Bob Dylan
Mono a Mano: Retro King Nick Waterhouse on His Love of Vintage Vinyl & Mastering in Mono
Notice: __ngettext is deprecated since version 2.8! Use _n() instead. in /home3/skyemedi/public_html/soundbard.com/wp-includes/functions.php on line 3078
1 Comment
Notice: Undefined variable: theme_options in /home3/skyemedi/public_html/soundbard.com/wp-content/themes/reaction-2.0/element-excerpt.php on line 27
BY MIKE METTLER
Call him The King of Retro Cool. You may have seen Nick Waterhouse wondering “where you think you’re gonna go/when your time’s all gone?” in the current Lexus CT Hybrid “Live a Full Life” commercial campaign, but his super-snazzy brand of modern jazzabilly rock extends well beyond that 30-second snippet. His second full-length LP, Holly (Innovative Leisure), builds on the retro-rockin’ bed of 2011′s Time’s All Gone. Waterhouse and I recently convened to talk about Holly‘s sonic merits, his favorite vinyl reissues, his playback gear, and the benefits of recording in mono.
Mike Mettler: Was Holly recorded direct to tape?
Nick Waterhouse: It was! I did the record at Fairfax in Van Nuys, [California], which is where the Sound City studios used to be. Kevin Augunas was my co-producer on the record. We used four Scully 16-track recorders gotten from A&M Studios, so they’re really … Read More »
Mad Dogs and Shelter People: Leon Russell Looks Back on an Amazing Life Journey
Notice: __ngettext is deprecated since version 2.8! Use _n() instead. in /home3/skyemedi/public_html/soundbard.com/wp-includes/functions.php on line 3078
2 comments
Notice: Undefined variable: theme_options in /home3/skyemedi/public_html/soundbard.com/wp-content/themes/reaction-2.0/element-excerpt.php on line 27
BY MIKE METTLER
“I’m basically what is known as a talented illusionist.” So says piano wizard Leon Russell, but the Oklahoma native is being more than somewhat modest. His C.V. is as impressive as they come: First-call member of the legendary ’60s L.A. studio collective known as The Wrecking Crew, co-founder of Shelter Records in 1969 with Denny Cordell, spearhead of Joe Cocker’s infamous 1970 Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour, and beneficiary of a revived recording career by teaming up with Elton John on 2010′s T Bone Burnett-produced The Union. On his just-released Life Journey (UMe), Russell comes full circle to show his mastery of the form on tasty covers like his piano-vamp stab at Robert Johnson’s “Come on in My Kitchen,” a slip-slidin’ romp through “Fever,” and a swing-sational full-orchestral take on Duke Ellington’s “I Got It Bad and That Ain’t Good.” … Read More »
Go Ahead and Spin It to Me: Benmont Tench Breaks Down Why He Loves Lucky on Vinyl
Notice: __ngettext is deprecated since version 2.8! Use _n() instead. in /home3/skyemedi/public_html/soundbard.com/wp-includes/functions.php on line 3078
1 Comment
Notice: Undefined variable: theme_options in /home3/skyemedi/public_html/soundbard.com/wp-content/themes/reaction-2.0/element-excerpt.php on line 27
BY MIKE METTLER
“I don’t want to stop anyone from getting the CD, but vinyl is the truest way to hear this record,” says Benmont Tench about his new solo album, You Should Be So Lucky (Blue Note). “When you have Glyn Johns [The Rolling Stones, Eagles, The Who] recording something to tape, you really want to hear it on vinyl.” It’s hard to argue with the longtime Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers keyboardist, stepping out to be a frontman for the first time in his five-decades-long career. And spinning Lucky on 180-gram vinyl very much tells the tale of the details: the delicate brush drumwork and resonating bass on “Ecor Rouge,” the placement of the string quartet behind Tench’s organ lines on “Hannah,” and Tench’s deft touch on the ivories while a guitar solo caterwauls in the left channel on … Read More »
The SoundBard’s Top 25 Albums of 2013
Notice: __ngettext is deprecated since version 2.8! Use _n() instead. in /home3/skyemedi/public_html/soundbard.com/wp-includes/functions.php on line 3078
6 comments
Notice: Undefined variable: theme_options in /home3/skyemedi/public_html/soundbard.com/wp-content/themes/reaction-2.0/element-excerpt.php on line 27
BY MIKE METTLER
Damn the naysayers — I say the album format lives! With that vital declaration out of the way, it’s high time to cite the records that caught hold of my expert ear over the past 12 months — the full-length discs and/or LPs I consider most worthy of purchase, hi-res download, and/or dropping the needle on! Here, in reverse order, are my favorite 25 albums of 2013. Happy spinning!
25. Jim James: Regions of Light and Sound of God. Mind-/soul-/ear-expanding. Amen, J-man.
24. Kings of Leon: Mechanical Bull. Cojones-shaking rawk.
23. Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs: Under the Covers, Vol. 3. Sid and Susie give the ’80s a deep, loving soul kiss. Read my interview with Sid and Susie here.
22. The Rides: Can’t Get Enough. Super Session, Millennial Style: Stephen Stills, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, and Barry Goldberg burn on down the … Read More »
Rock of Ages: The Band’s Robbie Robertson on Finding the Balance in Live Mixing and Playing With Bob Dylan
Notice: __ngettext is deprecated since version 2.8! Use _n() instead. in /home3/skyemedi/public_html/soundbard.com/wp-includes/functions.php on line 3078
Comments Off
Notice: Undefined variable: theme_options in /home3/skyemedi/public_html/soundbard.com/wp-content/themes/reaction-2.0/element-excerpt.php on line 27
BY MIKE METTLER
“Everybody loved it — except me. I was so not satisfied with it. It was my fault.” That’s Robbie Robertson, telling it like it is back in August about the original mix of The Band’s acclaimed 1972 double live album, Rock of Ages (Capitol). It only took 40-plus years for Robertson to get his wish to remix — and expand — that music to his satisfaction by culling the best performances of The Band’s 4-night stand at New York’s Academy of Music on December 28-31, 1971 for a stellar five-disc box set, Live at the Academy of Music 1971 — The Rock of Ages Concerts (Capitol/UMe). Audiophiles take note: Disc 5, a DVD, is mixed in surround sound by Bob Clearmountain under Robertson’s supervision, and it gives the proper dimensionality to an important live recording that’s simply been, … Read More »
Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /home3/skyemedi/public_html/soundbard.com/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 3320
Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /home3/skyemedi/public_html/soundbard.com/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 3320
Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /home3/skyemedi/public_html/soundbard.com/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 3320
Recent Comments