Album Reviews

For the very first time, Rhino has released the entirely of Talking Heads’ soundtrack to their seminal September 1984 concert film, Stop Making Sense, in a remastered 2LP set. In this all-new combo-style tag-team review, Mike Mettler and Mark Smotroff tell us exactly why this new 40th anniversary 2LP SMS set is the best-sounding edition of SMS to date. . .

The new Live at The Matrix, 1967: The Original Masters super deluxe box set that features early live recordings by The Doors as captured on the cusp of their impending, immense fame is a wonderful historic document on vinyl — and a crucial crossroads moment. Issued for the first time in as complete form as possible — and from better sources than what’s been previously available — these semi-professional recordings give us a glimpse of this legendary L.A. band just before they broke out as international music sensations. Read Mark Smotroff’s in-depth review to see if Live at The Matrix, 1967 deserves a place in your collection. . .

It looks like the old Who’s Next. It feels like the old Who’s Next. But the new 180g 1LP half-speed-mastered 50th anniversary edition of The Who’s seminal August 1971 masterpiece Who’s Next sounds arguably bigger and better than any commonly available version of the original mix of Who’s Next that we’ve heard to date on vinyl. Read Mark Smotroff’s review to see why this new Abbey Road half-speed-mastered, Plangent Processes-restored 180g 1LP Who’s Next belongs on your turntable, pronto. . .

David Bowie’s October 1973 covers album, Pin Ups, was actually somewhat of a placeholder, made with the intention to fulfill contractual requirements for his then-label, RCA Records — but it actually became a smash hit. To celebrate the album’s 50th anniversary, Parlophone is releasing a 180g 1LP half-speed-mastered edition on October 20. Read Mark Smotroff’s review to see if the new Parlophone Pin Ups is a worthy addition to your LP listening queue. . .

Aja is the fourth (and first non-sequential) entry in Analogue Productions' comprehensive 200g 45rpm 2LP Steely Dan UHQR reissue series — and it’s possibly the most anticipated of them all. Does the UHQR edition of Aja stack up favorably with and/or sound better than the previous LP editions from the label likes of ABC, Mobile Fidelity, and Cisco? Read AP editor Mike Mettler’s in-depth review to find out if the Aja UHQR is worth every bit of those cool 1,500 dime dances it’ll run you tp pick it up (a.k.a. $150, in normal dollars parlance). . .

The history of the storied 1962-1966 and 1967-1970 retrospective albums by The Beatles, alternately known as the Red Album and the Blue Album, is quite fascinating — and now they’re both newly available in expanded, 50th anniversary 180g 3LP editions with a number of additional tracks not on either of the original 1973 releases, one of them being the “final” Bealtes song, “Now And Then.” Read Mark Smotroff’s review to see if either/both of the new Red and Blue 3LP sets belong in your collection and on your turntable. . .