Remembering Jesse Colin Young, a Gifted Singer & Songwriter Who Taught Us All How to Get Together and Overcome Darkness, Darkness

Singer, songwriter, and folk-centric multi-instrumentalist Jesse Colin Young passed away at age 83 at his home in Aiken, South Carolina, on March 16, 2025. Young’s artistic legacy remains quite vibrant and most especially fruitful on vinyl, whether it be from The Youngbloods era on Sundazed’s 2010 reissue of 1967’s Earth Music and Impex’s 2023 180g LP reissue of 1969’s Elephant Mountain, or Young’s 2019 2LP solo album Dreamers. In this mega-expanded interview, Young and AP editor Mike Mettler discuss how The Youngbloods’ perennial favorite “Get Together” beat the odds to become an indelible hit, why he felt “Darkness, Darkness” is among his best-loved — and most covered — songs, and why his 2019 studio album Dreamers absolutely had to appear on 2LPs, and not just one. . .

Ortofon’s MC 90X Cartridge: A Classic Cart Gets Revisited & Reimagined

All hail the return of a classic cart! Or, as Ortofon puts it, “A classic, reimagined.” We’re talking about Ortofon’s MC 90X cartridge, which builds upon the legacy of the Danish company’s rightfully acclaimed MC A90 moving-coil cartridge that was released 17(ish) years ago in conjunction with the company’s 90th anniversary. Read on to see all the specs and features of the limited-edition MC 90X cart. . .

Florida International Audio Expo 2025 Show Report, Part 8: Soulines, Electrocompaniet, and Triangle Embody a Marriage of Sound & Style

Hello and welcome to Part 8 of Julie Mullins’ Florida International Audio Expo 2025 show report, the final installment in this series. Here, Julie checks out a Soulines turntable, Electrocompaniet phono preamp, Triangle speakers, and more. . .

Short Cuts, Vol. 22, Beaucoup Blues Edition: Four Great 180g 1LP AAA Blues Reissues From John Lee Hooker, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Mississippi John Hurt & Lonnie Johnson With Elmer Snowden

Original blues vinyl pressings are cousins to jazz and soul LPs in terms of scarcity and availability in super-clean condition, just a few of the reasons why they are often super-expensive propositions in the collector’s marketplace. That all makes these four truly outstanding Acoustic Sounds-pedigreed reissues from Verve/UMe and Craft Recordings’ Bluesville series all the more important — in effect, bringing a quartet of classic LP rarities back into more widespread availability in a high-quality manner. Read Mark Smotroff’s Short Cuts combo review to see which of these four 180g 1LP AAA releases from John Lee Hooker, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Mississippi John Hurt, and Lonnie Johnson With Elmer Snowden belong in your collection. . .

Florida International Audio Expo 2025 Show Report, Part 7: VPI, VAC & Acora Acoustics All Play Nice Together

Welcome to Part 7 of Julie Mullins’ Florida International Audio Expo 2025 show report. This time, Julie enters the Palm Room to check out the VPI Avenger Statement turntable, VAC Statement Phono preamp, Acora Acoustics’ VRC stone speakers, and more. . .

Florida International Audio Expo 2025 Show Report, Part 6: Bergmann Galder & Odin Gold Edition Turntable, Air Tight MC Cartridge, Western Electric Phono Preamp, YG Acoustics Speakers

Here we are with Part 6 of Julie Mullins’ Florida International Audio Expo 2025 show report! For this installment, Julie heads into the Brandon 2 Room to experience a Bergmann Galder & Odin Gold Edition turntable, Air Tight Opus-1 MC cartridge, Western Electric 116C phono preamp, YG Acoustics XV 3 Signature speakers, and more. . .

Record Store Report: Tunnel Records, San Francisco’s Shining Star of an Indie Store (Times Three)

It is always refreshing to share a truly good story about a person with a vision achieving bonafide success in the music business — especially when it comes to selling records. Surfing the wave of the resurgent interest in all things vintage vinyl, San Francisco’s Tunnel Records. Read Mark Smotroff’s interview with shop founder Ben Wintroub to see just how he’s made not one but three great Tunnel Records SF locales thrive. . .

Florida International Audio Expo 2025 Show Report, Part 5: J.Sikora’s Initial MAX Turntable Is a Vision in White

Hello and welcome to Part 5 of Julie Mullins’ Florida International Audio Expo 2025 show report! This time around, Julie checks out J.Sikora’s amazing Initial MAX Special Edition turntable, in addition to a J.Sikora KV12TVA 12in tonearm, Ortofon AS-309R 12in tonearm, Aidas Tru-stone Gold Web cartridge, Doshi Audio Evolution phono preamp, and more. . .

Florida International Audio Expo 2025 Show Report, Part 4: United Home Audio & MBL Collectively Demo a Powerhouse Open-Reel Deck & Speaker Combo

Welcome to Part 4 of Julie Mullins’ Florida International Audio Expo 2025 show report! Here, Julie goes to the Brandon 5 Room to experience a system comprised of United Home Audio’s Ultima Apollo open-reel tape deck, MBL 101 E MKII loudspeakers, a pair of MBL 9011 mono power amps, and more. . .

Supertramp’s New Live in Paris ’79 3LP Set Is a Tres, Tres Bon Expanded Chronicle of a Premier Prog/Pop Band During Their Onstage Prime

When I originally received Supertramp’s 2LP live set Paris as a birthday gift in mid-October 1980 — just a few weeks after its official release on A&M in September 1980 — I was ecstatic, to say the least. At that time in my then-young life, I had probably listened to Supertramp’s full studio catalog on vinyl just as much as I had to the balance of the Yes and Led Zeppelin LPs I had in my collection back in those days, so I was very much looking forward to hearing how the five-man prog/pop British collective performed their often complex, layered studio recordings live.

Primary Category: 
Category: 
Artist: 
Supertramp
Album: 
Live in Paris ’79
Cred Label: 
Mercury Studios/UMG
Cred Prod: 
Dave Margereson (executive producer), Peter Clifton (producer), Peter Henderson, Russell Pope (original 2LP set)
Cred Eng: 
Peter Henderson, Russell Pope (original 2LP set)
Cred Mix: 
Peter Henderson, Russell Pope (stereo remix)
Cred Mast: 
Mazen Murad (Katara Studios), Naweed Ahmed (new lacquers cut at Whitfield Mastering in London)

Mercury Studios has seen fit to go all-in on Supertramp’s Live in Paris ’79, which they just released as a fully expanded, complete-concert 3LP set on February 28, 2025. Read Mike Mettler’s review to see if this version improves upon the original, somewhat truncated 1980 2LP version then more simply known as Paris. . .

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