Michael Fremer

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Features
Ry Cooder Scores!
Michael Fremer  |  Jun 30, 2003  |  0 comments

Beginning with his eponymous 1970 debut, and continuing throughout eleven Warner Brothers solo albums, Ry Cooder has demonstrated that in addition to being an extraordinary folk/blues guitarist- particularly on bottleneck, and a serviceable, though hardly distinguished vocalist, he is also a high caliber musicologist and A&R man. While Cooder’s specialty has been mining the more obscure tributaries of the rich vein of American music deposited during the Great Depression, he has also unearthed musical riches from around the world, particularly the Caribbean and Mexico.

His solo albums are sprinkled with unknown and out-of-the-way delights like Dickey Doo's "Teardrops Will Fall" and the calypso "F.D.R. In Trinidad"- as well as some better known songs like "One Meat Ball", Woody Guthrie’s "Vigilante Man" Huddie Ledbetter's "Teardrops Will Fall", The Drifter’s 1954 hit "Money Honey", and Johnny Cash’s "Hey Porter".

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Album Reviews
Ry Cooder soundtrack compilation scores
Michael Fremer  |  Jul 01, 2003  |  0 comments

Ry's son Joachim started stringing tracks together last year attempting to create a cohesive picture of his father's soundtrack work- one which would sound like more than just a series of unconnected cues. Ry liked what he heard and this long overdue project was born. The two CD set contains highlights from most of Cooder's soundtracks: Paris Texas, Alamo Bay, The Border, Blue City, Crossroads, Johnny Handsome, The Long Riders, Blue City, Trespass, Geronimo: An American Legend, and the unreleased Southern Comfort and Streets of Fire.

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Album Reviews
Ryan Adams: tired retread, or the real thing?
Michael Fremer  |  May 26, 2003  |  0 comments

Being out of the record-biz hype loop has certain benefits. Until I bought this album I knew nothing about Ryan Adams other than the name and a vague notion that he was an extremely talented kid who used to front an alterna-country band called Whiskeytown. I'm willing to admit to being two years behind the hype curve. So be it. That Gold was issued on a nicely packaged two-LP set (as are many Lost Highway releases) put me in a positive frame of mind. I wanted to like this record and Ryan Adams both. But when I saw the American-flag-draped cover and Adams' contrived pose, my bullshit detector went off and it didn't stop ringing throughout the four sides of this set of well-recorded musical comfort food.

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Album Reviews
S&G Reissued For The Pleasures of a Younger Generation (Review revised 3/4/09)
Michael Fremer  |  Feb 01, 2009  |  0 comments

Note: After this the posting of this review, Sundazed's Bob Irwin sent a correction. I've chose to leave the original review intact, prefaced by Irwin's comment:

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Analog Gear NewsNews
SAEC Again Producing Classic Double Knife-Edge Bearing Tone Arm
Michael Fremer  |  Apr 26, 2018  |  First Published: Apr 26, 2018  |  4 comments
After a more than 30 year absence SAEC's double knife-edged bearing tone arm is once again in production and will be available through DS Exports, DS Audio's new export division. DS Audio, of course manufactures a line of "optical" cartridges and dedicated phono preamplifiers.

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AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
Saft, Swallow, Previte and.... Iggy Pop?
Michael Fremer  |  Nov 04, 2017  |  5 comments
Pianist Jamie Saft's trio recorded a well-received, sonically superb 2014 album called New Standard. If you need a group or individual backgrounder, please hit that hyperlink.

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Album Reviews
Sam Cooke on the Chitlin Circuit!
Michael Fremer  |  Feb 01, 2009  |  0 comments

The contrast between this Sam Cooke playing a tiny Miami stop on the Chitlin circuit and the one who showed up at New York�s Copacabana the next year couldn�t put the singer�s flip sides into greater relief.

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News
Sam Records and Saga Launch new ARTISAN Record Series Aimed at Jazz and Art Lovers
Michael Fremer  |  Apr 24, 2020  |  First Published: Apr 24, 2020  |  22 comments
From the Sam Records press release:

“By the late 1940s, the emergence of vinyl records created new opportunities for graphic artists to express their talent. The new 12'' square format seemed particularly suitable for experimentation and many labels became reputed for their innovative designs. Amazingly gifted artists such as David Stone Martin, Jim Flora, Pierre Merlin, Burt Goldblatt or Reid Miles, to name just a few, made a name for themselves illustrating or designing jazz record covers.

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News
Sam Records Announces a New Thelonious Monk Album For Record Store Day (Revised)
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 24, 2017  |  First Published: Mar 24, 2017  |  3 comments
Back in 1960 Thelonious Monk created the musical score for Roger Vadim's controversial film Les liaisons dangereuses. It has never before been released as an album, until now.

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Album Reviews
Sam Records Reissues Deluxe AAA Edition of Early French Chet Baker LP
Michael Fremer  |  May 08, 2014  |  10 comments
Sam Records is a one man, Paris, France-based operation began in 2011. The one man is Fred Thomas, who has self-professed interests in both jazz and photography. He also obviously is a man who cuts no corners and who believes in authenticity.

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