Jim Carroll would find poetry in his passing...somehow. Carroll found his calling after a bout with heroin addiction. It stole from his life and yet he gained from it. He authored The Basketball Diaries, and eventually recorded his words as album. His most accessible was Catholic Boy. He died at 60 of a heart attack. He leaves more than words and music. He is a unique individual that we will miss and reflect upon always. May you Rest in Absolute Peace, Jim!!

Jim Carroll
1950-2009
RIP

How much of a difference is there sonically from the analog sounds coming from the speakers as an LP plays, versus that coming from the digital bits of a CD or a sound file.  I'm not really referring to the quality as that is variable from format to format, and from quality allowance per file.  What I'm mainly going after is, 'will digital music ever achieve the warmth and depth of analog?.'  

We have enjoyed the enhancing greatness of SACD and DVD-Audio, but the reality there is that all audiophile formats have never quite caught on with a public.  Visually, that seems to be a different story with the advent and  growing popularity of Blu-ray DVDs (BD), but not for audio.  We've traveled that road with Quad back in the '70s (although Quad was more an experiential thing rather than sound quality, it was still re-mastered and re-mixed for the set-up), and again with SA-CD, and DVD-Audio, both of which have virtually disappeared (SACD still has adherents, and still shows up now and again, mostly from the wonderful Mo-Fi releases). How much of a difference is there sonically from the analog sounds coming from the speakers as an LP plays, versus that coming from the digital bits of a CD or a sound file. I'm also referring to the quality of the music that is variable from format to format, and from quality allowance per file. Will digital music ever achieve the warmth and depth of analog?.' 

We have enjoyed the enhancing greatness of SACD and DVD-Audio, but the reality there is that all audiophile formats have never quite caught on with the public. Visually, that seems to be a different story with the advent and growing popularity of Blu-ray DVDs (BD), but not for audio. We've traveled that road with Quad back in the '70s (although Quad was more an experiential thing rather than sound quality, it was still re-mastered and re-mixed for the set-up), and again with SA-CD, and DVD-Audio, both of which have virtually disappeared (SACD still has adherents, and still shows up now and again, mostly from the wonderful Mo-Fi releases).

I guess my big question is this. With the imminent demise of CDs in the wings, will sound files be able to achieve the clarity and quality that we could lovingly embrace, even replicating the sound that is heard on an SACD? I'm betting that it comes in the not too distant future. The transition from physical to digital files is an inevitable one. Few 18-year-olds appreciate the physicality of a CD. And the current embrace they have wrapped around the LP is largely a cultural thing of the moment.

I get the sound files; I really do. Ease of transport, no need for a cumbersome container holding a finite number of CDs, and certainly the selection suffers. So, why not files? I will miss the artwork, the feeling of an LP and a wonderfully produced CD, as well as the generational thrill of opening a packaged LP or CD to get to the pictures and written content. Back in the day, we had to wait until we got home before we could put on that album. But, before you got home, you could open that LP in the car and alleviate some of the anticipation by looking at what was inside. A cool, custom designed label, some new photos, possibility of lyrics, and maybe even a poster.

That was the "foreplay." Then the real deal happened when you got the LP on the turntable to listen to the new music that your favourite band spent months, maybe even a full year - or more - creating. Same thing with a CD except you can listen to the music as soon as you exit the store, reading the booklet later in a kind of switched-around satisfaction.

But with files, you can just download them without the experience of leaving your house, and perusing shelves full of new music before you got what you came for. Or maybe you weren't sure what you wanted but were "looking" for something new. iTunes, and the many other stores have dampened the experience. Of course, you can listen to new music in the comfort of your home, sometimes for hours before you settled. Perhaps the band might even be willing to give you a free mp3 from the album. After which you 'll add to your device of thousands of songs and get on with the business of enjoying music.

I really do understand the allure. I just miss all of the fun. But I sincerely hope that the sound files can be made sonically rewarding in order to help alleviate the feeling of something left out, the experience of getting a new album.

I have several reviews for you that include the recently reissued 2CD Mott the Hoople Live from IconoClassic Records. In addition, I've spot-reviewed three others including City Life by The Dangling Success (Jazz), Rock This Country by SwampDaWamp (Southern Rock), and Apple's Acre from Nurses (Psychedelic Pop, '60s style).

We'll see you back here on Friday. And I promise to keep my mouth shut then.

Round 28 of Great Album Covers:

Tom F.:

John P. - Genuine Imitation Life Gazette - The Four Seasons: The album didn't sell, but the cover was the 1st "newspaper" format with several pages enclosed. A few years later, Jethro Tull did the "Thick As A Brick" cover in the same format. :

and David H.:

Hip-O Select will release CD and DD forms of The Complete Commodore and Decca Masters for Billie Holiday, scheduling for November 10. Hip-O Select will also release What It Takes: The Chess Years for Koko Taylor, also on November 10.

Vagrant Records will release Live from Black Rebel Motorcycle Club on November 10.

Now get this: Not only is Columbia reissuing Black Ice from AC/DC (November 27 in Standard and Deluxe), but The Eagles Recording Company II (obviously a newly struck deal with UMe) to reissue The Long Road Out of Eden from The Eagles, is being planned for November 3.

Christmas also comes in Heavy Metal. Metal god Records will release Halford III - Winter Songs by Halford, scheduling for October 27.

Sanctuary will release several versions of Swords from Morrissey on November 3, including vinyl LP.

Interscope Records plans to release Waking Up from OneRepublic on November 17.

Geffen Records has Up to Now from Snow Patrol arriving on November 10.

Eagle Rock has a few DVDs coming that include Are You Ready? for Thin Lizzy; Bat Out of Hell - The Original Tour for Meat Loaf; and Food for Thought coming out for UB40. All DVD titles are scheduled for November 3.

Watch for new Stones addition with Flashpoint arriving on the same date as the below targets as well as the upcoming Box for Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out (Nov 3).

Universal (UMe) will continue their Rolling Stones remasters program with a collection of familiar Live albums on November 3. Those will include Flashpoint; Live Licks; Love You Live; Still Life; and Stripped. These will appear on CD and DD on November 3. In addition, UMe will release Live at the Max on DVD, also on November 3.

Other vinyl LP titles coming include Never Cry Another Tear by Bad Lieutenant (Nov 10); and Nude With Boots by The Melvins (November 3).

Club Jazz fans should take immediate notice of City Life from the Jazz Quintet, The Dangling Success.  They build their endearing selection of songs, including a gracious rendition of The Rolling Stones' rockier “Beast of Burden,”into a collection of enjoyable instrumentals. 

The Niekrewicz experience is the centerpiece here with his saxophones.  But his accompanying band highlight his instrument with excellence, every note played in perfection.  The band's music is a time capture from the '70s and enjoyably so.  City Life is easy to fall in love with.  I highly recommend the full-album experience because you won't want to break this one apart. - ****

Imagine the AM radio Psychedelic Pop staples from the '60s and you're on target for the sound of the first album by Nurses.  Nurses is helmed by two pals who have recorded the body of this work, Apple's Acre, in attics and basements, delivering ten very cool-sounding retro-blasts that would have been at home in decades past.

This exploration of past musical styles have become the holy grail of bands, many who have dedicated themselves to the perfection of familiar sounds.  I'm not so sure that this is the case with Nurses as they sound like they would have invented the psychedelic/Pop style if it didn't already exist.  And that sentiment is very evident as you go from song to song.  Apple's Acre is a warm collection of songs that will have you interested from the beginning track. - ***

If you ever liked Echo and the Bunnymen, Siouxie and the Banshees, and/or killing Joke, then we have a new discovery for you. The Opposite Sex from DC has returned with an EP that juice those of you who appreciate good talent and that draws influence from the music that you loved in the past.

Their new (09/01) EP, Live + Burn follows their Violent Heartstrings from 2007 with more great music. I'll be surprised if you DON'T like 'em. To get you started, they are gifitng you with a free downloadable MP3 from the EP, "Frozen Heart, Frozen Mind."

They can be sampled further at their MySpace, Facebook, and LastFM. You can even follow 'em on Twitter.