September 26th, 1997 marks the release date of Travis’s debut effort Good Feeling. It’s also the day the group didn’t take the world by storm.

In May of 1913, just one year before the start of the first World War, Igor Stravinsky premiered his third ballet with the Ballets Russes in Paris: Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring). The premiere would go down in history for a number of reasons, primarily due to the unruly Parisian audience that descended into what could be referred to as a riot. What was so scandalous about the Rite? Stravinsky, along with choreographer Vaslav Nijinsky, wanted to evoke a picture of Russia from the distant, pagan past. A story of an ancient pagan rite where a young maiden would be chosen to dance herself to death to appease the ancestors and secure a bountiful harvest. The music, while stylistically not a huge departure from Stravinsky’s two previous and successful Parisian ballets, was dissonant, brutal, and rhythmically disorienting. Likewise, Nijinsky’s choreography was rigid, and was meant to mimic the flat, two-dimensional style of prehistoric paintings. The audience that night was not having it, but their uproar helped launch the Rite into infamy, helping it to become one of the most talked about and often performed works of the 20th century.

Legendary Englewood Cliffs, NJ Van Gelder Studio, the famed recording venue in which hundreds of the greatest jazz records ever were produced is the site for this recently announced second "Live from Van Gelder Studios" virtual music concert, happening on May 15th at 9PM EDT, with live re-streams on May 16th at 8PM JST for Asian markets and 8PM CEST for European markets.

Register to win a London Maroon Cartridge (Value $950.00 ea) and a StylusTimer (value $19.95) we are giving away.

According to the company:

"The legendary London (Decca) cartridge is known for its extraordinary and unmatched musicality, delivered by its unique transducer design. With a StylusTimer (2021 Stereophile Recommended Component) you can track cartridge break in-time, total stylus time, and the time you spend enjoying music, while preserving your system’s sound quality and protecting your records from damage from a worn stylus."

[This Sweepstakes is now closed.]

At a time when “all you can eat” music almost force feeds us with more content than any of us can possibly consume, and “table hopping” seems to be the order of the day, it may seem counterintuitive to serve up a multi-course meal like John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band The Ultimate Collection— a 6 CD, 2 Blu-Ray deep dive remixed set that explores the deepest recesses of John Lennon’s pivotal and most consequential album.

Join Acoustic Sounds' "All Star" live panel discussion Saturday May 8th at 12:00PM CST (Central Standard Time, 1:00PM EST, 10:00AM PT) with Acoustic Sounds/Analogue Productions/QRP's Chad Kassem, Mastering Engineer Bernie Grundman, Classic Records founder Mike Hobson, 45 RPM Audiophile's Michael Ludwigs, QRP Plating Wizard and Finebuilt press operator Gary Salstrom and AnalogPlanet Editor Michael Fremer when we discuss "all things Kind of Blue and UHQR followed by a Q&A.

Legendary recording engineer, producer, mixer and all around great person Al Schmitt died last week at 91. He was still working at the end of his life. The multiple Grammy winner engineered albums for Bob Dylan, The Jefferson Airplane, Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, Diana Krall, Sam Cooke, and on and on in an illustrious career that began as a child in his uncle Harry's New York City recording studio where he did odd jobs including cable cleaning.

It's the best selling jazz album ever, one of the most influential too, arguably the one that produced a shift from riffing on chord based tunes to modal excursions that gave musicians newfound improvisational freedom. Cynics and the selfish will react to yet another Kind of Blue reissue by claiming that "everyone" already owns a copy but of course that's not true. And no one owns a 200 gram UHQR Clarity vinyl copy pressed one at a time on a manual Finebuilt press.

Craft's Record Store Day Dozen includes the first ever vinyl release of John Martyn's 1998 blues covers album The Church With One Bell as well as a deluxe edition of the indispensable 1966 3 LP set Chicago/The Blues/Today! originally on Vanguard.

The 12-Part "Behind the Counter 2021" video series debuts today and continues weekly 12pm EDT with 11 additional installments available of Classic Album Sundays' various Internet platforms. These are short, fun videos well worth watching, though on the first one debuting today the guy kind of disses buying a good pressing and says "whatever" as long as it's physical. He needs a wake up call!