This marvelous box set gathers together a little piece of recording history, when conductor John Mauceri revived the legendary Hollywood Bowl Orchestra for a series of releases highlighting film music and musical theatre from Broadway, Hollywood, and beyond.  This was an important chapter in the ongoing push to give film music and the American musical the respect and exposure they deserved in the catalogue, but didn’t always receive.  In Part 1 I delve into the history of re-recordings of this often neglected repertoire on vinyl and CD, placing Mauceri’s recordings in context.  In Part 2, I review the contents of this timely reissue.

Deutsche Grammophon has jump-started the New Year with a vengeance, with the announcement of another set of drool-worthy vinyl reissues to tempt the classical listener (and, I hope, many of you seeking to dip your toe into the classical waters). Read on for more details....

Keb Mo was released in 1994. Good to Be in 2022. One of the frustrating parts of being me is that people who know me (guitarist and Twisted Sister founder) and my history in the music business (and my age—71) think that I must have heard and have an opinion on just about everything (music wise) that was ever released since the 1950’’s! It is even more frustrating when an artist, who seems to have had a long career, especially in a genre that I thought I really knew,... Read More

The third record in the new Original Source Series box devoted to William Steinberg's BSO recordings brings us less well-known works by the great early 20th-century German composer Paul Hindemith. Less well-known they may be, but these recordings make the strongest possible case for this incredibly attractive and original music. Is this the secret gem lurking in the Steinberg box....?

Johnny Hallyday (1943-2017) was the stage name of Jean-Philippe Léo Smet. In a career spanning nearly 60 years, Hallyday released 79 albums and sold 110 million records. In the year 2000, he sang in front of the Eiffel Tower to a paying audience of about half a million people. And in 2017, nearly one million people showed up to watch his funeral procession. Hallyday's funeral service at the Church of Sainte Marie-Madeleine was attended by French President... Read More

William Steinberg was never one of the "Big Name" conductors, but he had a stellar career, working with every major orchestra in Europe and America. His recorded legacy is held in high esteem amongst collectors, and no more so than the three records he made for Deutsche Grammophon while Music Director of the renowned Boston Symphony Orchestra in the late 1960s, early 70s. So when it was announced that Deutsche Grammophon and Emil Berliner Studios would be issuing a special boxed edition of all three recordings as part of their ground-breaking Original Source Series of vinyl reissues, hopes for something truly special ran high. In the first of three articles we examine what makes each of these legendary records worthy of the deluxe OSS treatment, beginning with the grand-daddy of all orchestral spectaculars, Holst's The Planets. (For a recap of the background and technical processes behind these Original Source Series vinyl reissues, you can read TA's review of the first two records in this fourth batch of OSS releases).

Richard Strauss's epic orchestral tone poem, whose opening "Sunrise" captured the imaginations of millions when it was used in 2001: A Space Odyssey, here receives an outstanding recording. We explore the history of this work, which was written at a time of great change in classical music, and place Steinberg's interpretation within the history of this work on record.

Emil Berliner Studios continue to redefine the sonic legacy of Deutsche Grammophon's back catalogue in this latest batch of AAA, deluxe vinyl releases in the Original Source Series. Here we review the two standalone releases from master conductors Herbert von Karajan and Claudio Abbado. (Reviews of the William Steinberg releases to follow, beginning here).

Every artist announces their end differently. Some make a big deal out of retiring, only to return three to five years later with an album or tour. Others creatively decline until they die, or until no one’s interested anymore. Or, they release their best album, slowly retreat from the spotlight, say that they’re “not currently thinking about a future in the arts,” make sporadic and seemingly random appearances on others’ experimental records, and reissue the entire... Read More

In part 1 of our Bunny Wailer retrospective we followed his life from a young boy to age 30 and covered his first two solo albums, Blackheart Man and Protest. Now we will delve into his next eight albums somen of which were award winners.As mentioned in part 1, Bunny's debut album, Blackheart Man, is considered by most every music critic to be one of the ten greatest reggae albums of all time. The follow up, Protest, although good, was a bit of a let down. That... Read More

The Decca/London Phase 4 Stereo records of the 1960s set the gold standard for albums of film music and easy listening. Building on the already fabled Decca sound, Phase 4 exploited the latest multi-track mixing and miking techniques to show off the new stereo technology. And of all the albums produced in Phase 4, few have become as iconic as those by legendary arranger Roland Shaw, covering music from numerous Bond and other spy movies and TV shows of the period. In Part 2 of this survey, we dive into each of the albums and find out what makes these records so special, even over 60 years since their original release. (You can read Part 1 here).

Looking for the perfect musical antidote to all those holiday season tinsel tunes, carols, and Viennese waltzes? Look no further than the secret agent stylings of Roland Shaw and his Orchestra, which exploded in all their technicolor glory on a series of albums for the fabled Decca Phase 4 Stereo label in the 1960s and 1970s. Everyone and their mother at the time was covering the hot, groovy sound of John Barry, Lalo Schifrin, Henry Mancini et al, which had injected jazz pep and cool into the soundtracks of numerous TV shows and movies that followed in the wake of the global success of the James Bond movies. But Roland Shaw stood out as the arranger and conductor who came closest to the quality of the originals, and sometimes even exceeded them. So sit back with your Martini to hand, and cue the Main Titles: it’s Secret Agent Time…..   

Warner Brothers got into the record business in the late '50s releasing a series of super-corny records half-heartedly aimed at the growing "audiophile community". It was a "catch up" effort and too little too late. The label did it without its own recording studio or much of an A&R department and it showed! However, someone there knew good sound—not surprising since WB invented "The Talkies"—movies with sound. A few years later,... Read More

Bunny Wailer (1947-2021) was born Neville O'Riley Livingston in Kingston, Jamaica. At age eight he moved to the village of Nine Mile in Saint Ann Parish where he met Bob Marley. The two boys were raised by single parents and when Bunny's father, "Toddy" Livingston fell in love with Bob's mother, Cedella, the two adults moved back to Kingston, with Bunny and Bob being raised together.The WailersIn the early 1960's Bob and Bunny were... Read More

It's that time of year when we take a moment to consider what's been going on in our corner of the world. In this particular corner of the audiophile and music-loving world, that means classical music. A lot has happened in 2023, and Tracking Angle takes a moment to consider what it all means for the present and future of recorded classical music. The biggest development of the year has to have been the arrival of the Deutsche Grammophon Original Source Series of stunning AAA vinyl reissues. These go from strength to strength, bringing in new listeners to classical music. Plus we have some suggestions for Xmas gifts - some obvious, some less so. All things considered, there's rarely been a better time for both the novice classical listener and the seasoned collector. Deck the Halls Indeed!

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