Michael Fremer

BeatlesCan I Have My Money Back?
A Jury of My Peers Weighs in on The Beatles The Singles Collection
Michael Fremer  |  Nov 25, 2019  |  First Published: Nov 25, 2019  |  15 comments
Ever since the publication of The Beatles, The Singles Collection box set review, it's been gnawing at me. I went into this hoping and expecting the new set to better or at least equal the older set but that clearly was not the case. However, it's also true that had I not had the World box with which to compare the new box, I'd probably not have been so negative. Nonetheless, the second and more complete listen confirmed the initial conclusion that the new box sonically disappoints.

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AAA VinylNews
Intervention Re-Pressing Gene Clark's Classic White Light AAA LP
Michael Fremer  |  Nov 23, 2019  |  First Published: Nov 23, 2019  |  7 comments
Intervention's reissue of Gene Clark's classic White Light sold out, but it's currently being re-pressed and the company is taking orders. Don't miss out the second time!
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News
"Motown In Mono" Five 180g LP AAA Limited Edition Series Cut By Kevin Gray
Michael Fremer  |  Nov 23, 2019  |  First Published: Nov 23, 2019  |  3 comments
This is great news! On December 27th Motown/UMe will release 5 mono Motown albums cut by Kevin Gray from the original analog master tapes, pressed on 180 gram vinyl and packaged in deluxe Stoughton tip-on jackets. The titles are: The Miracles' You've Really Got A Hold On Me (1963), The Temptations' (1965), The Four Tops' Reach Out (1967), Diana Ross & The Supremes' Reflections (1968), And The Marvelettes' Sophisticated Soul (1968).

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AAA VinylNews
Three Triple A's From Craft For Record Store Day Black Friday
Michael Fremer  |  Nov 23, 2019  |  First Published: Nov 23, 2019  |  0 comments
Craft Records just announced three all-analog reissues cut from original tape by Kevin Gray: (Chet Baker Sings) It Could Happen to You, originally released in 1958 on Riverside, Willie Colon's Asalto Navideño a 1971 Christmas album originally released on Fania, and Buffy Sainte-Marie's Illuminations a Vanguard release from 1969 that's achieved "cult" status due to its early use of synthesizers to produce an eerie backdrop.
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Turntable Reviews
The Thorens TD402 DD Direct Drive Semi-Automatic Turntable
Michael Fremer  |  Nov 20, 2019  |  First Published: Nov 20, 2019  |  31 comments
Hermann Thorens founded his company in 1883 to manufacture music boxes in Switzerland. Cylinder-based phonograph manufacturing began around the turn of the century. In 1956 the company introduced the TD-124—the company’s first high performance turntable and one that among collectors is still in demand. The company moved to Germany in 1966 and merged with EMT. The classic TD-125 followed in 1968.

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BeatlesNews
The Beatles Singles Collection Cut Mostly From Original Singles Tapes
Michael Fremer  |  Nov 19, 2019  |  First Published: Nov 19, 2019  |  23 comments
I have been assured by co-producer Guy Hayden that this 45rpm box was cut directly from TAPE and that whatever transfers were done (hence the credit) was done as they were for the AAA mono album box, to use as a reference before actual cutting in order to preserve the tapes.
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News
A Survey You Can Take From Cleveland, Ohio Based Gotta Groove Records
Michael Fremer  |  Nov 18, 2019  |  First Published: Nov 18, 2019  |  7 comments
Cleveland, Ohio based Gotta Groove Records pressing plant just sent out an e-survey to its customer base and invite analogPlanet readers to toss in their $29.99 or two-cents. They've already received 2400 responses in a little over a day.

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Album Reviews
Craft Records Reissues on Vinyl Creedence Clearwater Classics Green River and Willy and The Poorboys
Michael Fremer  |  Nov 17, 2019  |  16 comments
Though you could argue that Bayou Country containing "Proud Mary" and "Born on the Bayou" was a better album, I'm going with Green River as a stronger, more consistent overall album (you remember albums, don't you?), which also had some hits like "Bad Moon Rising" (with it's refrain "there's a bathroom on the right"), "Lodi", which at the time made me wonder why Fogerty was writing about New Jersey and of course the title tune. In retrospect, despite the New Orleans musical setting, much of what Fogerty wrote was about his life growing up in Berkeley, Calfornia. But I digress.

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Album Reviews
Beethoven Complete Works For Cello and Piano ( New: Source Clarification)
Michael Fremer  |  Nov 16, 2019  |  14 comments
How the original single LP of cellist Fournier and pianist Gulda performing Beethoven’s Cello Sonata in D (Deutsche Gramophon SLPM 138 083) ended up in my collection isn’t clear to me but I can narrow it down to either my college Beethoven symphony music appreciation class professor, or to Duane, the classical music expert at Minuteman Records in Harvard Square.

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Analog Corner
Analog Corner #119
Michael Fremer  |  Nov 16, 2019  |  First Published: Jun 01, 2005  |  11 comments
Here’s more proof that sound quality—or its factual representation—is no longer on the radar screen of the mainstream press. I recently sent this letter to the Wall Street Journal’s corrections editor:

“Sarah McBride’s assertion in today’s lead story that satellite radio offers ‘higher quality sound’ than FM radio is demonstrably incorrect. This is not a matter of opinion. While satellite radio is ‘digital,’ it is a highly compressed digital format. . . . I believe were you to speak with the chief engineer at Sirius or XM, and were they to be honest and candid, they would agree too that while satellite radio is a fantastic innovation and offers ‘noise free’ sound, FM offers demonstrably better sound than current satellite technology provides. I know if you spoke with the chief engineer at WGBH in Boston or [W]FMT in Chicago, they’d tell you the same thing.

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