Category: Vinyl / Tunes Blog

12-1-22

CHRISTINE MCVIE OF FLEETWOOD MAC PASSES AT AGE 79

One of my all-time favorite female singers and songwriters passed away yesterday at 79 after a brief illness. It’s a shock to all who loved her and the rest of the group known for their amazing run on the pop charts in the late 1970s.

Christine Perfect joined Fleetwood Mac after being with the group Chicken Shack in the late ’60s. In the new band, her then husband, John McVie, and Mick Fleetwood had already produced some great albums in the UK with Peter Green, among others. However, Christine, Jeremy Spencer and the brilliant Danny Kirwan provided an additional sound that some feel is still the band’s best with Christine’s early songs included: “Show Me A Smile”, “Morning Rain”, and “Spare Me a Little of Your Love”. Those albums are still some of my favorites.

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Walter Becker passed away 5 years ago.

November is the 50th anniversary of the band that he was an integral part of, Steely Dan.

Their song “Doctor Wu” is part of me, and something I cannot ignore.

So, I’m proud to announce my buddy Chad Kassem at Acoustic Sounds is producing SACDs and high resolution LPs of their entire catalog beginning this month. Not cheap, but available.

Acoustic Sounds

Steely Dan Top 20 Songs


CAROLE KING – HOME AGAIN

Everybody needs to feel needed. When you have that, everything feels right.

Yes, I repeated myself, because positive repetition is important to our well-being.

It could be a pet or a significant other. They can help to get you through the tough times.

Of course, you already know that. So, why don’t artists still make songs like this?
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FACES

Released in 1971, A Nod Is As Good As a Wink… to a Blind Horse remains The Faces definitive album. While “Stay With Me” is their all-time rocker, I’m a bit partial to “You’re So Rude”.

Not politically correct today, or perhaps ever, but their songs sure worked during the closing credits of Sahara, one of my fave movies with Penolope Cruz and Matthew McConaughey. Continue reading “”

THINGS HAVE CHANGED

People are crazy and times are strange
I’m locked in tight, I’m out of range
I used to care, but things have changed

These lyrics are from 2000. Always ahead of his time, Bob Dylan remains the only artist who can write like this.

Yeah, I’m listening to a lot of his stuff lately.

MOBILE FIDELITY CUTS THEIR VINYL FROM DIGITAL FILES!

Well, for the past several years anyway, and maybe longer than that. Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs has just admitted to working from Direct Stream Digital (DSD) copies to cut their LP reissues labeled Original Master Recording on the cover. Wow!

As audiophiles, we knew the MFSL SACDs were made using DSD files. Those are DDD after all.

Not for the LPs… we didn’t know about them not being AAA, until now. Not cool, especially considering their premium pricing. Continue reading “”

IT’S A GREAT TIME TO BE A B.S. ARTIST

Today, everyone seems to be looking for an easy answer. Nobody wants to do the work. So they rely on the loudest person in the room. Problem is, that person is usually so self absorbed that they no longer know when they are lying. What they do know is that it’s easier to plead ignorance or ask for forgiveness when found out.

Back in 1989, there were a trio of women who realized what was what, and they were very talented.

The Roches are three sisters whose voices blend together amazingly well. They are Maggie (baritone), Terre (soprano), and Suzzy Roche (alto). Their albums are full of sly tunes and received some airplay in the ’80s. Here’s a song of theirs I’ve always liked.

WE SKIPPED THE LIGHT FANDANGO

Probably my favorite single ever, released in 1967 and made arguably even better by Annie Lennox on a wonderful sounding LP in ’95. The original recording was used in many films, including the 1989 New York Stories with Nick Nolte. Amazing that it was written 55 years ago by Procol Harum. Sadly, Gary Brooker, who led the band throughout their history, and who co-wrote and sang this classic, passed away on February 19, 2022. He was 76.

A Whiter Shade of Pale by Procol Harum.

JAZZ TO RELAX

I’ve been listening to a lot of jazz lately. It helps me de-stress from all the news coming out of Eastern Europe.

Miles Davis led several quintets over his long career, and I’ve been spinning those records lately.

It’s fun to rediscover your favorite Miles LPs after they’ve been sitting on the shelf for years, From Bags Groove up to In a Silent Way they are all superb. Of course, Kind of Blue is tops, thanks to Bill Evans.

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CRIME OF THE CENTURY

The band Supertramp knew a few things. I was fortunate enough to see them in concert during their prime in the mid ’70s (at the height of the Cold War). I clearly remember being impacted by their music’s message about the dangers of power, corruption, and greed.

Nothing much has changed.

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WILDFIRE

One night, Michael Murphy, a singer from Texas, dreamt a song complete with lyrics. He composed it with Larry Candler in a few hours that morning. Murphy believes the song came to him from a story his grandfather told him when he was a little boy. Released in February 1975, “Wildfire” became Murphey’s highest-charting pop hit in the United States. It hit #3 on Billboard that week and is considered a classic today.

Happy Valentine’s Day

HERE’S A MUCH BETTER IDEA

The Pro-ject Automat Turntable doesn’t include speakers, but it does include a fully-automatic start-and-stop with a German-made assembly that disengages and decouples while the record plays, thereby preserving the sound from mechanical vibration. I personally use Rega decks, but this option is very appealing.