Thanks to everyone for the well wishes on my 1oth anniversary as an audio writer! I appreciate Mike's encouragement to write a little more about recordings too, because that's something I always intend to do, but the software scene seems to get away from me when I'm trying to keep up with the hardware scene! 🙁

Here's the first one: The Beatles Stereo Box Set.

"Sourced from the original master tapes and cut at Abbey Road Studios. Pressed on 180-gram vinyl; the Beatles' studio albums North American LP debut in stereo. Optimum audiophile-quality sound from a first-rate team of producers and engineers. The BEATLES ON VINYL - DONE RIGHT!"

That's what the ad copy at Acoustic Sounds says. I really like some of the box set, I mean it's the Beatles, but for the most part it's not all that good. It sounded decent but not great with the ASR electronics' presentation, which is softer and more kindly than my valve gear. But with the valve gear I keep asking myself whether the original master tapes could have really sounded this bad? I suppose it's possible. I hope not. I bought the box set because you just can't seem to find Beatles LPs, and I wanted the Beatles on LP. Now I have them on LP and I wish I would have bought a stack of jazz records instead. How's that for a recommendation?

Next up is the Chet Baker Quartet. This is a great album both musically & sonically, don't miss it! It's a limited edition from Sam Records, whom I'm not really that familiar with, but I really like what they've done here. From the Acoustic Sounds website: "Limited edition French reissue. Remastered from the original master tapes. Pressed by Pallas in Germany; artwork using the original photos." I love this album!

Another Chet Baker album: She Was Too Good To Me. This is also a great album and I'm glad I came across it. It's on the Music On Vinyl label and they really did a first rate job. Joining Chet Baker is Hubert Laws, Paul Desmond, Bob James, Ron Carter, Steve Gadd, and Jack DeJohnette. Another album with great sonics and music, but it's not your usual Chet Baker fare, as it's a little more pop oriented, and kind of upbeat.

Finally there's The Clifford Brown / Max Roach Emarcy Albums box set. This four LP box set from Mosaic didn't impress me all that much when I first listened to it, but its really grown on me over time. The sonics aren't quite as fine as the two Chet Baker albums, but the music is wonderful, and this too is an easy recommendation for jazz lovers.

So there you have it, three hits and one miss!

Thanks for stopping by!