SPINNING THIS WEEK.... 1/29/23 - 2/4/23

I’ve decided to add a pair of “must have” albums to the mix this week…………, albums that I return to again and again. These first two never get old……….. Up first contains maybe one of my very favorite “guitar” tunes…..

Dire Straits “Love Over Gold”, this pressing, Warner Bros. 47772-1 remastered by Bernie Grundman and pressed on 180g by Pallas in Germany has to be one of the finer sounding copies. This was pressed in 2010 and I know for sure that MoFi gave this title some love recently……………. Mark’s guitar work and tone on this one makes it one of the “must have” albums. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Re-pressed a ga-zillion times, if you don’t own this, you need to……….., originally recorded in 1956 it is arguably one of the finest jazz recordings of all time. Sonny is in the zone on this one. Easily in my top 25 jazz albums, and definitely a “must have”. This one is the 2012 Ermitage VNL 12224 LP pressing and sounds great. However, this album is so good that I’ve got my eyes peeled for one of the Analog Productions 200g pressings…………… nuff’ said about this one. ;)

Here’s one off the beaten path……., despite Spencer being Canadian, I believe this would fall into the “Americana” genre of music. Toe-tapping fun and tear-jerking ballads both, this album is executed by a consummate song writer/musician with an ensemble of studio musicians that leave it all on the court. Pressed on 160g virgin vinyl, the sound quality is excellent, and perfect for one of those cold winter nights. A bit like adding some slide/steel guitar to Gordon Lightfoot……, cut from the same cloth, decades apart. I like it, and can’t wait to get some more. :)

Here we are, the last album of the week is a fairly recent vinyl pressing from one of my very favorite bands… The late Edgar Froese’s homage to John Peel, specially composed for him after the legendary DJ’s passing near Machu Picchu in 2004, but not released on CD until 2012. And, finally pressed to vinyl in 2019. I’ve got the limited yellow vinyl edition and it sounds great….

For you ultra-purist “haters” out there……, this work was recorded to digital, mastered digitally, then sent to the cutter-head via computer/DAC……. and I don’t mind. I’d rather have a digital work on vinyl (purchased from the Tangerine Dream website) than stream it ad-nauseam for no financial benefit to the artist. Give it some thought……….., music shouldn’t be “free”. At risk of pontificating….., these people need to get paid, buy vinyl. Thanks.

Until next week………, stay warm, safe and fed. Cheers! Matt.