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Friday, November 22nd was set-up day at the world's largest record fair. For a premium, organizers did let consumers in early so even as the booths were being set up and stocked, buyers made the rounds in the usual mad frenzied way.

Day two of the Utrecht Record Fair was less crowded, as my hosts predicted it would be, but still, in the morning at least, it was plenty crowded as record buyers returned for the discounts many vendors offered, hoping to sell records rather than schlep them home (or to the next record fair somewhere in Europe).

The Zappa Family Trust recently announced remastered vinyl reissues of these two significant double LP Frank Zappa records.

The 78 Project releases on January 28th, 2014, the Volume 1 Soundtrack album to the acclaimed web series that chronicles recordings made using a 1930's vintage Presto direct-to-acetate disc recorder similar to the one Alan Lomax used for his field recordings made between 1933 and 1942.

When a copy of the new Roy Orbison box set arrived in the mail the other day it was cause for celebration for this big Roy fan. The box includes Roy's first three Monument albums that I already had, both original Monument pressings and Classic Records' reissues, superbly remastered by Bernie Grundman from the original tapes.

What caused the abrasions seen in the picture of the one of four abraded LPs in the Record Store Day Roy Orbison box set? Analogplanet asked the question and wondered whether it was industrial sabotage, sloppy handing or a shipping snafu. We now think we have an answer.

Peter Asher, Donovan, Billy J. Kramer and others will take part in an evening of intimate conversation on Thursday February 6th, 2014. 50 years earlier to the day The Beatles were preparing to leave London for their first visit to America. They arrived at New York's Idlewild Airport to thousands of screaming fans and held a now famous press conference.