The lies being told online about me, about Tom 'grover" Biery, about the new DSS version of Pet Sounds, about the "One Step" process etc. etc. are just getting to be TOO MUCH for me. So I've made this one take soliloquy in an attempt to set the record straight about Pet Sounds, about reissues, about "One Steps" about people with no resumes pretending to be authorities and a lot of others stuff. I'm fed up with all of the... Read More

Magic happened when Hal David and Burt Bacharach hooked up with Dionne Warwick. She was the perfect vocal vessel for their music and lyrics. Though Make Way for Dionne Warwick, released August 31st, 1964 included two tracks on her previous album for the Bacharach and David team, it was such a strong set, in part because it included the Top Ten single hit "Walk on By", it went up the r&b album chart as well. It's also one of the first albums to... Read More

This TrackingAngle track Du Jour celebrates the Miles Davis Centennial with a track from the rare and out of print Miles album Live Around the World. The album consists of 1988-1989 performances recorded on tour and assembled here to give the feel of a single live performance. The set begins with "In a Silent Way" recorded in New York on December 17th 1988 and ends with "Hannibal" from Miles Davis's last performance. The next to last track is... Read More

The great tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins died the other day age 95. He had a great run. I thought it best to honor him by playing two tracks. One is "Doxy" from the RCA Victor "Living Stereo" original pressing Our Man in Jazz recorded live at The Village Gate featuring Billy Higgins, Don Cherry and Bob Crenshaw. It's one of the first records Sonny made after returning to performing. Not easy listening but well worth the effort and the sound... Read More

When Classic Records issued the first 4 Led Zeppelin albums in a 200g box set edition it included a test pressing of "Stairway to Heaven" at 45rpm. Later, it issued a very limited edition TP on Clarity Vinyl, the same basic formulation Analogue Productions uses now for its UHQR releases. The history of that formulation and how Classic Records started using it is an interesting. I would have told it in the video but was pressed for time so here it is:... Read More

A triple-play for Memorial Day: first up, "Be My Baby" by The Ronettes from what appeared to be a trashed copy of Philles Records Presents Today's Hits pulled from $1.00 bin. A bit of crunch at the beginning and then wow! That's followed by "New Orleans Shuffle" by John Fahey and his Orchestra from a Reprise promo record After the Ball from 1973. Every copy I've ever seen has been a promo copy leading me to believe the record never... Read More

The Beatles EP box set rounds up all of the various Beatles EPs containing the singles tracks not found on the U.K. albums up through "Magical Mystery Tour". I show all the great jackets and then play "The Inner Light" and "Baby You're A Rich Man" in stereo at 45rpm. The sound is spectacular. Enjoy! Read More

This Track Du Jour features a 1A pressing of the "Bridge Over Troubled Water". Significant because according to engineer/producer Roy Halee, shortly after the record's release, the master of the title tune was replaced with a not particularly good copy of the song, so every subsequent reissue has the less than outstanding title track. The 1A pressing guarantees the title tune is the original master tape. Also, "The Only Living Boy In New York"... Read More

Here's the Supremes' 1964 #1 single "Where Did Our Love Go" in stereo from the album of the same name. Most people heard this as a 45rpm mono single on the A.M. radio but Berry Gordy, Jr. was an audio enthusiast and so recorded this and all Motown albums of this era in real stereo. The sound on this record is very good!I bought it at Sam Goody over the summer of 1964 in the special very small stereo rock section. After thinking about the Neil Innes... Read More

Track Du Jour day two is a bit off the beaten track. I'll be back with more rockin' stuff tomorrow but I'm testing the waters with this Neil Innes tune to see if you appreciate it. Neil was a founding member of the Bonzo Dog Band and of course The Beatles satire, The Rutles. Here he parodies Elton John and Bernie Taupin with "Godfrey Daniels", which is also an expression some curse-repressed/and or religious people use for "G_d Damn"... Read More

Today's "track of the day" is "Tempted" by the great, sometimes overlooked British band Squeeze featuring Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook who specialized in "octave singing" plus Paul Carrack on keyboards, Gilson Lavis on drums and John Bentley on bass. The Difford/Tilbrook team took lyric wordplay to sophisticated heights and the two wrote great hook-filled tunes. Paul Carrack sings "Tempted". I should write... Read More

This video explains the difference between lacquers and acetates for those who don't know, and then you'll hear a 20+ year old 45rpm lacquer of what was supposed to be side 3 of "Tommy" but was never released. it's been played dozens of times around the world. There's been no editing, or fixing noise and/or pops and clicks. Just a straight 96/24 transfer. I hope you enjoy!!!!!! Read More

Harvey Kubernik: I know the Beatles’ Rubber Soul made a big impression on you when first released in 1965.

Brian Wilson: “Michelle” and “All My Lovin’” are two of my favorite Paul McCartney songs. “Norwegian Wood’ completely blew my mind, and marijuana was around for Pet Sounds. Well, when I first listened to Rubber Soul, I then went to the piano and all I could see were my keys. I locked in with the keyboard and wrote [with Tony Asher] ‘God Only Knows’ in 45 minutes.”

The first time I was a guest on Steve Westman's YouTube channel the subject was the Mo-Fi cuts from digital file story. Steve assured me a "whistleblower" was going to come forward in a few days and break the news. First, I really didn't believe it could be true. Why would a company with such a deep reputation not inform readers about it? If it thought it a superior way to go, make it public and certainly discontinue how the process is described in... Read More

Rob Robinson, Channel D founder, designer and manufacturer of some of the most innovative phono preamplifiers among other products, passed away suddenly on October 15th, 2025. He was 67 years old and leaves behind his wife Claudia. Please click on the hyperlink where you'll see a long list of his many achievements and accomplishments.This obit is late for a variety of reasons: I wasn't alerted until I was about to leave for the Warsaw Audio Video Fair and... Read More

Getting directly to the point: File #1 is the Gray/Hoffman 2002 version and File #2 is the UHQR. To me, on my system, File #2 wins in every way, especially in terms of natural transients and instrumental "delicacy", as well as a more honest straight forward EQ, with File #1 having a warmth "bump". But tastes and systems vary. There's no right or wrong. But honestly I was surprised by how many listeners preferred File #1 and I always wonder how... Read More

Here's an audio comparison between the 2002 double 45 released by Analogue Productions mastered by Kevin Gray and Steve Hoffman, and cut by KG at AcousTech Mastering and plated and pressed at RTI and the current UHQR cut by Bernie Grundman and plated and pressed at QRP.The cartridge was the MUTECH RM-Hayate MC ($7500) mounted on the SAT CF1-12 tonearm ($ don't ask), mounted on the Wilson-Benesch Prime Meridian turntable ($$ don't ask), feeding a voltage... Read More

It's once again time for Tracking Angle's annual holiday gift guide. Whether it helps you find a perfect gift of music or hi-fi for friends and family, or guides you to a self-indulgent present for yourself, either way you're sure to find a high quality something or other guaranteed to bring happiness and good cheer for the holiday season and throughout the next year.