Album Reviews

In the aftermath of The Mothers’ September 1973 hit LP Over-Nite Sensation, Frank Zappa began a process of trying to capture his amazing band on video for a hopeful television program. It took the better part of a year to eventually accomplish the task, as two trial efforts were deemed unusable at the time. Thankfully, modern restoration techniques have helped salvage such historic works in these 21st century tymes (sic), and that second session — now officially titled Cheaper Than Cheep — is being released by Zappa Records/UMe today, June 27, 2025, as a 180g 3LP set. Read Mark Smotroff’s review to see why Cheep is anything but, and is instead another worthwhile addition to the Zappa-on-vinyl canon. . .

Last week was indeed a tough one for those of us who listen to a lot of music on vinyl that initially made literal waves in the latter half of the 20th Century. Just two days prior to Beach Boys architect Brian Wilson’s passing at age 82 on June 11, 2025, funk/soul pop pioneer Sly Stone also passed away at age 82 on June 9, 2025. In the following in-depth analysis, AP editor Mike Mettler and our chief album reviewer Mark Smotroff combine forces to give us their collective overview of Sly’s best moments on vinyl. . .

Several iconic, pop-rockin’, punk-adjacent artists from the late 1970s and early 1980s new-wave era have new albums out now — and there are also a number of encouraging audiophile-oriented reissues as well. For this somewhat thematic Short Cuts installment, Mark Smotroff zeros in on a mixture of both by exploring a pair of fun new releases from The Vapors and Peter Holsapple, plus an AAA reissue of a Violent Femmes album we suspect many of us overlooked at the time of its original 1984 release. . .

Today, we continue our deep dive into reviewing seven more compelling, affordably priced, and generally well-made reissues of classic 1960s and early ’70s Motown LPs released by Elemental Music and UMe. Read on to see Mark Smotroff’s Short Cuts takes on the latest round of 140g 1LP reissues from Jackson 5, Four Tops, The Undisputed Truth, Diana Ross and The Supremes, The Temptations, Gladys Knight & The Pips, and Marvin Gaye. . .

Explorations, the 1961 second and final studio release by the classic first Bill Evans Trio featuring piano maestro Bill Evans, bassist Scott LaFaro, and drummer Paul Motian, is remarkable on many levels. Craft Recordings’ recent, late-2024-released Small Batch AAA 180g 1LP edition of this influential, highly sought after jazz classic is sure to be appreciated by jazz aficionados and audiophiles alike who have been searching for as definitive a pressing as possible. Read Mark Smotroff’s review to see why this Small Batch Explorations LP is well worth your time and money. . .

By now you’ve probably heard the news that Elton John has paired up with Americana crossover phenomenon Brandi Carlile on their fine new Top 10 LP Who Believes in Angels?, which was released by Rocket/EMI on April 4, 2025. Given all the advance hype, we suspect some of you fence-sitters are probably wondering how the album actually sounds on vinyl, so read Mark Smotroff’s review to see how it holds up to repeated spins. . .

Worth the wait! We’re happy to report that Venus and Mars — Paul McCartney and Wings’ May 1975 arena-rocking, No. 1-charting, platinum-selling smash-hit album — has just received the official Abbey Road Studios half-speed-mastered deluxe treatment in celebration of its 50th Anniversary this year, having been officially released as a 180g single LP by MPL/Capitol/UMe on March 21, 2025. Read Mark Smotroff’s review to see why you need to get your copy of Venus and Mars ASAP. . .