A trip to Nara to see an all-star Japanese jazz quartet leads to the discovery of a record shop devoted to another Fab Four...

The capital of Japan’s northernmost main island of Hokkaido, Sapporo is home to Precious Hall, the club world-renowned for its Loft-inspired sound system; a central park lined with beer gardens and the iconic Sapporo Beer factory; and for you, dear vinyl-lover, record shops overflowing with bargains.

“Of all the shows on this tour, this particular show will remain with us the longest because not only is it the last show of the tour, but it’s the last show that we’ll ever do.”David Bowie made this closing statement at London’s Hammersmith Odeon in July 3rd, 1973. After spending ten years joining various groups, having to change his name to avoid confusion with The Monkees’ Davy Jones, penning novelty records, and straying from the “one-hit-wonder” stigma of “Space... Read More

Various versions of the Linkwitz LX521 speaker have captivated my interest since I first heard it at RMAF 2012. In subsequent years, I prioritized visiting the Linkwitz room, where I would be consistently impressed by the speaker's ability to create an excellent sound stage and perform remarkably well in various rooms.Siegfried Linkwitz is renowned among loudspeaker designers for introducing several revolutionary advancements in the audio industry, the most... Read More

One of Neil Young's finest, most reflective and at times sad and occasionally depressing albums, Harvest Moon released in 1992 finds the then 47 year old looking back. On the opener "Unknown Legend" he's remembering observing a waitress in a diner who a few years later he'd marry. About Pegi Young he sang "Never saw a woman look finer/I used to order just to watch her float across the floor". On "From Hank to Hendrix" he... Read More

I spent all of day one at the sports arena where most of the exhibitors were "mainstream" audio companies from around the world. There were fewer "big" exhibits this year—no giant speakers from Gryphon, Wilson, Magico and others. The only really big one was Borresen's flagship M6 and it delivered on its promise. Exhibits of mostly "down to earth" products (still priced in the stratosphere) was a welcome trend. In terms of product... Read More

Only covering the sound here and the news is not good for a few reasons. First, the sound is bass-heavy, generally "thick" and unpleasant and the perspective is flat. If you bought the UHQR or have an original pressing and don't want to spend $150, you are all set. The 192/24 Qobuz stream sourced from Bernie Grundman's digital file produced using the same tape he used to cut UHQR lacquers sounds far superior in every way to this vinyl edition. The... Read More

A publicist recently pitched me this just released book, describing it as a celebration of the 75th anniversary of the first commercial LP and claiming it to be an "authoritative, highly illustrated, and multi-faceted look at the history and culture of vinyl record collecting and turntables." Five authors are listed: Gillian Garr, Martin Popoff, Matt Aniss, Richie Unterberger and Ken Micallef. I'd heard of two: Richie Unterberger and Ken Micallef.... Read More

Recorded in 1961 and released in 1962, Mosaic comes from an immensely prolific period of Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers. Although the group’s lineup changed frequently, from mid-1961 through early 1964 it was unusually stable. The band was also one of Blakey’s very best: Wayne Shorter on tenor, Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Curtis Fuller on trombone, Cedar Walton on piano, and Jymie Merritt on bass. The only change was when Reggie Workman replaced Merritt in 1962,... Read More

It’s official: Rufus Reid Presents Caelan Cardello is out today via the newly established Liam Records! Executive produced by Tracking Angle editor Michael Fremer and co-produced by Robyatt Audio's Robin Wyatt, this album captures the exciting duo of Rufus Reid and Caelan Cardello performing live at the Klavierhaus, New York City. It’s available at Acoustic Sounds, Music Direct, Elusive Disc, and Michael 45 (also seemingly available at iMusic and Disk Union). CDs... Read More

This is the first time in its eighty-year history that the full score of Rodger's and Hammerstein's landmark musical Oklahoma!, including every song, dance, and instrumental interlude, has been recorded absolutely note complete, including the original orchestrations. The result is revelatory.

London – November 2, 2023 – As announced last Thursday, October 26, the last Beatles song, “Now And Then” is out today worldwide. Apple Corps Ltd./Capitol/UMe are pleased to share details and updated premiere plans for the song’s evocative new music video, which Peter Jackson has directed in his first foray into music video production. The “Now And Then” music video will premiere worldwide tomorrow (Friday, November 3) at 1pm GMT / 9am EDT / 6am PDT on The Beatles’... Read More

Romanel, Switzerland – Thursday November 2nd 2023. Following more than four years of R&D efforts, Nagra’s new ambitious phono stage is finally in production and first units are shipping worldwide.The HD PHONO is the ideal companion to the Reference turntable and Reference MC cartridge and when all three are combined they form the ultimate analog source. Nagra, the reference in analog tape reproduction now offers a reference playback solution for LP lovers.It is... Read More

In 2022, one in every 25 vinyl LPs sold in the US was a Taylor Swift record. That’s 1.7 million LP sales across her catalog last year, almost 945,000 of which came from her latest album, Midnights. Swift’s vinyl success not only represents her continuing fame, but also her smart marketing tactics and ability to still sell albums. Midnights comes in four cover variants, which with the associated wall mount forms, on the back, a clock. To many artists and consumers,... Read More

When I visited Paul Gold's Salt Mastering recently, I asked him why he named his facility "Salt Mastering" and he replied that mastering should be like using salt to season food: you shouldn't taste the salt, it should be used judiciously, only to bring out the intrinsic flavors of the ingredients.Bernie Grundman's original Aja mastering certainly lived up to that mastering definition, which is why it's considered a great sounding... Read More