LATEST ADDITIONS

One objection that vinyl playback naysayers often bring up is having to get up to flip the record or change tracks, or to repeat a favorite one. Not so with the forthcoming CoolGeek TS-01 turntable, as you can control this record player from your listening position via a remote controller. Read Julie Mullins’ report to see all the features and specs of the TS-01 are purported to be. . .

At the tail end of last year, we reviewed the inaugural release in UMe’s most excellent new Vinylphyle reissue series — The Velvet Underground & Nico’s 1967 self-titled debut LP — and this week, we’re going to dig into two more offerings from this most excellent series’ first run of releases: a) Bob Marley & The Wailers’ June 1977 global breakthrough LP Exodus, and b) The Band’s underappreciated yet iconic November 1975 original-lineup studio swan song, Northern Lights – Southern Cross. Read Mark Smotroff’s two-fer review to see why both of these Vinylphyle LPs deserve your immediate attention. . .

Upon the first listen to the opening notes of The Smashing Pumpkins’ debut single “I Am One” in mid-1990, we were immediately hooked on the four-piece Chicagoland band’s conjoined drive hard but also play dreamy dynamic — which was even more in evidence on the next song, “Siva,” which sported not one but two low-volume vocal/noodly guitar breaks before the band chaos returned to take the track back by storm. The ensuing album those tracks appeared on, May 1991’s Gish, further cemented our love of SP’s inventive explosiveness. To celebrate the impending 35th anniversary of Gish, multiple 180g 1LP vinyl variants via Martha’s Music/Virgin/UMe will mark the occasion on May 29, 2026, literally 35 years and a day after the album’s original release. Read AP editor Mike Mettler’s report to see why Gish endures, and why you need to hear it anew on vinyl. . .

For many music enthusiasts just getting into jazz, the arguable best way to discover the work of the legendary saxophonist John Coltrane is to, in fact, listen to his seminal recordings made for the Atlantic label in the early 1960s — and listen to them in mono. And thus, that leads us directly to today’s review subject, John Coltrane’s 1960–1964 Mono, a 180g 6LP box set released via Rhino’s most excellent High Fidelity Series back in late November 2025 as the ostensible kickoff celebration for this year’s Coltrane Centennial. (The late, great Trane was born in September 1926.) Read Mark Smotroff’s review to see exactly why you should make the investment to get your hands (and ears) on the 1960–1964 Mono collection. . .