Album Reviews

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Album Reviews
The Gospel According to Zimmerman: "Trouble No More" The Bootleg Series Vol. 13/1979-1981
Michael Fremer  |  Dec 28, 2017
What always felt like it would be a nasty bump in the Dylan Bootleg Series road turns out to be a smooth walk on the water thanks to a concept the Dylan boot team perfectly executes by covering the mutable artist's evangelical period with highly charged live performances, outtakes and rehearsals that will turn you into a believer, if not in Christ, then in Dylan's absolute commitment to what he then preached and in the power of the songs and especially the supercharged performances he delivered.

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AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
"Willie Watson Folk Singer Vol.2" Goes Long on Authenticity
Michael Fremer  |  Jan 01, 2018
During the great folk music revival of the 1960s how many buyers of Peter, Paul & Mary's stunning debut album knew who was the Reverend Gary Davis, writer of the apocalyptic side 2 opener "If I Had My Way"? Probably very few. In those days you'd have to visit the local library to find out who he was, assuming you paid attention to label credits in the first place.

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Album Reviews
Donald Fagen's "The Nightfly" — Mobile Fidelity Does the Digital One-Step
Michael Fremer  |  Jan 03, 2018
Before getting to the audiofool controversy surrounding the release of a 3M digital recording on expensive vinyl, there's the music. You're smacked in the face on the side openers "I.G.Y." and "New Frontier" (on the original single LP) by the exuberance and sunlit optimism of the "certain fantasies" entertained by "a young man growing up in the remote suburbs" back when science was venerated and not denigrated as it is today in certain circles as a "liberal plot".

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AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
BBC Late Junction Sessions: "Unpopular Music"
Michael Fremer  |  Jan 03, 2018
Step away from your predictable audiophile fare and consider this double 45rpm LP set from the U.K.'s Gearbox Records of artists you've mostly never heard of playing music you've probably never heard either.

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Album Reviews
Peter Gabriel's "Passion" Reissued at 45rpm, Half-Speed Mastered
Michael Fremer  |  Jan 04, 2018
Silly me! I thought all Hans Zimmer lifted for The Gladiator soundtrack were bits and pieces of Holst's "The Planets". Everyone does that so no offense, but after playing this reissue I heard from where came the best parts of The Gladiator soundtrack. Surely this was on the CD player when Zimmer created his track. Don't get me wrong, it's still a masterful soundtrack and filled with sonic and musical jolts, but here's from where it originated.

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Album Reviews
Peter Horsfall's Valentine's Day Gift To You
Michael Fremer  |  Jan 25, 2018
The cover art for British jazz vocalist and trumpeter Peter Horsfall's recently released LP makes clear the music's moody, lonely-at-night feel. There's always hope though, embodied in his cover of pianist Barry Harris's "Paradise", which you can listen to below, transcribed via the new Technics SL-1000R turntable fitted with an Ortofon A95.

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Album Reviews
"Piano Noir" From Newvelle Features in Its Gatefold a Douglas Kennedy Short Story
Michael Fremer  |  Jan 26, 2018
Novelist Douglas Kennedy described himself as a "jazz junkie" in a 2016 New York Times profile. After reading it, Newvelle Records co-founder Elan Mehler got in touch. Kennedy quickly responded.

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Album Reviews
Robert Plant's "Carry Fire" Simmers But Still Provokes And Produces Plenty of Heat
Michael Fremer  |  Jan 29, 2018
Howard Stern is probably today's best interviewer still standing now that Charlie Rose is sidelined, though his recent Robert Plant sit-down was among his least effective. Stern was so looking forward to having Plant in the studio that he sort of forgot why Plant agreed to visit in the first place. Plus his usually crack research team dropped the ball.

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AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
Jefferson Airplane's "Volunteers" At 45rpm From Mobile Fidelity Still Revolting!
Michael Fremer  |  Feb 06, 2018
If you are too young to remember but want to experience the turmoil and dread that marked the end of the tumultuous 1960's and you want to view it through west coast music that veers from bucolic to anarchistic, from sublime to self-indulgent with a force and power rarely heard in today's noodling rock, here it is.

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Album Reviews
Steep Canyon Rangers "Out in the Open"
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 02, 2018
Bluegrass non-traditionalists Steep Canyon Rangers recently released this, the group's 12th album, without part time "front man" Steve Martin but with producer Joe Henry helming an exquisitely conceived and executed set of modern originals (plus one Bob Dylan cover) that preserves the traditional bluegrass sound while moving the genre into the contemporary musical world.

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Album Reviews
"Sonny Rollins Way Out West" Deluxe Edition From Craft Recordings—What Was, What Is, What Could Have Been
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 03, 2018
In March of 1957 during his first trip to the west coast, 26 year old Sonny Rollins, then a member of The Max Roach Quintet, booked a session at Lester Koenig’s Contemporary Studios. With Ray Brown also in Los Angeles starring in Oscar Peterson’s Trio, and Contemporary Records regular and Los Angeles based Shelly Manne also available, Rollins could fulfill a long running desire to record sans piano.

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Album Reviews
"Concert For George" Beautifully Packaged, Released on 4 180g LP Box Set
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 07, 2018
Let's get directly to the point: the packaging of this almost $100 set is inversely proportional to the sound quality. The packaging is deluxe.

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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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Album Reviews
Run Out Groove Issues Expanded Delaney & Bonnie And Friends "Motel Shot"
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 12, 2018
I always wondered what motel in the real world had a room big enough to produce the spectacularly spacious sound on the ATCO original (ATCO SD-33-358) released in 1971. This is a live, spontaneous white gospel album featuring D&B plus Leon Russell, Gram Parsons, Bobby Whitlock, Jim Keltner, Dave Mason, Duane Allman and many others. The concept was to give listeners the touring musicians' post concert informal jam session experience—whether in a motel, airport, or even onboard the airplane.

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AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
John Sebastian's First Solo Album Improves With Age (Amended to clarify was cut from tape and is AAA)
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 18, 2018
Simon split from Garfunkel, Buffalo Springfield broke up. So did The Youngbloods, The Lovin' Spoonful and of course The Beatles. Yes, many '60s groups remained together, like The Rolling Stones and The Grateful Dead, but as the tumultuous '60s came to a close, others fragmented with leaders going solo.

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