Can I Have My Money Back?

Noted record and memorabilia collector Jeff Gold's sumptuously produced new coffee table book "101 Essential Rock Records: The Golden Age of Vinyl From The Beatles to The Sex Pistols" hits all of the genre's correct notes. It is impressively produced eye candy that first can be consumed visually and later enjoyed for it multi-layered content.

This July will mark my 25th anniversary at Stereophile and my 300th Analog Corner column. Whew! Over the years readers (and viewers) from all over the world have come up to me and requested more "selfies" than I ever imagined anyone might want from an audio reviewer.

Today (Tuesday, Feb. 21st) is the final day for entries into the +1 "competition". So this afternoon I will have to choose one of the following unless a late entry appears:

Here's a vinyl transcription at 96/24 of "Rocks Off" from an original Artisan mastered copy of Exile on Main Street. After the band finished their overdubs in Los Angeles they ran the tape over to Artisan for vinyl mastering. This is the version to own.

ELAC's Debut speaker line designed by Andrew Jones includes the B5, a diminutive 2 way loudspeaker that sells for $229.99/pr. It is not good for the money.

OK this feature is where I vent about things non-audio. The name refers to a Gerry Rafferty tune from the album of the same name. It's a fantastic record, and on the UK Translatlantic original, it sounds so too. The American Blue Thumb is not bad.

I Am Sorry I Missed You, Don Fremer!

Allow me to clarify the greeting: With a tip of the hat to the Virgil Sollozzo character – “If you consider $5,000 speaker cables…spare wire…te salud, Don Fremer!”

First, let me say, I genuinely enjoy your reviews. You have a splendid way of characterizing the intricacies of the exceedingly complex physical forms and functions of the analog hardware you are blessed (or cursed) to review. Keep up the stellar work.