There’s a fascinating article over at Resistor Magazine. More thinking expressed from the keyboard of Dr Paul James, audiophile researcher. I’ve talked a bit about the engagement quality of prosody before when I enthused over Davey Beige’s music. Paul’s writing is here ….. https://www.resistormag.com/music/prosody-implications-for-music-and-audio-reproduction/
For a devotee of recorded music listening, it’s been a two-decade journey of change. When I moved to New Zealand from England at the end of 2003, I had already been a vinyl record and CD collector for many years. The boxes filled a good part of the shipping container that carried our possessions to […]
I read that Bruce Springsteen had originally made Nebraska, a favourite album of ours, with the E Street Band, but it has remained unreleased. I went looking for Nebraska on Amazon Music, and found the Stormy Mondays. They’re a ‘transatlantic Americana / roots’ band from Northern Spain who “slow cook” their music. They’re big fans […]
Among the weird and wacky records, when I’m asking myself how did this get recorded and pressed, I find one that is peculiar, but actually good. This one connects players from The Quireboys, It Bites, Take That, Yes, ELO, and others, with ex-postman Jim Brown singing others’ songs Elvis-style – and doing a great job. […]
This record found discarded in an op shop here in New Zealand recently is further evidence that record collecting is worthwhile, even when the recordings have been reissued on CD and can be streamed online. The sleeve carries something of its history, with signatures of the players and a previous owner on the back, and […]
I love the rewards of my music recording rescue efforts. I can play whatever I like, and I like what I play. How about some Polish Celtic Irish and Jazz? Carrantuohill have been playing Celtic music with a Slavic soul since 1987. This is a double album live recording of a 2005 Celtic and Jazz […]
Sixteen songs written and recorded with vintage guitars, banjo, bouzouki, fiddle, mandolin, and mandola, in Nashville, for Proper American Recordings in 2008. But that doesn’t make this Country music. These are some great folk songs from Tim O’Brien, brother of Mollie O’Brien. He sees folk and country as the same musical pathway, and although naturally […]
This was a seriously pleasing surprise. It’s a TV crime drama with a retired detective who returns to help solve cases, and he co-owns and sings in a Jazz club. Haunted by the loss of his wife and daughter in a house fire, he finds solace from his grief by turning to music and is […]
I first read about Dr Paul James’ book Experiencing Gigli with Quality Audio: Exquisitely Beautiful Singing (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2022) on Jeff Day’s Jeff’s Place website, and more recently Rafe Arnott’s interview with him on his Resistor Magazine website. Dr James is a longtime audiophile, music lover, and philosophy scholar. I knew it was another […]
We’re told she’s taking modern Jazz mainstream and has the mission to bring it to Gen Z. Laufey released her debut album Everything I Know About Love last year, and became the most-streamed Jazz artist on Spotify in 2022. She’s also currently the biggest streaming artist from Iceland! Her new album Bewitched was released in September, becoming the […]
I have a bit of a love/hate thing with Stereophile magazine, and keep going back. The hyper-expensive equipment reviews are out of bounds, but often the music mentioned is worth exploring, and I enjoy some of the articles. I was aware that the team led by John Atkinson had also made almost two dozen highly […]
Damon Krukowski investigates the nature and appeal of live albums. They simulate the social experience of an event. But are they a record of a performance that can be reproduced in the home? Or are they not a preservation for repetition, but a creation. https://www.artnews.com/art-in-america/features/live-albums-social-experience-1202685179/
New to me, this band is making superb songs, and reminiscent of Michael Stipe/R.E.M., Warren Zeavon, Bruce Hornsby, and more, but I don’t hear The Pogues so much. Hearing this album has made my day! Casey Neill has made or contributed to 16 other albums since 1998. There’s 10 of them along with this new […]
Another must-read book for hi-fi music listening enthusiasts is Paul James’ Experiencing Gigli with Quality Audio. I haven’t been able to read a copy of it yet, so this article’s interview with the author is most welcome. https://www.resistormag.com/features/experiencing-gigli-with-quality-audio/ There’s a post about the author and his book here, too ….. It tells what the book […]
Audio engineer David Mellor is a frequent classical concert goer, and he saw and heard this ‘palm tree’ loudspeaker on stage, along with two other unusual loudspeakers. All our designed to produce coloured sound. The Palme. The Métallique. The Résonance. https://www.audiomasterclass.com/blog/on-the-right-is-a-loudspeaker-on-the-left-is-a-gong-what There’s an article about the Palme diffuseur, as used by Radiohead, here …..
I read Spencer Kornhaber’s review in The Atlantic (How to Listen to Music, April 2016) of Ben Ratliff’s book Every Song Ever: 20 Ways to Listen in an Age of Musical Plenty, then I read the book. Ben Ratliff argues that in the age of streaming access to many millions of recordings (Spotify is currently […]
When I read that keyboard pioneer and former Spooky Tooth Gary Wright had died, a comment on the social media post made me recognise something quite profound. Someone had said that this sad news was more loss in a rough week for the music industry. No mention of personal or family sadness. But, I had […]
Her music is my current new favourite …. I don’t get why her music is described as alt-folk and noir folk-punk. To me, it’s sophisticated melodies with lyrical depth and inventive structures, without gimmick and hype, and very nicely recorded. Some of the most accessible and engaging sounds I’ve heard for some time. Highly recommended. […]
I’ve found the perfect book for a music-loving audiophile. At 524 pages, it seemed daunting, but I don’t usually get beyond 200 pages on the day I begin reading a book, but this is a compelling page-turner. I read it over three days. It was immediately enchanting. A hi-fi audio listening page-turner. For some time […]
Among the easy listening records browsed today here in sunny and chilly late Winter Hamilton, this British folk album stood out. So did the name Talking John Berry, and then that talking blues is a form of folk song in which current affairs are talked about with a guitar accompaniment. When the term talking blues […]
One ruling taste. When asked about what we like, it’s so easy to default to making an evaluation. “It’s the best” is not the same as “I like it”, but we all make the step by assuming that our tatse is supreme. Writer and music (and record) fan (and former music reviewer) Tom Cox just […]
Musicians create their music. Entertainers act when they performs others’ music.
I like this expression of mindful listening and sound as a culture. “SlowSound® was born in 2015 from an idea which came to Maestro Igor Fiorini through his work as a Sound Producer. He wishes to promote conscious listening and tasting of sound“. https://vdmsoundgroup.com/slowsound-manifest-eng I prefer the phrase slow listening (a slow living activity) as […]
I was unaware of this until today, although I was out digging through LPs and CDs on Wednesday, and was able to add more twenty to my collection on the day. https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/music-day/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%AAte_de_la_Musique?wprov=sfla1
Although now firmly Tidal streaming to listen to new music I’m still drawn to adding storied albums to my collection. This, and an LP record copy of Rick Wright’s Wet Dream, came home with me for $1 each. Recorded in 1966-67 and issued in 2004, I’ve finally got a near mint copy of the Australian […]
A fresh sounding new album from a jazz guitarist I’ve not heard before, except on several Octave collections. He’s currently a local to the Octave Records studio, and specialises in Brazilian Samba and Choro instrumentals. This is also new to me, and I’m enjoying it. As expected, it’s a very rhythmic set of his compositions, […]
It’s a truly magical enchanting combination. Three female voices, an acoustically attractive church (Sofienberg Church, Oslo, Norway), lost mediaeval music (The Old Hall manuscipts is a collection of sacred music was compiled by a single scribe between about 1415 and 1421), a many-times Grammy-nominated immersive recording expert, and an Organetto-playing (the curious Portative Organ) Professor. […]
And I’m delighted to discover that he’s also a Genesis man, an Alan Parsons man, and a Keith Emerson man. Spanish pianist Jaume Vilaseca has recorded elegant and freshly inventive crossover jazz-prog interpretation albums with a trio and a quartet, amongst other projects. https://jaumevilaseca.com/eng_bio.htm
It was never going to win a design award for the cover, but with 38 tracks recorded 1979-95 this anniversary label compilation from 1996 is a fabulous addition to my collection. Included is a very informative 22-page booklet. Alligator Records have never been about hits – they record important blues artists. Included here are Son […]
I remember the hit song Witch Queen of New Orleans from my teen years as I developed an awareness of and interest in music. Native-American and the Cajun connection, the band was Redbone. I’ve also enjoyed some of Leon Redbone’s jazz-and-blues-tinged ‘old-time’ music. Until now, I’d assumed that he had formerly led the band. I […]
Music & Hi-fi Appreciations 