Michael Fremer

First up: identifying the two John Lee Hooker files in The Tapestry reveal: "File 1" is the original pressing. "File 2" is the Analogue Productions 2010 double 45 reissue. Some preferred the reissue, clearly cut from a secondary source, lured by the added bass and top end intended to distract from the soft guitar transients, vocal cloud and lack of top end air and having locked into that, those listeners found the original pressing "bright" and "bass shy". It's a tricky business but while the original may have had the bottom cut slightly it is otherwise massively superior and over time far more listenable. Now on to a really interesting and important test!

With heartfelt help and support from his friends, Warren Zevon's musical sendoff is like a good funeral: a mixture of tears, laughter, fond remembrances, and in the end, a celebration of a life worth living, and one that obviously touched both those close at hand, and those seated in the audience.

One of the great "almost" bands of the 1960s, The Zombies had a career framed by two massive number-one hits: "She's Not There" in the summer of 1964 and "Time of the "Season" in 1969. It would be difficult to believe that any pop-music lover reading this has not heard those haunting minor-key tunes. This 20-track compilation demonstrates that The Zombies had much more to offer in between, but getting it all in one place has been difficult--and this compilation, good as it is, misses a few gems. If you want it all, try to find a copy of the four-CD, 119-track box set Zombie Heaven (ZOMBOX#7) issued in 1997 by Ace in the U.K.

Imported from Taiwan by Mockingbird LLC, which also imports the Jakutis turntable, the Zorin TP-S3 is an A.C. synchronous motor, belt-drive turntable with an acrylic platter riding on a polished ceramic bearing.

The $3750 'table, which weighs 29 pounds, features a polished stainless steel-aluminum alloy base incorporating the arm mount system.

The arm is the $2070 Zorin Music PUA-12, a 12" gimbaled bearing tonearm featuring a stainless steel arm tube and brass plated titanium counterweights. The patented headshell allows for overhang, zenith angle and VTA adjustability. The carbon fiber mat adds an extra $300+ to the total price.