Blogs
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The Who: Who’s Next (Deluxe Edition) HR
|Anyone who saw the trailer for the movie American Beauty will have been struck by the brilliance of ‘Baba O’Riley’, the track chosen to accompany it and which effectively doubled the impact of the clip. ...read more -
Carly Simon: No Secrets
|The year 2020 may seem like the darkest of times but look back at some old favourite records and they may awaken memories of other very dark times. No Secrets, recorded and released in 1972, ...read more -
Malojian: Humm
|Humm, the fifth album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Stevie Scullion, aka Malojian, wasn’t supposed to be released until September, but the COVID-19 lockdown prompted him to put it out as a digital download from Bandcamp ...read more -
Eyelids: The Accidental Falls
|Eyelids, from Portland, Oregon, could lay claim to being the coolest supergroup ever. They’re made up of US indie-rock royalty who’ve played with Guided By Voices, The Decemberists, Stephen Malkmus and Elliott Smith. The band’s ...read more -
Mark Lanegan: Straight Songs Of Sorrow
|Straight Songs of Sorrow, the twelfth studio album by gravel-voiced grunge survivor Mark Lanegan was never going to be an easy listen. In fact, it’s one of the darkest records he’s ever made, which is ...read more -
Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier – Book 1 (BWV 846‑869) performed by Trevor Pinnock
|Trevor Pinnock’s first encounter with Book 1 of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier came in the late 1950s when he was about 12 years old. Now, aged 73, he’s finally taken the plunge and produced a glowingly ...read more -
Bruno Walter: The Complete Columbia Album Edition
|When it comes to big ‘complete editions’, nobody does it quite like Sony. Back in the mid ‘90s, they issued a fairly comprehensive survey of Bruno Walter’s recordings for Columbia (CBS) on CD, and very ...read more -
![Stephen J Malkmus: Traditional Techniques [Domino, LP]](http://tas.zeitpress.com/resizer/articles/images/Contemporary_I.jpg/?size=115,115&crop=smart)
Stephen J Malkmus: Traditional Techniques [Domino, LP]
|Stephen Malkmus, the J is optional, has been making music with a variety of line ups since his teens but got his commercial break in the early 90s when he formed the band Pavement with ...read more -
Lana del Ray: Norman F***ing Rockwell!
|I am late to the Lana Del Rey party I know but when Hi-Fi Choice alumni Del Gentleman played the first track of last year’s fellow NFR! the combination of fabulous production and potty mouthed ...read more -
Charles Mingus: Mingus Ah Um
|Mingus Ah Um, Mobile Fidelity’s latest Ultradisc One-Step release, like most of the prior One-Steps, the music needs little introduction. If you have any passing interest in jazz music you’ve heard the music countless times. ...read more -
Beethoven, Piano sonatas (complete), Paul Badura-Skoda – period pianos
|I recall buying Beethoven’s late sonatas with Paul Badura Skoda on vinyl way back in 1980/81.The recordings were made between 1978 and 1989, Alas, the original Astree LPs/CDs were always hard to find, and never ...read more -
Exclusive: Linn's new Majik DSM – First Impressions
|I’ve been fortunate in being the only person not working for Linn who got an exclusive pre-release listen to the new £2,950 Majik DSM. OK, to bring myself into line I had to change my ...read more -
Music Interview: Amy LaVere
|Painting Blue, the new album by Memphis-based singer-songwriter Amy LaVere, was penned against a backdrop of doom and gloom and global issues, including Donald Trump’s 2016 election victory, global warming and racist and civil tensions. ...read more -
Dvorak: Requiem Mass Op 89; 10 Biblical Songs*; Te Deum
|Dvorak’s Requiem was written in 1890, and given its first performance in 1891 - in Birmingham, with the composer conducting. Dvorak’s vocal/choral music had become hugely popular in England after a performance of his Stabat ...read more -
Music Interview: The Hanging Stars
|London country-psych-folk-rock band The Hanging Stars are in a good place – and I’m not just talking about the traditional East End pub that we’ve agreed to meet in. The five-piece – singer and guitarist ...read more