Reviews of Attainable Hi-Fi & Home-Theater Equipment


Reviews of Attainable Hi-Fi & Home-Theater Equipment

PSB Imagine T65
PSB Imagine Series

Simaudio
Simaudio
Goldenear
Bryston BP-19
KEF LS60
Dynaudio
DALI Epikore 11
PSB Imagine T65
Logo Axiom Audio
Logo GoldenEar
SVS
Logo Paradigm
SVS
Hegel Music Systems
Hegel Music Systems
Totem Acoustic
Totem Acoustic

Most Popular Featured Releases

Details
Category: Featured Releases

Dualtone 80302-01793-25
Format: CD

Musical Performance
***1/2

Sound Quality
***1/2

Overall Enjoyment
***1/2

“If you tried to give rock and roll another name,” John Lennon once said, “you might call it ‘Chuck Berry’.” It’s hard to think of another figure in American popular music whose influence has been so pervasive. The Beatles, the Kinks, and countless other bands covered his songs, and the Rolling Stones probably wouldn’t exist without him. If you’re a rock’n’roll guitarist and you can’t play a Chuck Berry riff, you should put the instrument under your bed.

Read more: Chuck Berry: "Chuck"

Details
Category: Featured Releases

“The Timex Shows Vol. 1: The Frank Sinatra Timex Show and An Afternoon with Frank Sinatra”

Eagle Vision EV412787
Format: DVD

Musical Performance
***1/2

Sound Quality
***

Picture Quality
***

Overall Enjoyment
***1/2

Read more: Frank Sinatra: "The Frank Sinatra Collection -- The Timex Shows Vols. 1 and 2"

Details
Category: Featured Releases

ECM 2525
Format: CD

Musical Performance
****

Sound Quality
****

Overall Enjoyment
****

Although Bill Frisell has appeared as a sideman on recent ECM recordings, such as the Andrew Cyrille Quartet’s The Declaration of Musical Independence (2016), he hasn’t led a session for the label since Lookout for Hope (1988). Small Town is co-credited to him and to double bassist Thomas Morgan, but Frisell gets top billing -- for him, it’s effectively a return to ECM.

Read more: Bill Frisell and Thomas Morgan: "Small Town"

Details
Category: Featured Releases

Eagle ER416592
Format: CD

Musical Performance
***1/2

Sound Quality
***1/2

Overall Enjoyment
***1/2

Procol Harum has been around intermittently since 1967 -- they broke up in 1977, and reformed in 1991. For their first decade, the band released a new LP every year or two, but since getting back together they’ve taken much longer between releases. Novum is Procol Harum’s third studio album since 1991, following a gap of 14 years since the last one, The Well’s on Fire. Gary Brooker is the only original member left.

Read more: Procol Harum: "Novum"

Details
Category: Featured Releases

Sony Legacy 88875102362
Format: CD

Musical Performance
****

Sound Quality
****

Overall Enjoyment
****

It’s hard to think of a songwriter from the great British bands of the 1960s who is more British in his themes and music than Ray Davies. Two of his masterpieces with the Kinks, The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society (1968) and Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) (1969), look at various aspects of English life and the ways they changed in the 20th century as the Empire declined.

Read more: Ray Davies: "Americana"

Details
Category: Featured Releases

SuperEgo SE041
Format: CD

Musical Performance
****

Sound Quality
****

Overall Enjoyment
****

Aimee Mann has been making challenging music for more than 30 years -- first with ’Til Tuesday, a band that refused to be boxed in, and then, beginning in 1993, in her solo recordings. Her songs are notable for their smart, observant lyrics and strong melodies, so it’s a little surprising that she’s still more a critic’s darling than a big seller. Since 2000, Mann has released all of her albums on her own label, SuperEgo Records, a fact that probably lets her follow her music wherever it leads her.

Read more: Aimee Mann: "Mental Illness"

Details
Category: Featured Releases

Columbia 88985 41350 1
Format: 3 LPs

Musical Performance
****1/2

Sound Quality
*****

Overall Enjoyment
*****

In 1965, a reporter at a news conference asked Bob Dylan if he thought of himself as primarily a singer or a poet. “Oh, I think of myself more as a song-and-dance man,” Dylan responded. While his answer was typically Dylanesque -- slyly humorous, a little mysterious -- the most recent Nobel Laureate in literature has spent the last three years moving closer to that description of himself.

Read more: Bob Dylan: "Triplicate"

Details
Category: Featured Releases

Transmit Sound/Thirty Tigers TS-2016-2
Format: CD

Musical Performance
****

Sound Quality
***1/2

Overall Enjoyment
****1/2

“I’ve always wanted to do a recording that focused more on the blues,” Son Volt’s Jay Farrar told Relix about his band’s new album, Notes of Blue. Farrar names other inspirations for the album, including Nick Drake and Jackson C. Frank, but his own songwriting voice is so strong, and he’s so thoroughly absorbed and digested his influences, that Notes of Blue stands on its own. Son Volt’s last album, Honky Tonk (2013), was built around acoustic guitars and real country music. This time around, Farrar mixes things up while remaining true to his roots in blues, country, and rock’n’roll.

Read more: Son Volt: "Notes of Blue"

Details
Category: Featured Releases

Carpark CAK115
Format: CD

Musical Performance
***1/2

Sound Quality
***

Overall Enjoyment
***1/2

Cloud Nothings is a young, guitar-based indie-rock band -- a category that includes Japandroids, Beach Slang, and Titus Andronicus, among others. Dylan Baldi, the band’s leader and lead singer, while studying at Case Western Reserve in Cleveland, Ohio, on weekends began recording his songs in his parents’ basement in nearby Westlake. He played all the instruments on Turning On, the Cloud Nothings’ debut, a tuneful, lo-fi album in the manner of fellow Ohioans Guided by Voices.

Read more: Cloud Nothings: "Life Without Sound"

Details
Category: Featured Releases

Deutsche Grammophon 002618702
Format: 16-bit/44.1kHz FLAC Tidal stream

Musical Performance
****1/2

Sound Quality
****

Overall Enjoyment
****

German-born British composer Max Richter has built his reputation on creating introspective, often melancholy music whose alluring, repetitive themes lodge themselves deep in the subconscious. The danger of such success is that it tends to encourage repetition, but fortunately, Richter’s has not bred complacency. The last five years have seen him “recompose” Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, as well as compose Sleep, which he describes as an “eight-hour-long lullaby” and which broke several BBC broadcasting records; and now comes his music for British choreographer Wayne McGregor’s triptych of ballets based on novels by Virginia Woolf (1882-1941), released as Three Worlds: Music from Woolf Works and performed by various soloists, with Robert Ziegler conducting the German Film Orchestra of Babelsberg.

Read more: Max Richter: "Three Worlds: Music from Woolf Works"

  1. Japandroids: "Near to the Wild Heart of Life"
  2. Flaming Lips: "Oczy Mlody"
  3. Bonnie Raitt: "Dig in Deep"
  4. The Monty Alexander Trio: "Montreux Alexander: The Monty Alexander Trio LIVE! at the Montreux Festival"
  5. Harvey Mandel: "Snake Pit"
  6. Big Audio Dynamite: "This Is Big Audio Dynamite"
  7. Pretenders: "Alone"
  8. Jimi Hendrix: "Machine Gun: The Fillmore East First Show 12/31/1969"
  9. Wilco: "Schmilco"
  10. Daniel Lanois/Rocco DeLuca: "Goodbye to Language"
  11. Amos Lee: "Spirit"
  12. Peter Erskine Trio: "As It Was"
  13. Jeff Beck: "Loud Hailer"
  14. The Posies: "Solid States"
  15. Shawn Colvin and Steve Earle: "Colvin & Earle: Deluxe Edition"
  16. The Tragically Hip: "Man Machine Poem"
  17. Eric Clapton: "I Still Do"
  18. My Morning Jacket: "It Still Moves (Deluxe Reissue)"
  19. Musiq Soulchild: "Life on Earth"
  20. Santana: "IV"
  21. Jeff Buckley: "You and I"
  22. Peter Frampton: "Acoustic Classics"
  23. Dr. Lonnie Smith: "Evolution"
  24. The I Don't Cares: "Wild Stab"
  25. Elvis Costello: "Detour: Live at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, featuring Larkin Poe"
  26. Taste: "What's Going On: Live at the Isle of Wight"
  27. Tom Jones: "Long Lost Suitcase"
  28. Bobby Hutcherson: "Happenings"
  29. Them: "The Complete Them 1964-1967"
  30. The Robert Cray Band: "4 Nights of 40 Years Live"
  31. Blue Rodeo: "Live at Massey Hall"
  32. Joe Jackson: "Fast Forward"
  33. David Gilmour: "Rattle That Lock"
  34. Gene Ammons: "Boss Tenor"
  35. Wilco: "Star Wars"
  36. Cannonball Adderley: "Somethin' Else"
  37. Tame Impala: "Currents"
  38. Leon Bridges: "Coming Home"
  39. Rickie Lee Jones: "The Other Side of Desire"
  40. James Taylor: "Before This World"
  41. My Morning Jacket: "The Waterfall"
  42. Canned Heat with John Lee Hooker: "Carnegie Hall 1971"
  43. Dizzy Gillespie: "Live at Ronnie Scott's, Volume 1"
  44. Mark Knopfler: "Tracker"
  45. Van Morrison: "Duets: Re-working the Catalogue"
  46. Justin Kauflin: "Dedication"
  47. Bob Dylan: "Shadows in the Night"
  48. Steve Gadd Band: "70 Strong"
  49. King Crimson: "Live at the Orpheum: Los Angeles 2014"
  50. Various Artists: "The Blues & Salvation"
  51. Smashing Pumpkins: "Monuments to an Elegy"
  52. Jeff Beck: "Live in Tokyo"
  53. Eric Johnson and Mike Stern: "Eclectic"
  54. Eric Clapton: "Planes, Trains and Eric"
  55. Leonard Cohen: "Popular Problems"
  56. Adam Cohen: "We Go Home"
  57. Chick Corea Trio: "Trilogy"
  58. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: "Hypnotic Eye"
  59. Sheryl Bailey: "A Meeting of Minds"
  60. ZZ Top: "Live at Montreux 2013"
  61. Chrissie Hynde: "Stockholm"
  62. "Common Ground: Dave Alvin & Phil Alvin Play and Sing the Songs of Big Bill Broonzy"
  63. The Rippingtons: "Fountain of Youth"
  64. Alice Cooper: "Super Duper Alice Cooper"
  65. The Black Keys: "Turn Blue"
  66. The Robert Cray Band: "In My Soul"
  67. Gord Downie and the Sadies: "Gord Downie, the Sadies, and the Conquering Sun"
  68. Neil Finn: "Dizzy Heights"
  69. The Hold Steady: "Teeth Dreams"
  70. Neneh Cherry: "Blank Project"
  71. Beck: "Morning Phase"
  72. The Sadies: "Internal Sounds"
  73. Rickie Lee Jones: "Rickie Lee Jones"
  74. Judy Wexler: "What I See"
  75. Archie Shepp and Attica Blues Orchestra Live: "I Hear the Sound"
  76. Billie Joe + Norah: "Foreverly"
  77. Nick Lowe: "Quality Street: A Seasonal Selection for All the Family"
  78. Elvis Costello and the Roots: "Wise Up Ghost and Other Songs"
  79. Allen Toussaint: "Songbook"
  80. Moby: "Innocents"
  81. Bob Dylan: "Another Self Portrait (1969-1971) -- The Bootleg Series Vol.10"
  82. Joe Barbieri: "Chet Lives!"
  83. Steve Gadd Band: "Gadditude"
  84. Smith Westerns: "Soft Will"
  85. Kanye West: "Yeezus"
  86. Vampire Weekend: "Modern Vampires of the City"
  87. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club: "Specter at the Feast"
  88. Daft Punk: "Random Access Memories"
  89. Elias Haslanger: "Church on Monday"
  90. Michael Feinstein: "Change of Heart: The Songs of André Previn"
  91. David Bowie: "The Next Day"
  92. Hiromi/The Trio Project: "Move"
  93. Atoms for Peace: "Amok"
  94. Patricia Barber: "Smash"
  95. Yo La Tengo: "Fade"
  96. Orchestre National de Jazz: "Piazzolla!"
  97. Lifehouse: "Almería"
  98. War Poets: "Dulce et Decorum Est"
  99. Luka Bloom: "This New Morning"
  100. Poncho Sanchez and His Latin Jazz Band: "Live in Hollywood"
  101. David Chesky: "Dr. Chesky’s Sensational Fantastic and Simply Amazing Binaural Sound Show!"
  102. Father's Children: "Father's Children"
  103. The xx: "Coexist"
  104. The Gaddabouts: "Look Out Now!"
  105. Easy Star All-Stars: "Easy Star’s Thrillah"
  106. Return to Forever IV: "The Mothership Returns"
  107. Mike Stern: "All Over the Place"
  108. Sam Cooke: "The Best of Sam Cooke"
  109. Esperanza Spalding: "Radio Music Society"
  110. Ahmad Jamal: "Blue Moon: The New York Session"
  111. Leonard Cohen: "Old Ideas"
  112. Pink Floyd: "Wish You Were Here"
  113. Jeff Campbell: "Stop and Go"
  114. Miles Davis: "Miles! Live at Montreux: The Definitive Miles Davis at Montreux DVD Collection 1973-1991"
  115. Ray Charles: "Live in France 1961"
  116. Coldplay: "Mylo Xyloto"
  117. The Hollies: "Look Through Any Window 1963-1975"
  118. Doug Munro and La Pompe Attack: "A Very Gypsy Christmas"
  119. Chris Bauer: "In a Yuletide Groove: Harmonica Jazz for the Holidays"
  120. Paul Motian: "The Windmills of Your Mind"
  121. Three to Close 2011
  122. Josh Nelson: "Discoveries"
  123. Patricia Barber: "Café Blue"
  124. Mindy Canter: "Fluteus Maximus"
  125. Steve Cropper: "Dedicated"
  126. Andrea Wolper: "Parallel Lives"
  127. The Left Banke: "Walk Away Renée/Pretty Ballerina"
  128. Cooler Days
  129. Peter Erskine, Bob Mintzer, Darek Oles, and Alan Pasqua: "Standards 2 -- Movie Music"
  130. Zach Williams and the Reformation: "A Southern Offering"
  131. The Mike Eldred Trio: "61 and 49"
  132. Aimée Allen: "Winters & Mays"
  133. Maeve Gilchrist: "Song of Delight"
  134. Spectacle: Elvis Costello with . . . (Season 2)
  135. Summer Sounds
  136. Hiromi: "Voice"
  137. Ben Waters: "Boogie 4 Stu -- A Tribute to Ian Stewart"
  138. Nat "King" Cole: "After Midnight"
  139. Paul Simon: "So Beautiful or So What"
  140. Eliane Elias: "Light My Fire"
  141. Esperanza Spalding: "Chamber Music Society"
  142. Something New
  143. Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band: "That’s How We Roll"
  144. “Stan Kenton: Artistry in Rhythm”
  145. David LaFleur: "Them Bones . . ."
  146. Gregg Allman: "Low Country Blues"
  147. Manhattan School of Music Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra: "Tito Puente Masterworks Live!!!"
  148. The Underground
  149. Jeff Beck: "Rock’n’Roll Party Honoring Les Paul"
  150. Jovino Santos Neto: "Veja O Som"
  151. The O’Farrill Brothers: "Giant Peach"
  152. Michael William Gilbert: "I Can See From Here"
  153. Selmer Saxharmonic: "Flying Saxophone Circus"
  154. Andy Farber and His Orchestra: "This Could Be the Start of Something Big"
  155. Eli Degibri: "Israeli Song"
  156. Jazz Shortlist
  157. Joey DeFrancesco, Robi Botos, Vito Rezza, and Phil Dwyer: "One Take, Volume Four"
  158. Treasa Levasseur: "Low Fidelity"
  159. Spin: "Believe"
  160. Michael McDonald: "This Christmas -- Live in Chicago"
  161. Berlin Voices: "About Christmas"
  162. Mike Mainieri / Marnix Busstra Quartet: "Trinary Motion / Live in Europe"
  163. Latin Flavor
  164. Marcos Amorim Trio: "Portraits"
  165. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: “Classic Albums: Damn the Torpedoes”
  166. David Bixler & Arturo O’Farrill: “The Auction Project”
  167. Miles Davis: “Someday My Prince Will Come”
  168. Frank Sinatra: “Sinatra at the Sands”
  169. John Mellencamp: "No Better Than This"
  170. Sons and Brothers
  171. Otis Taylor: "Clovis People, Vol 3"
  172. Steve Cropper & Felix Cavaliere: "Midnight Flyer"
  173. New Latin Quarter Presents: "The Jazz and Blues Collection, Volume 1"
  174. The Grip Weeds: "Strange Change Machine"
  175. Lawrence Lebo: "Don’t Call Her Larry, Volume 3: American Roots"
  176. The Rolling Stones: "Exile on Main Street: Deluxe Edition"
  177. The Nomad's Song
  178. Ray Charles: "Genius + Soul = Jazz (Expanded Edition)"
  179. Sebastian Sternal Trio: "Paris"
  180. Frank Sinatra and Antonio Carlos Jobim: "Sinatra/Jobim: The Complete Reprise Recordings"
  181. William Orbit: "My Oracle Lives Uptown"
  182. Catherine Russell: "Inside This Heart of Mine"
  183. Dusty Springfield, Small Faces, Herman’s Hermits, Gerry and the Pacemakers: "British Invasion"
  184. Freedy Johnston: "Rain on the City"
  185. "The Hot Spot" (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
  186. David Olney: "Dutchman’s Curve"
  187. Jason and the Scorchers: "Halcyon Times"
  188. The Music Will Find You
  189. Lin McPhillips: "My Shining Hour"

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Featured Releases

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