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AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
Saft, Swallow, Previte and.... Iggy Pop?
Michael Fremer  |  Nov 04, 2017  |  5 comments
Pianist Jamie Saft's trio recorded a well-received, sonically superb 2014 album called New Standard. If you need a group or individual backgrounder, please hit that hyperlink.

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AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
Blood, Sweat & Tears "Bloodlines" Box Set From Analogue Productions
Michael Fremer  |  Nov 22, 2017  |  0 comments
BS&T fans fall into 4 camps: the 1st which prefers the Al Kooper led original group and the album Child is Father to the Man, the 2nd that prefers only the second eponymously titled album, which was the group's most popular, the 3rd camp that loves the first two albums and the 4th camp that loves all of the group's albums. This box is definitely for them.

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AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
Which "Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs"?
Michael Fremer  |  Nov 26, 2017  |  8 comments
After the messy "supergroup" hype surrounding Blind Faith—more a one-off money maker than a group formed to last—Eric Clapton decided to downplay his fame and so was born in 1970 Derek and the Dominoes and the Layla... double LP that initially flopped. Many people today forget that, but flop it did. It didn't help that it was a costly double LP by an "unknown" group.

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AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
"Willie Watson Folk Singer Vol.2" Goes Long on Authenticity
Michael Fremer  |  Jan 01, 2018  |  4 comments
During the great folk music revival of the 1960s how many buyers of Peter, Paul & Mary's stunning debut album knew who was the Reverend Gary Davis, writer of the apocalyptic side 2 opener "If I Had My Way"? Probably very few. In those days you'd have to visit the local library to find out who he was, assuming you paid attention to label credits in the first place.

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AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
BBC Late Junction Sessions: "Unpopular Music"
Michael Fremer  |  Jan 03, 2018  |  0 comments
Step away from your predictable audiophile fare and consider this double 45rpm LP set from the U.K.'s Gearbox Records of artists you've mostly never heard of playing music you've probably never heard either.

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AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
Jefferson Airplane's "Volunteers" At 45rpm From Mobile Fidelity Still Revolting!
Michael Fremer  |  Feb 06, 2018  |  20 comments
If you are too young to remember but want to experience the turmoil and dread that marked the end of the tumultuous 1960's and you want to view it through west coast music that veers from bucolic to anarchistic, from sublime to self-indulgent with a force and power rarely heard in today's noodling rock, here it is.

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AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
The Cranberries' "everybody else is doing it, so why can't we?" First Time on Vinyl in 24 Years
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 11, 2018  |  9 comments
What a voice, what a loss. Dolores O'Riordan, lead singer of the Irish group The Cranberries died suddenly in London January 15th, 2018 at age 46. She was in town for a recording session.

O'Riordan wrote lyrics and on some of the group's songs, the music as well, including three on this, the group's 1993 debut album. She also wrote music and lyrics on probably the group's best known song "Zombie"—her reaction to terrorist bombings by the Irish Republican Army—which is not on this album.

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AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
John Sebastian's First Solo Album Improves With Age (Amended to clarify was cut from tape and is AAA)
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 18, 2018  |  7 comments
Simon split from Garfunkel, Buffalo Springfield broke up. So did The Youngbloods, The Lovin' Spoonful and of course The Beatles. Yes, many '60s groups remained together, like The Rolling Stones and The Grateful Dead, but as the tumultuous '60s came to a close, others fragmented with leaders going solo.

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AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
Katie Mahan Plays Gershwin (Direct-to-Disc)
Michael Fremer  |  Jun 05, 2018  |  2 comments
It takes nerves of steel and a healthy serving of humility to agree to record direct-to-disc a solo piano recital but that's what Katie Mahan signed on for here. The results are both musically and sonically rewarding. Mahan gave her first piano recital at age 6, having decided at age 4 that she wanted to be a concert pianist after attending a performance of Gershwin's "American in Paris". From her online bio:

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AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
"Buddy Holly" Sounding Better Than Ever on This Analogue Productions 200g Reissue
Michael Fremer  |  Jun 05, 2018  |  3 comments
Buddy Holly's last album before "the day the music died" released in 1958 belongs in every rock-based record collection. It's not even a close call. And this reissue sourced from the original analog tapes still in superb condition and cut by Kevin Gray is by far the best sounding edition ever.

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AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
Buffalo Springfield "What's That Sound?" Box Set —A Reissue Done 100% Right!
Michael Fremer  |  Jul 18, 2018  |  18 comments
The Buffalo Springfield box set reissue fans have long awaited is finally here and it was well worth waiting for. Neil Young points out in the enclosed heavy paper full color "one sheet" that all five records were cut directly from the original master tapes, not tape copies. Each record has a Neil-created "SPARS code"

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AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
Gillian Welch's 2003 "Soul Journey" on AAA Vinyl For the First Time
Michael Fremer  |  Sep 09, 2018  |  11 comments
Gillian Welch's fourth album originally released in 2003 on CD-only finally gets an AAA release, cut by Stephen Marcussen on the Ortofon VMS-80 cutting system Welch and partner Dave Rawlings bought and restored. Now that's progress!

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AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
Elgar Cello Concerto in E Minor, Du Pré, Barbirolli, LSO Reissued By Electric Recording Company
Michael Fremer  |  Sep 10, 2018  |  16 comments
It's difficult to believe that British born cellist Jacqueline Du Pré was but 20 years old on August 19th, 1965 when she delivered this recorded performance in famed Kingsway Hall with Sir John Barbirolli conducting the London Symphony Orchestra.

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AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
Intervention's New Gene Clark "White Light" Reissue Is Like "No Other"
Michael Fremer  |  Oct 20, 2018  |  11 comments
If you do a "Gene Clark" search on this website you'll find plenty to read and to listen to—including an AnalogPlanet Radio show dedicated to the late musician and former member of The Byrds. Please also read here the many record, book and documentary reviews covering Gene Clark's life and recorded output.

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AAA Vinyl
Jeff Beck’s “Wired” from Analogue Productions is a Mixed Bag
Malachi Lui  |  Nov 23, 2018  |  5 comments
By the time Jeff Beck recorded 1976’s platinum-selling Wired, the former Yardbirds guitarist had moved on from the blues rock of the 60s and chased a new musical obsession: fusion. With George Martin at the production desk, and prominently accompanied by Jan Hammer on synthesizer, Narada Michael Walden on drums, Wilbur Bascomb on bass, and Max Middleton on Clavinet, Beck recorded an entirely instrumental album of fusion material.

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