October 9th, 2022
Mahler–Complete Symphonies by Leonard Bernstein DG resurrects the conductor that resurrected Mahler By: Michael JohnsonThe first time I ever saw a Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) symphony on my music stand, I was an 18-year-old student at the Eastern Music Festival in Greensboro, North Carolina. It was the Symphony No. 1 in D Major (sometimes subtitled “Titan”) and I was tasked with playing the delicate low English horn notes in the opening measures. From that point on Gustav Mahler’s orchestral works would hold a special place in my musical growth, heralding the finale concerts of various... Read More
Comments: 3October 9th, 2022
Anthony Wilson's "The Plan of Paris" Mixes Jazz, Folk, Blues and Country With Singer/Songwriter Sensitivity a dark album made for these times By: Michael FremerWhen Anthony Wilson is not on the road playing jazz guitar, he sometimes steps into a recording booth and exits Clark Kent-like as a sensitive ‘70s era singer/songwriter.For those more accustomed to Wilson backing Diana Krall or leading jazz ensembles on a series of Groove Note releases or providing orchestrations and/or playing on dozens of studio dates (for instance on Paul McCartney’s “Kisses on the Bottom”), his sumptuously packaged, sensitively drawn 2019 Songs... Read More
Comments: 0October 3rd, 2022
Bladee’s ‘Spiderr’ Is A Dizzying Spectacle Of Glitchy Excess This era's most enigmatic cult icon delivers his most confusing project yet By: Malachi LuiThe mystery of Bladee increases yet again. Never slowing down for anyone, the 28-year-old Swedish artist and Drain Gang leader returns with Spiderr, his second album this year after March’s Ecco2k collaboration, Crest. Bladee (Benjamin Reichwald) is this era’s most prolific and enigmatic cult icon, constantly evolving his aesthetic as legions of terminally online teenagers rush to copy his every move (and horrifically fail). Since his 2018 mixtape Icedancer, Bladee’s... Read More
Comments: 0October 1st, 2022
The Latest (and Last) "Kind of Blue" The best-ever pressing of the best jazz album By: Fred Kaplan(Revised Sept 17, 2022)Yes, yes, I know what you’re thinking: “What’s this now, another audiophile reissue of Kind of fu*king Blue?!” But here’s the thing: not only is this new one—pressed by Acoustic Sounds at 45rpm across two slabs of 200-gram UHQR Clarity vinyl—the best of the bunch; there almost certainly won’t be a better one for the foreseeable future.Not much need be said at this point about the 1959 Miles Davis classic: the best-selling jazz album of all time;... Read More
Comments: 1October 1st, 2022
Every Audiophile Needs This Lou Reed Live Album! Lou Reed talks, and talks, and talks... in glorious binaural sound! By: Malachi LuiAs I paid $25 for an original US copy of Lou Reed’s 1978 live album Take No Prisoners, my local record shop owner said, “Enjoy it, man, I’ve never seen this record before. Plus it’s a promo.” Indeed it is: not only is there a sticker from Arista denoting it a DJ copy originally loaned for promotional use only, but there’s also a bold red hype sticker reading “SPECIALLY PRICED TWO-RECORD SET—All the raw excitement of Lou Reed-Live,” with quotes from the Chicago... Read More
Comments: 1October 1st, 2022
Royal Trux, David Briggs, Burn Rock and Roll To a Crisp with Thank You The Final Album from Legendary Producer and Neil Young Cohort David Briggs is Giant and Perfect By: Joshua SmithNeil Hagerty and Jennifer Herrema, the duo that formed Royal Trux in the late '80s, don't look or sound like one of the smartest bands of all time. I saw them open for Pavement at the Roxy Theater in Atlanta in 1997. The two looked like they had escaped from the pages of an R. Crumb comic book. Singer Jennifer Herrema 's long pale arm was wrapped with black leather straps like some kind of profane arm-tefillah. Neal Hagerty had his back toward the... Read More
Comments: 0October 1st, 2022
The Lush Glory of Charles Lloyd The West Coast Coltrane's new balladeering trio By: Fred KaplanCharles Lloyd is a force of nature. At 84, he’s not only active but very nearly at the top of his game, blowing blues, ballads, and up-tempo rousers—holding whole notes and raining sheets of sound—with grace, verve, and beauty. He has also been a superb gatherer of talent over the decades. His breakthrough album as a leader, Dream Weaver, featured Keith Jarrett, Cecil McBee, and Jack DeJohnette, in 1966, before any of them were known. In the past decade, unlike some... Read More
Comments: 0Blue Train is old enough to be on Social Security, yet this reissue (with an additional album of alternative takes) seems to have created a stir probably greater than when it was first released January, 1958. Rudy Van Gelder recorded it in his Hackensack, New Jersey home studio, September, 15th 1957, 65 years ago to the day I’m writing this.Blue Train is the only album Coltrane recorded for Blue Note. He’d signed with Prestige and did this “one off” built upon a... Read More
Comments: 0October 1st, 2022
Tyshawn Sorey Goes Deep into Jazz The avant-garde experimental drummer-composer puts his stamp on standards By: Fred KaplanThe drummer Tyshawn Sorey has made his mark mainly as an experimental musician, composer, and conductor—a McArthur Genius Grant winner who spans the gamut between contemporary classical and avant-garde jazz, with stints as sideman to the likes of Marilyn Crispell, Roscoe Mitchell, and Anthony Braxton. But lately he’s taken small steps toward the mainstream, playing in Vijay Iyer’s trio and now, with Mesmerism, leading his own trio on an album of standards. Except for... Read More
Comments: 1September 29th, 2022
Coolio's Hit 'Gangsta's Paradise' From the archives: Coolio's new collection of intelligent, positive, smoothly gliding, retro soul/R&B, hip-hop is impressively varied and wide-ranging By: Tracking Angle(This review, written by Carl E. Baugher, originally appeared in Issue 5/6, Winter 1995/96.)If Coolio ain’t careful, he's gonna give gangsta rap a good name. ‘Course, he’d be the first to tell you he’s not a gangsta rapper anyway and, despite the album title, that’s a fact. This collection of intelligent, positive, smoothly gliding, retro soul/R&B, hip-hop is impressively varied and wide-ranging.It all adds up to way more than one normally gets in... Read More
Comments: 0September 24th, 2022
Classic Records Unearths Sonny Landreth's 'Outward Bound' From the Digital Glaze From the archives: when it comes to communicating the intent of music, records have it all over CDs By: Michael Fremer(This review originally appeared in Issue 5/6, Winter 1995/96.)What a shock to the audiophile system: an all-analog reissue of a CD-only release. When I first reviewed this engaging set back in 1992 I remarked that it sounded like a good recording was buried under the digital glaze, but who could be sure? Did I ever expect to see it issued on AAA vinyl? No. But here it is, courtesy of Classic Records.Sonny Landreth is a killer slide guitarist, electric guitarist,... Read More
Comments: 0September 23rd, 2022
Razor & Tie Presents A Joe Meek Compilation CD From the archives: No self-respecting audiophile geek should be without this 20-song disc By: Michael Fremer(This review originally appeared in Issue 5/6, Winter 1995/96.)Joe Meek was a lonely British eccentric producer/engineer who played with electronic gizmos in the studio to create kitsch filled teenage classics like “Telstar” by the Tornadoes, which those of you from the boomer generation remember as the song which introduced us to “the future” and to the sound of “outer space.”The stuff collected here is wonderful in its campy early 60s awfulness, but it also reveals... Read More
Comments: 0September 22nd, 2022
David Blue's "Stories" Tells Mournful Tales Not as Sad as the Singer/Songwriter's Own Gets an AAA Limited Edition Reissue By: Michael FremerThere was a time when you could buy a label's output and be confident you'd made a quality record purchase without hearing the music. Labels that managed this late '60s/early '70's feat included Elektra, Warner Brothers/Reprise, Island and David Geffen's Asylum Records. You could buy with confidence Love's debut, The Doors, Jackson Browne's Saturate Before Using, Traffic's Mr. Fantasy, Cat Stevens' Mona Bone Jakon, for... Read More
Comments: 0September 21st, 2022
The Influences Of The Grateful Dead From the archives: Even if this fascinating, eclectic set had nothing whatsoever to do with The Grateful Dead, it's worth picking up By: Michael Fremer(This review originally appeared in Issue 7, Spring 1996.)Even if this fascinating, eclectic set had nothing whatsoever to do with The Grateful Dead, in fact even if you’re not a “Deadhead” it’s worth picking up both for the mix of music and the outstanding sound from Paul Stubblebine, not to mention R. Crumb’s cover art. If you are a Grateful Dead fan, you don’t want to be without this compilation.Long time Dead writer Blair Jackson twists these seemingly disparate... Read More
Comments: 0