I purchased this album, simply titled <i>Elvis</i>, at the ARChive of Contemporary Music's winter record fair. This album immediately followed his RCA Victor debut, <i>Elvis Presley</i>. Both were released in 1957 and both went gold. By the end of the year, I suppose he was so successful that a single name was enough. My copy is a 50th anniversary reissue special.
It's a very tough call, but <i>Darkness</i> may be my favorite Springsteen album. See him there, looking so damn ready to prove it all night.
This album was obviously named after me.
The March 2009 issue of <i>Stereophile</i> is now on newsstands. I know this because people are <a href="http://forum.stereophile.com/forum/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=60827&an=0… complaining</a> about the $107,000/pair loudspeaker we put on the cover.
The secret to the powerful, effortless performance of the YG Acoustics Anat Reference II Professional loudspeaker is what's inside its mighty cabinet:
<i>Beautiful, beautiful! That's it right there, yes. Wait, no, don't lose that pose. Steady now. Oh, yeah. Yeah! You got it. The camera loves you, baby! Just one more now. One more. Hold it, hold it, yes!</i>
Each month, we send one or two lucky components to our photographer, Eric Swanson, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, to be shot for our cover. Because the YG Anat Reference is so dang heavy (440 lbs per channel) and expensive ($107,000/pair), I asked Dick Diamond, YG's director of sales and marketing, if he'd personally deliver the speaker to Eric.
John Atkinson snapped this shot of our hardworking intern, <a href="http://www.myspace.com/arielbitran">Ariel Bitran</a>, during last night's performance at the <a href="http://www.sidewalkmusic.net/">Sidewalk Caf</a>. It's not that this photo was taken on John's phone under poor lighting conditions; Ariel actually <i>looks like this</i> when he plays. The dude is on fire, lit from within like a good single-ended amplifier.
Winter has returned to Cherry Valley, New York, and I'm reminded of a bad habit that I used to conceal: On cold mornings I started my car <I>well</I> before driving off, then actually weighted down the accelerator pedal—with the heavy socket tray from my toolbox—in an effort to keep the idle high, and thus more quickly warm the windshield and the interior. Whether my lazy trick had the desired effect is a matter of some debate, but I wish now that I hadn't been so wasteful and so casually fouled the air.
The 78rpm train has been derailed for the time being. The KAB Souvenir VSP Mk.II phono preamplifier, which I intended to review in this space, has yet to arrive from its manufacturer, owing to a delay in the availability of certain parts. The Elberg MD12 Mk.III preamp has yet to arrive from <I>its</I> manufacturer, owing to a recent redesign. The Sentec EQ-10 preamp is here but has a broken switch I haven't got around to fixing. The McIntosh C-8 preamp, a lovely vintage piece that's available for peanuts on the used market, is still undergoing renovation by someone who isn't me.