Interviews

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Interviews
Brian Wilson and the Long Journey of "SMiLE" Part 1
Harvey Kubernik  |  Dec 31, 2011
In director David Leaf's 2004 Grammy nominated film, “Beautiful Dreamer: Brian Wilson and the story of SMiLE,” songwriter Jimmy Webb pointed to the tune “Surf’s Up” as evidence that Brian Wilson instinctively knew that the miraculous musical moment that was “SMiLE” was rapidly coming to an end.
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Interviews
Brian Wilson and the Long Journey of "SMiLE" Part 2
Harvey Kubernik  |  Dec 31, 2011
Harvey Kubernik Interviews Brian Wilson Part 2

Q: During Pet Sounds and then SMiLE, the recording studio became an instrument.

A: Yes. It became an environment to record music. It’s a place to make music. Right?

Q: How about working with engineers like Chuck Britz at Western, Stan Ross and Larry Levine and Doc Siegel at Gold Star. Then, Bruce Botnick at Sunset Sound, along with several engineers at Columbia, including Ralph Balantin and a session for “Vege-Tables” with Armin Steiner at his studio.

A: The best trip is that they know music. They are good at music and engineering, too.

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Interviews
Brian Wilson and the Long Journey of "SMiLE" Part 3
Harvey Kubernik  |  Dec 31, 2011
Harvey Kubernik Interviews Brian Wilson Part 3

Q: You presented the SMiLEtracks to the Beach Boys when they returned from the tour. I seem to recall, with the exception of Dennis, there seemed to be some real hesitancy from band mates to really get involved singing to these instrumentals. Mike Love did not like the stuff presented.

A: No he didn’t.

Q And some other band members weren’t super thrilled, either.

Q: And some didn’t like Van Dyke Parks’ lyrics.

A: Right.

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Interviews
Minus K's David Platus Takes the Stand On Behalf of His "Negative Stiffness" Isolation Technology
Michael Fremer  |  Sep 17, 2012
While effective isolation from both air and ground borne vibrational energy is important throughout the audio playback chain, it is essential for vinyl playback. It can be built into a turntable in the form of spring or "O" ring suspensions but current thinking downplays that in favor of separate isolation stands rather than incorporating it into the turntable itself.

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Interviews
Analogplanet Interviews Record Industry Pressing Plant Owner Ton Vermeulen
Michael Fremer  |  May 30, 2013
Before touring the Record Industry pressing plant Analogplanet's Michael Fremer sat down with Ton Vermeulen to get the factory's history and a figurative finger on the pulse of a man who would buy a record pressing plant as the vinyl record lay on its supposed death bed.

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Interviews
Analogplanet Interviews Producer/Arranger/Musician John Simon (Corrected Introduction)
Michael Fremer  |  Nov 03, 2013
I drove to record producer and musician John Simon’s Catskill mountaintop home on a gorgeous, unusually mild November 1st day. Simon is best known for producing Songs of Leonard Cohen, BS&T’s Child is Father to the Man, Big Brother and the Holding Company’s Cheap Thrills and of course The Band albums Music From Big Pink, The Band and The Last Waltz
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Interviews
Blue Note President Don Was Talks About His Blue Note Vinyl Reissue Project
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 19, 2014
On Wednesday March 12th Blue Note President Don Was sat down with me to talk about the Blue Note vinyl reissues he's producing for the label.
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Interviews
Tour Bernie Grundman Mastering and Hear Bernie on the High Resolution Blue Note Transfers
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 25, 2014
While in Los Angeles recently I had visited Chris Bellman and Bernie Grundman at Bernie Grundman mastering.
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Interviews
Michael Fremer and Joe Harley Interviewed By Colorado Public Radio's Scott Carney
Michael Fremer  |  Apr 19, 2014
Last Thursday morning April 17th Joe Harley (Audioquest V.P. and record/reissue producer) and I visited Colorado Public Radio Studios where OpenAir host (and vinyl fanatic) Scott Carney interviewed us about vinyl for a show that would air on Record Store Day.
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Album ReviewsInterviews
Bob Dylan's "More Blood, More Tracks The Bootleg Series Vol. 14" Review + Exclusive Interview With Co-Producer Steve Berkowitz
Michael Fremer  |  Nov 02, 2018
1974's Blood on the Tracks (Columbia PC 33235) was for many at the time a "Bob Dylan's back" album. He was back on Columbia Records after leaving for David Geffen's Asylum for a pair of not particularly well-received at the time albums backed by The Band. But more importantly Dylan was back in the more familiar role as folk-poet and story teller—though spinning more deeply felt tales from various points of view that many observers wrongly thought were personal chronicles.

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