About Mike Mettler

Founder / Editor-In-Chief of SoundBard.com. Inveterate audiophile, chasing higher fidelity. Vinyl fanatic. HRA proponent. Disc hoarder. Surviving paradoxes daily.

Sweet Sonic Dream Mixes Are Made of Dave Stewart

BY MIKE METTLER — FEBRUARY 10, 2016

He’s a man who’s been everywhere and done it with everyone, and lived to tell the tales. He’s Dave Stewart, the production wizard best known for his indelible partnership with Annie Lennox in the uber-popular ’80s electronic duo Eurythmics. His new memoir, Sweet Dreams Are Made of This – […]

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Yanni Composes a Sensuous Hi-Res Sonic Chill Experience (…and 5.1 Studio Material May Follow)

BY MIKE METTLER — FEBRUARY 3, 2016

The concept of being a true global artist didn’t really exist until the rise of Yanni, the visionary Greek keyboardist/composer who’s played his own unique brand of instrumental music for over 5 million concertgoers worldwide (and counting). Sometimes, you’ll find him and his top-tier “United Nations” orchestra playing for […]

The SoundBard’s Top 21 Songs of 2015

BY MIKE METTLER — JANUARY 1, 2016

Whether you choose to digest your music via 7-inch wax, digital streaming services, high-resolution downloads, and/or full-on 5.1 surround sound, this past year served up a score of tasty individual tunes for your ears to enjoy. In reverse order, here are The SoundBard’s Top 21 songs of 2015.

21. Def Leppard: “Blind Faith” […]

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The SoundBard’s Top 31 Albums of 2015

BY MIKE METTLER — DECEMBER 31, 2015

Whether you choose to digest your music via high-resolution audio downloads, 180-gram LPs, streaming services, and/or full 5.1 surround sound, this past year delivered a spate of full-length aural goodness. In reverse order, here are The SoundBard’s Top 31 long-players of 2015.

31. The Ting Tings: Super Critical. (Finca) Spunky ‘n’ […]

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Steve Forbert Makes No Compromises When It Comes to His Songcraft Or His Sonics

BY MIKE METTLER — DECEMBER 9, 2015

The songwriter’s songwriter is one who adheres to an unwavering standard of excellence. His work is honed, sculpted, shaped, and then reshaped until it feels right to share with the world. These are just a few of the guiding principles Steve Forbert followed while composing the 11 original songs […]

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Shoot the Document: Director D.A. Pennebaker on 50 Years of Bob Dylan: Dont Look Back

BY MIKE METTLER — NOVEMBER 27, 2015

As iconic as it remains a full half-century later, when Bob Dylan: Dont Look Back was being shot by director D.A. Pennebaker during the Bard’s whirlwind tour of England in May 1965, there were literally no rules to follow. “It’s the idea of the home movie, the kind of movie […]

By |November 27th, 2015|The SoundBard Interview|Comments Off on Shoot the Document: Director D.A. Pennebaker on 50 Years of Bob Dylan: Dont Look Back

Art Garfunkel on The Art of Listening and His Quest for Vocal Clarity

BY MIKE METTLER – NOVEMBER 5, 2015

There was a time Art Garfunkel thought he may never sing again, not long after he returned from a Simon & Garfunkel tour in the Far East in 2010 and promptly lost his voice. “You go into a terrible depression. What am I going to do? Who am […]

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Johnny Mathis Shares the Secrets of How to Best Record His Singular Golden Voice

BY MIKE METTLER — OCTOBER 28, 2015

Standards: Somebody has to set them. And when it came to creating the 20th-century template for how to properly sing popular music, one need look no further than Johnny Mathis, the romantic, soulful tenor whose range and control remain just as vibrant today as when he began taking lessons […]

Perfect Surround Sound Sense: James Guthrie on Mixing Roger Waters and Pink Floyd in 5.1

BY MIKE METTLER — SEPTEMBER 25, 2015

Good things come to those who wait, as the saying goes. But when it comes to finally getting producer/engineer James Guthrie’s long-awaited 96kHz/24-bit mix of Roger Waters’ 1992 solo album Amused to Death in 5.1 on Blu-ray in hand, well… the word “good” isn’t quite good enough. “Great” is […]

By |September 25th, 2015|The SoundBard Interview|Comments Off on Perfect Surround Sound Sense: James Guthrie on Mixing Roger Waters and Pink Floyd in 5.1

America Bandmates Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell Venture Down the Remastered Highway

BY MIKE METTLER — SEPTEMBER 10, 2015

Harmony (/ˈhärmənē/, noun): 1. The combination of simultaneously sounded musical notes to produce chords and chord progressions having a pleasing effect. 2. A relationship where various components exist together without destroying one another; agreement or concord. See also: America.

If there’s one band from the ’70s that epitomizes the literal definition of the […]

By |September 10th, 2015|The SoundBard Interview|Comments Off on America Bandmates Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell Venture Down the Remastered Highway