The Surrounding Green is Fred Hersch’s first piano-trio album in seven years—a fact that surprised me when I looked it up, since, in Hersch’s 40-year recording career, nearly half of his albums up until then were trio dates, befitting of his classic-jazz style and repertoire. The six albums between 2017’s Live in Europe (with bassist John Hébert and drummer Eric McPherson) and his latest (with Drew Gress and Joey Baron) have been an eclectic bunch—solos, duets, a... Read More

RCA RECORDS & LEGACY RECORDINGS ANNOUNCE ‘SUNSET BOULEVARD’ — AN UNPRECEDENTED LOOK INTO ELVIS PRESLEY’S LOS ANGELES STUDIO SESSIONS (1970–1975), OUT AUGUST 1: 89 TRACKS OF RARITIES + NEW AND NEVER-HEARD MIXES TO BE RELEASED IN 5-CD AND DIGITAL FORMATS, ALONGSIDE A 2-LP ‘HIGHLIGHTS’ EDITIONLISTEN TO “BURNING LOVE – TAKE 2” — A RARE GLIMPSE INTO ELVIS’ FINAL TOP TEN HIT: SPECIAL ‘SUNSET BOULEVARD’ LISTENING EVENT SET FOR AUGUST 13 AT GRACELAND, AS PART OF ELVIS... Read More

Of all the groups from the Detroit music scene in the early 2000s, The White Stripes were a group shrouded in enigma. Jack and Meg White played into their mythology, portraying themselves as siblings to distance their reality as ex-spouses in a child-like uniform of red, white, and black regalia. Working within strict limitations couldn’t contain the duo’s explosive sound, which embodied the brash garage rock influence from the Motor City, yet was soaked in bluesy... Read More

(July 11, 2025 - Los Angeles, CA) On the 50th anniversary of its original release, the self-titled album has been certified 9x platinum by the RIAA. In celebration, Rhino announces two new premium audio editions of Fleetwood Mac, the 1975 album that ushered in a new era for the band. On August 8, the album will debut in Dolby Atmos and arrive on vinyl as part of the Rhino High Fidelity series of high-end reissues. The Blu-ray Audio edition features a new Dolby ATMOS... Read More

Analogue Productions and Acoustic Sounds founder Chad Kassem was recently interviewed by Marc Maron for his WTF podcast. This was a particularly good Kassem appearance because Maron is a serious record collector/audiophile enthusiast.In case you missed the news, you can listen to Marc and Chad chat here. Read More

Erhard Audio located in beautiful Ennis, Montana is the exclusive American Lundahl transformer distributor—(along with offering a variety of custom built, limited supply tube-based electronics) . It's basically a one couple operation with Holger doing the designing and building of a wide range of products and his wife Kelly doing the books—at least that's what I gleaned from the website. This review is way late and to the couple I apologize. Erhard supplied... Read More

Charles Lloyd is still out there making vital music at 87 but consider alto saxophonist Marshall Allen! He recently turned 101. The Sun Ra Arkestra leader since 1995 founded Marshall Allen's Ghost Horizon ensemble in 2022 featuring Arkestra guitarist DMHOTEP along with an ever changing roster of guest musicians from the worlds of jazz and rock including Immanuel Wilkins, The War on Drugs' drummer Charlie Hall, "divine" saxophonist James Brandon... Read More

Last night, 75,000 people in Cardiff got a big surprise: Oasis actually went on stage and played a full, two-hour gig.

Sure, that’s what was supposed to happen according to the tickets we all paid too much for (mine was £200 for the back left corner of the middle bowl), but there wasn’t much evidence that it’d seriously come to fruition. Liam and Noel Gallagher uncharacteristically did zero press, and only a couple photo shoots from which most of the results look composited. They’ve barely spent any time in the same room with each other. Announcing a reunion tour doesn’t mean that they’ve mended their relationship, and I half-expected to fly across the ocean and find that the notoriously combustible brothers had broken up again.

To peer through the lens of one of Elliott Smith’s key influences for a moment: everyone knows when an artist has made their Rubber Soul, White Album, or Let It Be. Rubber Souls are transitional — exotic, quixotic dispatches from early creative growth spurts. White Albums are post-genre, post-everything info dumps — essentially kits that dare you to build your own record. As for a band’s eventual demise, Let It Bes show the writing on the wall. And then there’s Sgt.... Read More

Los Angeles, CA (June 25, 2025) – Craft Recordings announces the latest titles in its acclaimed Original Jazz Classics series, which revisits celebrated, seminal and rare jazz albums. Upcoming reissues include Kenny Burrell’s Kenny Burrell; Kenny Drew’s Kenny Drew Trio; Frank Wess, John Coltrane, Paul Quinichette, Mal Waldron, Doug Watkins and Arthur Taylor’s Wheelin’ and Dealin’ and Sonny Criss’ Sonny’s Dream. Lacquers were cut AAA from the original tapes by Kevin... Read More

This riveting psychodrama in music remains one of Mahler’s most compelling and challenging creations, demanding the ultimate from performers and engineers alike. Joining the ranks of two previous Mahler outings from the Original Source (Karajan’s traversals of Symphonies 5 and 6), how does Abbado’s “Resurrection” fare?

Canadian saxophonist Cory Weeds first came to my attention as the reissue producer of a remarkable Charles Tolliver Music Inc double LP, Live at the Captain's Cabin (Reel to Real RTRLP 014) a limited to 500 edition released for last Fall's Record Store Day "Black Friday".Cohearent Audio's Kevin Gray had mastered several Reel to Real releases for Weeds (but for an "s" that could sound transactional) but until his granddaughter Amber... Read More

In a Tracking Angle review in March of this year, I called Philharmonic Audio’s Balanced-Mode-Radiator (BMR) Monitor loudspeaker “The Loudspeaker Bargain of the Century—at Least So Far.” (And I am so glad that I put that weasel-y little derrière-covering qualifier in.) That's in the context of, in my 2023 Tracking Angle review of Bricasti’s M3 Digital-to-Analog Converter, I called Solen Electronique’s fully-assembled SB Acoustics Sasandu Tx Finale three-way (with double woofers) loudspeaker “the Audio Bargain of this Century—so far.” And now, I announce a NEW Loudspeaker Bargain of the Century. As Shakespeare wrote:

Men were deceivers, ever.
One foot in sea, and one on shore.
To one thing, constant, never.

Terry Audio's Marshall Terry decided to open a Kissa bar in Austin, Texas. We decided to give Marshall some free publicity and invite Austinites to check out the place and report back. Mr. Terry writes to introduce himself, "Maker of mastering studio equipment, used by my pal Dave (McNair), also the folks at Sterling Sound, Metropolis in the UK, Bernie Becker, so many others..."Main Roomrest of main roomMr. Terry has thrown down the Kissa bar gauntlet:... Read More

(press release): Originally released on Decca in 1963 Ansermet’s interpretation is a model of clarity, control, and refined grandeur, emphasising balance and transparency over sheer spectacle, bringing out the symphony’s architectural elegance. The famous organ entries are noble and dignified rather than overwhelming, blending seamlessly into the orchestral texture. Ansermet resists the temptation to rush or overindulge in romantic excess, allowing the thematic... Read More

Definitely watch the Yacht Rock doc on HBO Max even if just the concept of the non-existent genre makes you seasick. It's a fun watch and it ties together the musicians who played in so many studio bands cobbled together to make smooth-rock. Plus Toto. The doc producer cast a wide net. Steely Dan got caught up in it not because of the music, but because Fagen and Becker recruited so many of these nimble-fingered (and voiced) studio cats to play on their... Read More

The 22-year-old Spanish virtuoso inaugurates her new association with the Yellow Label in triumphant performances the greatest of all violin concertos, where she is joined by the conductor Manfred Honneck, and some of the most treacherously difficult music ever written for solo violin.

I believe most hi-fi consumers and professionals hop scotch (my term) in the pursuit of audio nirvana. The reasons are, by and large, obvious: Upgrade neurosis coupled with a strong dose of financial considerations. This has been my story going back to my first audio purchase in 1968. I would listen to my system for a certain period of time and then decide which unit (turntable, cartridge, receiver, amp, preamp, speakers) would get the next upgrade. Back in the early... Read More