Blues

Blues


  • The Night Bob Dylan Plugged In: Newport’s Shock Waves Still Reverberating

    In a world ruled by the sweet and somber strums of acoustic guitars, there came a night when one man dared to buck the system. That man was Bob Dylan, and the date was July 25, 1965. The world of folk music, and indeed the wider spectrum of popular music, was about to be forever…

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  • The King’s First Chords: Elvis Presley’s Debut Recording

    In the annals of music history, July 18, 1953, marks a momentous occasion. It was on this day that Elvis Presley, the undisputed King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, ventured into Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee, and made his first-ever recording. It was a modest start, a heartfelt gift for his beloved mother, that would inadvertently…

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  • The Expanding Power of Women in Jazz

    From a dreamy Indiana barn to a mythical French serpent-woman, this trio of jazz-influenced albumsโ€”by Janiece Jaffe and Monika Herzig, Christine Jensen, and Cรฉcile McLorin Salvantโ€”showcases the vision and vitality women bring to modern jazz.

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  • Rock Chronicles, Part 8 โ€” Paul McCartney saves the Poisoned Iveys (temporarily)

    George Harrison championed them, Paul McCartney produced their debut hit, and Apple Records signed themโ€”yet the Iveys (soon to be Badfinger) nearly vanished before they began, victims of internal rifts and corporate reshuffling.

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  • Treasures from the Vinyl Vault, Part 4

    Welcome to my series Treasures from the Vinyl Vault. In it, I will feature select gems from my approximately 12,000 ever-growing vinyl collection, accumulated over a 45-year period and counting.

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  • Treat your system (and you!) to Korean psychedelic music

    Audioguy CEO Jung-Hoon Choi champions the traditional Korean genre of sanjoโ€”a hypnotic, rhythmically accelerating solo formโ€”as the ultimate system test and spiritual reset, captured in stunning resolution on his labelโ€™s audiophile-grade recordings.

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  • MoFiโ€™s In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida and Truth reviewed, Pt 2

    MoFiโ€™s 45rpm reissue of Jeff Beckโ€™s Truth delivers seismic bass and analogue warmth that outshines many rock classics; released just before Zepโ€™s debut, it remains a blues-rock benchmark for sound and influence.

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  • MoFiโ€™s In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida and Truth reviewed, Pt 1

    MoFiโ€™s remaster of Iron Butterflyโ€™s acid rock landmark “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” breathes new life into the 1968 classic, delivering thunderous bass, refined detail, and an intimacy lost in reverb-heavy earlier pressings.

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  • Rock Chronicles, Part 7 โ€” Bobby Whitlockโ€™s Key to the Highway

    After tensions split Delaney & Bonnieโ€™s band, Bobby Whitlock joined Eric Clapton in forming Derek & the Dominos, playing key roles in both Layla and George Harrisonโ€™s All Things Must Passโ€”before launching a solo career of his own.

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  • Rock Chronicles, Part 6 โ€” On the Road With Eric Clapton

    Eric Claptonโ€™s defection from Blind Faith to Delaney & Bonnie sparked a whirlwind of tours, studio sessions, and shifting alliancesโ€”culminating in a landmark live album, George Harrisonโ€™s secret cameos, and the birth of Derek and the Dominos.

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  • “No, I have the best system in the world!” #8: Priyoโ€™s Audiophile Journey

    Raised on Zeppelin and Deep Purple in India, Priyoโ€™s path to high-end audio took flight in Canadaโ€”his journey from vintage gear to a hybrid-tube system is powered by curiosity, experimentation, and sonic transformation.

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  • Rock Chronicles, Part 5 โ€” Mad Dogs & Englishmen

    Joe Cocker’s career nearly derailed in 1970 until Leon Russell hastily assembled the raucous โ€œMad Dogs & Englishmenโ€ tourโ€”transforming a PR crisis into a legendary, if chaotic, rock caravan that launched Russell to solo stardom.

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  • Rock Chronicles, Part 4 โ€” Gimme Shelter!

    Mike Vosse helped spark one of rockโ€™s greatest musical intersections: Elton Johnโ€™s rise in America, Leon Russellโ€™s breakout, and the moment they collided at the Troubadourโ€”fueling a creative surge that would echo for decades.

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  • The extraordinary jazz-plorations of pianist Jean-Michel Pilc

    Jazz pianist Jean-Michel Pilc, once a devoted audiophile with Linn and Naim gear, now favors simpler setups and live recordings, believing musicโ€”not the gearโ€”should move us, whether itโ€™s Mingus or McCartney.

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  • T.H.E. Show 2022

    At T.H.E. Show 2022, Katli Audioโ€™s system delivered such an emotionally invigorating performance it left all others in the dust, earning top honors over high-caliber contenders from Alma Music and High-End by Oz.

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