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Album Reviews
Two Late-Period Grateful Dead LPs, 1977’s Terrapin Station and 1987’s In The Dark, Respectively Receive Much Improved Remastered and Plangent-Restored 1LP Reissues From Rhino
Mark Smotroff  |  Mar 08, 2024

Plangent Processes is again at the center of a pair of new Grateful Dead reissues that were released by Rhino back in January: a) July 1977’s Top 30 hit LP Terrapin Station and July 1987’s Top 10 smash In the Dark — and now we’re finally getting around to reviewing them here together. Read Mark Smotroff’s review to see if either or both of these new LP editions of Terrapin Station and In the Dark — supervised and produced by noted Dead archivist David Lemieux, and mastered for vinyl by David Glasser — belong in your collection. . .

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Analog Gear News
Clearaudio Signature Turntable
Mike Mettler  |  Mar 07, 2024

Clearaudio sure have a notable signature style when it comes to their high-end turntables, and they’ve just announced a special edition of their Concept Signature table — redubbed more simply as the Signature turntable — that has been made both specifically and exclusively for the U.S. market, and it will be distributed stateside by Musical Surroundings. Read on to see what Clearaudio’s Q2-arriving stateside Signature table has to offer. . .

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Analog Gear News
Lenco LBT-345WA Turntable
Mike Mettler  |  Mar 06, 2024

Lenco and turntable expertise go hand in hand — and now, the venerable Swiss manufacturer is poised to reinforce that fact with the flagship entry in their Expertise line, the LBT-345WA turntable. Read on to see more of the specs and features for the new LBT-345WA table. . .

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Analog Gear News
Rekkord M600 Turntable
Mike Mettler  |  Mar 04, 2024

As many of you know, Rekkord turntables have been handcrafted in the company’s factory/facility in the Black Forest in Germany for the better part of a half-century. Back in November 2022, Rekkord garnered a new North American distribution deal with VANA, with the intention of making a combination of fully automatic and manual tables available over the course of the following year-plus — and now, it’s finally time for the Rekkord M600 to stake its claim in the domestic marketplace. Read on to see what’s what with the features and specs for the top-of-the-line M600. . .

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Interviews
Paula Cole Explores the Depths of Her Soul in Order to Behold a Better, More Intimate World on Vinyl With New 2LP Studio Set, Lo
Mike Mettler  |  Mar 03, 2024

Paula Cole didn’t want to wait any longer to take full control of her career — so the acclaimed, heart-on-her-sleeve singer/songwriter started her own 675 Records label a little over a decade ago, and she hasn’t looked back since. The latest fruit of Cole’s vinyl-centric labors is a new 2LP studio set, Lo, her 11th solo album, which was released on 675 on March 1. Produced by Cole herself, Lo teems with the caliber of songwriting depth and arrangement breadth she’s long been known for as an artist. In a recent Zoom interview with AP editor Mike Mettler, Cole discussed why listening to vinyl is a “full body” experience, why Lo had no choice but to be spread across three LP sides, and why she feels passionate about reclaiming the rights to re-release her first three albums on her own label.. . .

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Album Reviews
The Move’s Classic 1970 Sophomore Album Shazam Gets a Much Needed and Most Welcome Abbey Road-Remastered Vinyl Reissue Via Esoteric Recordings
Mark Smotroff  |  Mar 01, 2024

The Move, in their heyday — which was roughly 1967-71 — were quite popular in England and in Europe, despite never quite breaking through in a big way here in the States. Even so, The Move’s reputation has since continued to grow in stature — and their celebrated, hard-to-find sophomore LP, February 1970’s Shazam, has just been reissued by Esoteric Recordings. Read Mark Smotroff’s review to see if the Esoteric update of Shazam belongs in your collection and on your turntable. . .

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AAA VinylNews
Rhino Hi-Fi Takes 2024 by Analog Storm With a Slate of Six New AAA 180g 1LP Rock and Jazz Releases Through April 5
Mike Mettler  |  Feb 28, 2024

Rhino High Fidelity (a.k.a. Rhino Hi-Fi) is tackling the first quarter of 2024 head on by serving up a half-dozen new AAA 180g 1LP offerings in their acclaimed series of limited-edition vinyl reissues. Read on to see which six albums — a combination of rock and jazz classics — made the 2024 Q1 AAA Hi-Fi cut. . .

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Analog Gear News
Mola Mola Lupe Phono Preamp
Mike Mettler  |  Feb 27, 2024
A Dutch company, Mola Mola was known in the formative mid-2010s for their preamp, power amp, and integrated amp predilections — plus some DAC work as well — and now they’re doubling down on branching out even further into the analog realm with the standalone Lupe phono preamp. Read on to see what the Lupe offers for both MM and MC cartridge deployment accordingly. . .

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Analog Gear News
Pro-Ject T2 Super Phono Turntable
Mike Mettler  |  Feb 26, 2024

A lot of cool analog gear was seen and heard at the recent Florida International Audio Expo in Tampa, and one of the just-introduced products that caught both our eyes and ears there was Pro-Ject’s new T2 Super Phono turntable. Read on to see what the latest addition to Pro-Ject’s T series has to offer. . .

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Album Reviews
Yes’ Self-Titled 1969 Debut Album Makes a Welcome Return on Cobalt-Blue Vinyl With Original Pop-Art Cover Design Reinstated, But How Does It Stack Up Sonically With Its 2019 AAA Counterpart?
Mark Smotroff  |  Feb 23, 2024

Some fans of progressive rock legends Yes tend to overlook their self-titled July 1969 debut album — but they really shouldn’t. Luckily, Yes is newly available as part of Rhino’s “Start Your Ear Off Right” campaign on cobalt-blue vinyl, and it’s housed in a gatefold package that faithfully reproduces the pop-art stylings of the original UK edition. Read Mark Smotroff’s review to see how this new 2024 SYEOR version of Yes stacks up with the 2019 AAA RSD version. . .

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