Being inside a hotel for three days is not exactly the Sun and Fun in Winter that most make it out to be. No matter. This year I experienced an embarrassment of riches in the form of many impressive high-end systems - and managed to leave the hotel for some Tampa exploration.I started the days with trips to local coffee shops to quell my jonesing for top-flight espresso. I had some serious lattes and a nice cafe Cubano near the hotel. Saturday morning was all about... Read More

I tip my hat to reviewers that do complete audio show coverage. The time/effort it takes to cover an entire show is enormous. Frankly, I am not that guy. Hey, you have to know your limitations. What I do want to share with you are some notable rooms that captured my attention and beckoned me to listen to the music rather than the equipment. Here are those rooms in no particular order.

A videographer visited recently to produce this 4K room tour showing my current audio system, including some new products under review, and some records and accessories.There's a similar room tour video shot years ago that's gotten 848,000 views. That sounds encouraging and most comments are positive but I think some people viewed it for the same reason they watch plane crash videos. Some of the comments express a variety of emotions including outrage at the... Read More

This year's RSD offerings are many, varied and of great interest whatever your musical tastes. The lead image shows the Craft offerings that includes the first American mono reissue of "Chet" by Chet Baker, Jonathan Richman's country record "Jonathan Goes Country" from 1990, Travis's "The Invisible Band Live", and others. Here are some great ones. At the bottom is a link to the Record Store Day listing of all titles. From... Read More

Last November's Capital Audio Fest coverage appears here more than two months late. Very sorry about that. Fortunately, this kind of coverage doesn't date—at least not in two months—so please enjoy. Part 2 will soon post. The show was well supported by manufacturers, retailers and the usual dreamers and hobbyists as well as by a large group of used record dealers. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. What started out as a small, kind of intimate annual... Read More

Beck, Crosby, Verlaine and today Burt Bacharach. He was 94. No one reading this needs a list of his memorable, hummable tunes sung by The Shirelles, Dusty Springfield, Dionne Warwick, The Beatles, Burt and Elvis Costello. Burt and Hal David channeled through their songs a woman's world as few if any male songwriters managed.This is a sad but appropriate time to re-publish this interview that first appeared in The Absolute Sound that I conducted by phone with Burt... Read More

Forget the bloated “prequel” film trilogy by Peter Jackson. If you want to experience the real magic of J.R.R. Tolkien’s first novel, seek out a copy of this beautiful recording by the quirky Scottish actor, Nicol Williamson.Whenever I pop into a record store, I always make a point of checking out the Spoken Word section. There are many unusual treasures to be found here, usually at rock bottom prices. And if you’re lucky, you might score a copy of this 4-LP set... Read More

Oh, Yoko! A more polarizing figure in music history is hard to find, but soldiering on in the face of criticism is part of what Yoko Ono has always done and continues to do - without apology or excuse - even as she enters her 90th year. Not only has Yoko persevered after witnessing the death of her husband at the hands of a madman over 40 years ago, but since that fateful day she has lived a second life and continued to create meaningful art while cultivating a... Read More

(Los Angeles – February 3, 2023)— The Marley Family Tuff Gong, and UMe commemorate Bob Marley’s 78th birthday....with a series of events, including a dozen limited-edition Bob Marley vinyl LPs each numbered and press exclusively at the legendary Tuff Gong International headquarters in Kingston, Jamaica featuring nine original studio an two original live albums plus Legend the world's best-selling reggae album.Interesting fact #1: The limited-edition albums were... Read More

Veteran journalist Allan Kozinn and documentarian Adrian Sinclair set out to climb "Mount McCartney" over three massive volumes that place the ex-Beatles solo career under a new microscope.

This year's 12 Verve/Impulse! titles were announced today, all cut by Ryan Smith using the original master tapes. First to be released will be The Oscar Peterson Trio's Night Train.

After finding a white-label seven-inch promo copy of the Stones' most controversial song, the author finds the alternate mono version of "Brown Sugar" to be both piercing and majestic. After considerable thought and listening came the discovery that the Stones' best work is also their most provocative and outrageous.

In Starting a Jamaican Music Collection—Part 1:Ska, we highlighted ska, the first of the big three genres (the others are rock steady and reggae) that made Jamaica famous worldwide. Indeed, this Third World country has carved out a place in 20th century music history that far belies its small size and population. And again, IMO Bob Marley is THE musical artist of the 20th century.Ska, which dominated from around 1960 to 1966, was essentially upbeat and boisterous... Read More

I'm about to submit to TAS a full review of the new Kuzma Safir 9 tonearm. I thought it useful to post on YouTube an arm overview along with a visual explanation the workings of the unique 4 Point bearing system. It's all in this short video. Read More