Audiophile Discs Archives - Page 39 of 47

The B-52s – Cosmic Thing (1989) [2010, Audio Fidelity, HDCD Remastered]

The B-52s - Cosmic Thing (1989) [2010, Audio Fidelity, HDCD Remastered]

Many observers were prepared to write off the B-52’s after the release of Bouncing Off the Satellites. Granted, the album was completed in the wake of Ricky Wilson’s death, but the group appeared bereft of new musical ideas and were sounding rather stale. Continue reading “The B-52s – Cosmic Thing (1989) [2010, Audio Fidelity, HDCD Remastered]”

Van Halen – Van Halen (1978) [1998, DCC, 24-Karat Gold Disc Remastered]

Van Halen - Van Halen (1978) [1998, DCC, 24-Karat Gold Disc Remastered]

Among revolutionary rock albums, Van Halen’s debut often gets short shrift. Although it altered perceptions of what the guitar could do, it is not spoken of in the same reverential tones as Are You Experienced? and although it set the template for how rock & roll sounded for the next decade or more, it isn’t seen as an epochal generational shift, like Led Zeppelin, The Ramones, The Rolling Stones, or Never Mind the Bollocks Here’s the Sex Pistols, which was released just the year before. Continue reading “Van Halen – Van Halen (1978) [1998, DCC, 24-Karat Gold Disc Remastered]”

Elton John – Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1970) [1984, MFSL Remastered, CD-Format + Hi-Res Vinyl Rip]

Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1970) [1984, MFSL Remastered, CD-Format + Hi-Res Vinyl Rip]

Elton John – Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1970) [1984, MFSL Remastered, CD-Format + Hi-Res Vinyl Rip]
2x Vinyl Rip | Hi-Res / FLAC Tracks / 24bit / 96kHz | CD-Format / FLAC Tracks / 16bit / 44.1kHz
Full Scans Included
Total Size: 2.19 GB (Hi-Res) + 813 MB (CD-Format) | 3% RAR Recovery
Label: Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab | Pressed In Japan on JVC | Cat#: MFSL 2-160 | Genre: Pop Rock
Half-Speed Mastered

It was designed to be a blockbuster and it was. Prior to Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Elton John had hits — his second album, Elton John, went Top 10 in the U.S. and U.K., and he had smash singles in “Crocodile Rock” and “Daniel” — but this 1973 album was a statement of purpose spilling over two LPs, which was all the better to showcase every element of John’s spangled personality. Continue reading “Elton John – Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1970) [1984, MFSL Remastered, CD-Format + Hi-Res Vinyl Rip]”

Jackson Browne – The Pretender (1976) {1982, MFSl Remastered, CD-Format + Hi-Res Vinyl Rip}

Jackson Browne - The Pretender (1976) {1982, MFSl Remastered, CD-Format + Hi-Res Vinyl Rip}

Jackson Browne – The Pretender (1976) {1982, MFSl Remastered, CD-Format + Hi-Res Vinyl Rip}
Vinyl Rip | Hi-Res / FLAC Tracks / 24bit / 96kHz | CD-Format / FLAC Tracks / 16bit / 44.1kHz
Full Scans Included
Total Size: 0.99 GB (Hi-Res) + 402 MB (CD-Format) | 3% RAR Recovery
Label: Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab | Pressed In Japan on JVC | Cat#: MFSL 1-055 | Genre: Pop Rock
Half-Speed Mastered

On The Pretender, Jackson Browne took a step back from the precipice so well defined on his first three albums, but doing so didn’t seem to make him feel any better. Employing a real producer, Jon Landau, for the first time, Browne made what sounded like a real contemporary rock record, but this made his songs less effective; the ersatz Mexican arrangement of “Linda Paloma” and the bouncy second half of “Daddy’s Tune,” with its horn charts and guitar solo, undercut the lyrics. Continue reading “Jackson Browne – The Pretender (1976) {1982, MFSl Remastered, CD-Format + Hi-Res Vinyl Rip}”

Curtis Mayfield – Super Fly (1972) {2018, MFSL Remastered, Hi-Res SACD Rip}

Curtis Mayfield - Super Fly (1972) {2018, MFSL Remastered, Hi-Res SACD Rip}

Curtis Mayfield – Super Fly (1972) {2018, MFSL Remastered, Hi-Res SACD Rip}
SACD Rip | ISO / DSD / 1bit / 2.8224MHz | FLAC Tracks / 24bit / 88.2kHz
Hybrid SACD | Full Scans Included
Total Size: 1.48 GB (ISO) + 693 MB (FLAC) | 3% RAR Recovery
Label: MFSL UltraDisc UHR | USA | Cat#: UDSACD 2204 | Genre: Soul

The choice of Curtis Mayfield to score the blaxploitation film Super Fly was an inspired one. No other artist in popular music knew so well, and expressed through his music so naturally, the shades of gray inherent in contemporary inner-city life. His debut solo album, 1970’s Curtis, had shown in vivid colors that the ’60s optimist (author of the civil-rights anthems “Keep On Pushing” and “People Get Ready”) had added a layer of subtlety to his material; appearing on the same LP as the positive and issue-oriented “Move On Up” was an apocalyptic piece of brimstone funk titled “(Don’t Worry) If There’s a Hell Below Continue reading “Curtis Mayfield – Super Fly (1972) {2018, MFSL Remastered, Hi-Res SACD Rip}”

The Beach Boys – Pet Sounds (1966) [1993, DCC Remastered]

The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds (1966) [1993, DCC Remastered]

Pet Sounds is the 11th studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys. Released on May 16, 1966, it met a lukewarm critical and commercial reception in the United States, but received immediate success abroad, where British publications declared it “the most progressive pop album ever”. It charted at number two in the UK but number ten in the US, a significantly lower placement than the band’s preceding albums. Continue reading “The Beach Boys – Pet Sounds (1966) [1993, DCC Remastered]”

The Allman Brothers Band – 4 Albums (1970-1973) [MFSL Remastered]

The Allman Brothers Band - 4 Albums (1970-1973) [MFSL Remastered]

Idlewild South (1970) / At Fillmore East (1971) / Eat A Peach (1972) / Brothers And Sisters (1973)
Continue reading “The Allman Brothers Band – 4 Albums (1970-1973) [MFSL Remastered]”

Roy Orbison – Lonely And Blue (1961) [1995, MasterSound Remastered]

Roy Orbison - Lonely And Blue (1961) [1995, MasterSound Remastered]

Time and familiarity — through multiple reissues — may have muted the seeming significance of some of what’s here, but in 1960 Sings Lonely and Blue was not only a breakthrough for Roy Orbison as his debut LP, but also for rock & roll. Up to that point, apart from Elvis Presley — who was in a class by himself — few white rock & rollers had even tried to make as bold a use of the LP as what we hear on this record. Continue reading “Roy Orbison – Lonely And Blue (1961) [1995, MasterSound Remastered]”

Journey – Infinity (1978) {1994, Sony MasterSound SBM, Remastered}

Journey - Infinity (1978) {1994, Sony MasterSound SBM, Remastered}

Journey – Infinity (1978) {1994, Sony MasterSound SBM, Remastered}
EAC Rip | FLAC Image + Cue + Log | Full Scans @300 dpi, JPG, Included
Total Size: 257 MB | 3% RAR Recovery
Label: Sony MasterSound SBM | USA | Cat#: CK 57207 | Genre: Hard Rock

By 1977 Journey had reached a creative crossroads, with three underwhelming studio albums under their belt and little to show in the way of commercial success. At the prodding of manager Herbie Herbert, who felt a major shakeup was needed in order to reignite their spark, the band was convinced to audition and eventually recruit the services of former Alien Project vocalist Steve Perry. Continue reading “Journey – Infinity (1978) {1994, Sony MasterSound SBM, Remastered}”

Johnny Winter – Johnny Winter And (1970) [2000, DCC, Remastered]

Johnny Winter - Johnny Winter And (1970) [2000, DCC, Remastered]

After two late-’60s albums on Columbia, Johnny Winter hit his stride in 1970 working with Rick Derringer and the McCoys, now recruited as his sidemen and collaborators (and proving with just about every note here how far they’d gotten past “Hang on Sloopy”). Continue reading “Johnny Winter – Johnny Winter And (1970) [2000, DCC, Remastered]”

James Taylor – JT (1977) [1994, MasterSound Remastered, 24-Karat Gold]

James Taylor - JT (1977) [1994, MasterSound Remastered, 24-Karat Gold]

On his last couple of Warner Bros albums, Gorilla and In the Pocket, James Taylor seemed to be converting himself from the shrinking violet, too-sensitive-to-live “rainy day man” of his early records into a mainstream, easy listening crooner with a sunny outlook. JT, his debut album for Columbia, was something of a defense of this conversion. Continue reading “James Taylor – JT (1977) [1994, MasterSound Remastered, 24-Karat Gold]”

Mannheim Steamroller – Fresh Aire 8 (2000) [2016, Audio Fidelity Remastered, Hi-Res SACD Rip]

Mannheim Steamroller - Fresh Aire 8 (2000) [2016, Audio Fidelity Remastered, Hi-Res SACD Rip]

Fresh Aire 8 is the final album in the Mannheim Steamroller Fresh Aire series. Fresh Aire 8 has a full sound that offers a well-balanced blend of synthesizers and orchestra richly augmented by the London Symphony. Always thematic affairs, the topic this time is Infinity and how it relates to all facets of human life…love, art, philosophy, mathematics and of course music. This allows for some rather bizarre musical pieces as classic Mannheim Steamroller riffs weave their way through the tapestry of new sounds. Continue reading “Mannheim Steamroller – Fresh Aire 8 (2000) [2016, Audio Fidelity Remastered, Hi-Res SACD Rip]”

Jethro Tull – 6 Albums [MFSL, 24-Karat Gold Disc, Remastered]

Jethro Tull - 6 Albums [MFSL, 24-Karat Gold Disc, Remastered]

Stand Up (1969) / Living In The Past (1972) / Thick As A Brick (1972) / A Passion Play (1973)
War Child (1974) / Songs From The Wood (1977)
Continue reading “Jethro Tull – 6 Albums [MFSL, 24-Karat Gold Disc, Remastered]”

The Dave Brubeck Quartet – Time Out (1959) [1992, MasterSound Remastered]

The Dave Brubeck Quartet - Time Out (1959) [1992, MasterSound Remastered]

Dave Brubeck’s defining masterpiece, Time Out is one of the most rhythmically innovative albums in jazz history, the first to consciously explore time signatures outside of the standard 4/4 beat or 3/4 waltz time. It was a risky move — Brubeck’s record company wasn’t keen on releasing such an arty project Continue reading “The Dave Brubeck Quartet – Time Out (1959) [1992, MasterSound Remastered]”

Carole king – Tapestry (1971) [1994, MasterSound Remastered]

Carole king - Tapestry (1971) [1994, MasterSound Remastered]

Carole King brought the fledgling singer/songwriter phenomenon to the masses with Tapestry, one of the most successful albums in pop music history. A remarkably expressive and intimate record, it’s a work of consummate craftsmanship. Always a superior pop composer, King reaches even greater heights as a performer; new songs like the hits “It’s Too Late” and “I Feel the Earth Move” rank solidly with past glories Continue reading “Carole king – Tapestry (1971) [1994, MasterSound Remastered]”