Playlist Week of 2014-04-19

* Bartok: Music For Strings, Percussion & Celesta (Chicago/Reiner) (RCA-Victor LP)

* Messiaen: Catalogue d’oiseaux (Ugorski) (DG 3CD)

* Charles Wuorinen: Time’s Encomium (Nonesuch LP)

* Anthony Braxton: Willisau (Quartet) 1991 (hat ART 4CD)

* Charlie Haden & Pat Metheny: Beyond The Missouri Sky (Short Stories) (Verve CD)

* Pat Martino: Joyous Lake (Warner Bros. LP)

* Arcana: Arc Of The Testimony (Axiom/Island CD)

* Rodger Coleman & Sam Byrd: Cosmologies (reference lacquers)

* Marvin Gaye: What’s Going On (Tamla/Mobile Fidelity SACD)

* Marvin Gaye: Let’s Get It On (Tamla/Mobile Fidelity SACD)

* George Duke: The Aura Will Prevail (MPS/BASF LP)

* Automatic Man: Automatic Man (Island LP)

* Automatic Man: Visitors (Island LP)

* Cypress Hill: Black Sunday (Columbia/Legacy 2LP)

* Gram Parsons: GP (Warner Bros./Mobile Fidelity SACD)

* Gram Parsons: 180 Gram: Alternate Takes (Rhino 2LP)

* Martina McBride: Everlasting (Vinyl Recorings LP)

* Grateful Dead: The Centrum, Worcester, MA 1984-10-09 (selections) (SBD 3CDR)

* Cream: Disreali Gears (Deluxe Edition) (d.2) (Polydor/Universal 2CD)

* Hawkwind: Hawkwind (United Arists LP)

* Hawkwind: In Search Of Space (Liberty/EMI LP)

* Hawkwind: Hall Of The Mountain Grill (United Artists LP)

* Budgie: Squawk (MCA/EMI LP)

* Placebo: Ball Of Eyes (Parlophone/Music On Vinyl LP)

* Placebo: 1973 (Parlophone/Music On Vinyl LP)

* Placebo: Placebo (Parlophone/Music On Vinyl LP)

* Camel: I Can See Your House From Here (Arista LP)

* Bad Brains: Youth Are Getting Restless: Live At The Paradiso, Amsterdam 1987 (Caroline LP)

* Die Kreuzen: Cows And Beer (Beer City 7”)

* Meat Puppets: Up On The Sun (SST LP)

* Flaming Lips: 7 Skies H3 (Warner Bros. LP)

* Guided By Voices: Motivational Jumpsuit (GBV, Inc. LP)

* OM: Pilgrimage (Southern Lord LP)
* Ensemble Pearl: (Ensemble Pearl) (Drag City 2LP)

* The Black Keys: Attack & Release (Nonesuch LP)

* Lower Dens: Nootropics (Ribbon Music 2-45RPM LP)

†=iPod/iTunes

‡=car

Commentary:

I am pleased to announce that Rodger Coleman & Sam Byrd: "Cosmologies" is now available on Bandcamp as a free (or pay what you want - hey, every little bit helps!) digital download. You can also pre-order the limited edition vinyl edition of the album, which is due to be pressed at the end of June. The response has already been way beyond my expectations!

Reference lacquers were cut on Tuesday at Welcome to 1979, a local studio facility that is fanatically devoted to analog, with all kinds of vintage keyboards, synthesizers and reel-to-reel tape machines everywhere you look. They recently obtained a vintage Neumann cutting lathe so they can do everything in-house except press the actual LPs. Cameron Henry, the cutting engineer, was a really cool guy and great to work with. While the initial lacquers sounded good, there was some inner-groove distortion at the end of side B that bothered me. Knowing that the actual pressings would only exacerbate the problem, Cameron was totally game for making it just exactly perfect (an impossibility, of course, in the vinyl world). I returned on Friday and, together, we came up with very creative - almost radical - solution - and it now sounds freaking fantastic. Cutting vinyl is an art in itself and Cameron did an amazing job, spending over an hour on three seconds of music. As you can see, every effort has been made to make this LP sound as good as it possibly can.

I hope you all dig it!