STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN: Double Trouble – The Complete Epic Recordings Collection (12CD Box Set)

The late guitar hero Stevie Ray Vaughan is getting an epic release from Epic Records and Legacy Recordings. On October 28, Legacy will unveil Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble: The Complete Epic Recordings Collection, a 12-CD box set compiling, for the first time, the entirety of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble’s official studio and […]

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Ask our editor Neil McCauley: Amcron (UK) and Crown USA?

Hi Neil. A bit of confusion here re the two brands. What’s their connection – if any? Ivor. Wikipedia states the following: International Radio and Electronics Corporation (IREC) was established in 1947 by Clarence C. Moore, an Elkhart, Indiana minister. The company started out building rugged, open reel tape recorders for use by missionaries in […]

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MUSIC IS THE

Has the Beatles ‘Get Back’ series caused you to think differently about John, Paul, George, and Ringo?

MAX W writes… Yes, definitely. It illustrated how intimately close John and Paul were; how isolated and insecure George clearly felt (not just set against John and Paul, but also against his peers like Clapton) and how much of a junior partner he was considered by the two main songwriters; how surprisingly important and stabilising […]

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MUSIC IS THE

NICK MASON: Uncages Memories of Making Animals, Declares Which Pink Floyd Albums Sound Better in Mono on Vinyl, and Explains Why the Band Came Up With a New Song in 2022

STEREOPHILE Let’s face it — January 1977’s Animals has always been considered to be somewhat of a dark horse in the Pink Floyd recorded canon. Yet here in Year 45 of Animals, the album is finally getting a rightly deserved re-evaluation, thanks to Animals 2018 Remix (Pink Floyd Records/Sony Music), which was just released on […]

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MUSIC IS THE

‘It’s my age that’s the talking point, not that I’m black’: Toks Dada, the Southbank’s head of classical music. Erica Jeal interviewing

With its new season opening this weekend, the Southbank Centre’s 32-year-old leader talks about how he’s shaping the venue to reflect classical music today, the magic of live music, and the challenge of keeping the lights – and the heating – on. Toks Dada is reeling off the concerts that make up the opening weekend […]

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MUSIC IS THE

JONI MITCHELL: Some viewed Wild Things Run Fast, which turns 40 next month, as a betrayal of her roots. Looking back, the reality is far more complicated

Tourists visiting the Caribbean during the summer of 1981 might have spotted something unexpected: Joni Mitchell in the thick of things at a disco, grooving up a storm to the Police’s inscrutable hit De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da. “I love to dance, and anytime I heard it, boy, I didn’t care if […]

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Quill

READERS’ LETTERS: Reputable retailers

FP writes … The beauty of buying home-audio gear from reputable companies that allow their prospective customers to have a 30-to-45-day in-home audition is that the customer can’t really go backwards because they can do a direct comparison with their current piece of equipment…whatever that might be…& decide for themselves whether the new piece is […]

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AUDIO INSIDER

MISSING DIGITAL INFORMATION: Each form of slow and fast digital capture offers a glimpse into that which our analog senses cannot perceive

I am always fascinated to watch those slow-speed nature videos where you watch flowers open and plants grow. Or, the opposite. A high-speed camera that slows down the wing motions of a hummingbird so we might see what in real life we cannot. Those cameras (both film and video) are essentially digital: frame by frame […]

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MUSIC IS THE

LED ZEPPELIN: Did they invent heavy metal music or were there other bands that did it before them?

JASON B writes … I would say Steppenwolf’s “Heavy metal thunder” lyric in Born To Be Wild is more closer to the creative origin of the heavy metal rock genre than anything, and the band borrowed it from the post-WWII Zen motorcycle culture and its clubs like the original Hell’s Angels, not the successive versions […]

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MUSIC IS THE

FREDDIE MERCURY / MARY AUSTIN: Was she infected with HIV? Did he unknowingly infect her with the HIV virus?

JCK writes No. He once cut himself accidently and was bleeding and Barbara Valentin tried to help him and he screamed at her to get back because, once he suspected he had HIV, he didn’t want to infect her. Also, his dear friend Montserrat Caballé went to hug him but he stepped back to which […]

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Quill

READERS’ LETTERS: Sometimes, making (Hi-Fi) mistakes, can be the best teacher in the world.

Good morning to everyone in our grate big hifi family!Paul, I can remember 2 years ago, you told us all that, you came up with the power plant regenerator in 1990.For anyone on here that’s in to doing math, that was 32 years ago.But as for making mistakes, ya, I’ve made lots of them.But I […]

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THE GRATEFUL DEAD: Night At The Family Dog (DVD)

In December 1970, public television, then known as N.E.T. (National Educational Television), broadcast two specials as part of its Fanfare series. First, on December 6, there was San Francisco Rock: Go Ride the Music, a documentary about Jefferson Airplane. A week later, on December 13, came San Francisco Rock: A Night at the Family Dog. […]

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RAY DAVIES: I can’t play as The Kinks

From our archives: The Kinks are 50 this year and Ray Davies knows the inevitable question is coming. “Don’t!” he sighs, as if in anticipation of a migraine. Nagging talk of a reunion has been in the ether all year. His brother Dave is well on for hooking up. Drummer Mick Avory is not averse. […]

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ALLMAN BROTHERS: Crackdown Concert 1986

LIVE ALLMAN BROTHERS BROADCAST FROM MADISON SQUARE GARDENS, NEW YORK, 31ST OCTOBER 1986 The Allman Brothers had played only one other show in 1986 – prior to which they hadn’t performed together since disbanding in 1982 – and had no further plans to tour or record, but were on good form. The group stuck to […]

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WES MONTGOMERY: The Incredible Jazz Guitar Of… (CD Mini-LP Replica)

We are told: Wes Montgomery (1925-1968) was one of the most revered guitarists in jazz history. ‘The Incredible Jazz Guitar Of Wes Montgomery’ marked his third album as a leader, following ‘Montgomeryland’ (1958) and ‘The Wes Montgomery Trio’ (1959).‘The Incredible Jazz Guitar Of Wes Montgomery’ was widely praised on release and received a five-star rating […]

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