December 31st, 2023
The Donnas Offered The Best of Both Worlds with “Get Skintight.” Real Gone Music continues to reissue the female rockers’ early catalogBy: Dylan Peggin
The turn of the millennium was a promising time for The Donnas. Churning out an album a year, consecutive tours and placements in film soundtracks established a respectable platform for the Palo Alto female rockers fresh out of high school. The steady productivity, both on and off the road, allowed the girls to evolve. The female Ramones stylings of their self-titled debut and the sleazier glam rock sound of American Teenage Rock ‘n’ Roll Machine are almost total... Read More
December 29th, 2023
A World of Piano!........Phineas Newborn Jr. Craft Recordings reissues piano trio classic, cut from master tape by Bernie GrundmanBy: Joseph W. Washek
Phineas Newborn Jr. was one of the greatest jazz pianists, possessing an astonishing technical ability, a deep bluesy swing, and a complete mastery of jazz harmony. Pianist George Wein wrote, “the only pianist who has as great or greater command of the piano is Art Tatum.” Gene Harris, pianist of the Three Sounds, told Downbeat that Newborn was “…the greatest pianist playing today. In every respect, he is tremendous.” Teddy Wilson and Ray Bryant said his technique was... Read More
December 28th, 2023
A Knockout LP From Mali Fatoumata Diawara's "London KO" released on vinylBy: Mark Dawes
Wassoulou music is generally performed by women and is a form originating in the cultural area of Wassoulou (incorporating areas of southern Mali, eastern Guinea and northern Côte d’Ivoire). While their names may not be so familiar in Europe and North America, performers such as Oumou Sangaré, Nahawa Doumbia and Fatoumata Diawara are superstars in west Africa. Mali is an especially rich source of incredible musical forms and even more incredible instrumental... Read More
December 27th, 2023
Tommy Court's Happy Dragon Band Finds New Audience Through ORG Music The Rare Private Press Album Was Remastered and Reissued For Record Store DayBy: Evan Toth
Do you find the idea of an unknown, songwriting multi-instrumentalist who was at one time a compelling artist yet who never truly found their lane appealing? If you answered in the affirmative, then it won’t require much arm twisting to have you explore ORG Music’s recent reissue of Tommy Court’s self-titled - one and only album - The Happy Dragon Band. The rare 1978 private pressing (only 200 albums were originally issued) has been reissued on vinyl for Record Store... Read More
December 22nd, 2023
Bill Evans' Sunday at the Village Vanguard Gets a New Vinyl Shine Another great-sounding (but not the best-sounding) Evans LP from CraftBy: Fred Kaplan
This past summer, I raved in this space about Craft Recordings’ vinyl reissue of the Bill Evans trio’s 1961 classic Waltz for Debby, hailing it as the best-sounding of all the album’s many pressings. Now Craft has released an LP of the companion recording, Sunday at the Village Vanguard, as, once again, part of the label's Original Jazz Classics series. It too is a great album, and the Craft reissue is very much worth getting; but this time around, comparisons... Read More
December 21st, 2023
Finally, the Full "Full House"—Wes M. With Miles D.'s Rhythm Section + J. Griffin—Released on 3 LPs Riverside original and OJC reissues left out much of the performanceBy: Michael Fremer
The Miles Davis Sextet was in San Francisco and had off the night of June 25th, 1962. Wes Montgomery was in town and with the rhythm section of Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers and Jimmy Cobb, plus tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin, played to a full house at Tsubo in Berkeley, California.The great recording engineer Wally Heider set up his gear in a storeroom behind the club, which, thanks to newspaper articles and word-of-mouth, overflowed with fans anxious to witness the... Read More
December 19th, 2023
"Jacques Tati Swing!" Compilation Marks 70 Years Since Monsieur Hulot's Cinema Debut A much-needed double vinyl collection of music from Tati's iconic filmsBy: Jonti Davies
The first time I saw a Jacques Tati film, an arthouse cinema showing of 1949's Jour de fête back in the early 2000s, I had the gut feeling that something was wrong. This was the 1995 restoration with its slightly washed-out colors, but that wasn’t it. No, it was how the film sounded...
Read MoreDecember 18th, 2023
Still Time to Order and Enjoy Nick Lowe's Timeless Christmas Record "A seasonal selection for all the family"By: Michael Fremer
First released in 2013 on CD and limited edition 45rpm "bundle" (with multiple festive goodies), Quality Street has been reissued in 2023 on festive red vinyl and includes a bonus 45rpm single ("Let It Snow"/"Winter Wonderland") with Lowe backed by Los Straightjackets. This one's limited too, to 1000 copies, 300 copies of which include a Nick Lowe 526 piece jigsaw puzzle box set. Oops! the limited edition red vinyl with goodies is... Read More
December 16th, 2023
"A Dave Brubeck Christmas" Reissued at 45 RPM Brubeck's Christmas Album Combats Crass Holiday CommercializationBy: Evan Toth
It’s that time of the year again. The holidays take so long to arrive and then disappear far too quickly. Most music lovers have a complicated relationship with the sounds of the season. While some folks can’t wait for their local radio stations to switch over to an all holiday music format, others - myself included - find ourselves thoroughly exhausted by those relentless playlists come December 26th. It’s not that there’s a problem with holiday music because there... Read More
December 16th, 2023
“The Solo Works of Syd Barrett” Brings Together the Crazy Diamond’s Back Catalog Pink Floyd’s ex-frontman is the focus of Third Man’s latest vault packageBy: Dylan Peggin
Within the world of true artists, Syd Barrett was a national treasure. His inventive guitar work and whimsical wordplay elevated Pink Floyd’s direction away from their embryonic Stones-esque R&B roots. The sole Floyd album under Barrett’s leadership, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, resides in good company with Sgt. Pepper and others for being one of the defining albums of the Summer of Love. Non-album singles like “Arnold Layne” and “See Emily Play” demonstrated... Read More
December 13th, 2023
A New Young Lion of Jazz Caelan Cardello teams up with Rufus Reid for his maiden albumBy: Jacob Heilbrunn
“Say hello to Caelan Cardello,” Rufus Reid, whose voice sounds about as deep as his upright bass, announces midway through the first side of this album. Hello, Caelan! And congratulations!This wonderful LP, the first that Cardello has recorded, arrived a few months ago and has been in regular rotation, as the saying goes, on my TechDas Air Force Zero. Hand-delivered to me in Washington, DC by Michael Fremer--the proprietor of this website, veteran audio reviewer and... Read More
December 12th, 2023
John Prine's Remarkable 1971 Debut Album Has Never Sounded This Good even the dated tunes retain their charmsBy: Michael Fremer
We are all products of the times in which we live, to one degree or another, though some people transcend time. Listening to John Prine's 1971 debut album makes clear that he was at that time a product of it. If you want to understand the "zeitgeist of that time using music as your guide, this album is a good a place to start. Prine opens with an obvious song about weed but younger listeners might not get the Hoffman reference. "Spanish Pipedream"... Read More
December 12th, 2023
Mingus's "Blues & Roots" Bristles With Restless Energy the arrangements supercharge a basic formBy: Michael Fremer
Producer Nesuhi Ertegun suggested to Charles Mingus that he record a blues album. Obviously not a "my woman done up and left me" kind of "woe is me" blues album, but rather one that plied the dark, turbulent but often joyful waters in which Mingus navigated.In one interview with Ertegun Mingus said, “What I’m trying to play is very difficult, because I’m trying to play the truth of what I am. The reason why it’s difficult — it’s not difficult to... Read More
December 8th, 2023
Saxophonist Jerome Sabbagh's Latest AAA Release Truly is "Vintage" musical "comfort food" to groove the heart and soulBy: Michael Fremer
Backed by the all-star rhythm section of drummer Johnathan Blake, bassist Joe Martin and veteran pianist Kenny Barron, saxophonist Jerome Sabbagh steps up to the microphone and puts to analog tape his finest, most fully realized recorded musical performances. The quartet meshes as if it's been touring all year.The album title and title track as well as the cover and rear photos telegraph that what you'll be hearing is strictly "old school" straight... Read More
December 2nd, 2023
Christina Perri Wore Her Heart on Her Sleeve with “Lovestrong” The Philly singer-songwriter’s debut album receives its first vinyl pressingBy: Dylan Peggin
It's few and far between for a song by an unknown artist with no label distribution to premiere on television. When “Jar of Hearts” premiered on "So You Think You Can Dance" in June 2010, the stars aligned for Christina Perri. The Philadelphia-based singer-songwriter penned the song amidst a breakup with a former flame, longing to piece together what was no longer salvageable. Its hook-heavy arrangement and universal lyrical sentiment struck a chord in... Read More
November 30th, 2023
Tom Waits’ 'Bone Machine' Deserves Better UMe vinyl reissue of 1992 album ruins great remasterBy: Malachi Lui
And here we have it: the most pathetic vinyl reissue of the year. It’s not the worst, but it’s the most pathetic because of how great it almost was. Like the recent Swordfishtrombones reissue, this edition of Tom Waits’ excellent 1992 album Bone Machine subjects an excellent remaster to a painfully mediocre lacquer cut. It really makes you wonder if anyone’s actually listening to these test pressings, or considering the vinyl market’s long-term viability.Earlier this... Read More