The usual phrase—"Records to Die For"—would probably go over okay in 2021 as well. If I proceeded in the usual, lighthearted way or made ironic…

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J.S. Bach: Trios
Chris Thile, mandolin, guitar; Yo-Yo Ma, cello; Edgar Meyer, double bass.
Nonesuch 558933 (2 LPs; CD; 24/96 AIFF files available from HDTracks and Presto Music; 24/48k MQA-encoded FLAC file available as a Tidal stream that unfolds to 24/96k). 2017. Ruth E. DeSarno, exec. prod.; Steven Epstein, prod.; Richard King, eng.
With the exception of the Brandenburg Concertos, which were written with specific solo instruments in mind, the instrumental music of Johann Sebastian Bach seems to exist on a separate plane from the actual scoring…
Ivor Novello: Songs
Marilyn Hill Smith, soprano. Chandos Concert Orchestra, Stuart Barry, cond. Chandos Chan 6677. (CD). 2004. Tim Oldham, prod.; Richard Lee, eng.
We are undoubtedly going through some difficult times and perhaps can benefit from listening to music that provides comfort. For me, this includes songs from the operettas of Ivor Novello. With their sweeping, romantic melodies and messages of hope ("We'll Gather Lilacs," "Someday My Heart Will Awake"), these songs with lyrics by Christopher Hassall provided the war-weary British public…
Great Lake Swimmers: The Waves, The Wake (Acoustic)
Nettwerk (Bandcamp.com FLAC download). 2019. Joe Lapinski, eng., prod.
Sometimes, less is more. Canadians Great Lake Swimmers—really just singer/songwriter Tony Dekker with a cast of characters—released a fully landscaped album with all the lawn ornaments. Then, a year later, GLS realized these songs might shine even brighter in a pared-back setting—hence this "acoustic" version. (The original companion album is also a wonder.) When the material is this strong, a lovingly rendered guitar and voice…
R.E.M.: Murmur
I.R.S. Records. The I.R.S. Years Vintage 1983, 7 13158 2 (CD). 1992. Mitch Easter and Don Dixon, prods.; Mitch Easter, Don Dixon, engs.; Sig Sigworth, reissue prod.
Before their sold-out stadium concerts there was early R.E.M.—in fine form here. The Athens, Georgia, band's essential elements emerge: Peter Buck's jangly Rickenbacker guitar, Michael Stipe's cryptic lyrics and folk-pop meanderings. Melodies and harmonies are pretty and catchy—some choruses singalong—but they wander intriguingly off-course. Might the title reference Stipe'…
The Moody Blues: In Search of the Lost Chord
Deram/London Records DES 18017 (LP). 1968. Tony Clarke, prod.; Derek Varnals, Adrian Martins, engs.
Never a big Moody Blues fan, on a whim I picked up a cheaply priced used copy of In Search of the Lost Chord. I liked it a lot more than I expected to. It's a late '60s concept album, a concept I dig when done right. It's electric-guitar-driven, but it includes 33 different instruments; it sounds ambitiously Beatles-esque in some places, brimming with youthful energy and ideas of a band on the cusp of…
Stories are useful like that, but such stories, while…
Pablo Ablanedo, Dave Douglas, Sullivan Fortner, Elan Mehler, OWL Trio, Rufus Reid, Carmen Staaf, Patrick Zimmierli
Newvelle Records NV025–30 (6 LP) 2020. Reviewed from 16/44.1 AIFF files. Elan Mehler, prod.; Marc Urselli, eng.
Performance ****
Sonics ****½
If Newvelle Records is any indication, jazz's future looks bright. Since 2015, the New York label has produced four series of artist-curated, all-analog, subscription-only box sets of vinyl records with superb fidelity and top-tier musicians performing original material. Highlights included…
The trick, for any IEM, is to be a good acoustic impedance matching coupler. An IEM is a completely enclosed system with no normally propagated sound. An IEM is bascally a sonic waveguide from driver to eardrum. As sound moves from the driver through the various spaces to the ear drum, the acoustic impedance in each area can stimulate reflections and resonances if not carefully designed.
Two major competing goals in the IEM design process are linearity and frequency…
Sound Quality with Standard Cable
I take Doc C.'s statement, "(still better than in most IEMs)," with a couple of grains of salt, but he's got a point. There are lot's of IEMs out there with blown up bass and/or uneven treble. Move up to the $600 level and things get better, but I still find many IEMs having too much fun with a "V"-shaped response. In that regard, the iSine 20 may indeed be a better listen by having a somewhat more neutral response...but it's not without flaw.
To my ears the most noticeable deviation from neutral is a fairly large chunk of the low treble…