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Samara Joy, a mere 25 years old, has ascended to extraordinary heights in the jazz world — and rightly so. Raised in a f...
26/12/2024

Samara Joy, a mere 25 years old, has ascended to extraordinary heights in the jazz world — and rightly so. Raised in a family of gospel singers but nurtured on a diet of contemporary pop and jazz, Joy’s vocal prowess is astonishing. Her contralto-to-soprano range — soaring from hushed whispers to clarion calls — is as breathtaking as a hummingbird darting from flower to flower. Read Ken Micallef’s review to see how Portrait, her second LP on Verve Records, showcases her singular vocal talent on vinyl. . .

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/jazz-vocal-phenomenon-samara-joy-continues-impress-her-latest-lp-portrait

The Gruvy Awards are back yet again! An annual event, The Gruvys are given to the best products AnalogPlanet reviewed in...
23/12/2024

The Gruvy Awards are back yet again! An annual event, The Gruvys are given to the best products AnalogPlanet reviewed in the most recent calendar year. This time around, the Gruvys honor the gear we tested in 2024 and subsequently found to possess a combination of high build quality, exceptional sonics, and in the case of less expensive gear, provide great value for the money. Read on to see what products made the 2024 AP Gruvy Awards cut, plus which ones gained Honorable Mentions. . .

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/gruvy-awards-analogplanet-selects-best-reviewed-products-2024

Another year of LP acquiring, cleaning, listening, archiving, and spinning, and archiving has come and gone — and not ne...
21/12/2024

Another year of LP acquiring, cleaning, listening, archiving, and spinning, and archiving has come and gone — and not necessarily always in that order, either! — so, naturally, before the big holiday week takes hold of our respective calendars, we here at AP feel it’s the exact right time to determine the best of what we’ve heard on vinyl during the past 12 months. Between the two of us — i.e., 1) Mike Mettler, your intrepid AP editor, and 2) chief LP reviewer, Mark Smotroff — we have listened to multiple-hundreds’ worth of albums on vinyl in 2024 apiece, so read on to see what our 20-plus favorite reissues and new LPs of the year are. . .

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/analogplanet%E2%80%99s-top-lps-2024

We didn’t have a new album from Elvis Costello and T Bone Burnett on our 2024 checklist — but here we are enjoying an un...
18/12/2024

We didn’t have a new album from Elvis Costello and T Bone Burnett on our 2024 checklist — but here we are enjoying an unexpected yet long overdue brand-new self-titled 2LP set by their alter-ego personas known as The Coward Brothers. We also get a second, related vinyl gift — a 2024 reissue of Elvis’ masterful February 1986 LP credited to The Costello Show, King of America. Read Mark Smotroff’s combo review to see if both of these Costello/Burnett LP collabs are worthy, right-before-the-holiday-break additions to your collection. . .

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/elvis-costello-delivers-pair-royal-album-collaborations-t-bone-burnett-first-coward-brothers

Sierra Sound has just announced they are the official U.S. distributor for Connected-fidelity products, including the Br...
17/12/2024

Sierra Sound has just announced they are the official U.S. distributor for Connected-fidelity products, including the British company’s flagship TT Hub turntable, along with their Float isolation pucks. Today, we’re going to focus on that eye-catching turntable, so read on to see all specs and features of the strikingly cool TT Hub. . .

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/connected-fidelity-tt-hub-turntable

The 1990s were a decade of transition. It was a time when recording artists had to figure out how to move on from MTV-er...
14/12/2024

The 1990s were a decade of transition. It was a time when recording artists had to figure out how to move on from MTV-era preening and get back to creating their music more for aural satisfaction, not just visual pleasure. Everclear, an alt-rock trio from Portland, Oregon, made quite a splash during the ’90s — see “Santa Monica,” “Everything to Everyone,” and “Father of Mine,” for starters — but as the calendar turned to the 2000s, bandleader and chief songwriter Art Alexakis had a vision to chronicle how his life was falling apart, in two parts. The first half of that heart-wrenching story, July 2000’s Songs From an American Movie Vol. One: Learning How to Smile, was a smash hit on CD, but it never made its way onto vinyl. Intervention Records righted that wrong back in September 2024 with their limited-edition 140g 1LP translucent yellow version of Vol. One, which is one of AP’s Best Reissues of 2024. During a recent Zoom interview with AP editor Mike Mettler, Alexakis discusses why SFAAM Vol. One sounds better on vinyl, why he always sequences his albums with vinyl in mind, and if a second LP of the overarching SFAAM storyline is in the offing. . .

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/best-reissues-2024-art-alexakis-why-intervention-records%E2%80%99-truly-wonderful-140g-1lp-edition

Yesterday (December 11, 2024), we shared Part 1 of our holiday LPs shopping list, which focused on new releases. And now...
13/12/2024

Yesterday (December 11, 2024), we shared Part 1 of our holiday LPs shopping list, which focused on new releases. And now, as promised for today (December 12, 2024), here in Part 2, we move on to discussing some additional favorite holiday album chestnuts from over the years. Read Part 2 of Mark Smotroff’s holiday LP roundup to see which of these half-dozen vintage holiday vinyl releases are worth seeking out for your own holiday listening/gift-giving needs. . .

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/tis-season-spin-vinyl-part-2-some-our-favorite-vintage-holiday-lp-chestnuts-worth-adding

The answer, my friends, is blowin’ in the grooves. Today (December 12, 2024), Julien's Auctions announced an exclusive p...
12/12/2024

The answer, my friends, is blowin’ in the grooves. Today (December 12, 2024), Julien's Auctions announced an exclusive partnership with T Bone Burnett’s NeoFidelity, Inc., and their forthcoming Ionic Original releases. The Ionic Original is described as a “one-of-one, handmade, collector’s edition master recording, specifically arranged and performed for each individual recorded disc by the artist.” Read on to see what we currently know about what constitutes an Ionic Original, and what the plan is for what comes next. . .

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/t-bone-burnett-neofidelity-inc-and-julien%E2%80%99s-auctions-announce-exclusive-partnership

It’s beginning to look a lot like. . . holiday vinyl. Tis that time of year when holiday music is in the air, and there ...
11/12/2024

It’s beginning to look a lot like. . . holiday vinyl. Tis that time of year when holiday music is in the air, and there is no shortage of holiday vinyl to go around for any and all of your holiday listening proclivities and/or gift-giving needs. Read Part 1 of Mark Smotroff’s holiday LP roundup to see which of these eight featured new vinyl releases could make their way onto your “nice” list for listening and/or gifting this year. . .

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/tis-season-spin-vinyl-part-1-eight-new-holiday-lps-add-your-shopping-list

Sure to go running through your soul, like the stories told of old: Today (December 10, 2024), RHINO announces the launc...
10/12/2024

Sure to go running through your soul, like the stories told of old: Today (December 10, 2024), RHINO announces the launch of a new audiophile vinyl series that’s been dubbed Rhino Reserves, which purports to offer “legendary albums” on 180g premium-quality black vinyl, as cut from the original analog tapes. Read on to see which two vintage LPs from the 1970s kick off this new series on January 31, 2024, where they’re being pressed and cut, and by whom. . .

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/new-rhino-reserves-premium-vinyl-series-launches-january-31-2025-allen-toussaint%E2%80%99s-southern

We’re going back to the future, if you will, with Part 9 of our Capital Audiofest 2024 show report. In this installment,...
10/12/2024

We’re going back to the future, if you will, with Part 9 of our Capital Audiofest 2024 show report. In this installment, Julie Mullins (text & photos) reports on what she saw and heard from Command Performance A/V’s ‘80s-themed room at the show, which featured modern-day gear from J.Sikora Turntables, Aidas Cartridges official, Lyra, Doshi Audio, Audiovector, REL Acoustics, Cardas Audio, and Harmonic Resolution Systems Inc. . . .

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/capital-audiofest-2024-highlights-part-9-command-performance-av-remembers-%E2%80%9980s-starring

In the Beatleverse, it is generally well known and quite accepted that the mono mixes of the early Beatles recordings ar...
06/12/2024

In the Beatleverse, it is generally well known and quite accepted that the mono mixes of the early Beatles recordings are considered superior to the stereo counterparts for many reasons. Thus, a new box set assembling 21st century recreations of the U.S. Beatles albums in their original monaural sound has a special sort of appeal — and that’s where the 1964 U.S. Albums in Mono 180g 8LP box set, which was released by Apple Corps Ltd./Capitol/UMe on November 22, 2024, comes into play. Read Mark Smotroff’s review to see if The Beatles’ 1964 U.S. Albums in Mono 180g 8LP box set is fab enough to put on your holiday-purchase list, or if you should buy each album individually. . .

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/beatles%E2%80%99-1964-us-albums-mono-180g-8lp-box-set-offers-all-analog-updates-will-appeal

Last night (i.e., December 4, 2024), a select group of journalists gathered at the All Blues listening bar in New York C...
05/12/2024

Last night (i.e., December 4, 2024), a select group of journalists gathered at the All Blues listening bar in New York City’s Chinatown, and were treated to an exclusive preview of Analogue Productions’ special 180g 1LP edition of Miles Davis’ Birth of the Blue, which is set for release on December 13, 2024. Read Ken Micallef’s firsthand listening report to get a taste of what you can expect from this historic LP. . .

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/listening-session-impressions-miles-davis%E2%80%99-new-birth-blue-180g-1lp-all-blues-nyc

Into the hi-fi audio fray strides the dual-mono, balanced, Pro-Ject Audio Systems' Tube Box DS3 B tube phono preamp — ye...
02/12/2024

Into the hi-fi audio fray strides the dual-mono, balanced, Pro-Ject Audio Systems' Tube Box DS3 B tube phono preamp — yet another high-value, smartly priced product from the brain of Pro-Ject founder Heinz Lichtenegger. Read Ken Micallef’s review to see if the DS3 B punches above its weight class. . .

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/pro-ject-tube-box-ds3-b-phono-preamp

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