Mark Smotroff

Album Reviews
R.E.M. Vinyl Reissues From Craft Recordings Offer Fresh 180g Takes on a Pair of Late-Period Gems: the Mini-Suite Vibes of 2004 2LP Set Around the Sun, and Their Affecting 2011 1LP Studio Swan Song, Collapse Into Now
Mark Smotroff  |  Jul 28, 2023  |  4 comments

Two late-period R.E.M. albums — October 2004’s and March 2011’s Collapse Into Now — have just gotten well-deserved 180g LP upgrades from Craft Recordings. Read Mark Smotroff’s combo review of these two somewhat underappreciated but wholly worthy entries in the Athens, Georgia alt-rockers deep catalog to see if they fit into your own upcoming LP listening plans. . .

Continue Reading >
Album Reviews
Mike Oldfield’s Seminal Tubular Bells Album Celebrates 50th Anniversary With New Abbey Road Half-Speed-Mastered 180g 2LP Expanded Edition Directly Overseen by Its Visionary Creator
Mark Smotroff  |  Jul 21, 2023  |  9 comments

The cover image is iconic. The opening strains of the recording are iconic. Even the original label design is iconic. Fifty years on, we now celebrate Mike Oldfield’s landmark progressive masterwork debut album, May 1973’s Tubular Bells, with an expanded 180g 2LP half-speed-remastered edition overseen by Oldfield himself. Read on to get Mark Smotroff’s take on this this avowed timeless classic. . .

Continue Reading >
Review Explosion
Review Explosion, Short Cuts Edition Vol. 3: A Pair of Excellent New AAA Bill Evans Trio and Miles Davis Quintet OJC Studio 180g 1LP Reissues, Plus a Legendary Lost Archival Live John Coltrane With Eric Dolphy 2LP Set (Albeit With One Caveat)
Mark Smotroff  |  Jul 20, 2023  |  First Published: Jul 20, 2023  |  7 comments

Welcome back to the third installment of our ongoing Review Explosion series, Short Cuts edition! This time, we have three new jazz releases sharing some common threads that connect the artists in question, yet are about as different as night and day. Read on to see what Mark Smotroff has to say about a pair of excellent new AAA Bill Evans Trio and Miles Davis Quintet OJC studio 180g 1LP reissues, plus a legendary lost archival live John Coltrane With Eric Dolphy 2LP set — but note that the latter release comes with one important caveat. . .

Continue Reading >
Album Reviews
Rough Mix and Empty Glass Inaugurate Universal’s New Pete Townshend Abbey Road Studios Half-Speed-Mastered 180g LP Reissue Series With Some Quite Striking Sonic Results
Mark Smotroff  |  Jul 14, 2023  |  4 comments

Universal ushers in a new era of limited-edition Pete Townshend solo 180g 1LP reissues with a pair of Abbey Road Studios half-speed-mastered editions: 1) Rough Mix, Pete’s September 1977 collaboration with Ronnie Lane, and 2) April 1980’s Empty Glass. Read Mark Smotroff’s combo review to see how these two new half-speed-mastered versions stack up with the originals. . .

Continue Reading >
Album Reviews
Funky Nothingness, Frank Zappa’s New 180g 2LP Set of Unreleased Studio Sessions, Traces His 1970 Sound Shift From the Jazz Fusion Core of Hot Rats to the Bluesy Rocking Undercurrents of Chunga’s Revenge
Mark Smotroff  |  Jul 07, 2023  |  2 comments

The once-buried archival recordings that comprise Frank Zappa’s new 180g 2LP set Funky Nothingness are not just the components of a lost album, but more of an insightful transitional link into FZ’s compositional mindset. This new album also connects many musical dots between the aftermath of FZ’s October 1969 landmark jazz fusion masterpiece Hot Rats and October 1970’s Chunga’s Revenge — and beyond. Read Mark Smotroff’s review to see just how quickly Funky Nothingness should jump to the front of your LP listening queue. . .

Continue Reading >
Review Explosion
Review Explosion, Short Cuts Edition Vol. 2: Billy Joel’s 2LP RSD Exclusive Live ’75 San Francisco Set, Solomon Burke’s 180g 2LP 20th Anniversary Grammy-Winner Reissue, and Larkin Poe’s Latest Southern-Rockin’ 1LP Sibling Offering
Mark Smotroff  |  Jul 01, 2023  |  First Published: Jul 01, 2023  |  4 comments

Welcome to our second installment of Review Explosion Short Cuts! Here in Vol. 2, we tackle three more LP releases worthy of your attention: 1) Billy Joel’s Live At The Great American Music Hall, 1975, a 2LP RSD 2023 title that had proven somewhat elusive to obtain until recently; 2) the 20th anniversary 2LP reissue of acclaimed soul giant Solomon Burke’s Grammy-winning 2002 album Don’t Give Up on Me; and 3) Blood Harmony, the latest 1LP release from Larkin Poe, those great blues-rockin’ guitar-slingin’ sisters of Southern origin. Read Mark Smotroff’s triple-play review to get the full scoop on all three of these highly recommended LPs. . .

Continue Reading >
Album Reviews
Tears For Fears Exhibit a Consistently Timeless and Innovative Nature on the New Abbey Road Half-Speed-Mastered 40th Anniversary 180g 1LP Reissue of Their Synth-Centric 1983 Debut Album, The Hurting
Mark Smotroff  |  Jun 29, 2023  |  7 comments

Tears For Fears’ synth-centric March 1983 debut album The Hurting set the stage for the broader scope of their ensuing worldwide mega-breakthrough. This key album is now being properly feted with a 180 1LP reissue from Mercury/UMC, as half-speed mastered by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios. Read Mark Smotroff’s review of the fine new 40th anniversary edition of The Hurting to see just how Tears For Fears laid the groundwork for their still-innovative soundscapes. . .

Continue Reading >
Album Reviews
Ape House Reissues Excellent New Limited Edition 200g 2LP Version of XTC’s Classic 1978 Sophomore Album Go 2 on LP1, With Rare Companion Go+ Dub Remixes EP on LP2
Mark Smotroff  |  Jun 23, 2023  |  2 comments

For the first time in many decades, XTC’s October 1978 sophomore album Go 2 is available again on vinyl, this time as a limited-edition 200g 2LP set via Ape House that includes the ever-elusive companion Go+ EP of dub remixes on its own disc. Read Mark Smotroff’s review to see why this new, expanded edition of Go 2 is worth both the time and listening investment. . .

Continue Reading >
Album Reviews
Alice Cooper’s Ascension to Rock Royalty Is Duly Documented With Rhino’s Great-Sounding and Beautifully Packaged 180g 3LP Expanded 50th Anniversary Editions for Two Top-Shelf Early-’70s Albums, Killer and School’s Out
Mark Smotroff  |  Jun 16, 2023  |  13 comments
Alice Cooper ascended to rock royalty with the raw punch and power of a pair of impactful back-to-back albums, November 1971’s Killer and June 1972’s School’s Out. Realizing that just reissuing the original LPs in simply remastered form was not going to be quite enough to properly celebrate the golden anniversaries of these two landmark records, the Warner/Rhino braintrust have seen fit to include a bounty of bonus materials on both 180g 3LP collections including live recordings, alternate takes, demos, and single mixes. Read Mark Smotroff’s combo review of a pair of now-expanded seminal Alice Cooper albums made better with their respective 50th anniversary vinyl editions. . .

Continue Reading >
Review Explosion
Review Explosion, Short Cuts Edition: Three Fine RSD 2023 Exclusive LP Releases From Hal Blaine, Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band, and Prefab Sprout
Mark Smotroff  |  Jun 15, 2023  |  First Published: Jun 15, 2023  |  5 comments

Our latest Review Explosion Short Cuts extravaganza focuses on three prime, and quite diverse, Record Store Day 2023 releases — namely, an LP’s worth of Wrecking Crew drummer Hal Blaine’s late-’60s psychedelic explorations, a live 2LP release from the ever-brilliant funky-quirky Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band, and a solo 1LP Prefab Sprout production from Paddy McAloon, the main driver of one of England’s greatly underrated pop outfits. Read on to get Mark Smotroff’s take on a trio of fine RSD 2023 releases you are going to want to track down for your own listening enjoyment, forthwith. . .

Continue Reading >

Pages

X