Mark Smotroff

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  |  3 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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FeaturesRecord Stores
Record Store Report: Tunnel Records, San Francisco’s Shining Star of an Indie Store (Times Three)
Mark Smotroff  |  Mar 07, 2025  |  First Published: Mar 07, 2025  |  3 comments

It is always refreshing to share a truly good story about a person with a vision achieving bonafide success in the music business — especially when it comes to selling records. Surfing the wave of the resurgent interest in all things vintage vinyl, San Francisco’s Tunnel Records. Read Mark Smotroff’s interview with shop founder Ben Wintroub to see just how he’s made not one but three great Tunnel Records SF locales thrive. . .

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AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
The 200g 45rpm 2LP UHQR Edition of Steely Dan’s Katy Lied Sounds As Good As Any Vinyl World That It’s Welcome To
Mike Mettler, ,  |  Feb 20, 2025  |  6 comments

Who are these children / Who scheme and run wild. . . No, that’s not a comment on the youth of today, but rather a piercing lyrical couplet of sorts that can only mean one thing — it’s time for us to dive deep into the just-released 200g 45rpm 2LP UHQR edition of Steely Dan’s March 1975 treasure of an LP, Katy Lied. Read Mike Mettler, Mark Smotroff, and Ken Micallef’s combo review to see if the UHQR version of Katy Lied meets and/or exceeds the standards set by its companion SD releases in this all-important reissue series. . .

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Album ReviewsShort Cuts
Short Cuts, Vol. 21: Space Is The Place — Four New & Recent 180g Sun Ra LPs, Plus One From an Artist He Inspired, Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids
Mark Smotroff  |  Feb 14, 2025  |  First Published: Feb 14, 2025  |  1 comments

The name Sun Ra and the term “free jazz” can conjure up all manner of strange musical imagery, especially amongst those unfamiliar with his music. Alternate identifiers such as “free improvisation” and the more umbrella-like “modern jazz” might ease those anxieties, but the reality is, a lot of Ra’s spirited music is not as random and difficult as some might think. Read Mark Smotroff’s Short Cuts combo review that focuses on five new and recent 180g Sun Ra-centric vinyl releases that we hope will intrigue listeners to explore this fascinating artist’s music with fresh ears and open minds. . .

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Album ReviewsShort Cuts
Short Cuts, Vol. 20: Elemental’s Motown Reissue Series Rolls On With 140g Virgin Vinyl Offerings of Popular Period LPs by The Temptations, Diana Ross and The Supremes, Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight & The Pips, and Eddie Kendricks
Mark Smotroff  |  Jan 31, 2025  |  First Published: Jan 31, 2025  |  2 comments

There is something incredibly compelling about Elemental Music and UMe’s ongoing, affordably priced, and generally well-made reissue series of classic Motown titles. Read Mark Smotroff’s latest Motown Short Cuts combo review to see which of these 140g 1LP editions of classic LPs from The Temptations, Diana Ross and The Supremes, Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight & The Pips, and Eddie Kendricks belong in your collection. . .

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Album ReviewsShort Cuts
Two Seminal Early 1970s John Cale LPs, Paris 1919 and The Academy in Peril, Benefit From Artist-Approved Reissue LPs From Domino
Mark Smotroff  |  Jan 09, 2025  |  First Published: Jan 09, 2025  |  3 comments

Fifty-plus years ago, John Cale effectively drew a line in the sand between his past with The Velvet Underground and his future. Two of Cale’s seminal solo releases from that era — 1972’s The Academy in Peril and 1973’s Paris 1919, both long been out of print on vinyl here in the States — are the subjects of a great new LP reissue series from England’s Domino label, expanded and approved by the artist himself. Read Mark Smotroff’s review to see if either/both of these remastered vinyl editions deserve multiple spins on your turntable. . .

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