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Classical Music

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture
Colorado Symphony Orchestra / Alsop
Naxos 8.555714 Reviewed by SG
Despite a slight lack of conviction in the Symphony's opening movement, this is a release of comprehensive distinction. The opening Romeo and Juliet is a magnificent combination of beautiful, romantic strings, allied to enthusiastic thrusts of energy, setting the scene for the rest of the disc. Symphony No. 4 is also handled with flair. From the opening fanfares there is a sense of correctness about the reading, especially in the more vigorous moments, where Alsop's command is particularly noticeable. She allows the musical themes to develop, but still retains the proper amount of tension, providing a classically passionate yet poetic interpretation, with a particularly enthralling Scherzo. The Colorado Symphony Orchestra proves to be of the highest order, with particularly admirable playing throughout. Marc Steadman's engineering and the superb acoustics of Boettcher Hall contribute to a vivid recording of beautiful tones and some of the' deepest bass from this label. With extraordinary dynamics, this CD's sound is close on demonstration quality. With top-notch sound and an excellent performance, this release approaches the class of those from Monteux and Mravinsky, and I cannot give it much higher praise than that. I look forward to future releases from this combination.

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 11 (The Year 1905)
LSO / Rostropovich
LSO Live LSO 0030 Reviewed by SG
With live recordings, such as this, you can feel the tension. The audience sit in stunned silence throughout, as Mstislav Rostropovich leads the LSO through a most deeply considered Barbican performance. He wrings every emotion from both the music and the orchestra, generating a most chilling representation of Russian history. Rostropovich takes his time to establish this intensity, weaving his own creativity into the work's musical structures, but we are rewarded by a vivid interpretation of Shostakovich's reflection on the St. Petersburg massacre; from his depiction of the bleak and desolate Palace Square, to the final climax of rising defiance. You can feel the crunch of the freezing ground beneath your feet, sense the rise in hostility, and picture the ruthless slaughter before the period of reflection. The composers linking of all four movements only adds to the tension. Only with the final movement's early energy and drive do these feelings of bitterness and despair relent. Tony Faulkner's engineering is up to his usual high standards, and with the help of the Barbican Hall's improved acoustics, creates a vivid picture that only adds to the atmosphere. This is an intensely harrowing listening experience that will leave you spellbound.

Serge Prokofiev: Violin Concertos 1 and 2; Romeo and Juliet suite; Scythian suite; Symphony Nr 5
Ricci (vin), Ansermet, OSR
Decca 'Legends' 466 996-2 Reviewed by JMH
Even quite knowledgeable collectors would probably be surprised to learn that Ricci recorded both Prokofiev violin concertos in stereo with Ansermet for Decca. The recordings, made in May 1958, were (so far as I can tell) never issued in stereo on LP. The sound is quite good, albeit slightly thin and lacking in weight and tonal body. Ricci sounds taxed by the first concerto, and some of the solo playing in the opening movement is a touch scrappy. The lyrical second concerto fares better, and receives a persuasive performance albeit, without the rapt intensity and Olympian security of Heifetz' famous 1959 RCA account with Munch. For Romeo and Juliet, Ansermet selected ten numbers from Prokofiev's suites 1 and 2, re-ordering the music so it roughly follows the action of the complete ballet. Taped in 1961, the sound is richer and more full-bodied than the concertos, with excellent detail and clarity. Even better recorded are the 5th Symphony and Scythian suite, from 1964 and 1966 respectively; the sound here is vintage Decca / Ansermet bright, focussed and crisp, with sharply articulated detail and clean tight bass. Ansermet's performances are lucid and coolly objective rather than highly charged and emotional. Yet the playing is committed and engaging; listening, one feels these are living breathing performances.

Ornstein: Suicide in an Airplane / Danse Sauvage / Sonata 8 / and other piano music
Marc-Andre Hamelin
Hyperion CDA67320 Reviewed by SG
Becoming increasingly admired as an uncompromising composer, Leo Ornstein was born in the Ukraine in either 1892 or 1893. He moved to the USA as a young boy, was a child prodigy, and became a leading pianist of contemporary music. While being a contemporary of Bartok, Ives and Stravinsky, his extreme rhythms and discourse eclipse those of his peers. The isolation and portentousness of Poems of 1917 protested against the folly of the Great War, and was followed by the intensity of Arabesques, which established his originality. In the late 1920s he retired from the concert stage and fell into obscurity before a resurgence of productivity in old age brought about a slightly gentler style. Piano Sonata No. 8 revels some wonderful moments of melody and structural originality. Marc-Andre Hamelin is spellbinding in his performance, playing with total authority and injecting each work with the directness pertinent' to Ornstein's music. Hyperion's engineering, supplied by Tony Faulkner, is also first-rate, with particularly realistic piano tones. This CD is an outstanding example of astonishing music, and should stimulate any listener to uncover more of the imaginative work of a man who died earlier this year; reputedly aged nearly 110!

Igor Stravinsky: Symphonies in E flat; C; Piano concerto; Violin Concerto; Petrouchka (1911)
Neeme Jarvi, OSR
Chandos CHAN 6654 Reviewed by JMH
Titled The Essential Stravinsky, this well-filled set brings together most of Stravinsky's masterpieces the only really important omission being Firebird. For this reissue at budget price, the music has been generously recoupled from the original 6CDs to fit onto 5 discs, creating an excellent inexpensive way of obtaining Stravinsky's key works in good performances and recordings. As usual with Neeme Jarvi, the emphasis is on freshness and spontaneity rather than fastidious care over detail, with fast tempi, lively rhythms, and crisp spirited playing. Apparently, the recordings were taped during rehearsals for live performances. Agreed, the Suisse Romance are not a highly disciplined virtuoso band, and critical listening may highlight passages where ensemble or tuning could perhaps be more accurate. But what the playing sometimes lacks in polish and precision is amply made-up for by feelings of freshness and excitement. It's as though orchestra and conductor had never encountered the music before, and were at once challenged and thrilled by it's spiky brilliance and springy rhythms. The sound is typically Chandos; bright, forward, fairly resonant, with the orchestra set back in a spacious acoustic. I was pleased enough when I bought the original discs at full-price; now it's incomparably better value. So how can you resist?

Silk Road Journeys: When Strangers Meet
Yo-Yo Ma / Silk Road Ensemble
Sony SK89782 Reviewed by SG
While Yo-Yo Ma and Sony have been working on various "cross-over" projects in recent years, this release can accurately be pigeonholed as "world music". It can be neatly divided in two, with the first half representing Eastern and Central Asia, while the second focuses more on the Middle East particularly Persia. There is also a bonus arrangement of a minute-and-a-half selection from Tan Dun's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon score. The music journeys along the old Silk Route, breaking down the boundaries between the countries, cultures and people, and from the breathtaking Mongolian Traditional Long Song that opens, to Blue as the Turquoise Night of Neyshabur by Kayhan Kalhor, this is an always engrossing trip. Most pieces are specially commissioned, with a couple of traditionals and an Italian Renaissance tune thrown in. Micha Mamiya surprisingly avoids his native Japan and concentrates on the Saami traditions of Finland, but ends up with almost French sounding pieces for cello and piano. The atmospheric Silk Road Ensemble always plays with authority and virtuosity, with Wu Man (pipa) and Kalhor (kemencheh and setar) performing to Yo-Yo Ma's own outstanding levels. With excellent engineering, this CD transports the listener on an invigorating, instructive and unforgettable journey.

Chopin: Etudes, Op. 10 and 25
Murray Perahia
Sony SK61885 Reviewed by SG
Following a period absorbed in the music of the baroque, Murray Perahia returns to the romantic period and the music for which he is famed. Chopin dedicated the Etudes to Liszt, being a pianist of such technical ability as to master their formidable challenges. While they may be lyrical and sensitive, they always remain allied to that requisite precision, making any successful performance a significant accomplishment. Perahia demonstrates he is an intelligent artist of the highest calibre. From the opening bars the music simply flows, with some audacious and virtuoso playing, capturing each piece's profound zeal. He approaches them as one composition, rather than individual studies, not allowing the unparalleled challenges of technique to stand in the way of a complete emotional experience. There is never a hint of strain and Perahia reveals textural innovations and harmonic adventures that amaze and enthral. These Etudes flow together better than ever before, and with the help of excellent engineering, never seem the physical marathon that lesser performances often are. With the final, stormy C minor Etude there is a wonderful sense of achievement. Perahia's recording of the Etudes has been eagerly anticipated, but the wait has certainly been worth it.

Benjamin Britten: Peter Grimes
Peter Pears and Claire Watson, Orch. and Ch. of the Royal Opera House, Benjamin Britten
Decca 'Legends' 467 682-2 Reviewed by JMH
Although most critics and audiophiles would probably cite Solti's 1958 Decca recording of Wagner's Das Rheingold as the opera set that established the importance of stereophonic sound in terms of creating atmosphere and you-are-there realism, my choice would be Decca's contemporary set of Peter Grimes. Agreed, Rheingold has the clanking Anvils, and the huge sheet of steel being shaken when the Rainbow Bridge is forged. But the pub scene in Grimes, just after the Storm Sea Interlude (disc 1, track 14) has some of the most realistic believable atmospheric stereo sound ever committed to disc - black or silver! To have heard either (or both!) sets in stereo during the late 1950s or early '60s must've been a mind-blowing experience - a whole new world of sound reproduction opened up. Think; less than a decade earlier people had been listening to mono shellac '78s. Even today, the Britten recording of Peter Grimes has the power to impress and astound. The performance is inspired and definitive, with an excellent cast led by Peter Pears. And while I'd quietly agree that Jon Vickers for Colin Davis (Philips) sounds more like the tortured fisherman than Pears, it remains a towering achievement. This new re-mastering improves on previous transfers, sounding beautifully open and sweet, with low tape noise and natural balances and perspectives

Bruhns: Deutsche Kantaten
Cantus Colln / Junghanel
Harmonic Mundi HMC901752 Reviewed by SG
Normally associated with works for the organ, Nicholas Bruhns was also one of the 17th Century's greatest composers of sacred cantatas. His compositions were an archetype for the young J.S. Bach and this recording is an exceptional illustration of why, with all six pieces being highly inventive. They are energetic, openly structured and overwhelmingly charming, although just occasionally a little conservative, harmonically. Bruhns kept his vocal scoring varied and the solos interchange between duets, trios and ensembles, avoiding any uniformity. The group of six singers and eight continuo players, with two additional trumpets in Mull Nicht der Mensch, is genuinely superb, generating every nuance of the text in vibrant colours and giving the music some real animation. Soprano, Johanna Koslowsky sounds particularly vivacious during her beautiful solo part in Wohl Dem, Der Den Herren Furchtet but all the voices sound fresh, as is the string playing. The sound is rich, detailed and has just the right amount of atmospheric resonance for a church recording. This highly recommended release, performed with care and refinement, is an enchanting example of some of the greatest cantatas before Bach, and demonstrates the music world's loss at Bruhns' premature death, aged only 32.

Bortkiewicz: Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra / Brabbins
Hyperion CDA67338 Reviewed by SG
Sergei Bortkiewicz is an enigma, after so much about him was lost during the Second World War. Despite being composed well into the 20th Century, these works are the embodiment of symphonies from the Russian romantic period, complete with passages that could easily have been taken from works by Balakirev, Rachmaninov or Rimsky-Korsakov. Neither contains much originality in regard to form, content or orchestration, but both are still entirely enjoyable pieces. Symphony No. 1 is charming -almost Mozartlike at times - with an extensive pizzicato section in the Scherzo and a Finale that includes a very Tchaikovsky-like, folk-inspired principle theme. But its nucleus is in the Adagio, where Bortkiewicz turns to Rachmaninov for a touch of mournful yearning. The Second is a darker work, with austere scoring that reflects the composer's views of 1930s Berlin where he was staying during the Nazi's rise to power. The brooding result has a great sense of melancholia. Martyn Brabbins and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra supply entertaining performances, with the strings sounding particularly lovely, and Hyperion's recording is very good. These works are a wonderful find and are particularly attractive as their duration allows for both Bortkiewicz's symphonies to come on one disc.

Beethoven: Three String Quartets, Op. 59 "Razumovsky" / String Quartet in E flat Major, Op. 74 "Harp"
Takacs Quartet
Decca 470 847-2 Reviewed by SG
This is a first release in a planned set of complete Beethoven Quartets by Decca and the Takacs Quartet. If the rest of the series is anywhere near as good as this then we are in for a treat. While the Takacs Quartet has always played with outstanding smoothness and tenderness, they have sometimes lacked a little in the way of excitement and vitality. On this set, with their tremendous concentration and remarkable technique, they are superbly well suited to Beethoven's stately compositions. In lesser hands these pieces can loose shape, gaining a sense of vagueness, but with this quartet's grip on the music there is none of this, with each sounding totally assured, yet with each work being allowed to evolve naturally and without sounding forced or overly tense. The Takacs Quartet provide each with a certain luminosity, revealing a transparency during the second movement of the first Razumovsky, while the Poco Adagio at the beginning of the Harp is magnificently mysterious, exhibiting the essence of its spirit exquisitely. Decca's sound is up there with their best chamber recordings on CD, revealing every texture of each instrument, within a natural acoustic. This is a great start to a very promising Beethoven cycle.

Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov: Sheherazade
Kirov Orchestra, Valery Gergiev
Philips 470 840-2 Reviewed by JMH
A strong, virile, powerfully-characterised Sheherazade from Gergiev and the Kirov orchestra. The rich sonorous brass chords that open the work prepare you for what's to follow; a bold sweeping interpretation of overwhelming passion and drama. Certainly the performance is fantastic; but what about the sound? The Philips recording is very full-bodied and forwardly-balanced - but has compression been used to heighten the power and thrust of Rimsky's surging climaxes? The soundstage is huge, but the music is made to sound gaudy and brash. The terracing of dynamics from loud to soft is unconvincing; everything sounds incredibly loud, making balances seem contrived and manipulated. A modern attempt at PhaseFour stereo?! Curiously, although the sound is , forward and powerful, there's also quite a bit of reverberation. Yet there's little impression of depth and distance, implying the 'ambience' was added-on afterwards. It's certainly unlike the usual refined natural 'Philips sound' we've grown used to over the years. The fillers - Borodin's haunting In the Steppes of Central Asia and Balakirev's virtuoso oriental fantasy Islamey - are musically appropriate to the mood of the main work, and superbly played. An interesting 'impressive' issue but not for the faint-hearted! Hear before you buy if possible. Lovely cover art.

Audiophile Recordings

Igor Stravinsky: Le Sacre du Printemps
Chicago Symphony orchestra, Sir Georg Solti
Decca (Speaker's Corner) SXL 6691 Reviewed by JMH
I still recall the impact Solti's 1974 LP of Le Sacre made when first issued; the bruises are still visible! Sonically it captured the huge power and scale of Stravinsky's massive score like no previous recording. Up till then, Zubin Mehta's 1968 Los Angeles LP (also Decca) had the best sonics. But good as it was, Mehta's recording failed to convey the sheer loudness and force of the music. Solti's did, sounding awesome, huge, powerful, massive. Tonmeister Kenneth Wilkinson captured a sound of immense presence and weight that still impresses today. Hearing the recording on CD (or this remastered LP), instrumental balances and dynamics are more obviously manipulated than they would be with a more modern recording. The orchestra has been skilfully multi-miked to ensure every strand remains audible. Despite the sonic impact, dynamics are compressed. There aren't the wide swings between loud and soft we expect today. Solti's performance is fast and aggressively physical. It's exciting too, in a thuggish sort of way. But some may find his almost mindless driving intensity unpleasantly brutal and vicious. For Solti the work is a musical battering ram - to be used to beat you to a pulp. Others may feel his barbaric sadistic in-your-face approach is exactly what's required. The present LP is cut at a slightly lower level than the original Decca, and sounds slightly brighter tonally. Clean quiet pressing.

Peter Gabriel - One
Classic Records / ReaIWorld PGLP01 Reviewed by DA
As a true fan of Genesis since 1971, I was stunned when Gabriel left the band. Whilst Genesis re-grouped and issued the excellent Trick Of the Tail, Gabriel kept us waiting. What finally emerged was this album, and horror of horrors this most English of performers had surrounded himself with mainly American musicians (apart from Robert Fripp) who were at the time unknown in the UK. In the end, and overcoming my initial reservations, Peter Gabriel became my most played LP of that year by a country mile, with its unexpected combination of sing-along tunes ('Salisbury Hill'), big production numbers ('Dolce Vita'), stadium pleasers ('Here Comes The Flood'), and the frankly honkers ('Excuse Me'). From this you probably get the idea that the album is a patchwork quilt, and you would be right, but what we have here is Gabriel-in-progress; the journey necessary to get from Genesis to albums such as Peter Gabriel 3 and Peter Gabriel 4. This remastered Classic Records' re-issue is simply stunning. Where the original LP was a little murky and slightly fluffy in the bass, this new version sparkles with life, and the bottom end has taken on new levels of impact. If you have an original pressing, as I have, this is a worthwhile improvement; if you never bought Gabriel's first then take this opportunity to travel with the maestro along the road to excellence.

Sibelius: Violin Concerto
Heifetz / Hendl / CSO
JVC XRCD 0223-2 Reviewed by RP
Many of the most recent Sibelius recordings by the current crop of fashionably chic soloists are unsatisfactory. They demonstrably fail to put some much needed emotional and interpretative meat on the bones of a concerto which, while it makes very few real technical demands, does give every violinist a rare freedom to melodically explore those inner depths and outer boundaries of lyrical romanticism. So why do I name this forty-three year old performance from an acknowledged master of technique as being amongst my favourites? Well, to begin with, Heifetz was a great Sibelius champion. His frequent and beautifully played concerts form an important backdrop to this recording. That familiarity reveals itself with subtle nuances and tiny, but gripping, moments of control. A good example is the richly scored second movement, which could quite easily lapse into sentimentality without the presence of a firm guiding hand. Elsewhere, a rhapsodic treatment of the opening movement, and the darkly hued passion that pours through a closing Allegro, offer ample opportunities for virtuosity. These are gratefully accepted. Lewis Layton, sometimes criticised for the engineering here, spotlights the great man, and it works. Your listening room isn't a concert hall, and never will be. So why not exaggerate the image of an instrument that remains the musical focal paint throughout.
Supplier: Vivante - www.vivante.co.uk (44)(0)1293-822186

Kevin Mahogany - Pride and Joy
Telarc SACD-63542 Reviewed by RP
Another spectacularly good technical performance from the Telarc engineers provides the kind of dynamic resolution and scale that was seldom heard before the introduction of this Rolls Royce format. Undoubtedly, it will receive the plaudits ahead of Kevin Mahogany's powerful, yet sensitive and soul-bearing interpretation of the eleven songs on Pride Ft Joy. Such are the vagaries of an audiophile market that remains overly preoccupied with sonic dogma. However, his rich vocal tone, the presence, depth and joyous sense of celebration he brings to Stevie Wonder's The Tears of a Clown', or in an intelligent arrangement of Smokey Robinson's 'The Hunter Gets Captured', is inescapable. Add to these the Marvin Gaye title track, two Edward Holland songs (including Reach Out I'll Be There) and a stunning Lula Mae Hardaway opener, Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours, and you will begin to appreciate that Mahogany brings an underlying love of Motown to these uniquely scripted jazz harmonies. Captivating playing from James Weidman (piano), Dave Stryker (guitar), Melissa Slocum (bass) and tenors, Gregory Clark and Todd Johnson, provides those essential layers of musical mortar that bed in behind, between and beneath these drama-filled and expressively delivered songs. The SACD recording then chisels out every grain and texture.

Herold-Lanchberry: La Fille Mal Gardee excerpts
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; John Lanchbery
Decca (Speaker's Corner) SXL 2313 Reviewed by JMH
For over twenty-five years Decca's 1962 recording of la Fille Mal Gardee stayed in the full-price LP catalogue, only disappearing when vinyl was finally phased-out in the late '80s. Why did it have such lasting appeal? Tuneful catchy music that's entertaining and fun to listen to; crisp brilliant orchestral playing; and (last but not least) a vivid Decca recording that seems to have hardly aged despite being made over forty years ago. The sound is sharp and lively, with a superbly holographic soundstage and vivid stereo separation. There have been other recordings of the work since this one was issued, including a 1984 digital complete set from Decca with Lanchbery himself conducting. But none has ever equalled the magic of the original. For this vinyl reissue, Speaker's Corner have extravagantly spread the music (about fifty-two minutes' worth) over four single sided LPs cut at 45rpm. That means four records! Short sides and 45rpm have allowed high cutting levels, and the sound certainly has greater brilliance and presence than my Decca LP original. However, on my set sides three and four have been mixed up side three is actually the final part. A great set for audiophiles without a doubt - though from a musical standpoint I'd have preferred a straight reissue on 1 LP cut at 33rpm.

Peter Gabriel - Up
Classic Records / Real World PG D LP II Reviewed by DA
It has been some six years since Gabriel released Us. In the interim he has continued his fascination with multi-media, produced the music for the Millennium Dome, and collected various musical snippets and performances for this album. I suspect that many people will be expecting an album that is radically different from what came before, but they will be sorely disappointed for in many ways Up comes out sounding like Us Mk 11. As Us is one of my all time favourite albums, with its rich textures and deep layering, fm personally not disappointed to have a further slice of this particular pie. As usual Gabriel has been out and about roping in all manor of disparate musicians to weave into his musical tapestry, including The Blind Boys Of Alabama, Danny Thompson, The Black Dyke Band (brass on 'My Head Sounds Like That'). Although there is little that is up tempo here, the songs still show great range: from the grating 'Darkness' to the aching beauty of 'My Head Sounds Like That'. Up also marks a new type of venture, whereby Realworld have co-operated with Classic Records to get a simultaneous CD and audiophile double vinyl release. The copy on review here is the Classic Records version, and the sound quality is well up to their usual very high standards, although it has to be said that source material itself is in parts a bit grainy.

Alison Krauss and Union Station - New Favorite
Diverse Records DIV 001 LP Reviewed by RG

Alison Krauss - Forget About It
Diverse Records DIV 002LP Reviewed by RG

Dolly Varden - Forgiven Now
Diverse Records DIV 003LP Reviewed by RG
New audiophile re-issue companies continue to appear, clearly unaware that the days of vinyl are surely numbered. Here we have Diverse Records, a new venture from John Richards, founder and former owner of that source for all things 12" and vinyl (well, okay, not all things... ) Diverse Music. But this is an audiophile label with a difference. No TAS listed recordings here and no demonstration darlings either. No fabulous recordings of dodgy jazz ensembles and second-rate but sexy bar singers. This label is repertoire led, which means taking the tapes as they were made and making the best record you can out of them. Of course, you can choose recordings that offer better than the average quality as commercial issues go: and then there are those that somehow slip through the mangle of mediocrity and emerge as fully formed masterpieces in their own right. Now I hate to say I told you so (well, okay, I love it really... ) but starting at the tail, their third issue comes from none other than Dolly Varden, the massively underrated Chicago five-piece featured in these very pages and whose discs have been enthusiastically reviewed by yours truly, most recently in Issue 19. On that occasion I rated forgiven Now as a nine for recording quality and a solid ten for the inspired (and inspiring) musical content. John Richards admits to have been torn between Forgiven Now and its predecessor, Dumbest Magnets, and I can understand his hesitation. Both are fabulous examples of that rarest of things, intelligent, adult and genuinely popular music. Wrapped in the fabulous harmonies of husband and wife Steve Dawson and Diane Christiansen, the hooks and melodies of Forgiven Now are the perfect foil for the wry, sardonic insight of the lyrics. Mark Balletto wrings a rainbow palette of different hues from his guitar, giving each song an identity and character of its own. This music has evolved from its country rock roots into something all embracing yet fiercely independent, and comes as a breath of fresh air in a world full of manufactured teen bands and ageing retreads. Its good on the CD but the Ray Staff cut 180g LP is clearly superior, with a warmer, more dimensional presentation and far more fluid and expressive rhythm. It makes the most of those wonderful harmonies and communicates much more directly, so I guess that makes it a ten. Buy this disc and enjoy the fruits of your faith. Perhaps it'll encourage John to follow it up with Dumbest. The Alison Krauss discs are better known, riding on the popularity of the Oh Brother soundtrack. They are both excellent if rather different. The more recent New Favorite is a disc for country purists with its unashamedly bluegrass tinge mixed with more reflective ballads. Forget About It is a lusher, more mainstream offering, and it's also the better recording of the two. However, in either case it's Krauss's voice that stands centre stage, with its strangely powerful mix of tonal purity and expressive impact. It's an odd juxtaposition of virginal presentation and less than virginal sentiment that contrasts vividly with Dan Tyminski who shares vocal duties on Favorite. But both of these LPs offer the same clear sonic benefits over their 12cm alternatives. Add to that the superb original artwork created for the gatefold sleeves and they offer more than enough to justify the increased cost over and above the CD. These three discs constitute the most promising of starts for this new label. Representing the antithesis of all those musical mediocrities that gave audiophile LPs a bad name, these are all about the music, then the pressing, and the recording trails in a poor third on the list of priorities. John Richards has shown a deft touch in his selections so far. Long may it continue.

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