Michael Fremer

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Album Reviews
Kenny Burrell's Classic Midnight Blue   At 33 1/3 From Music Matters
Michael Fremer  |  Jun 30, 2014  |  33 comments
On his posthumous album The Sky Is Crying, Stevie Ray Vaughan covers "Chitlins Con Carne", the opening tune on this seminal 1963 jazz/blues release. The annotation includes a quote from brother Jimmie who said that the album was "...a tribute to Stevie's heroes...." among whom was Burrell. Despite his undeserved reputation as a "note-slinger", SRV's version evokes the delicacy, nuance and open spaces found on the original.

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Album Reviews
Highway 61 Revisited  Revisited By Mobile Fidelity at 45rpm
Michael Fremer  |  Jul 01, 2014  |  38 comments
Dylan's previous album Bringing It All Back Home arguably contains the first rap song ("Subterranean Homesick Blues") and is associated with the first rock video—the one where he holds up those cue cards with some of the lyrics—but this album made Dylan a rock star. The cover photo remains iconic and enigmatic: Dylan as The Mona Lisa?

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Turntable Reviews
Music Hall's MMF-11.1 Top of the Line Turntable
Michael Fremer  |  Jul 03, 2014  |  First Published: Jul 03, 2014  |  11 comments
It’s no secret that Pro-Ject builds Music Hall turntables to Music Hall’s specifications and design parameters using mostly “off the Pro-Ject shelf” mechanical components. Before getting to the 11.1, perhaps you are wondering why Pro-Ject would want to compete with itself.

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Tonearm Reviews
Kuzma Stogi S SE 12" Tonearm with VTA Tower Is a Serious Overachiever
Michael Fremer  |  Jul 08, 2014  |  First Published: Jul 08, 2014  |  9 comments
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Album Reviews
Led Zeppelin   Debut Reissue Gets Respect
Michael Fremer  |  Jul 10, 2014  |  32 comments
“Bloated Blimp”. That’s what I called the band after hearing this album for the first time. I also thought the Hindenburg disaster album cover in bad taste. But then I was in law school in 1969 and trying the straight and narrow after “widening” (not around the waist) in college.

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Playback Accessory ReviewsVote
Do Record Mats Really Make a Sonic Difference? And if So, Which of These Do You Prefer.
Michael Fremer  |  Jul 11, 2014  |  62 comments
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News
Your Four Day Getaway With Tony Visconti, Al Schmitt, Elliot Scheiner and Bill Szymczyk!
Michael Fremer  |  Jul 15, 2014  |  First Published: Jul 15, 2014  |  3 comments
Sorry, this is not a giveaway contest. However, if you have sufficiently deep pockets ($3499 if you sign up now, $3999 after August 1st) you can spend a four day, extended weekend, Thursday, November 6th through Sunday November 9th, 2014 with four of the greatest producer/engineers of our time (or any time) at the Power Station/New England Studios in Waterford, CT.

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Album Reviews
Cécile McLorin Salvant Sings Old Songs New
Michael Fremer  |  Jul 16, 2014  |  11 comments
Eschewing both retro and modern musical gestures, the remarkable young jazz singer Cécile McLorin Salvant manages here to make new and fresh an album of mostly very old songs.

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Playback Accessory Reviews
The Big Brush Off! Three Dry Record Brushes Compared
Michael Fremer  |  Jul 17, 2014  |  First Published: Jul 17, 2014  |  69 comments
This is hardly a scientific comparison, but I spent a few days comparing, in order of price, the Audioquest carbon fiber brush ($24.99), the AcousTech The Big Record Brush ($36.95) ($52.95 with grounding wire) and the Levin Design ($335 appx.).

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News
"Redbook" 16 bit/44.1K Version of Vivaldi Track Added to Mat Test
Michael Fremer  |  Jul 18, 2014  |  First Published: Jul 18, 2014  |  2 comments
Analogplanet.com readers requested we post the "rebook" version of the Vivaldi Mandolin piece so there's a reference at the same sampling and bit rate as the "needle drops".

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