Tracking Angle

The hard rock pioneers refuse to fade away on their 24th LP Deep Purple have been the undefeated stormbringers of bombast and volume for almost 60 years. After their beginnings as a second-rate psychedelic group in the late 1960s, the classic Mark II lineup pushed VU meters to the red on Deep Purple In Rock, Fireball, and Machine Head, rivaling contemporaries like Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath in the early 1970s.

such a sweet thing! Here's Tommy James and The Shondells psychedelic guitar driven hit "Crimson and Clover" sounded better than you've probably ever heard it before especially if you know it only from the AM Radio. The greatest hits version sounds best, mastered at Bell Sound by Sam Feldman. That's all I have to say other than enjoy Track Du Jour for Tuesday July 14th, 2026.

original British Immediate pressing "Lazy Sunday Afternoon" was going to be the "Track Du Jour" but the entire side is so great, especially on this original U.K. pressing, so I figured why not just give you the entire side? If you've not heard an original U.K. pressing, you have not really heard this record! But you be the judge of that! Now I'm taking the rest of the day off!

a viewer request A commenter wondered what a not so good recording like Out of Our Heads By The Rolling Stones would sound like, so hear you go! With engineers Dave Hassinger, Ron Malo and Glyn Johns, how bad can this record actually sound? I chose "Satisfaction" and "Play With Fire", both recorded by Dave Hassinger at RCA Studios Hollywood and then added an original Artisan Sound mastered pressing of "Rocks Off" from Exile On Main Street just for fun.

a musical commune produced the album Why write a review now about a record that was released almost a year ago? Because this was one of the top rock records of 2025 and reviewing it in real time on Tracking Angle just slipped through the cracks. If you haven’t already sunk your teeth into it, now’s another chance. What’s happened since the album was released? Steady touring by the band.

landmark debut gets another outing LOS ANGELES – In May 1969, while psychedelia was peaking, Crosby, Stills & Nash’s self-titled debut quietly redefined rock with its flawless three-part vocal arrangements, sharp lyrics, and intricate, acoustic-driven songs. Today, new audiophile editions are available on reel-to-reel and vinyl from Rhino High Fidelity. Crosby, Stills & Nash (Rhino High Fidelity R2R) was duplicated in real time from a 1:1 copy of the original flat analog master tape.

U.K. original "pink rim sun ray pressing" I promised a record a day and I'm doing my best to fulfill that but it's been a tough few days that included a backed up sewage pipe, a "home colonoscopy", putting a dog to sleep, a power failure limited to my street, and having blood drawn for an annual check-up As detailed in the intro to playback of "Third Uncle" From an Original 1974 U.K. "Sun-ray" U.K. Island pressing of Eno's Taking Tiger Mountain By Strategy produced by Eno, co-produced by Phil...

a refined Mini HiFi system designed for life on the move, As a touring musician, author, podcaster and speaker, I have been in more hotel rooms than Stormy Daniels. Like Ms. Daniels, I try not to stay in the room too much, but when I do I like listening to music. My companion over the last 15 years or so has been a Bose mini soundbar.

And It's on 45rpm vinyl (but buy the CD for now)! Back in the day, several prominent jazz musicians recorded albums with strings, some of them with full orchestras, on the premise that doing so would elevate their reputation in polite society. Charlie Parker once touted his sessions with the New York Philharmonic’s string players (“Koussevitsky’s cats,” he called them with a proud smile) as his best work.

plus you get to hear Audio Technica's new AT-MCD1 cartridge Analogue Productions recently reissued Buddy Guy's 1970 release I Was Walking Through the Woods as part of its Chess series. But the record was reissued in 1995 as an MCA "Heavy Vinyl" Series title, cut at Future Disc by Kevin Gray. I worked with MCA on that series and they sent me acetates (call them lacquers or acetates, I don't want to argue about it with anyone) for my approval.