Special Section: Audiophile Discs

Laura Nyro – Eli And The Thirteenth Confession (1968) [2016, Audio Fidelity Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]

Laura Nyro - Eli And The Thirteenth Confession (1968) [2016, Audio Fidelity Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]

Laura Nyro – Eli And The Thirteenth Confession (1968)
[2016, Audio Fidelity Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]
SACD-ISO / DSD / 1bit / 2.8224MHz
DSF Tracks / DSD / 1bit / 2.8224MHz
FLAC Tracks / 24bit / 88.2kHz
CD-Layer / EAC Rip / FLAC Tracks + Cue + Log
Stereo & Multichannel | Full Scans Included
Total Size: 284 MB (CD-Layer) + 6.84 GB (DSF) + 2.61 GB (FLAC) + 2.16 GB (ISO) | 3% RAR Recovery
Label: Audio Fidelity | US | Cat#: AFZ5 237 | Genre: Pop Rock
Update: CD-Layer & DSF Tracks have been added

Nyro peaked early, and Eli and the Thirteenth Confession, just her second album, remains her best. It’s not only because it contains the original versions of no less than three songs that were big hits for other artists: “Sweet Blindness” (covered by the 5th Dimension), “Stoned Soul Picnic” (also covered by the 5th Dimension), and “Eli’s Comin'” (done by Three Dog Night). Continue reading “Laura Nyro – Eli And The Thirteenth Confession (1968) [2016, Audio Fidelity Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]”

Coleman Hawkins – The Hawk Flies High (1957) [2006, MFSL Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]

Coleman Hawkins - The Hawk Flies High (1957) [2006, MFSL Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]

Coleman Hawkins – The Hawk Flies High (1957) [2006, MFSL Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]
SACD-ISO / DSD / 1bit / 2.8224MHz
DSF Tracks / DSD / 1bit / 2.8224MHz
FLAC Tracks / 24bit / 88.2kHz
CD-Layer / EAC Rip / FLAC Image + Cue + Log
Full Scans Included
Total Size: 125 MB (CD-Layer) + 1.58 GB (DSF) + 437 MB (FLAC) + 1.62 GB (ISO) | 3% RAR Recovery
Label: Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab | US | Cat#: UDSACD 2030 | Genre: Bop, Jazz
Update: CD-Layer & DSF Tracks have been added

Coleman Hawkins’ 1957 session for Riverside, aside from an oral documentary record in a short-lived series, was his only recording for the label under his name. Yet producer Orrin Keepnews had the good sense to invite the legendary tenor saxophonist to pick his own musicians, and Hawkins surprised him by asking for young boppers J.J. Johnson and Idrees Sulieman in addition to the potent rhythm section of Hank Jones, Oscar Pettiford, Barry Galbraith, and Jo Jones. Continue reading “Coleman Hawkins – The Hawk Flies High (1957) [2006, MFSL Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]”

Blood, Sweat & Tears – Blood, Sweat & Tears 3 (1970) [2003, MFSL Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]

Blood, Sweat & Tears - 3 (1970) [2003, MFSL Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]

Blood, Sweat & Tears – 3 (1970)
[2003, MFSL Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]
SACD-ISO / DSD / 1bit / 2.8224MHz
DSF Tracks / DSD / 1bit / 2.8224MHz
FLAC Tracks / 24bit / 88.2kHz
CD-Layer / EAC Rip / FLAC tracks + Cue + Log
Full Scans Included
276 MB (CD-Layer) + 1.74 GB (DSF) + 867 MB (FLAC) + 1.77 GB (ISO) | 3% RAR Recovery
Update: CD-Layer & DSF Tracks have been added

Blood, Sweat & Tears had a hard act to follow in recording their third album. Nevertheless, BS&T constructed a convincing, if not quite as impressive, companion to their previous hit. David Clayton-Thomas remained an enthusiastic blues shouter, and the band still managed to put together lively arrangements, especially on the Top 40 hits “Hi-De-Ho” and “Lucretia Mac Evil.” Elsewhere, they re-created the previous album’s jazzing up of Laura Nyro (“He’s a Runner”) and Traffic (“40,000 Headmen”), although their pretentiousness, on the extended “Symphony/Sympathy for the Devil,” Continue reading “Blood, Sweat & Tears – Blood, Sweat & Tears 3 (1970) [2003, MFSL Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]”

Spirit – The Family That Plays Together (1968) [2017, Audio Fidelity Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]

Spirit - The Family That Plays Together (1968) [2017, Audio Fidelity Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]

Spirit – The Family That Plays Together (1968)
[2017, Audio Fidelity Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]
SACD-ISO / DSD / 1bit / 2.8224MHz
DSF Tracks / DSD / 1bit / 2.8224MHz
FLAC Tracks / 24bit / 88.2kHz
CD-Layer / EAC Rip / FLAC Tracks + Cue + Log
Full Scans Included
Total Size: 319 MB (CD-Layer) + 2.32 GB (DSF) + 1.11 GB (FLAC) + 2.35 GB (ISO) | 3% RAR Recovery
Label: Audio Fidelity | US | Cat#: AFZ 260 | Genre: Psychedelic Rock, Hard Rock
Update: CD-Layer & DSF Tracks have been added

The Family That Plays Together, the second of four albums released by the original Spirit lineup, was released on Ode Records in December 1968. More than its predecessor, Spirit, their self-titled and surreal debut, The Family That Plays Together displays the band’s ability to play beyond the genre of psychedelic rock. Continue reading “Spirit – The Family That Plays Together (1968) [2017, Audio Fidelity Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]”

New York Voices – Let It Snow (2013) [2014, Audio Fidelity Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]

New York Voices - Let It Snow (2013) [2014, Audio Fidelity Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]

New York Voices – Let It Snow (2013) [2014, Audio Fidelity Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]
SACD-ISO / DSD / 1bit / 2.8224MHz
DSF Tracks / DSD / 1bit / 2.8224MHz
FLAC Tracks / 24bit / 88.2kHz
CD-Layer / EAC Rip / FLAC Image + Cue + Log
Stereo & Multichannel | Full Scans Included
Total Size: 431 MB (CD-Layer) + 8.69 GB (DSF) + 3.83 GB (FLAC) + 3.42 GB (ISO) | 3% RAR Recovery
Label: Audio Fidelity | US | Cat#: AFZ5 520 | Genre: Vocal Jazz, Christmas
Update: CD-Layer & DSF Tracks have been added

Let It Snow finds New York Voices Kim Nazarian, Lauren Kinhan, Darmon Meader and Peter Eldridge celebrating a host of traditional and sacred holiday classics as well as secular favorites. With the assistance of Grammy Award winning producer and engineer, Elliot Scheiner (Steely Dan, Eagles, Manhattan Transfer, Fleetwood Mac), the quartet has fashioned an album that honors beloved songs, while incorporating sophisticated jazz and swing elements Continue reading “New York Voices – Let It Snow (2013) [2014, Audio Fidelity Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]”

Billy Joel – Turnstiles (1976) [2010, MFSL Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]

Billy Joel - Turnstiles (1976) [2010, MFSL Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]

Billy Joel – Turnstiles (1976) [2010, MFSL Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]
SACD-ISO / DSD / 1bit / 2.8224MHz
DSF Tracks / DSD / 1bit / 2.8224MHz
FLAC Tracks / 24bit / 88.2kHz
CD-Layer / EAC Rip / FLAC Image + Cue + Log
Full Scans Included
Total Size: 410 MB (CD-Layer) + 1.50 GB (DSF) + 710 MB (FLAC) + 1.53 GB (ISO) | 3% RAR Recovery
Label: Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab | US | Cat#: UDSACD 2063 | Genre: Pop Rock
Update: CD-Layer & DSF Tracks have been added

There’s a reason Turnstiles begins with the Spector-esque epic “Say Goodbye to Hollywood.” Shortly after Streetlife Serenade, Joel ditched California — and, by implication, sensitive Californian soft rock from sensitive singer/songwriters — for his hometown of New York. “Say Goodbye to Hollywood” was a celebration of his move, a repudiation of his past, a fanfare for a new beginning, which is exactly what Turnstiles was. Continue reading “Billy Joel – Turnstiles (1976) [2010, MFSL Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]”

Billy Joel – Piano Man (1973) [2011, MFSL Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]

Billy Joel - Piano Man (1973) [2011, MFSL Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]

Billy Joel – Piano Man (1973) [2011, MFSL Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]
SACD-ISO / DSD / 1bit / 2.8224MHz
DSF Tracks / DSD / 1bit / 2.8224MHz
FLAC Tracks / 24bit / 88.2kHz
CD-Layer / EAC Rip / FLAC Image + Cue + Log
Full Scans Included
Total Size: 422 MB (CD-Layer) + 1.77 GB (DSF) + 857 MB (FLAC) + 1.80 GB (ISO) | 3% RAR Recovery
Label: Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab | US | Cat#: UDSACD 2062 | Genre: Pop Rock
Update: CD-Layer & DSF Tracks have been added

Embittered by legal disputes with his label and an endless tour to support a debut that was dead in the water, Billy Joel hunkered down in his adopted hometown of Los Angeles, spending six months as a lounge singer at a club. He didn’t abandon his dreams — he continued to write songs, including “Piano Man,” a fictionalized account of his weeks as a lounge singer. Continue reading “Billy Joel – Piano Man (1973) [2011, MFSL Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]”

Billy Joel – Songs In The Attic (1981) [2013, MFSL Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]

Billy Joel - Songs In The Attic (1981) [2013, MFSL Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]

Billy Joel – Songs In The Attic (1981) [2013, MFSL Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]
SACD-ISO / DSD / 1bit / 2.8224MHz
DSF Tracks / DSD / 1bit / 2.8224MHz
FLAC Tracks / 24bit / 88.2kHz
CD-Layer / EAC Rip / FLAC Image + Cue + Log
Full Scans Included
Total Size: 619 MB (CD-Layer) + 1.98 GB (DSF) + 982 MB (FLAC) + 2.01 GB (ISO) | 3% RAR Recovery
Label: Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab | US | Cat#: UDSACD 2092 | Genre: Pop Rock
Update: CD-Layer & DSF Tracks have been added

Having scored three multi-platinum hits in a row, Billy Joel took a breather, releasing his first live album, Songs in the Attic, as he worked on his ambitious follow-up to Glass Houses. Joel wisely decided to use the live album as an opportunity to draw attention to songs from his first four albums. Apart from “Piano Man,” none of those songs had been heard by the large audience he had won with The Stranger. Continue reading “Billy Joel – Songs In The Attic (1981) [2013, MFSL Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]”

Billy Joel – Streetlife Serenade (1974) [2015, Audio Fidelity Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]

Billy Joel - Streetlife Serenade (1974) [2015, Audio Fidelity Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]

Billy Joel – Streetlife Serenade (1974) [2015, Audio Fidelity Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]
SACD-ISO / DSD / 1bit / 2.8224MHz
DSF Tracks / DSD / 1bit / 2.8224MHz
FLAC Tracks / 24bit / 88.2kHz
CD-Layer / EAC Rip / FLAC Image + Cue + Log
Stereo & Multichannel | Full Scans Included
Total Size: 324 MB (CD-Layer) + 5.46 GB (DSF) + 2.10 GB (FLAC) + 2.92 GB (ISO) | 3% RAR Recovery
Label: Audio Fidelity | US | Cat#: AFZ5 207 | Genre: Pop Rock
Update: CD-Layer & DSF Tracks have been added

Piano Man gave Billy Joel his long-desired big hit, but it also somewhat threw him for a loop. He had been driven on Piano Man, determined to deliver an album that established him as both a serious artist and a commercial contender. Having achieved at least one of those goals (critics never gave Joel much credit), he had to release another album quickly if he wanted to keep his profile high Continue reading “Billy Joel – Streetlife Serenade (1974) [2015, Audio Fidelity Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]”

Grateful Dead – Workingman’s Dead (1970) [2014, MFSL Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]

Grateful Dead - Workingman's Dead (1970) [2014, MFSL Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]

Grateful Dead – Workingman’s Dead (1970) [2014, MFSL Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]
SACD-ISO / DSD / 1bit / 2.8224MHz
DSF Tracks / DSD / 1bit / 2.8224MHz
FLAC Tracks / 24bit / 88.2kHz
CD-Layer / EAC Rip / FLAC Image + Cue + Log
Full Scans Included
Total Size: 211 MB (CD-Layer) + 1.47 GB (DSF) + 699 MB (FLAC) + 1.49 GB (ISO) | 3% RAR Recovery
Label: Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab | US | Cat#: UDSACD 2137 | Genre: Country Rock, Classic Rock
Update: CD-Layer & DSF Tracks have been added

Workingman’s Dead is the fourth Grateful Dead studio album. It was recorded in February 1970 and originally released on June 14, 1970. The album and its studio follow-up, American Beauty, were recorded back-to-back using a similar style, eschewing the psychedelic experimentation of previous albums in favor of Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter’s Americana-styled songcraft Continue reading “Grateful Dead – Workingman’s Dead (1970) [2014, MFSL Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]”

Bob Dylan – Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits Vol. II (1971) [2013, Audio Fidelity Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]

Bob Dylan - Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II (1971) [2013, Audio Fidelity Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]

Bob Dylan – Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits Vol. II (1971)
[2013, Audio Fidelity Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]
SACD-ISO / DSD / 1bit / 2.8224MHz
DSF Tracks / DSD / 1bit / 2.8224MHz
FLAC Tracks / 24bit / 88.2kHz
CD-Layer / EAC Rip / FLAC Image + Cue + Log
2x Discs | Full Scans Included
Total Size: 635 MB (CD-Layer) + 3.19 GB (DSF) + 1.57 GB (FLAC) + 3.28 GB (ISO) | 3% RAR Recovery
Label: Audio Fidelity | US | Cat#: AFZ2 145 | Genre: Folk Rock
Update: CD-Layer & DSF Tracks have been added

Where Dylan’s first Greatest Hits took its title literally, Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 is a greatest-hits album only in the loosest sense of the term. While the double album does contain several genuine hits — “Lay Lady Lay,” “Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here with You,” the non-LP “Watching the River Flow” — it is largely comprised of album tracks that became classics, either through Dylan’s own version or through covers. Continue reading “Bob Dylan – Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits Vol. II (1971) [2013, Audio Fidelity Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]”

Leon Russell – Leon Russell And The Shelter People (1971) [2016, Audio Fidelity Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]

Leon Russell - Leon Russell And The Shelter People (1971) [2016, Audio Fidelity Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]

Leon Russell – Leon Russell And The Shelter People (1971)
[2016, Audio Fidelity Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]
SACD-ISO / DSD / 1bit / 2.8224MHz
DSF Tracks / DSD / 1bit / 2.8224MHz
FLAC Tracks / 24bit / 88.2kHz
CD-Layer / EAC Rip / FLAC Image + Cue + Log
Full Scans Included
Total Size: 327 MB (CD-Layer) + 2.19 GB (DSF) + 1.04 GB (FLAC) + 871 MB (ISO) | 3% RAR Recovery
Label: Audio Fidelity | US | Cat#: AFZ 259 | Genre: Country Rock, Folk Rock
Update: CD-Layer & DSF Tracks have been added

Leon Russell’s accolades are monumental in a number of categories, from songwriting to session playing, to his solo work. Leon Russell and the Shelter People is the second solo album by the singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. This 1971 gem shot to #17 on the Billboard album charts. Continue reading “Leon Russell – Leon Russell And The Shelter People (1971) [2016, Audio Fidelity Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]”

McCoy Tyner – Sahara (1972) [2006, MFSL Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]

McCoy Tyner - Sahara (1972) [2006, MFSL Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]

McCoy Tyner – Sahara (1972) [2006, MFSL Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]
SACD-ISO / DSD / 1bit / 2.8224MHz
DSF Tracks / DSD / 1bit / 2.8224MHz
FLAC Tracks / 24bit / 88.2kHz
CD-Layer / EAC Rip / FLAC Image + Cue + Log
Full Scans Included
Total Size: 312 MB (CD-Layer) + 1.33 GB (DSF) + 979 MB (FLAC) + 1.98 GB (ISO) | 3% RAR Recovery
Label: Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab | US | Cat#: UDSACD 2029| Genre: Jazz
Update: CD-Layer & DSF Tracks have been added

After the death of John Coltrane, his longtime pianist McCoy Tyner was in something of a musical quandary. Keeping up with his mentor through the incredible explorations of the early ’60s, he seemed to have some difficulty navigating the even further out territories explored in the two or three years before Coltrane’s death in 1967. Continue reading “McCoy Tyner – Sahara (1972) [2006, MFSL Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]”

Jerry Garcia & David Grisman – Jerry Garcia & David Grisman (1991) [2014, MFSL Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]

Jerry Garcia & David Grisman - Jerry Garcia & David Grisman (1991) [2014, MFSL Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]

Jerry Garcia & David Grisman – Jerry Garcia & David Grisman (1991)
[2014, MFSL Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]
SACD-ISO / DSD / 1bit / 2.8224MHz
DSF Tracks / DSD / 1bit / 2.8224MHz
FLAC Tracks / 24bit / 88.2kHz
CD-Layer / EAC Rip / FLAC Tracks + Cue + Log
Full Scans Included
Total Size: 317 MB (CD-Layer) + 2.38 GB (DSF) + 1.08 GB (FLAC) + 2.42 GB (ISO) | 3% RAR Recovery
Label: Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab | US | Cat#: UDSACD 2140 | Genre: Country
Update: CD-Layer & DSF Tracks have been added

This Grammy-nominated disc heralds the origins of the highly acclaimed acoustic duo of Jerry Garcia (guitar/vocals) and David “Dawg” Grisman (mandolin). They had been chums for years by the time they began their direct partnership in earnest on December 7, 1990, with a nine-song set at the Sweetwater in Mill Valley, CA. Over half of that material would be reworked the following spring — for inclusion on this disc — at Grisman’s newly appointed, plush, and well-lit Dawg Studios. Continue reading “Jerry Garcia & David Grisman – Jerry Garcia & David Grisman (1991) [2014, MFSL Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]”

Gerry Mulligan Meets Scott Hamilton – Soft Lights & Sweet Music (1986) [2006, MFSL Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]

Gerry Mulligan Meets Scott Hamilton - Soft Lights & Sweet Music (1986) [2006, MFSL Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]

Gerry Mulligan Meets Scott Hamilton – Soft Lights & Sweet Music (1986)
[2006, MFSL Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]
SACD-ISO / DSD / 1bit / 2.8224MHz
DSF Tracks / DSD / 1bit / 2.8224MHz
FLAC Tracks / 24bit / 88.2kHz
CD-Layer / EAC Rip / FLAC Tracks + Cue + Log
Full Scans Included
Total Size: 285 MB (CD-Layer) + 1.73 GB (DSF) + 865 MB (FLAC) + 1.77 GB (ISO) | 3% RAR Recovery
Label: Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab | US | Cat#: UDSACD 2017 | Genre: Jazz, Cool
Update: CD-Layer & DSF Tracks have been added

Starting in the late ’50s, Gerry Mulligan recorded a series of encounters with fellow saxophonists that included such immortals as Stan Getz, Paul Desmond, Johnny Hodges and Ben Webster. In 1986 he resumed the practice for this one date on which his baritone is matched with the tenor of the young great Scott Hamilton. The music, which includes warm ballads and fairly hot romps (five of the seven songs are Mulligan originals), consistently swing and are quite enjoyable. Continue reading “Gerry Mulligan Meets Scott Hamilton – Soft Lights & Sweet Music (1986) [2006, MFSL Remastered, CD-Layer + Hi-Res SACD Rip]”