Can I Have My Money Back?

Malachi Lui: First and foremost, let’s note that while this is a review of Quality Record Pressings’ version of the Beatles “White Album” 2018 stereo mix, it’s really more of an excuse for me to humiliate Michael in the best ways as much as possible (laughs).

(For those who don't know, QRP pressed the 2 LP set worldwide. Optimal in Germany, pressed the 4 LP box set worldwide, containing the original 2 LP set plus the 2 LP Escher demos).

Michael Fremer: Always up for that! It’s a way of life.

ML: If you weren’t up for it, then I’d force you to be!

MF: Of course you would!

Way back in 1994 (that's 22 years ago for those of you who forget how quickly time flies by) I was a guest on Gil Gross's radio talk show on the now defunct CBS Radio Network. Gil's show was mostly about politics but he made some room for other topics and on July, 29th, 1994 he had me in the studio for an hour-long show called "CDs vs. LPs: which is better?" Can you guess where I came down here?.

Rabbi Fremer says: The Peter, Paul & Mary file comparison story has created quite an uproar. Most of you took it for what it was—an informal but reasonable comparison of two unidentified files that could have been the same or different. 79% of you thought they were different files. 21% though they were the same file posted twice.

It was twenty years ago, but not today. Close enough though. I was rummaging through some old files when I came upon a letter I'd received from Gary Shapiro, who is now President and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association, the group that among other things, runs the annual International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

A recent comment posted under the story "Anonymous Mastering Engineer's Take on The Beatles MONO Box Set" prompted me to check out a recent post by AIX's Dr. Mark Waldrep on his site real HD Audio. I've appropriated the site's logo without permission but I can't imagine he'd object to the publicity and if he does I will take it down.

An AnalogPlanet reader today wrote:

I recently decided enough was enough. Vinyl prices in Australia have skyrocketed to the point where any new digitally-sourced release will cost you at least $40. If you want a nice 2xLP release, that'll be $50+. And don't even think about a new AAA Audiophile release. That privilege will set you back a whopping $100.

For. One. Album.

The Coronavirus got singer-songwriter and Fountains of Wayne co-founder Adam Schlesinger on Wednesday. He was 52. That wasn't supposed to happen to someone so young. He had "All Kinds of Time". Though that FOW song from the album Welcome Interstate Managers is about a football quarterback standing in the pocket, it was the first song I played after learning the virus had gotten to Schlesinger. it's a stop-action suspended animation song with an oddly downcast mood that fits the news.