June 3rd, 2023
Giles Martin "ZOOMs" In" to Introduce His Atmos "Pet Sounds" Mix at New York's Dolby Screening Room the mix master intended to attend but a family emergency prevented itBy: Michael Fremer
Universal and The Beach Boys organization tasked mix master Giles Martin to produce a Dolby Atmos edition of the iconic album Pet Sounds. There were big differences between doing this mix and Mr. Martin's previous remix work on albums produced by his father George Martin, and in his ZOOM call presentation before the Dolby Screening Room playback in New York on Tuesday, May 30th, he addressed them. Nonetheless, Martin's larger than life on-screen image amplified a level of discomfort with this project not evidenced in any of the Beatles re-mix events I attended. Following the full album playback, he returned to take questions from the audience.
Read MoreJune 1st, 2023
John Coltrane with Eric Dolphy 1961 Village Gate Recording Recently Discovered in the New York Public Library For the Performing Arts Archives "Evenings At the Village Gate..." released globally on Impulse! July 14thBy: Tracking Angle
June 1, 2023 (New York, NY) In the summer of 1961, John Coltrane headlined at the celebrated music venue, the Village Gate. With a lineup of musicians that included McCoy Tyner, Reggie Workman, Elvin Jones, and the fiery playing of Eric Dolphy, Evenings at the Village Gate captures the creative and transformative spirit that sprang from the pairing of Coltrane and Dolphy, and the evolving short-lived quintet. Evenings At The Village Gate: John Coltrane With Eric... Read More
May 30th, 2023
Craft's Jazz Dispensary Announces "A Triple Groove of Top Shelf Series Reissues" (Plus a "Smokeware" Offering) from Jack DeJohnette, Idris Muhammad and Leon SpencerBy: Tracking Angle
The press release poop: Los Angeles, CA (May 30, 2023)‒Jazz Dispensary is proud to announce the next harvest of its offerings from the acclaimed Top Shelf series, with a triple groove of reissues featuring Jack DeJohnette’s Sorcery, Idris Muhammad’s Black Rhythm Revolution!, and Leon Spencer’s Where I’m Coming From. These reissues mark the first wide vinyl release of all three albums in over 40 years. As with every title in the Top Shelf series, which reissues the... Read More
May 19th, 2023
Rhino Launches "Rhino High Fidelity"—a New AAA Limited Edition "Premium Vinyl" Reissue Series! lacquers cut from master tapes by Kevin GrayBy: Tracking Angle
Rhino Records today announced a new "audiophile grade" limited to 5000 copies reissue series of rock and jazz classics mastered by Kevin Gray using the original master tapes, plated and pressed at Optimal in Germany and available only on the Rhino website. (However, as of the press release launch time, Friday May 19th at 9 A.M., neither of these records appears on the Rhino website).The first two titles are The Cars, the group's 1978 debut and... Read More
May 12th, 2023
"Joni Mitchell at Newport"—Her July, 2022 Surprise Appearance Coming July 28th, 2023 on Vinyl and CD double vinyl set, ATMOS, streaming services, etc.By: Tracking Angle
From the press release: Mitchell was joined on stage at the Newport Folk Festival by a star-studded band led by Carlile, the 9x GRAMMY®-winning singer/songwriter. Other performers included Carlile’s bandmates Phil and Tim Hanseroth, Wynonna Judd, Marcus Mumford, Celisse, Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig of Lucius, Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes, and more.Mitchell delighted the audience, blending her voice with the other singers on stage on classics like “Big Yellow Taxi,” “A... Read More
May 3rd, 2023
Craft Announces Next Group of OJC Reissues cut AAA from original master tapes by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio and pressed at RTIBy: Tracking Angle
Los Angeles, CA (May 2, 2023) – Craft Recordings announces the second batch of Original Jazz Classics seriesreissues—all of which are essential additions to any jazz fan’s collection: Mal Waldron Sextet’s Mal/2, Yusef Lateef’s Eastern Sounds, as well as a pair of landmark recordings from the Bill Evans Trio, Waltz for Debby and Sunday at the Village Vanguard. Delivering the highest-quality listening experience, each album boasts lacquers cut from the original tapes... Read More
May 1st, 2023
The Onzow Zerodust Controversy Concludes Here (Updated August 29, 2023 With New Instruction) the new instructions explain it wellBy: Michael Fremer
Back in 2021 on my "previous endeavor"'s website, I published a story with images about a stubborn residue found by WAM Engineering LLC (WallyTools) on styli cleaned using the Onzow Zerodust. The report said "An analysis of the residue shows it is not silicone but rather a polymer of some sort. Further material analysis is forthcoming and will be reported here as soon as it's available".
Read MoreApril 29th, 2023
Memory-Tech’s UHQCD: The Final Red Book CD Frontier? the true ultimate CD?By: Malachi Lui
At long last, I’ve reached the last stage of my exploration into specialized Japanese CD pressings. After testing Sony’s Blu-spec CD2 and JVC Kenwood’s Super High Material (SHM) CDs, we’ll now dive into the Ultimate Hi-Quality CD, or UHQCD.
Read MoreApril 17th, 2023
SHM-CD: An Improvement? Diving into JVC Kenwood's Super High Material CDsBy: Malachi Lui
My dive into specially-manufactured Japanese CDs didn’t start so well, with the Sony Blu-spec CD2 format turning great recordings into fatiguingly bright, glorified white noise. But I’d already committed to trying those other Japanese CD formats too, so while still somewhat skeptical I hoped that these other CDs wouldn’t be a complete waste. Today’s feature centers around the SHM-CD, frequently used by the Japanese branches of Universal and Warner Music.
Read MoreApril 12th, 2023
Rhino Announces 2023 Exclusive 2023 Record Store Day Releases including 5 LP expanded "Nuggets" box setBy: Michael Fremer
Among the Rhino RSD releases is a 5 LP expanded "Nuggets" box set, originally curated by Lenny Kaye as a double LP set. I produced and recorded the original radio spot for Elektra Records way back then, that I sent to Lenny when the '90's expanded "Nuggets" CD set was released. I also included some of my parodies and the famous "Troggs tape", which has, since the internet, become readily available.
Read MoreApril 4th, 2023
Review Explosion: Lana Del Rey, Lil Yachty, Slowthai, Gorillaz, & Black Country, New Road Tracking Angle's roundup of recent releasesBy: Malachi Lui
Lana Del Rey delivers her best album yet; Black Country, New Road turn obnoxiously theatrical; Gorillaz' new one bores; Lil Yachty and Slowthai turn to rock
Read More
It was a long time coming, yet shocking nonetheless. Today, it was announced that Japanese innovator Ryuichi Sakamoto passed away on March 28th at age 71. The cause was rectal cancer.
Read MoreMarch 21st, 2023
Intervention Records Announces "Frampton@50" "Artist Approved" Deluxe Box Set 3 peak "pre-super stardom" Frampton albumsBy: Michael Fremer
After Peter Frampton exited Humble Pie, but before the double live LP "Peter Frampton Comes Alive!" delivered to him super nova pop stardom (an unexpected career explosion that almost destroyed him) he released a series of superbly crafted A&M albums that caught the ears and eyes of rock cognoscenti worldwide, but didn't exactly light a fire on the Billboard Top 100. In the U.K. Humble Pie was signed to Andrew Loog Oldham's Immediate Records.... Read More
March 21st, 2023
There's a Story Behind the "Onslaught" of Neil Young Official Bootleg Releases but he's not yet ready to tell it....By: Michael Fremer
Hopefully, one day soon Neil will reveal the reason he's so rapidly releasing so many Bootleg series titles, but for now he's leaving fans guessing. According to the Warner Music publicist there will be "many more" titles this year. These releases are not randomly chosen. Behind each is a unique story. The latest two, out April 14th are The Ducks High Flyin' and Neil Young and the Santa Monica Flyers Somewhere Under the Rainbow.High... Read More
March 12th, 2023
Deutsche Grammophon Announces "The Original Source" AAA Reissue Series 14 titles to be issued in 2023 cut directly from 4-track mastersBy: Michael Fremer
In 1970 DGG developed quadraphonic 4 channel tape recording, featuring left, right and rear channel "surround" channels. The tapes were edited using traditional splicing techniques and then down mixed to 2 channels for standard record production, since QS and SQ quad LP technology hadn't been fully developed and when it was DGG chose to not issue LPs in either of those competing formats.For these new reissues, DGG decided to cut directly from the 4... Read More
March 3rd, 2023
Tune in Saturday, March 4th 3PM (EST) For "Reviewing Reviews" with Michael Fremer and Ken Kessler, hosted by "Michael45rpm"By: Tracking Angle
Michael Ludwigs who hosts the popular "michael45" YouTube channel will have as his guests tomorrow, Saturday March 4th, in a live YouTube stream TrackingAngle.com editor Michael Fremer and esteemed veteran audio and music reviewer Ken Kessler. The discussion will revolve around music and audio reviewing, but mostly music. What is a music reviewer's job? What are his or her responsibilities to the reader/viewer? To the record label? To the artist? What... Read More