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The Beach Boys Will Celebrate the 60th Anniversary of Their Seminal 1966 Pet Sounds Album With Multiple Vinyl Editions Including AAA 180g 2LP Vinylphyle and 180g 1LP DSS Configurations on May 15
Mike Mettler  |  Mar 25, 2026

Wouldn’t it be nice if The Beach Boys were to somehow celebrate the upcoming 60th anniversary of one of the most important album releases of the 20th century, May 1966’s Pet Sounds? Oh, wait — they will be doing just that with a few different analog-oriented, vinyl-centric releases to come via Capitol/UMe on May 15, 2026. Read AP editor Mike Mettler’s report to see which LP version of Pet Sounds 60 you should get (or simply get all of them, just like he will). . .

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AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
The Beach Boys: The Final Nine Analogue Productions Reissues
Michael Fremer  |  Sep 09, 2016
Analogue Productions recently completed one of the major reissue projects in modern vinyl playback history with the release of the final eight Beach Boys albums in both mono and stereo.

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AAA VinylNews
The Beatles Announce New Limited Edition All-Analog 7" Vinyl Singles Box With a Twist *
Michael Fremer  |  Oct 21, 2019
* (Not now convinced these were cut from tape).The Beatles just announced The Beatles: The Singles Collection, a limited edition, collectible box set containing 23 180-gram vinyl singles cut by Sean Magee from the original mono and stereo singles mix tapes. Between 1962 and 1970 The Beatles released 22 singles. Of the 44 A and B sides, 29 were not included on the group's British albums—singles were usually omitted in Britain, though the released albums contained more tracks than were issued per album in The United States (you probably already knew that!).

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AAA VinylAlbum ReviewsBeatles
The Beatles’ 1964 U.S. Albums in Mono 180g 8LP Box Set Offers All-Analog Updates That Will Appeal to Enthusiasts and Newbies Alike
Mark Smotroff  |  Dec 06, 2024

In the Beatleverse, it is generally well known and quite accepted that the mono mixes of the early Beatles recordings are considered superior to the stereo counterparts for many reasons. Thus, a new box set assembling 21st century recreations of the U.S. Beatles albums in their original monaural sound has a special sort of appeal — and that’s where the 1964 U.S. Albums in Mono 180g 8LP box set, which was released by Apple Corps Ltd./Capitol/UMe on November 22, 2024, comes into play. Read Mark Smotroff’s review to see if The Beatles’ 1964 U.S. Albums in Mono 180g 8LP box set is fab enough to put on your holiday-purchase list, or if you should buy each album individually. . .

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AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
The Berlin Philharmonic's Direct-To-Disc Brahms Symphonic Cycle Conducted By Sir Simon Rattle
Michael Fremer  |  Dec 23, 2016
The just released (November 18, 2016) six LP box set of the four Brahms symphonies recorded direct-to-disc performed by Sir Simon Rattle and The Berlin Philharmonic before a live Philharmonie audience is as meticulously produced and presented as its existence is unlikely.

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AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
The Berlin Philharmonic's Direct-to-Disc Bruckner Symphony #7 Box Set
Michael Fremer  |  Jun 01, 2020
Last May 11th 2019 guest conductor Bernard Haitink conducted the BPO in his final performance with the orchestra. At the time plans were made to record the performance of Bruckner's 7th symphony "Direct-to-Disc" neither the orchestra nor the conductor knew it would be their last collaboration. Haitink announced his retirement shortly after the concert.

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AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
The Best Ever Kind of Blue?
Michael Fremer  |  May 17, 2021
Is it possible to now write anything that hasn’t already been written or said about this record? I haven’t any fresh insights to offer that might advance what you probably already know. A good Kind of Blue pressing puts you in the 30th Street studio to hear the performance. Ashley Kahn’s “Kind of Blue” book sets the pre-recording stage, offering both musical and technical details and puts you as much in the control room as in front of the band.

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AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
The Cranberries' "everybody else is doing it, so why can't we?" First Time on Vinyl in 24 Years
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 11, 2018
What a voice, what a loss. Dolores O'Riordan, lead singer of the Irish group The Cranberries died suddenly in London January 15th, 2018 at age 46. She was in town for a recording session.

O'Riordan wrote lyrics and on some of the group's songs, the music as well, including three on this, the group's 1993 debut album. She also wrote music and lyrics on probably the group's best known song "Zombie"—her reaction to terrorist bombings by the Irish Republican Army—which is not on this album.

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AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
The Doors’ L.A. Woman Puts You Right in the Band’s Rehearsal Room on Acoustic Sounds’ Stunning New 200g 1LP UHQR Edition
Mike Mettler  |  Oct 02, 2024

In honor of Audiophile Day (October 2), I spent the balance of my afternoon and evening hours spinning some of my favorite LPs, both new and old alike. With that in mind, let me tell you a story about The Doors and the big beat of Analogue Productions’ new 200g 1LP UHQR edition of their April 1971 studio swan song with Jim Morrison behind the mike during his lifetime, L.A. Woman. Read on to see why this new Clarity Vinyl edition belongs on your turntable now. . .

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AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
The Flying Burrito Bros' "The Gilded Palace of Sin" Finally Reissued Correctly
Michael Fremer  |  May 03, 2017
Characterizing The Gilded Palace of Sin as a “country-rock” album or “the first country-rock album” or as it’s incorrectly called by some Sweetheart of The Rodeo Part 2 sells short an album that transcends genre or for that matter “dash-genres”.

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AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
The Judee Sill Cult Continues, This Time at 45rpm
Michael Fremer  |  Oct 09, 2017
The turbulent and tragic Judee Sill story provides the ingredients from which musical cult followings are made: two critically acclaimed Asylum albums (she was the first artist David Geffen signed to the label) that despite great expectations sold poorly, a fight with Geffen over lack of support after which the label dropped her, a return to heroin addiction, and a drug overdose death in 1979 at age 35.

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AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
The Monty Alexander Trio Live! at the Montreux Festival
Michael Fremer  |  Oct 02, 2016
Jamaican-born pianist Monty Alexander still tours at age seventy two. He was but thirty two when this live album was recorded at The Montreux Jazz Festival.

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AAA VinylAlbum ReviewsVinyl Reports
The Rhino High Fidelity Series Kicks Off Their John Coltrane Centennial Celebration With AAA Mono Versions of Six of Trane’s Seminal Atlantic-Era Albums in New 180g 6LP 1960–1964 Mono Box Set
Mark Smotroff  |  Feb 13, 2026

For many music enthusiasts just getting into jazz, the arguable best way to discover the work of the legendary saxophonist John Coltrane is to, in fact, listen to his seminal recordings made for the Atlantic label in the early 1960s — and listen to them in mono. And thus, that leads us directly to today’s review subject, John Coltrane’s 1960–1964 Mono, a 180g 6LP box set released via Rhino’s most excellent High Fidelity Series back in late November 2025 as the ostensible kickoff celebration for this year’s Coltrane Centennial. (The late, great Trane was born in September 1926.) Read Mark Smotroff’s review to see exactly why you should make the investment to get your hands (and ears) on the 1960–1964 Mono collection. . .

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AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
The Right Rite?
Michael Leser Johnson  |  May 16, 2021
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.

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AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
The White Stripes’ Heavy-Hitting 2003 Album Elephant Delivers Hard-Rock Power and Unbridled Glory in Its New, Mightily Impressive AAA 200g 2LP 45rpm UHQR Analogue Productions Edition
Mark Smotroff  |  Dec 28, 2023

The inherent quality of Jack White’s songwriting and production skills ultimately elevated The White Stripes’ much-celebrated April 2003 LP Elephant to the next level — and Analogue Productions’ new AAA 200g 45rpm 2LP version takes it even higher. Read Mark Smotroff’s review to see why Elephant sets yet another benchmark in the ever-expanding UHQR series. . .

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