Features

EISA, or the Expert Imaging and Sound Association, is an organization representing 53 of the most respected special interest publications and websites from 26 countries that cover Hi-Fi, Home Theater, Photography, Mobile Devices, and In-Car Electronics. Every year EISA’s Expert Group members, including editors from our sister sites like Stereophile and Hi-Fi News, test a very wide range of new products from their field of expertise before comparing results and voting to decide on the cream of every product category. We here at AP salute the EISA awards and all the hard work our fellow audiophile-minded editors put in on them this year — well, every year! — so read on to see who the analog-centric winners are for this awards cycle . . .

We didn’t have a new album from Elvis Costello and T Bone Burnett on our 2024 checklist — but here we are enjoying an unexpected yet long overdue brand-new self-titled 2LP set by their alter-ego personas known as The Coward Brothers. We also get a second, related vinyl gift — a 2024 reissue of Elvis’ masterful February 1986 LP credited to The Costello Show, King of America. Read Mark Smotroff’s combo review to see if both of these Costello/Burnett LP collabs are worthy, right-before-the-holiday-break additions to your collection. . .

I Love the Music of Esquivel: So Zu Me!

Esquivel: Other Voices, Other Sounds/Four Corners of the World
Bar/None AHAON-090

Esquivel: Exploring New Sounds in Stereo/Strings Aflame
Bar/None AHAON-091

Esquivel: Infinity in Sound, Volume 1/Infinity in Sound, Volume 2
Bar/None AHAON-003

(1 and 2) Produced by Johnny Camacho, (3) produced by Neely Plumb
Reissue Supervision: Paul Williams for House of Hits Productions, Ltd. Digital transfers by Mike Hartrey
Digitally remastered by dbs Digital, Hoboken, NJ

This whole Cocktail Nation, Space Age Bachelor Pad Music revival thing strikes me with extreme bemusement. All of a sudden, a new generation discovers and decides that what was once unhip is now the coolest—whether martinis, leopard skin, kitschy Fifties furniture—or the "easy listening" instrumental music popular at the dawn of the Stereo Age.

In a moment that truly signifies the end of an era, the passing of 1960s psychedelic music legend, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, and Grateful Dead co-founder Bob Weir at age 78 on January 10, 2026, has certainly shook the souls of fans all around the world. It’s such a tremendous loss, and we here at AP can’t help but continue to be awe-inspired by his incredible career and joyously rich musical output. To properly fete the man’s accomplishments, we tasked our resident Deadhead Mark Smotroff to reflect on Weir’s life and times, in addition to recommending some choice Weir-centric listening moments on vinyl — both studio recordings and live performances — for fans old and new to seek out and enjoy. . .

I had to buy it.