The Beach Boys returned at the start of a new decade with a surpising burst of stunning creativity. Original release August 31 1970. I love this album. Looking back now I think I know why. It all had to do with timing.
November 27th, 2023
An Interview With Mastering Engineer Dave Gardner Gardner Discusses His Longtime Career and Recent RSD Black Friday ReleasesBy: Evan Toth
Record Store Day - Black Friday Edition - is here and this year ORG Music has two interesting releases in store for listeners. The first release finds David Grisman & Jerry Garcia taking an interlude into jazzy territory on the reissue of So What on a two-disc vinyl set. The album - recorded in the early 90s, but released in 1998 - has never seen a vinyl release until now. The second release ORG offers is Creative Improvisation Ensemble by Marion Brown & Leo... Read More
Comments: 0November 26th, 2023
Tracking Angle’s 2023 Holiday Gift Guide Analog gifting made easyBy: Tracking Angle
The holiday season is here, though finding gifts for picky vinyl obsessives can be difficult. To help, we’ve compiled a list of records, gear, and accessories that demonstrate why yes, you do carefully listen to your loved one’s rants about fancy reissues and record cleaning supplies. Without further ado, here’s the 2023 Tracking Angle Holiday Gift Guide, independently selected by Michael Fremer and Malachi Lui based on personal opinions and experiences with each... Read More
Comments: 15November 25th, 2023
Technics' New SL-1200GR2 Could Be the Lineup's "Sweetest Spot" smooth sailing and detail too!By: Michael Fremer
Can you name an audio product that for more than fifty years has been manufactured and sold unchanged? Technics iconic SL-1200 isn’t one of them. Yes, today’s SL-1200 turntable series looks like the original SL-1200 introduced back in 1972 but looks can be deceiving. Nonetheless, YouTube comments confirm that many SL-1200 enthusiasts continue to believe that what they bought in 1972 is equal to or better than what Technics produces today, partly because most current... Read More
Comments: 7November 24th, 2023
The EBS Team Produces Another Explosive Direct-to-Disc With the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra includes an "encore"By: Michael Fremer
Many a western themed orchestral work ("western" as in cowboys), as well as probably some "eat beef" television commercial music keyed off of Antonín Dvořák's bold Symphony No. 9 (originally called Symphony No. 5 but not getting into that here). The Czech composer began writing it shortly after arriving in New York City on September 26th, 1892, but the set's annotator Alexander Moore makes clear that while the symphony is from the new... Read More
Comments: 19November 22nd, 2023
"The Yes Album" Gets "Super Deluxe" Treatment Or Not—Your Choice Sit down! Stand up! See yourself! Turn Around!By: Michael Fremer
You now have a choice of two AAA reissues of The Yes Album, which happens to be my favorite Yes album. Yes, I'm making this one personal. The Yes Album lineup with Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, Tony Kaye, and Bill Bruford plus the then newly added Steve Howe was an epic assemblage of great musicians and that album still packs a sonic and musical punch. It's going to be released as part of the Analogue Productions Atlantic 75th anniversary series as a single... Read More
Comments: 6November 21st, 2023
MoFi Electronics MasterDeck Turntable Announced Today 11/21/2023 "reference grade" Allen Perkins designed turntable manufactured in Ann Arbor MIBy: Michael Fremer
Manufactured in Ann Arbor, Michigan in "small batches" to assure "the very highest level of quality control" the new Allen Perkins designed MoFi MasterDeck turntable packs high tech construction concepts and a rich feature set sure to attract vinyl fans desiring more than just a basic platter spinner but who don't want to invest five figures in new turntable.Design features include a three-phase brushless DC motor housed in an isolated... Read More
Comments: 18November 20th, 2023
Will The Beatles "Red" and "Blue" Expanded Sets Entice Yet Another Young Generation? is it necessary to ask as a question?By: Michael Fremer
Don't mean to be a buzz kill but "Greatest Hits" compilations, though seemingly extremely attractive, always promise more than they actually deliver. Almost like assembled favorite scenes from a movie that can't begin to satisfy as does the actual movie, songs taken out of the historical context of the albums on which they originally appeared add up to less, not more, no matter how skillfully they are assembled—even if the recording artist is The... Read More
Comments: 22November 19th, 2023
Our Man in Tokyo Covered the Recent Tokyo Audio Show here's what he sawBy: Tracking Angle
Matt Walker, our man in Tokyo (as opposed to Jonti Davies, our man in Kyoto) reports from the recent Tokyo Audio Show: "We just had the Tokyo International Audio Show this past long weekend over three days at the Tokyo International Forum - a wonderful piece of Rafael Vinoly architecture designed to reflect the sweeping curves of a boat in the centre of Tokyo. There were around 34 rooms across 7 floors - up slightly on previous years. As previously, attendance is free but online registration gets you a personalised QR entry code for each day as they strictly control numbers and mask wearing is still considered ‘good manners’.
Read More Comments: 9November 19th, 2023
Atlantic Records Chairman and CEO Craig Kallman In Conversation with Michael Fremer recorded Friday November 17th in Mr. Kallman's homeBy: Michael Fremer
Atlantic Records Chairman and CEO Craig Kallman and Tracking Angle editor Michael Fremer discuss Atlantic Records' 75th anniversary celebration, the storied label's history, the vinyl records resurgence, Kallman's rise to become Chairman and more in this exclusive half-hour interview conducted in Kallman's Manhattan listening room November 17th, 2023. Read More
Comments: 2November 18th, 2023
Holiday Special: The 12 Days of Bargain Used LPs… Music of High Artistic Quality at Non-Crazy Prices Can Be Found!By: John Marks
As we all know, some (by which I mean, an infinitesimally small percentage of the format’s total production) used LPs (or, some claimed-to-be unopened “New Old Stock” LPs), sell for crazy money. Which, of course, incentivizes much flipping through the used-LP bargain bins.Here’s one example: What I call a “record-store LP” (meaning, not an acetate, test pressing, or promo) of Led Zeppelin II sold, not too long ago, for $4,500.00.Of course, it was not just any old used... Read More
Comments: 3November 18th, 2023
Green Day’s “Dookie” Celebrates 30 Years A super deluxe box set done rightBy: Dylan Peggin
Grunge was the leading musical movement by the turn of the 1990s; its successor emerged from the Bay Area punk scene. Green Day became a household name around 1991 with a sound merging the intensity of hardcore punk with melodic power pop twists. Local label Lookout Records released their first two albums 39/Smooth and Kerplunk, the latter becoming the label’s best-selling release. Independent, limited distribution labels didn't typically sell out of initial 10,000 copy pressings in one day. Green Day started to outgrow its reach; a bidding war arose amongst major labels wanting to sign the band. Free meals, trips to Disneyland, and A&R reps tattooing the band’s name on their ass wasn’t enough to entice them. Producer Rob Cavallo devoured the band's demo and understood the group better than anyone; Green Day signed with Warner/Reprise in 1993. Frowned upon in the eyes of the punk establishment is the idea of "selling out." In Green Day’s eyes, it was merely an exercise in seeing how far they could take their artistry to a larger demographic. Signing with a major label helped the band bridge the gap between the DIY aesthetics of punk and the mainstream.
Read More Comments: 8