learn that we are finally getting the much-anticipated 200g 45rpm 2LP UHQR edition of Steely Dan’s rightly acclaimed March 1975 album Katy Lied on January 31, 2025? Read on to see all the UHQR tech/spec details, plus news regarding the companion 180g 1LP edition. . .

Another year of LP acquiring, cleaning, listening, archiving, and spinning, and archiving has come and gone — and not necessarily always in that order, either! — so, naturally, before the big holiday week takes hold of our respective calendars, we here at AP feel it’s the exact right time to determine the best of what we’ve heard on vinyl during the past 12 months. Between the two of us — i.e., 1) Mike Mettler, your intrepid AP editor, and 2) chief LP reviewer, Mark Smotroff — we have listened to multiple-hundreds’ worth of albums on vinyl in 2024 apiece, so read on to see what our 20-plus favorite reissues and new LPs of the year are. . .

Last night (i.e., December 4, 2024), a select group of journalists gathered at the All Blues listening bar in New York City’s Chinatown, and were treated to an exclusive preview of Analogue Productions’ special 180g 1LP edition of Miles Davis’ Birth of the Blue, which is set for release on December 13, 2024. Read Ken Micallef’s firsthand listening report to get a taste of what you can expect from this historic LP. . .

Part 2 of our RSD 2024 Short Cuts roundup focuses on a pair of Holy Grail releases for reviewer Mark Smotroff — Gandalf’s self-titled 1969 debut and Parliament’s own 1970 debut, Osmium, the latter of which is now expanded into a 2LP Deluxe Edition. Read on to see if either or both of these RSD offerings are worthwhile additions to your own collection. . .

There are seminal jazz albums — and then there is John Coltrane’s January 1965 Impulse! masterpiece, A Love Supreme. Numerous Supreme LP upgrades have been issued over the years — including the most recent and most excellent 11/11 UHQR edition from Analogue Productions — and now VMP enters the picture with their upcoming 180g 8LP mostly AAA limited edition box set that’s been earmarked for a late summer release. Read on to see all that this historic Supreme vinyl box set entails. . .

Looks like another year has gone by with a seemingly endless release-cycle parade consisting of scores of brand-new LPs from both known artists and untested newcomers alike, along with a myriad of archival vinyl reissues and overstuffed box sets galore — a good number of them presented in the much-preferred AAA form to boot. With the calendar set to turn over to 2024 any day now, that means it’s high time to assess the best of what we’ve heard on wax during the past 12 months. Read on to see AP editor Mike Mettler and chief LP reviewer Mark Smotroff’s respective lists of the top archival and new LP releases of 2023. . .