Music Reviews

The long wait is almost over. In less than two weeks The Beatles Remasters will be available to all of us "regular guys." Fortunately TONE Audio has people on its staff who are not "regular guys" and who receive things like the Neil Young Bluray box and the Beatles remasters long before they hit the streets. This afternoon TONE published a really thorough review of Please Please Me: The Beatles Remasters that I think everyone will be interested in reading. Before I read the review I was certain that the stereo version of the box was the one for me. Now I am leaning toward the mono version. I just hope I don't have a week moment and overuse the Amazon 1-Click ordering button to order both the stereo and mono versions. Read more for a link to the review.

I recently received a package from Winston Ma at First Impression Music. Inside the box was six new FIM releases including one that is somewhat special to me (details below). Readers familiar with Winston and FIM are well aware that FIM releases are world-renowned for sonic quality, musical content, and physical packaging. Opening the six individual compact discs was like opening six special presents. Nobody packages discs like First Impression Music. The feel of the high quality, high gloss CD holder is the first thing one notices when opening an FIM disc. Inside, the liner notes are impeccable. A preface from Winston himself, short biographies of the artists, reprinted original liner notes, writings from industry scholars, and album production data are all included. Plus, the fact that each CD is held in a sleeve with a cloth backing is a true sign that nothing is overlooked on an FIM release. As I mentioned above one of the six albums is somewhat special to me. This specific release of Getz/Gilberto (LIM K2HD 036) not only sounds spectacular, but Winston's words in the liner notes ring very close to home. Read more to find out why.

Fifteen months after moving into a new house it's finally time to remodel my listening room. I've lived with the unfinished pine walls and hideous carpet long enough. I'm sure the previous owner loved the look, but it's not cutting it for me. I'd been researching options to make my listening room more aesthetically pleasing and acoustically acceptable. The first stage of the remodel will be mostly aesthetics with more acoustic considerations coming later this year. Needless to say I was gung-ho about getting the project underway. First the carpet was ripped up and the wood trim torn off the bottom of the walls. A little over one week into the project my listening room is in shambles, I'm listening to headphones only, but at least I'm discovering some great music while the room is out of commission.