Van Halen: Van Halen
Warner Bros./Mobile Fidelity UD1S 2-032 (2 45rpm LPs). 1978/2023. Ted Templeton, prod.; Donn Landee, Krieg Wunderlich, engs.
Performance ****½
Sonics ****½

I remember the day I walked into radio station WTGP, "The Great 88," at Thiel College and saw the Van Halen jacket for the first time. Drummer Alex Van Halen was a stereotypical blur. Bassist Michael Anthony acted the part of the metal bro. But that guitarist holding a ramshackle Stratocaster crisscrossed with electrical tape? On the back cover was a hairy-chested dude in profile, athletic tape on his knuckles, bent over backward in high-heeled boots.

Dear audio show exhibitors: This one's for you. As members of the press who have spent decades covering audio shows, we've developed a clear sense of what works for us and—we think—for other show attendees. We ask your indulgence as we share our observations about how to mount a successful exhibit and get the best coverage possible from Stereophile and, presumably, other publications.

Reinbert de Leeuw: Der nächtliche Wanderer / Abschied; Sandrine Piau: Reflet; Prokofiev: Symphony 5; Tchaikovsky: Symphony No.4; Robert Schumann: Piano Quartet & Quintet.

Chien Chien Lu: Built In System; Mareike Wiening: Reveal; Billy Mohler: Ultraviolet; Ambrose Akinmusire: Owl Song.

Social Distortion: Mommy's Little Monster, 40th Anniversary Edition; Mötley Crüe: Shout at the Devil 40th Anniversary Edition; The Allman Brothers Band: Bear's Sonic Journals: Allman Brothers Band Fillmore East February 1970.