Mark Smotroff

Album ReviewsShort Cuts
Short Cuts, Vol. 26: Craft Recordings’ Most Excellent Bluesville Series Continues With a Pair of 180g LP Reissues From Two Different But Highly Influential Blues Artists, Buddy Guy and Scrapper Blackwell
Mark Smotroff  |  May 16, 2025  |  First Published: May 16, 2025  |  4 comments

The two latest releases in Craft Recordings’ ongoing, and quite superb, Bluesville reissue series sing the joys electric and acoustic blues from two generations of legendary blues artists. The 180g 1LP Bluesville editions of Buddy Guy’s 1968 live Vanguard debut This Is Buddy Guy! and Scrapper Blackwell’s 1962 Prestige Bluesville classic Mr. Scrapper’s Blues are both being released concurrently today, May 16, 2025, so read Mark Smotroff’s review to see if either/both of these blues albums should be instant purchases for your collection and listening pleasure. . .

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AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
Bill Evans Trio’s Masterful Final Studio Recording, 1961’s Explorations, Receives a Most Excellent AAA 180g 1LP Small Batch Treatment
Mark Smotroff  |  May 09, 2025  |  2 comments

Explorations, the 1961 second and final studio release by the classic first Bill Evans Trio featuring piano maestro Bill Evans, bassist Scott LaFaro, and drummer Paul Motian, is remarkable on many levels. Craft Recordings’ recent, late-2024-released Small Batch AAA 180g 1LP edition of this influential, highly sought after jazz classic is sure to be appreciated by jazz aficionados and audiophiles alike who have been searching for as definitive a pressing as possible. Read Mark Smotroff’s review to see why this Small Batch Explorations LP is well worth your time and money. . .

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Album ReviewsShort Cuts
Short Cuts, Vol. 25: Rhino High Fidelity Series Strikes Again With a Pair of 180g 1LP Winners From Alice Cooper & Black Sabbath
Mark Smotroff  |  May 02, 2025  |  First Published: May 02, 2025  |  3 comments
The prospect of reviewing two new Rhino High Fidelity reissues featuring seminal recordings by hard-rockin’ proto-heavy metal pioneers Black Sabbath and Alice Cooper is both exciting and daunting. Read Mark Smotroff’s combo review of the new 180g 1LP versions of Cooper’s 1971 classic Love It to Death and Sabbath’s pivotal 1970 release Paranoid to see if they both make the (up)grade. . .

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Album Reviews
Elton John & Brandi Carlile Collaborative Who Believes in Angels? LP Is a Somewhat Surprising SQ Winner on Tri-Color Vinyl
Mark Smotroff  |  Apr 25, 2025  |  5 comments

By now you’ve probably heard the news that Elton John has paired up with Americana crossover phenomenon Brandi Carlile on their fine new Top 10 LP Who Believes in Angels?, which was released by Rocket/EMI on April 4, 2025. Given all the advance hype, we suspect some of you fence-sitters are probably wondering how the album actually sounds on vinyl, so read Mark Smotroff’s review to see how it holds up to repeated spins. . .

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Album Reviews
Original Soundtracks 1 by Passengers (a.k.a. Brian Eno and U2) Is a Must-Own 180g 2LP Recycled Black Vinyl 30th Anniversary Record Store Day Release
Mark Smotroff  |  Apr 18, 2025  |  0 comments

One of the more under-the-radar releases that we didn’t see or hear many people talking about pre-Record Store Day 2025 is the 30th anniversary 180g 2LP vinyl reissue of Passengers’ Original Soundtracks 1, a 1995 collaboration between U2 and their then-producer Brian Eno — but it absolutely should warrant your immediate attention, front and center. Read Mark Smotroff’s review to see why you need to track down this RSD gem, pronto. . .

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Short Cuts
Short Cuts, Vol. 24: Record Store Day Preview & Review of Three Resonance Records 180g Multi-LP Live Albums From Charles Mingus, Kenny Dorham, and Freddie Hubbard
Mark Smotroff  |  Apr 08, 2025  |  First Published: Apr 08, 2025  |  0 comments

Before we turn our posting attention to covering AXPONA the rest of this week, we wanted to do a short preview/review ahead of Record Store Day, which is taking place this Saturday, April 12, 2025. Read Mark Smotroff’s review of three key RSD multi-disc LP sets from Resonance Records featuring legendary jazz musicians Charles Mingus, Kenny Dorham, and Freddie Hubbard. . .

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Album Reviews
Wings’ Smash-Hit 1975 Chart-Topper Venus and Mars Soars Anew With New Half-Speed-Mastered 180g 50th Anniversary Edition LP
Mark Smotroff  |  Apr 04, 2025  |  4 comments

Worth the wait! We’re happy to report that Venus and Mars — Paul McCartney and Wings’ May 1975 arena-rocking, No. 1-charting, platinum-selling smash-hit album — has just received the official Abbey Road Studios half-speed-mastered deluxe treatment in celebration of its 50th Anniversary this year, having been officially released as a 180g single LP by MPL/Capitol/UMe on March 21, 2025. Read Mark Smotroff’s review to see why you need to get your copy of Venus and Mars ASAP. . .

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Album Reviews
Analogue Productions’ 180g 45rpm 4LP Vinyl Reissue of Buena Vista Social Club: Where Outstanding Performances Meet Audiophile Excellence
Mark Smotroff  |  Mar 27, 2025  |  6 comments

In September 1997, an album of inspired Cuban music, Buena Vista Social Club, was released to near universal acclaim, inspiring music fans and musicians around the world. Produced by legendary guitarist and world-music champion Ry Cooder, Buena Vista Social Club was a smash hit in the CD era, but Analogue Productions’ new, super-deluxe 180g 45rpm 4LP vinyl reissue of Buena Vista Social Club may very well be the best-sounding version of it to date. Read Mark Smotroff’s review to see why he (and we!) feel the new 4LP edition of Buena Vista Social Club is a clear winner. . .

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Album ReviewsShort Cuts
Short Cuts, Vol. 23, Garage-a-Rama Edition: Enjoying the Endless Pop Possibilities With New LPs From The Remains, Ron Dante, Michigander & Guided By Voices
Mark Smotroff  |  Mar 21, 2025  |  First Published: Mar 21, 2025  |  3 comments

In our latest Short Cuts LP review roundup, Mark Smotroff catches up on some fun rockin’ albums from artists past and present, including Boston’s The Remains; Staten Island, New York’s Ron Dante (i.e., the voice of The Archies!); Kalamazoo, Michigan’s Michigander; and Dayton, Ohio’s Guided By Voices. . .

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AAA VinylAlbum ReviewsShort Cuts
Short Cuts, Vol. 22, Beaucoup Blues Edition: Four Great 180g 1LP AAA Blues Reissues From John Lee Hooker, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Mississippi John Hurt & Lonnie Johnson With Elmer Snowden
Mark Smotroff  |  Mar 14, 2025  |  First Published: Mar 14, 2025  |  3 comments

Original blues vinyl pressings are cousins to jazz and soul LPs in terms of scarcity and availability in super-clean condition, just a few of the reasons why they are often super-expensive propositions in the collector’s marketplace. That all makes these four truly outstanding Acoustic Sounds-pedigreed reissues from Verve/UMe and Craft Recordings’ Bluesville series all the more important — in effect, bringing a quartet of classic LP rarities back into more widespread availability in a high-quality manner. Read Mark Smotroff’s Short Cuts combo review to see which of these four 180g 1LP AAA releases from John Lee Hooker, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Mississippi John Hurt, and Lonnie Johnson With Elmer Snowden belong in your collection. . .

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