Special Section: Audiophile Discs

YES – 90125 (1983) {2009, Audio Fidelity Remastered, HDCD}

YES - 90125 (1983) {2009, Audio Fidelity Remastered, HDCD}

YES – 90125 (1983) {2009, Audio Fidelity Remastered, HDCD}
EAC Rip | FLAC Image + Cue + Log | Full Scans Included
Total Size: 377 MB | 3% RAR Recovery
Label: Audio Fidelity | USA | Cat#: AFZ 063 | Genre: Progressive Rock

A stunning self-reinvention by a band that many had given up for dead, 90125 is the album that introduced a whole new generation of listeners to Yes. Begun as Cinema, a new band by Chris Squire and Alan White, the project grew to include the slick production of Trevor Horn, the new blood (and distinctly ’80s guitar sound) of Trevor Rabin, and eventually the trademark vocals of returning founder Jon Anderson. Continue reading “YES – 90125 (1983) {2009, Audio Fidelity Remastered, HDCD}”

Los Lobos – Kiko (1992) [2013, MFSL Remastered, Hi-Res SACD Rip]

Los Lobos - Kiko (1992) [2013, MFSL Remastered, Hi-Res SACD Rip]

Los Lobos – Kiko (1992) [2013, MFSL Remastered, Hi-Res SACD Rip]
SACD-ISO / DSD / 1bit / 2.8224MHz
FLAC Tracks / 24bit / 88.2kHz
Full Scans Included
Total Size: 2.12 GB (ISO) + 0.98 GB (FLAC) | 3% RAR Recovery
Label: MFSL UltraDisc UHR | USA | Cat#: UDSACD 2069 | Genre: Latin Rock

Los Lobos had earned a reputation as one of the most intelligent and creative roots rock acts in America with the albums By the Light of the Moon and The Neighborhood, but it was with 1992’s Kiko that they really demonstrated the breadth of their sonic ambitions. Produced in collaboration with Mitchell Froom, Kiko exchanged the more straightforward approach of Los Lobos’ previous sessions for a uniquely textured sound Continue reading “Los Lobos – Kiko (1992) [2013, MFSL Remastered, Hi-Res SACD Rip]”

America – America (1971) [2013, Audio Fidelity Remastered, CD-Layer & Hi-Res SACD Rip]

America - America (1971) [2013, Audio Fidelity Remastered, CD-Layer & Hi-Res SACD Rip]

America – America (1971) [2013, Audio Fidelity Remastered, CD-Layer & Hi-Res SACD Rip]
SACD-ISO / DSD / 1bit / 2.8224MHz
FLAC Tracks / 24bit / 88.2kHz
CD-Layer / EAC Rip / FLAC Image + Cue + Log
Full Scans Included
Total Size: 1.88 GB (SACD ISO) + 895 MB (SACD FLAC) + 427 MB (CD-Layer) | 3% RAR Recovery
Label: Audio Fidelity | Austria | Cat#: AFZ 167 | Genre: Folk Rock

America’s debut album is a folk-pop classic, a stellar collection of memorable songs that would prove influential on such acts as the Eagles and Dan Fogelberg. Crosby, Stills & Nash are the group’s obvious stylistic touchstone here, especially in the vocal harmonies used (compare the thick chordal singing of “Sandman” and “Children” to CS&N’s “You Don’t Have to Cry” and “Guinevere”) and the prominent use of active strummed acoustic guitar arrangements Continue reading “America – America (1971) [2013, Audio Fidelity Remastered, CD-Layer & Hi-Res SACD Rip]”

Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band ‎- Night Moves (1976) {1992, DCC, 24-Karat Gold Disc Remastered}

Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band ‎- Night Moves (1976) {1992, DCC, 24-Karat Gold Disc Remastered}

Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band ‎- Night Moves (1976) {1992, DCC, 24-Karat Gold Disc Remastered}
EAC Rip | FLAC Tracks + Cue + Log | Full Scans Included
Total Size: 235 MB | 3% RAR Recovery
Label: DCC Compact Classics | USA | Cat#: GZS-1028 | Genre: Classic Rock

Bob Seger recorded the bulk of Night Moves before Live Bullet brought him his first genuine success, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that it’s similar in spirit to the introspective Beautiful Loser, even if it rocks harder and longer. Throughout much of the album, he’s coming to grips with being on the other side of 30 and still rocking. Continue reading “Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band ‎- Night Moves (1976) {1992, DCC, 24-Karat Gold Disc Remastered}”

Jim Croce – Words And Music (1999) {DCC, 24-Karat Gold Disc Remastered}

Jim Croce - Words And Music (1999) {DCC, 24-Karat Gold Disc Remastered}

Jim Croce – Words And Music (1999) {DCC, 24-Karat Gold Disc Remastered}
EAC Rip | FLAC Image + Cue + Log | Full Scans Included
Total Size: 291 MB | 3% RAR Recovery
Label: DCC Compact Classics | USA | Cat#: GZS-1134 | Genre: Folk Rock, Pop Rock

This latest compilation of Jim’s music is both interesting and valid in that it combines songs that appeared on his three hit albums with earlier compositions that were works in progress of a singer/songwriter finding his voice and an artist searching for directon. Continue reading “Jim Croce – Words And Music (1999) {DCC, 24-Karat Gold Disc Remastered}”

Jackson Browne – The Pretender (1976) {1993, DCC, 24-Karat Gold Disc Remastered}

Jackson Browne - The Pretender (1976) {1993, DCC, 24-Karat Gold Disc Remastered}

Jackson Browne – The Pretender (1976) {1993, DCC, 24-Karat Gold Disc Remastered}
EAC Rip | WavPack (.wv) + Cue + Log | Full Scans Included
Total Size: 219 MB | 3% RAR Recovery
Label: DCC Compact Classics | Japan | Cat#: GZS-1047 | Genre: Pop Rock

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) {1993, DCC, 24-Karat Gold Disc Remastered}”

Marc Cohn – Marc Cohn (1991) {2007, MFSL, Remastered}

Marc Cohn - Marc Cohn (1991) {2007, MFSL, Remastered}

Marc Cohn – Marc Cohn (1991) {2007, MFSL, Remastered}
EAC Rip | FLAC Tracks + Cue + Log | Full Scans Included
Total Size: 288 MB | 3% RAR Recovery
Label: MFSL, UltraDisc II | USA | Cat#: UDCD 767 | Genre: Pop Rock

Marc Cohn is one of the finest debut albums of the 1990s, and it brought adult piano pop back to the radio. Every song is well-crafted, and Cohn’s singalong choruses, introspective lyrics, and vocal stylings reveal his ’60s soul and ’70s singer/songwriter influences. His voice is rich, but has a roughness that adds emotion when stretching to the upper end of his range while remaining subtle at the lower end. Continue reading “Marc Cohn – Marc Cohn (1991) {2007, MFSL, Remastered}”

Humble Pie – Rock On (1971) {MFSL, Silver Disc Remastered}

Humble Pie - Rock On (1971) {MFSL, Silver Disc Remastered}

Humble Pie – Rock On (1971) {MFSL, Silver Disc Remastered}
EAC Rip | FLAC Tracks + Cue + Log | Full Scans Included
Total Size: 225 MB | 3% RAR Recovery
Label: MFSL | Sanyo Japan | Cat#: MFCD 847 | Genre: Hard Rock, Blues Rock

On this, their second album for A&M, Humble Pie proved that they were not the “minor league Rolling Stones” as people often described them. Led by the soulful Steve Marriot, the Pie was a great band in every sense of the word. Continue reading “Humble Pie – Rock On (1971) {MFSL, Silver Disc Remastered}”

Steely Dan – Gaucho (1980) {1991, MFSL, 24-Karat Gold Disc Remastered}

Steely Dan - Gaucho (1980) {1991, MFSL, 24-Karat Gold Disc Remastered}

Steely Dan – Gaucho (1980) {1991, MFSL, 24-Karat Gold Disc Remastered}
EAC Rip | FLAC Image + Cue + Log | Full Scans Included
Total Size: 291 MB | 3% RAR Recovery
Label: MFSL, UltraDisc II | USA | Cat#: UDCD 545 | Genre: Jazz Rock

Gaucho is the seventh studio album by the American jazz rock band Steely Dan, released on November 21, 1980 by MCA Records. The sessions for Gaucho represent the band’s typical penchant for studio perfectionism and obsessive recording technique. Continue reading “Steely Dan – Gaucho (1980) {1991, MFSL, 24-Karat Gold Disc Remastered}”

Traffic – Mr. Fantasy (1967) & Traffic (1968) {MFSL, 24-karat Gold Disc Remastered}

Traffic - Mr. Fantasy (1967) & Traffic (1968) {MFSL, 24-karat Gold Disc Remastered}

Traffic – Mr. Fantasy (1967) & Traffic (1968) {MFSL, 24-karat Gold Disc Remastered}
EAC Rip | 2xCD | WavPack (.wv) Image + Cue + Log | Full Scans Included
Total Size: 516 MB | 3% RAR Recovery
Label: MFSL UltraDisc II | USA | Cat#: UDCD 572 / UDCD 629 | Genre: Psychedelic Rock, Classic Rock
Continue reading “Traffic – Mr. Fantasy (1967) & Traffic (1968) {MFSL, 24-karat Gold Disc Remastered}”

The Moody Blues – On The Threshold Of A Dream (1969) {1994, MFSL, Remastered}

The Moody Blues - On The Threshold Of A Dream (1969) {1994, MFSL, Remastered}

The Moody Blues – On The Threshold Of A Dream (1969) {1994, MFSL, Remastered}
EAC Rip | FLAC Image + Cue + Log | Full Scans Included
Total Size: 235 MB | 3% RAR Recovery
Label: MFSL, UltraDisc II | USA | Cat#: UDCD 612 | Genre: Progressive rock

On the Threshold of a Dream was the first album that the Moody Blues had a chance to record and prepare in a situation of relative calm, without juggling tour schedules and stealing time in the studio between gigs — indeed, it was a product of what were almost ideal circumstances, though it might not have seemed that way to some observers. Continue reading “The Moody Blues – On The Threshold Of A Dream (1969) {1994, MFSL, Remastered}”

The Carpenters – A Song For You (1972) {1989, MFSL, 24-Karat Gold Disc Remastered}

The Carpenters - A Song For You (1972) {1989, MFSL, 24-Karat Gold Disc Remastered}

The Carpenters – A Song For You (1972) {1989, MFSL, 24-Karat Gold Disc Remastered}
EAC Rip | APE Image + Cue + Log | Full Scans Included
Total Size: 220 MB | 3% RAR Recovery
Label: MFSL, UltraDisc | Japan | Cat#: UDCD 525 | Genre: Pop, Adult Contemporary

A Song for You is the fourth album released by the Carpenters, released on June 22, 1972. According to Richard Carpenter, “A Song for You was intended to be a concept album (of sorts) with the title tune opening and closing the set and the bookended selections comprising the ‘song’.” Continue reading “The Carpenters – A Song For You (1972) {1989, MFSL, 24-Karat Gold Disc Remastered}”

Def Leppard – Pyromania (1983) & Hysteria (1987) {MFSL, 24-Karat Gold Disc Remastered}

Def Leppard - Pyromania (1983) & Hysteria (1987) {MFSL, 24-Karat Gold Disc Remastered}

Def Leppard – Pyromania (1983) & Hysteria (1987) {MFSL, 24-Karat Gold Disc Remastered}
EAC Rip | 2xCD | FLAC Image + Cue + Log | Full Scans Included
Total Size: 751 MB | 3% RAR Recovery
Label: MFSL, UltraDisc II | USA | Genre: Hard Rock, Glam Rock
Continue reading “Def Leppard – Pyromania (1983) & Hysteria (1987) {MFSL, 24-Karat Gold Disc Remastered}”

Dinah Washington – What A Diff’rence A Day Makes (1959) {1997, MFSL, Remastered}

Dinah Washington - What A Diff'rence A Day Makes (1959) {1997, MFSL, Remastered}

Dinah Washington – What A Diff’rence A Day Makes (1959) {1997, MFSL, Remastered}
EAC Rip | FLAC Image + Cue + Log | Full Scans Included
Total Size: 189 MB | 3% RAR Recovery
Label: MFSL, UltraDisc II | USA | Cat#: UDCD 698 | Genre: Vocal Jazz

One of the more notorious albums in the history of vocal music, What a Diff’rence a Day Makes! is the lush session that bumped up Dinah Washington from the “Queen of the Blues” to a middle-of-the-road vocal wondress — and subsequently disenfranchised quite a few jazz purists. Continue reading “Dinah Washington – What A Diff’rence A Day Makes (1959) {1997, MFSL, Remastered}”