Wednesday night and last night (Wednesday May 21st and May 22nd), Maier Shadi's The Audio Salon, Santa Monica, hosted an event celebrating Acoustic Sounds' founder Chad Kassem, who was in town visiting record company executives, band management and others for obvious reasons.Kassem was coy about who he met and what recordings he was seeking for future Analogue Productions LPs, SACDs and R2R tapes, but he did say the trip, capped off by these two evenings,... Read More

Press conferences are generally off limits to consumers, so I thought I'd "invite" you to this one hosted for the press by Marten Audio the Swedish loudspeaker manufacturer—one of the few press conferences I managed to attend. Why? There was so much new and exciting analog gear to cover, I hardly had time for press conferences—I'm working on another all-analog gear video.At High End Munich 2025 Marten introduced two limited edition loudspeakers:... Read More

2025 was the final Munich High End show. The MOC convention center is going to be "re-purposed" or torn down so following 21 great years, the show next year will be moving to Vienna, Austria. Everything all of us did had that "this is the final time" feel about it that at times felt sad and at other times felt like relief. Instead of comfort, next year will be an adventure.Munich High End 2025 was a feast for analog lovers. New turntables,... Read More

I’ve conducted over 2,500 interviews with musicians, songwriters, poets, actors, movie directors, documentarians, authors, record producers, sound engineers, and novelists. Every year since 1975 I’ve talked to or emailed an interviewee about Bob Dylan.

As Bob’s 84th birthday looms on May 24th, I thought it was appropriate to display their reflections, observations and excerpts from emails in my archive, which houses a signed copy of Dylan’s Chronicles: Vol One.

Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige, an American professional baseball pitcher who first played in the Negro Leagues, and then in the majors, in a 1953 Collier’s magazine article quipped, "Don't look back. Something might be gaining on you." A reminder to live in the present. Oscar-winning filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker would title his 1967 Bob Dylan documentary "Don’t Look Back".

(lead photo: Bob Dylan, Robbie Robertson, Sandy Konikoff, Santa Monica Civic Center 1965—Photo by Rodney Bingenheimer)

By Harvey Kubernik © 2025

George Brown was affectionately known as George “Funky” Brown and provided drums and percussion to Kool and the Gang’s many funky forays. He co-wrote some of the band’s hits which have woven themselves into the greater musical consciousness such as “Too Hot,” Summer Madness,” “Celebration,” “Jungle Boogie,” and “Ladies Night.” Of course, his musical influence did not end with Kool and the Gang’s releases, some of his drum samples became staples on many hip-hop and pop... Read More

That's my plane and I'm flying out of Newark, not concerned about the problems. Life's too short, and flying out of Newark, it could be further shortened! Not worried. This should be a great show if AXPONA is any indication of the industry's vibrancy and I believe it was.Pre-show press releases are packed with interesting new products including a turntable from Soulution in which the platter moves and the arm is stationery. I hope the head shell... Read More

As part of the roll out process for Strata-East's new vinyl reissue series, I again visited RTI (Record Technology Incorporated) to show new vinyl fans how lacquers are plated, processed and then pressed. In this video you will see the entire chain from lacquers arriving at RTI's plating facility to the plating itself, followed by stamper forming—in this case one of Strata-East's new reissues.Under one video post last year a reader said "once the... Read More

As the late Pete Silverton tells it, he and Joe Strummer were sItting in a pub less than five miles away from where “London Calling” was written when told his pal that it was recorded within weeks of “Theme from New York, New York” being put to tape. The reaction from The Clash guitarist was somewhere near mild disbelief. That was the fall of 1979. And as it turns out, the band had recorded the song in a studio less than five miles away in the other direction. But... Read More

Press release: LP box set featuring five original studio albums from 1965 (AAA) Remastered and cut directly from the original analog mono tapes by Kevin Gray. Manufactured on 180gm vinyl and housed in reverse-board deluxe sleeves. Expansive book with liner notes from GRAMMY® award nominated James Gavin, interviews with Chet Baker, George Coleman, Kirk Lightsey, Herman Wright, Roy Brooks and previously unseen photographs. Housed inside a secure, heavy lift-off lid box... Read More

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wilson Benesch Unveils GRAVITON® Ti Tonearm at HIGH END Munich 2025. Wilson Benesch is proud to announce the launch of the GRAVITON® Ti Tonearm, the latest addition to the company’s acclaimed GMT® Analogue Collection. Evolving from the armwand variant provided with the iconic GMT® One System Turntable introduced in 2023, the GRAVITON® Ti Tonearm is a standalone tonearm system, developed for compatibility with the Dohmann Helix One Mk3... Read More

The legendary Strata-East label started by Charles Tolliver and the late Stanley Cowell recently signed a long-term licensing deal with Mack Avenue Music Group, now owned by Exceleration Music. (L-R in photo: Kevin Gray, former Mack Avenue CEO Denny Stilwell and Charles's son Ched Tolliver, who is also the company's CEO).The label asked me to help co-ordinate the all-analog vinyl reissue process utilized for the first four titles, and to offer the label... Read More

Duke Ellington and Johnny Hodges may co-headline Side by Side, their portraits aligned in parallel on the cover. But for most of that 1959 album’s runtime, the titanic pianist, composer, and bandleader and his longtime alto saxophone foil aren’t together at all.On August 14, 1958, Hodges led a band of Ellington alumni and associates — tenor saxophonist Ben Webster, pianist Billy Strayhorn, bassist Wendell Marshall, and drummer Jo Jones — through four of his own... Read More

Zev Feldman’s devotion to Bill Evans borders on evangelism — and the flock is growing. While prepping 2023’s Treasures: Solo, Trio & Orchestra Recordings, the Resonance Records co-founder dropped into Crooked Beat Records in Alexandria, Virginia, only to learn the shop had pre-ordered 30 copies — an eye-popping tally for a niche archival set. “We’ll have 300 people around the block,” owner Bill Daly reported. “Your Bill Evans records — everybody wants them.”... Read More

(April 29, 2025 - Los Angeles, CA) In celebration of Black Music Month, Rhino Reserve continues with the next installment of the acclaimed premium vinyl series with Baby Huey’s The Baby Huey Story: The Living Legend, The Meters’ Fire On The Bayou, and Otis Redding’s Otis Blue. This next set of Rhino Reserve titles are pressed on 180-gram premium-quality black vinyl locally at Fidelity Record Pressing’s brand-new plant in Oxnard, CA, and cut by the highly respected... Read More

Yes, it's an audio show, but I'd rather cover what was new there to see rather than how the gear sounded in hotel rooms. Sure, some rooms made pretty compelling music and it wasn't necessarily based on cost, but when I hear equipment at shows that I've had at home or own, it never sounds as good in a hotel room or a hotel ballroom. So I don't think it's of much value to tell readers about the "great sound" in any good sounding... Read More

“…. It’s on to Chicago and AXPONA 2025, where the show is large, the atmosphere is more businesslike, and there's always a sense of urgency. While I enjoy the big shows and the variety of products I encounter there, I'm already looking forward to SWAF 2026 and another trip to Dallas.” That was the closing paragraph from my SWAF 2025 show report as I prepared to head to Chicago and subject myself to the mentally and physically overwhelming experience known... Read More

Film music specialist LaLaLand Records continues its series of comprehensive 007 reissues with the score that set the musical template for the entire series.  I continue my deep dive into the story behind the creation of this iconic piece of 60s pop culture with a detailed assessment of this important restoration and reissue.  Barry, Bassey and Bond - nobody does it better…

No matter how long the line was you were standing in for Record Store Day, it’s unlikely there was anyone in that queue who cared about 78s. Because even if your local had put out a moldy crate or two of shellac just for kicks, the serious collectors had already been through them weeks ago. In general, RSD 2025 is no place for the hardcore.That said you might have had a few few exceptions waiting on line considering that RSD was also the release date of Josh... Read More