It was in that spirit that in 1991, when I was still a toddler, John Atkinson and Richard Lehnert—at the time, the entire editorial staff of this now august publication—decided to honor in print the overwhelming reason why audiophiles spend so much time and money celebrating sound: they love music. It was with…
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Many years ago, I awoke one Saturday morning to find my girlfriend, with whom I'd had a knock-down, drag-out fight the night before, out on the street in front of our house having an impromptu yard sale. The sale featured my record collection. We broke up. I still have the records.
Lisa Astor
CHARLIE'S ANGELS: Original Soundtrack (Various Artists)
Columbia/Sony Music Soundtrax CK 61064 (CD). 2000. McG, prod.; John Houlihan, music supervisor. ADD? TT: 58:26 Is it the clothing? The sports cars? Or just the fantasy of kicking some bad-guy ass—big time? I don't know. I just know I wanna be an Angel. I want Areosmith's "Angel's Eye" to start playing whenever I enter a room. I wanna be Angel-cool.
CHARLIE'S ANGELS: Original Soundtrack (Various Artists)
Columbia/Sony Music Soundtrax CK 61064 (CD). 2000. McG, prod.; John Houlihan, music supervisor. ADD? TT: 58:26 Is it the clothing? The sports cars? Or just the fantasy of kicking some bad-guy ass—big time? I don't know. I just know I wanna be an Angel. I want Areosmith's "Angel's Eye" to start playing whenever I enter a room. I wanna be Angel-cool.
The Charlie's Angels soundtrack is a chaotic mix of rap, disco, rock, and Latin music—perfect for an Angel lifestyle of danger, intrigue, and fun. As in most…
Daniel Buckley
LOS LOBOS: Kiko
Slash 26786-2 (CD). 1992. Mitchell Froom, Los Lobos, prods.; Tchad Blake, Paul duDre, Wendy Thompson, Kevin Killen, John Paterno, engs.; Bob Ludwig, mastering. AAD. TT: 52:37 Album after album, Los Lobos had already proven itself one of the most versatile and original bands in the history of American pop music. But on Kiko the magic clicked like never before, resulting in an album on a level of timelessness with "Strawberry Fields" and Pet Sounds. With a surreal palette of instruments and equally dreamlike lyrics, this 16-song collection takes on…
LOS LOBOS: Kiko
Slash 26786-2 (CD). 1992. Mitchell Froom, Los Lobos, prods.; Tchad Blake, Paul duDre, Wendy Thompson, Kevin Killen, John Paterno, engs.; Bob Ludwig, mastering. AAD. TT: 52:37 Album after album, Los Lobos had already proven itself one of the most versatile and original bands in the history of American pop music. But on Kiko the magic clicked like never before, resulting in an album on a level of timelessness with "Strawberry Fields" and Pet Sounds. With a surreal palette of instruments and equally dreamlike lyrics, this 16-song collection takes on…
Shannon Dickson
PATRICIA BARBER: Nightclub
Patricia Barber, vocals, piano; Charlie Hunter, 8-string guitar; Michael Arnopol, Marc Johnson, bass; Adam Cruz, Adam Nussbaum, drums
Premonition/Blue Note 5 27290 2 (CD). 2000. Patricia Barber, prod.; Michael Friedman, exec. prod.; Jim Anderson, eng. DDD. TT: 51:29 Patricia Barber has achieved legendary status among jazz lovers and audiophiles alike, and for good reason. Her last four albums are ubiquitous favorites whose artistic and sonic prowess could be heard wafting from any number of rooms at past CE shows. While all of Barber's…
PATRICIA BARBER: Nightclub
Patricia Barber, vocals, piano; Charlie Hunter, 8-string guitar; Michael Arnopol, Marc Johnson, bass; Adam Cruz, Adam Nussbaum, drums
Premonition/Blue Note 5 27290 2 (CD). 2000. Patricia Barber, prod.; Michael Friedman, exec. prod.; Jim Anderson, eng. DDD. TT: 51:29 Patricia Barber has achieved legendary status among jazz lovers and audiophiles alike, and for good reason. Her last four albums are ubiquitous favorites whose artistic and sonic prowess could be heard wafting from any number of rooms at past CE shows. While all of Barber's…
Jon Iverson
SUSSAN DEYHIM: Madman of God
Sussan Deyhim, vocals; Dawn Bukholtz Andrews, cello; Will Calhoun, wavedrum, udu; Reza Derakhshani, setar, kamancheh, tar, ney; Hearn Gadbois, dub zarb; Karsh Kale, nocturnal sigh, tabla, synth pads; Raz Mesinai, zarb; Dave Soldier, violin; Glen Velez, daf, percussion; Reggie Workman, acoustic bass; Michael Harrison, tamboura; Richard Horowitz, strings and sample arrangements
Crammed Discs craw 22 (CD). 2000. Sussan Deyhim, prod.; Tim Nye, Manije Mir Damad, assoc. prods.; David Cook, John Yates, James Nichols, engs. TT: 47:05 Sussan Deyhim…
SUSSAN DEYHIM: Madman of God
Sussan Deyhim, vocals; Dawn Bukholtz Andrews, cello; Will Calhoun, wavedrum, udu; Reza Derakhshani, setar, kamancheh, tar, ney; Hearn Gadbois, dub zarb; Karsh Kale, nocturnal sigh, tabla, synth pads; Raz Mesinai, zarb; Dave Soldier, violin; Glen Velez, daf, percussion; Reggie Workman, acoustic bass; Michael Harrison, tamboura; Richard Horowitz, strings and sample arrangements
Crammed Discs craw 22 (CD). 2000. Sussan Deyhim, prod.; Tim Nye, Manije Mir Damad, assoc. prods.; David Cook, John Yates, James Nichols, engs. TT: 47:05 Sussan Deyhim…
Michael Metzger
STEVE EARLE: I Feel Alright
Warner Bros. 46201-2 (CD). 1996. Ray Kennedy, prod., eng.; Richard Bennett, prod. AAD? TT: 38:54 When, in 1995, Steve Earle returned from his self-imposed years of exile in the fogs of heroin and cocaine with Train A Comin', he didn't quite have his songwriting legs back under him. The comeback was complete a year later, however, when he released I Feel Alright.
STEVE EARLE: I Feel Alright
Warner Bros. 46201-2 (CD). 1996. Ray Kennedy, prod., eng.; Richard Bennett, prod. AAD? TT: 38:54 When, in 1995, Steve Earle returned from his self-imposed years of exile in the fogs of heroin and cocaine with Train A Comin', he didn't quite have his songwriting legs back under him. The comeback was complete a year later, however, when he released I Feel Alright.
From the opening, snarling exuberance of the title track's slap at those who thought he would never again scale the heights he'd known in the late 1980s, you knew that not only…
Robert J. Reina
THE AMBOY DUKES FEATURING TED NUGENT: Marriage On the Rocks/Rock Bottom
Polydor 24-4012 (LP). 1969. The Amboy Dukes, prods.; Edwin H. Kramer, prod., eng. AAA. If we go back to that narrow two-year period, 1969-70, after Ted Nugent had finished creating catchy flower-pop with the original Amboy Dukes but well before he'd gotten into his trashy gonzo-metal guitar rock (even he admits that he had to sell out in order to eat), you'll find the Motor City bad boy leading a uniquely sophisticated quintet that churned out the most structured psychedelic rock of the '60s. On…
THE AMBOY DUKES FEATURING TED NUGENT: Marriage On the Rocks/Rock Bottom
Polydor 24-4012 (LP). 1969. The Amboy Dukes, prods.; Edwin H. Kramer, prod., eng. AAA. If we go back to that narrow two-year period, 1969-70, after Ted Nugent had finished creating catchy flower-pop with the original Amboy Dukes but well before he'd gotten into his trashy gonzo-metal guitar rock (even he admits that he had to sell out in order to eat), you'll find the Motor City bad boy leading a uniquely sophisticated quintet that churned out the most structured psychedelic rock of the '60s. On…
David Sokol
KIM RICHEY: Bitter Sweet
Mercury 314-534 255-2 (CD). 1997. Angelo, prod. ("I Know" prod. by John Leventhal); Peter Coleman, eng., mix. AAD? TT: 48:40 Kim Richey is best known as a singer's songwriter—her songs have been covered by Trisha Yearwood, Patty Loveless, Terri Clark, and other Music City hotshots. But she's a natural in the studio, and Bitter Sweet is the best of her three smart and excellent albums. Richey conveys hurt, heartache, and everyday conflict as well as anyone, and there isn't a more honest and convincing singer in country music. On top of that, the…
KIM RICHEY: Bitter Sweet
Mercury 314-534 255-2 (CD). 1997. Angelo, prod. ("I Know" prod. by John Leventhal); Peter Coleman, eng., mix. AAD? TT: 48:40 Kim Richey is best known as a singer's songwriter—her songs have been covered by Trisha Yearwood, Patty Loveless, Terri Clark, and other Music City hotshots. But she's a natural in the studio, and Bitter Sweet is the best of her three smart and excellent albums. Richey conveys hurt, heartache, and everyday conflict as well as anyone, and there isn't a more honest and convincing singer in country music. On top of that, the…
Sam Tellig
LOUIS ARMSTRONG: The Complete Hot Five and Hot Seven Recordings
Louis Armstrong, cornet, vocal; Jimmie Noone, Don Redman, Jimmy Strong, clarinet; Johnny Dodds, clarinet, alto sax; Barney Bigard, Happy Caldwell, tenor sax; Mancy Carr, Eddie Condon, Johnny St. Cyr, banjo; Honore Dutrey, J.C. Higginbotham, Kid Ory, Fred Robinson, Jack Teagarden, trombone; Pete Briggs, tuba; Lonnie Johnson, Eddie Lang, guitar; Lil Hardin, Earl "Fatha" Hines, Joe Sullivan, piano; Carroll Dickerson, piano, leader; Luis Russell, piano, leader; Pops Foster, bass; Phil Barbarin, Warren "Baby" Dodds…
LOUIS ARMSTRONG: The Complete Hot Five and Hot Seven Recordings
Louis Armstrong, cornet, vocal; Jimmie Noone, Don Redman, Jimmy Strong, clarinet; Johnny Dodds, clarinet, alto sax; Barney Bigard, Happy Caldwell, tenor sax; Mancy Carr, Eddie Condon, Johnny St. Cyr, banjo; Honore Dutrey, J.C. Higginbotham, Kid Ory, Fred Robinson, Jack Teagarden, trombone; Pete Briggs, tuba; Lonnie Johnson, Eddie Lang, guitar; Lil Hardin, Earl "Fatha" Hines, Joe Sullivan, piano; Carroll Dickerson, piano, leader; Luis Russell, piano, leader; Pops Foster, bass; Phil Barbarin, Warren "Baby" Dodds…
When I unpacked the review samples of Earthworks' Sigma 6.2 loudspeaker, I was reminded of a Pop Art exhibition I'd visited 30 years before, in London. Along with a stuffed drum kit and other of Claes Oldenburg's exaggerated-scale floppy sculptures, hanging from the Tate Gallery's ceiling was an enormous three-pronged, US-style AC plug made entirely of hardwood (footnote 1). Although the Sigma 6.2 is available in plain-Jane black MDF for $3500/pair, the optional solid-cherry cabinet, with its polished grain-streaked panels, has the same carved-from-solid, feel of the Oldenburg plug. I found…