(Press Release): March 14, 2025 - Los Angeles, CA) Rhino High Fidelity (Rhino Hi-Fi) ignites its series of acclaimed limited-edition, high-end vinyl reissues by recharging two essential hard rock epics. New Rhino Hi-Fi versions of Black Sabbath’s massively influential sophomore LP, Paranoid, and Alice Cooper’s seminal third full-length offering, Love It To Death, arrive today, exclusively at Rhino.com and internationally at select WMG stores. Both are available as 1LP... Read More

(Press release): Enjoying The Ride Limited Edition 60-CD Boxed Set Celebrates The Grateful Dead’s 60th Anniversary With Unreleased Performances From 20 Legendary Venues Available Exclusively From Dead.net On May 30. The Music Never Stopped Available From Rhino On 3-CDs And 6-LPs Pre-order Here“Scarlet Begonias,” “Touch Of Grey,” and “Fire On The Mountain” Live At The Greek Theatre Available Today DigitallyListen Now(March 12, 2025 - Los Angeles, CA) The Grateful Dead... Read More

A highly prized and rare 1957 recording featuring violinist Michèle Auclair and pianist Jacqueline Robin-Bonneau performing Debussy and Ravel Sonatas for violin and piano released in mono only on a 10" disc is joined on this new The French Record Company release by a previously unreleased performance of a Roussel sonata for violin and orchestra recorded during the same 1957 recording session. What's more, during his research for the release, the label's... Read More

By 1972, Yes was no longer fighting to prove themselves within the progressive rock scene. With Fragile having sold 500,000 copies in America alone and “Roundabout” being their first Top 20 hit, they earned the privilege to work without interference from the head honchos at Atlantic. When it came time to work on a follow-up album at London’s Advision Studios in the spring of 1972, the taste of commercial success didn’t lobby the members of Yes to try to recapture the... Read More

For the past few years my old friend, U.K. based audio writer supreme Ken Kessler has been telling me about an upcoming re-launch of the fabled line of London Decca phono cartridges. But it's been "hush-hush". As many of you surely know, the Decca name is/was owned by a U.K. based record label now owned by UMe and it has recently re-launched that label—probably after seeing the great success DGG has had with the Original Sound Series (thanks in great... Read More

(Press release): Erlangen, Germany Thursday 6 March 2025 – for immediate release-German analogue audio specialist, Clearaudio has launched the Diamond Jubilee MC, a flagship moving-coil cartridge design that uses patent-pending technology to offer the ultimate in vinyl playback potential. Limited to just 45 units – representing the company’s milestone 45th Anniversary – the Clearaudio Diamond Jubilee MC is the most sophisticated design in its history. It comes in... Read More

A New York Times online story published today written by Ben Sisario headlined "The Wizard of Vinyl Is In Kansas" presents to the general public the Chad kassem most Tracking Angle readers know if just through buying the records, CDs, SACDs and tapes he produces, presses and sells on the Acoustic Sounds website, though some have met Chad at hi-fi shows or at one of his Blues at the Crossroads concert extravaganzas.Pictured in the photo are (L-R): Chad... Read More

High Moon Records is a well-regarded boutique reissue record label with a catalog comprised of essential releases from music visionaries, some of whom perhaps you've probably never heard of. All feature deluxe packaging, extensive liner notes by authoritative writers, stunning artwork with never-before-seen archival photos, and sparkling re-mastered audio often with rare bonus tracks.

Musicologist, conductor and Paris National Conservatory alumnus Jean-Marc Harari's The French Recording Company (Les Discophiles Francais) issued a previously unreleased Marcelle Meyer Debussy recording back in 2019 that I reported on and reviewed on my previous website. The review caused a stir because the double LP all-analog set, limited to 200 copies was costly, though less expensive than originals of other Meyer records and buyers at the time expressed no... Read More

If you missed the Florida International AUDIO EXPO (Feb. 21st-23) this video takes you there. Sorry it's taken me a week to get this video edited and ready for YouTube viewing. Many new products were introduced and many familiar ones were on display as well. A new, larger venue—The Sheraton Tampa Brandon made for a much bigger and better show. Attendance was strong throughout and everyone involved seemed happy with the results. According to show organizers... Read More

Commitment, they say, is just the b-side of having limited options. Otherwise, why would you find the stylish members of Japan toiling away under a hail of Punk spit or opening for Blue Oyster Cult? Then there was Kate Bush making her musical bones around southeast London with covers of “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and “Come Together.” Then again it may be harder perhaps, to think of Talk Talk’s Mark Hollis shlepping guitars in and out of pubs while holding down his duties as... Read More

The Electric Recording Company just announced it will deliver in April 450 copies of The Grateful Dead's triple LP Europe '72 as a limited to 450 copy release.Not everyone loves what ERC does with rock recordings, which is give buyers a "straight off the tape" document with no equalization or compression applied, but enough do so these sell out quickly. That's why we're putting this up post haste! Cost: £650From the ERC website blurb: ... Read More

(Press release) Blue Note Records has announced an April 11 release of On View At The Five Spot Café: The Complete Masters, a special Tone Poet Vinyl Edition of guitarist Kenny Burrell’s sublime 1959 hard bop summit with drummer Art Blakey. The expanded 3-LP, 2-CD, and digital sets, which can be pre-ordered now on the Blue Note Store, present the complete recorded performances for the first time in any format including six previously unissued tracks. Listen to “The... Read More

Reliable Corporation's UberLight® Flex became a big hit in the audiophile world a few years ago. It's among the best ways to illuminate a turntable or any piece of audio gear. They are ubiquitous at audio shows worldwide. Reliable just introduced the new Frame UberLight® that's a radical departure and a major esthetic and functional upgrade from the Flex. The sophisticated looking Frame offers more than 100 lighting combinations with six brightness... Read More

Clearaudio's Unity tonearm, originally developed for the Master Jubilee turntable that celebrated the company's 45th analog manufacturing anniversary is now available in either black or silver finish as a "stand-alone" product for use with Clearaudio and other turntable brands. Price is $20,000. Clearaudio Universal tonearm owners receive 100% trade up allowance when upgrading to the Unity.The Unity combines classic Clearaudio features such as... Read More

The Flat.Duo's outstanding warped record flattening ability was the highlight of the previous Flat.Duo video. The noise added to two records I "relaxed" using the Flat.Duo's "Relax" mode's standard settings were the lowlights. Naturally, the manufacturer in Germany and the importer were disturbed by the results and who could blame them? Both said that customers (including some industry insiders I know) had no such experience and they... Read More

Ortofon celebrated its 90th birthday with the release of the now legendary and truly revolutionary MC A90—the first cartridge to use SLM (Selective Laser Melt) technology to build up from metallic powder (stainless steel for the MC A90) a cartridge body shape that would have been impossible to "machine away" from a block of stainless steel, aluminum or other materials. The shape was about self-damping and resonance control, not to create a fanciful... Read More

Oakland, CA. Feb. 10, 2025—Musical Surroundings is excited to announce the appointment of Chris Thompson as Service and Product Manager. Chris was the Quality Control and Special Projects Manager at Parasound in San Francisco for 11 years. One of Chris’ many responsibilities was developing and supporting the Parasound line of John Curl designed phono stages.Moving across the bay to Oakland, Chris now works with Mike Yee, designer of the Musical Surroundings’ Phonomena... Read More

Mack Avenue Music Group announced last month its partnership with Strata-East Records, the influential jazz label known for artistic freedom and high production standards founded in 1970 by Charles Tolliver and Stanley Cowell. The series will be released over time on AAA vinyl cut by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio, pressed on 180g RTI vinyl and deluxe laminated gatefold packaged— paper on cardboard— by Dorado. Strata-East: The Legacy Begins—a digital-only anthology... Read More