The latest round of DG's "Original Source" vinyl reissues delivers an eclectic range of titles, from benchmark classics like Emil Gilels' Beethoven piano sonatas and Rafael Kubelik's Ma Vlast, to less familiar titles like Friedrich Gulda's Mozart piano concertos with Claudio Abbado, and Seiji Ozawa's take on Berlioz's phantasmagoric orchestral spectacular, the Symphonie Fantastique. Tracking Angle's Michael Johnson and Mark Ward drop the needle on the latest batch of eagerly-awaited OSS releases. PART 1 features Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique and Beethoven Piano Sonatas performed by Emil Gilels. PART 2, featuring Mozart Piano Concertos with Friedrich Gulda, and Smetana's Ma Vlast with Rafael Kubelik - both reviewed by Michael Johnson - will follow shortly.

1992…the beginning of SoundScan and the year that CD sales reached well over 400 million. And while a huge chunk of that went to 300 people who got production credits on “The Bodyguard” soundtrack, The Wedding Present launched a 12-month campaign to release a new single every month that affirmed David Gedge’s love of 7” vinyl. The band’s singer/songwriter then watched as the entire run sold out and they’d wind up equaling Elvis’ record for the most hits in a calendar year.

Here's the press release: FORT LAUDERDALE, FL — Wireworld Cable Technology, a long-standing leader in the audiophile and professional A/V cable industry, recently announced the release of four new cables for turntables with RCA plug connections. These four cables, named Solstice 8, Eclipse 8, Silver Eclipse 8 and Platinum Eclipse 8, feature Wireworld’s patented DNA Helix conductor geometry and Silver Tube RCA plugs, along with ultraquiet COMPOSILEX 3 insulation... Read More

Here are notes on a selection from my favorite books on the history of recording technology, the history of the record business, and the interactions between recording technology, the record business, and the art of music. One example of what I mean by all that is, in the late 1920s, piezoelectric “crystal” microphones supplanted carbon microphones for radio broadcasting. Crystal microphones had a better signal-to-noise ratio than carbon microphones. Therefore, the... Read More

Over the last few decades, the gap between tube and solid-state sound has been closing, with both design camps trying to maintain their best attributes while incorporating some of the finest qualities of the other. Solid-state designers try to achieve the organic midrange quality and dynamic life of tube gear. In contrast, tube designers aim for the bass extension/definition, lower noise, and high-frequency extension of solid-state designs.There are varying opinions... Read More

Courtney Barnett has for a decade now been a leading female figure in indie music. Hailing from the city of Melbourne, her artistry knits together a witty stream-of-consciousness lyrical approach paired with the musical edge of 90s grunge to make a sound that’s very much her own. Barnett’s first two full-length efforts, 2015’s Sometimes I Sit, and Think and Sometimes I Just Sit and 2018’s Tell Me How You Really Feel, have a raucous bite to them. The softer singer-songwriter sensibilities appeared on 2019’s Things Take Time, Take Time. Some of the other exciting detours from her mainline output were a collaboration album with Kurt Vile, Lotta Sea Lice, and a live album documenting her appearance on MTV Unplugged.

Capital and Pacific AudioFest show producers Gary Gill and Lou Hinkley today announced the SouthWest Audio Fest, a new Dallas, Texas based audio festival, set to debut March 15-17th, 2024 at the famous Hilton/Anatole Hotel. The promoting pair say the hotel is booked, the weather is perfect, and the venue has plenty of room to expand. There are thousands of parking spaces, easy load in (for the presenters), great bars and restaurants, more than fifty meeting rooms and... Read More

Is high end audio practical? If you ask the average Joe on the street, a $5,000 set of speakers is not practical. However, if you ask Tracking Angle readers, my guess is most would think that $5,000 is a pretty reasonable price. One might even say that listening to vinyl is not practical. The Phonomena III phono preamplifier, when paired with the upgraded Linear Power Supply, is among the most practical and flexible phono stage you can buy.

During the just concluded "Making Vinyl" symposium 9/28-9/29, 2023 in Haarlem, The Netherlands, Record Industry, one of the world's largest pressing plants, opened its tours to attendees and conducted tours all Friday afternoon. TrackingAngle will have full "Making Vinyl" coverage coming up over the next few days.The approximately 6500 square meter Record Industry originated in 1958 as privately held Artone—which remains the name of the studio... Read More

As The Strokes' frontman Julian Casablancas goes through his mid-life crisis, a new 7” box set of the group’s first 10 singles and a lavish reissue of its 2001 debut LP Is This It hits the market. Legacy acts are the backbone of the music industry: the longer a band (or an artist) maintains its success, the wider the demographic it reaches. When the original fans get older, they’re better able to pay for more expensive concert tickets and a steady stream of... Read More

Eric Astor, Furnace Record Pressing President and CEO invited me to tour the plant for the second time. The first time was a few years ago when the company was just setting up shop in the Alexandria, Virginia building that formerly housed The Washington Post's printing presses. During that first visit, Furnace was still shaking out the vintage Toolex Alpha presses it had purchased in Mexico plus it had added a few new WarmTone presses. This new tour shows... Read More

Once they step behind the rock and roll curtain, whatever runs-ins a journalist might have with famous (or soon to be famous…) musicians can eventually collapse into the mundane. They’re there to sell a record or tickets, and you’re there to help them do that and not much more. If you get to snag a few beers off their rider, all the better. But back during the days glamorized by that largely dreadful “Almost Famous” film, there was, in general, more to it. More fun... Read More

Since forming in 2003 the Avant-garde improvisational jazz trio Zen Widow has produced three albums for the Italian objet-a label. This is their fourth. Label founder Gianni Gebbia is the group's Bb soprano saxophonist. Matthew Goodheart plays piano as well as something called a transducer actuated gong. The percussionist who has a great deal to say on this record is Garth Powell. Yes, that Garth Powell, which is why upon hearing about this record I quipped... Read More