Album Reviews

"You're Driving Me Crazy" With Joey DeFrancesco Is Van's Best In Quite Some Time

Michael Fremer  |  May 15, 2018

You're Driving Me Crazy
Van Morrison and Joey DeFrancesco
 
Exile/Legacy 19075820041 2 140g LPs
Produced by: Van Morrison (co-produced by Joey DeFrancesco
Engineered by: Jim Stern
Mixed by: Jim Stern
Mastered by: Jim Stern (lacquers cut at SST though Paul Stubblebine credited on jacket)
 
MUSIC
SOUND
Imagine Van and organist Joey Francesco getting together for a late night jam session with some friends and running through a set of Van tunes plus an assortment of standards. You don't have to imagine it because that's what this album sounds like and it's close to how these sessions were produced. Van and Joey clearly had great fun making this record. Van hasn't sang this freely and playfully on record in some time.

Primary Category: 
Album Reviews
Category: 
Album Reviews
Artist: 
Van Morrison and Joey DeFrancesco
Album: 
You're Driving Me Crazy
Cred Label: 
Exile/Legacy 19075820041 2 140g LPs
Cred Prod: 
Van Morrison (co-produced by Joey DeFrancesco
Cred Eng: 
Jim Stern
Cred Mix: 
Jim Stern
Cred Mast: 
Jim Stern (lacquers cut at SST though Paul Stubblebine credited on jacket)
Michael Fremer
Imagine Van and organist Joey Francesco getting together for a late night jam session with some friends and running through a set of Van tunes plus an assortment of standards. You don't have to imagine it because that's what this album sounds like and it's close to how these sessions were produced. Van and Joey clearly had great fun making this record. Van hasn't sang this freely and playfully on record in some time.

Munich 2018

Ortofon's Leif Johannsen Introduces the New 100th Anniversary Century Cartridges

Michael Fremer  |  May 14, 2018

First thing Friday morning at High End Munich 2018, AnalogPlanet editor Michael Fremer sat down with Leif Johannsen, Ortofon's Chief Officer of Acoustics and Technology, who for more than a decade has been in charge of designing the company's phono cartridges.

Munich 2018

Walk the Floors and Visit the Listening Rooms Day One at Munich's High End Show 2018

Michael Fremer  |  May 12, 2018

Day one's video coverage at High End Munich 2018 finally uploaded. More than an hour's worth of edited video is embedded below. This year's show was bigger, better and more crowded than ever. As you'll see, the world's high performance audio designers and manufacturers have been busy creating exciting new and innovative audio gear, especially in the analog domain and at every price point.

Munich 2018

"IUC Syndrome" Strikes High End Munich Attendees, Hinders YouTube Video Uploads

Michael Fremer  |  May 12, 2018

A treatable condition known as "IUC Syndrome" or Internet Upload Constipation Syndrome, a known and treatable condition, is hindering YouTube video uploads from High End Munich 2018.Symptoms include a choking sensation around the neck, panic, and finally despair.

Munich 2018

Boulder Debuts New Compact Phono Preamplifier At High End Munich 2018

Michael Fremer  |  May 12, 2018

Boulder introduced at High End Munich 2018 a new, compact phono preamplifier. The 508 is said to contain much of the circuitry of the company's 1008 phono preamp while retaining an even larger percentage of the 1008's sonic performance.

Munich 2018

SME Debuts New Integrated "Synergy" Turntable At High End Munich

Michael Fremer  |  May 11, 2018

SME debuted "Synergy" at High End Munich 2018, the company's first new turntable since it introduced in 2015 the Model 15. The Synergy is also the SME's first "Integrated" turntable and its its first non-numbered product. It's also the first to be introduced under the company's new CEO Stuart McNeilis appointed after SME's purchase by The Cadence Group.

Munich 2018

High End Munich 2018 Day One

Michael Fremer  |  May 10, 2018

Day one High End Munich 2018 was as new analog gear-packed as you would hope it might be. The image at the top is of a new Kuzma turntable priced at around $8000 dollars (don't hold me to that amount) that uses the same drive system as the far more expensive Stabi M that I reviewed last year in Stereophile. The differences are explained by Franc Kuzma in the approximately hour and a half video covering all of day one's coverage.

News

Wilson Audio Specialties Today Launches TuneTot Desktop Speaker System

Michael Fremer  |  May 10, 2018

Wilson Audio Specialties today launched TuneTot, a compact desk-top loudspeaker intended primarily for near or mid-field listening in the executive suite, boardroom or wherever space is tight. Ideally, the speaker should be placed close to a wall to get low frequency boundary reinforcement benefits.

TuneTot the company’s most compact design since the mid-‘80s launch of the original WATT (Wilson Audio Tiny Tot). Wilson’s literature says it’s designed primarily for use on bookshelves, credenzas, counters and of course desktops—and not simply because of its size.

Munich 2018

High End Munich 2018 Coverage Begins Tomorrow!

Michael Fremer  |  May 9, 2018

High End Munich 2018 coverage begins tomorrow May 10th, as does the show. If Internet is available in the convention center there will be tweets and Instagram photos too. Otherwise coverage will post nightly depending upon Internet speed, which for now appears to be very video upload friendly. (Photo is from High End Munich 2007).

Analog Corner

Analog Corner #82

Michael Fremer  |  May 7, 2018  |  First Published: May 1, 2002

Setting tonearm geometry with Wally Malewicz's WallyTools (see later)

In his "Manufacturer's Comment" response to my writeup on the VPI Aries Extended turntable in March 2002, Harry Weisfeld wrote that, among other things, he wasn't pleased with what I'd set his 'table on. So I tried supporting the VPI with a piece of very heavy slate resting on six of those big AudioQuest Sorbothane half-spheres and made a series of recordings of LP tracks on the Alesis Masterlink's hard drive at 24-bits/96kHz.

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