Album Reviews

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Album Reviews
Set the "Wayback Machine" to 1958!
Michael Fremer  |  Aug 01, 2003

You won’t be buying these two LPs for their sonics. Primitive television show soundtracks from a Compton, California based local program recorded before an appreciative live audience, provide listeners with a “way back machine” glimpse of another time, and seemingly another universe—especially when you consider the music for which Compton’s currently best known.

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Album Reviews
Seventh Heaven
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 01, 2012

Does it have to sound this bad fellas? We all love your brand of fist pumping, T-Rex boogie, rhythm guitar riffing rock.

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Album Reviews
Shawn Mendes’ Wonder  Swerves From Uninspired
Nathan Zeller  |  Mar 19, 2021
The history of recorded music is as long as it is terrific. While that may sound wonderful, I can assure you there are strings attached.

Today’s mainstream artists face an originality problem, one which many musicians feel no desire to solve— though there are some current exceptions including Jacob Collier, Kendrick Lamar, and Vulfpeck. Few lack the passion required to create something that is truly their own, but among those who do is 22 year-old Canadian Shawn Mendes—one of five under-the-age-of-18 artists in Billboard album chart history to debut at #1. On Wonder, his latest album, Mendes chases that very passion.

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Album ReviewsShort Cuts
Short Cuts, Vol 29: Rare Vinyl Reissues From the Candid Records Archive Include Vital LPs by Unsung Jazz Vocalist Nancy Harrow, Noted Jazz Pianist Jaki Byard, and Legendary Bluesman Memphis Slim
Mark Smotroff  |  Jun 20, 2025

Candid Records was a short-lived (1961-63) but respected label out of New York City owned by producer, arranger, and musician Archie Bleyer, and it was helmed by legendary jazz critic Nat Hentoff. A recent spate of Candid reissue LPs have come to our attention, so check out Mark Smotroff’s combo Short Cuts review of three of them — newly cut LPs of vintage albums from underappreciated jazz vocalist Nancy Harrow, noted jazz pianist Jaki Byard, and legendary bluesman Memphis Slim — to see if you need to add any or all of them to your “must get” list. . .

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Album ReviewsShort Cuts
Short Cuts, Vol. 17: A Fine Mixture of Gospel, Jazz, Funk, Soul, Dance, Pop, and Disco Can Be Found on a Trio of Exciting Current LPs From Lady Blackbird, Chappell Roan, and Sylvester
Mark Smotroff  |  Sep 27, 2024

A trio of new releases share some wonderful and often heartfelt aesthetics across a variety of genres, dance music-infused sounds, personal identity, and artistic freedom, and we’re covering all three of them today together under our Short Cuts album review banner. Read Mark Smotroff’s roundup review of three wonderful LPs from the always adventurous female singer Lady Blackbird, chart sensation and vocal marvel Chappell Roan, and a full live concert reissue from the vaults of the late, legendary dance music pioneer Sylvester. . .

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Album ReviewsShort Cuts
Short Cuts, Vol. 18, Elemental Music’s 140g 1LP Motown Sound Collection Reissue Series Revives a Score of Treasured and Hard-to-Find ’60s Soul and R&B Gems
Mark Smotroff  |  Oct 04, 2024

A new 140g 1LP reissue series from Elemental Music that’s officially been dubbed the Motown Sound Collection has been underway since this past May, so it’s high time we’ve gotten around to covering some of the LPs that have come out under its umbrella in the interim. Read Mark Smotroff’s Short Cuts review to see how five Elemental-reissued vintage Motown titles from The Jackson 5, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, and The Supremes all fared on his turntable. . .

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AAA VinylAlbum ReviewsShort Cuts
Short Cuts, Vol. 19: Six Great, Recently Reissued 180g LPs From Blues Giants Albert King, Jimmy Reed, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Skip James, Blind Gary Davis, and B.B. King
Mark Smotroff  |  Jan 03, 2025

Our first Short Cuts combo-review entry of 2025 covers six recent blues reissues — five from the Bluesville Series from Craft Recordings, plus one archival release issued on RSD 2024 by Deep Digs/Elemental Music. Read Mark Smotroff’s Short Cuts combo review to see how many of these fine 180g LP offerings from Albert King, Jimmy Reed, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Skip James, Blind Gary Davis, and B.B. King belong in your collection. . .

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Album ReviewsShort Cuts
Short Cuts, Vol. 20: Elemental’s Motown Reissue Series Rolls On With 140g Virgin Vinyl Offerings of Popular Period LPs by The Temptations, Diana Ross and The Supremes, Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight & The Pips, and Eddie Kendricks
Mark Smotroff  |  Jan 31, 2025

There is something incredibly compelling about Elemental Music and UMe’s ongoing, affordably priced, and generally well-made reissue series of classic Motown titles. Read Mark Smotroff’s latest Motown Short Cuts combo review to see which of these 140g 1LP editions of classic LPs from The Temptations, Diana Ross and The Supremes, Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight & The Pips, and Eddie Kendricks belong in your collection. . .

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Album ReviewsShort Cuts
Short Cuts, Vol. 21: Space Is The Place — Four New & Recent 180g Sun Ra LPs, Plus One From an Artist He Inspired, Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids
Mark Smotroff  |  Feb 14, 2025

The name Sun Ra and the term “free jazz” can conjure up all manner of strange musical imagery, especially amongst those unfamiliar with his music. Alternate identifiers such as “free improvisation” and the more umbrella-like “modern jazz” might ease those anxieties, but the reality is, a lot of Ra’s spirited music is not as random and difficult as some might think. Read Mark Smotroff’s Short Cuts combo review that focuses on five new and recent 180g Sun Ra-centric vinyl releases that we hope will intrigue listeners to explore this fascinating artist’s music with fresh ears and open minds. . .

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AAA VinylAlbum ReviewsShort Cuts
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
Mark Smotroff  |  Mar 14, 2025

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. . .

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Album ReviewsShort Cuts
Short Cuts, Vol. 23, Garage-a-Rama Edition: Enjoying the Endless Pop Possibilities With New LPs From The Remains, Ron Dante, Michigander & Guided By Voices
Mark Smotroff  |  Mar 21, 2025

In our latest Short Cuts LP review roundup, Mark Smotroff catches up on some fun rockin’ albums from artists past and present, including Boston’s The Remains; Staten Island, New York’s Ron Dante (i.e., the voice of The Archies!); Kalamazoo, Michigan’s Michigander; and Dayton, Ohio’s Guided By Voices. . .

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Album ReviewsShort Cuts
Short Cuts, Vol. 25: Rhino High Fidelity Series Strikes Again With a Pair of 180g 1LP Winners From Alice Cooper & Black Sabbath
Mark Smotroff  |  May 02, 2025
The prospect of reviewing two new Rhino High Fidelity reissues featuring seminal recordings by hard-rockin’ proto-heavy metal pioneers Black Sabbath and Alice Cooper is both exciting and daunting. Read Mark Smotroff’s combo review of the new 180g 1LP versions of Cooper’s 1971 classic Love It to Death and Sabbath’s pivotal 1970 release Paranoid to see if they both make the (up)grade. . .

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Album ReviewsShort Cuts
Short Cuts, Vol. 26: Craft Recordings’ Most Excellent Bluesville Series Continues With a Pair of 180g LP Reissues From Two Different But Highly Influential Blues Artists, Buddy Guy and Scrapper Blackwell
Mark Smotroff  |  May 16, 2025

The two latest releases in Craft Recordings’ ongoing, and quite superb, Bluesville reissue series sing the joys electric and acoustic blues from two generations of legendary blues artists. The 180g 1LP Bluesville editions of Buddy Guy’s 1968 live Vanguard debut This Is Buddy Guy! and Scrapper Blackwell’s 1962 Prestige Bluesville classic Mr. Scrapper’s Blues are both being released concurrently today, May 16, 2025, so read Mark Smotroff’s review to see if either/both of these blues albums should be instant purchases for your collection and listening pleasure. . .

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Album ReviewsShort Cuts
Short Cuts, Vol. 27: Elemental Music’s Fine Motown Reissue Series Continues With More 140g 1LP Gems From Jackson 5, Four Tops, The Undisputed Truth, Diana Ross and The Supremes, The Temptations, Gladys Knight & The Pips, and Marvin Gaye
Mark Smotroff  |  May 23, 2025

Today, we continue our deep dive into reviewing seven more compelling, affordably priced, and generally well-made reissues of classic 1960s and early ’70s Motown LPs released by Elemental Music and UMe. Read on to see Mark Smotroff’s Short Cuts takes on the latest round of 140g 1LP reissues from Jackson 5, Four Tops, The Undisputed Truth, Diana Ross and The Supremes, The Temptations, Gladys Knight & The Pips, and Marvin Gaye. . .

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Album ReviewsShort Cuts
Short Cuts, Vol. 28, New Wave Edition: Catching Up on Cool New LPs From ’80s Icons The Vapors and Peter Holsapple of The dB’s, Plus a Key Of-Era LP Reissue From Violent Femmes
Mark Smotroff  |  Jun 06, 2025

Several iconic, pop-rockin’, punk-adjacent artists from the late 1970s and early 1980s new-wave era have new albums out now — and there are also a number of encouraging audiophile-oriented reissues as well. For this somewhat thematic Short Cuts installment, Mark Smotroff zeros in on a mixture of both by exploring a pair of fun new releases from The Vapors and Peter Holsapple, plus an AAA reissue of a Violent Femmes album we suspect many of us overlooked at the time of its original 1984 release. . .

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