Before we are all completely swallowed up into the New Year excitement (and engulfed in the year's first workweek), it's a good opportunity to say goodbye to all of 2024's fun. Below is a roundup of some this year's key pieces.
Thank you for coming along on this musical journey, and may 2025 be everything you hope it to be.
Stacey Kent - Interview
On January 1st of 2024, it was an interview with jazz vocalist, Stacey Kent who visited to speak about her latest album, Summer Me, Winter Me which album's title track was hopelessly stuck in my head for the earlier part of the year, in fact it's getting back in there right now. If you haven't made a musical acquaintance with Stacey, this may be the invitation you've been waiting for. She's got a Christmas album, too.
Matthew Caws - Interview
A double-whammy way to start off 2024 as I was glad to spend time with Nada Surf's Matthew Caws to discuss his involvement in the SALT project, a Paris-based collaborative music project led by French guitarist and songwriter Stéphane Schück. We had a really enjoyable talk about his work there and he even discussed a little about the upcoming Nada Surf album which was released recently.
Paula Cole - Interview
Here's a good question: where have all the cowboys gone? The one and only Paula "I Don't Wanna Wait" Cole joins me on the podcast to discuss the release of her latest album, Lo. Paula was a radio and media fixture during a certain time in my life and so it was a real pleasure to spend time with her and learn about her deep understanding of music and composition.
Review: Reissue of Eramus Hall's "Your Love is My Desire"
ORG Music continues their rollout of selections from the Westbound Records catalog that have been remastered and reissued on vinyl for the first time in several decades with a rare release from later in the label’s history, Eramus Hall’s, Your Love is My Desire (1980). Detroit’s Westbound Records was founded by Armen Boladian in 1968 and became a soul and funk dynamo, especially during the years following Motown’s exodus from Motor City.
I enjoyed reviewing the latest ORG Music / Westbound Records reissue at Michael Fremer's Tracking Angle site. You can read it here.
DJ Harrison - Interview
This year, DJ Harrison released an album of covers titled, Shades of Yesterday. The album is a fun opportunity to hear some favorites through Harrison's lens, but to also get hipped to some tracks you may not know.
"Yes, I'm always working on stuff, man. It's just like creating music it's like me writing a journal, just like me going through a session just being like-- I'm always I'm always making things. I think as I'm getting older, I'm always realizing, it's important to catalog the things that I'm making too. I can't just keep making stuff and making stuff and then can't find it later."
Raul Midon - Interview
After years of listening to Raul's music and following his career, it was a real honor to spend some time with him discussing this year's release, Lost and Found. Even more interesting, it was enlightening to chat with him about his newly found love for vinyl and how he had a very enlightening moment listening to records again.
Review: Elemental Music's Reissue of Smokey Robinson's "Smokey"
Elemental Music made an ambitious venture to reissue several titles from the Motown catalog this year and I was fortunate enough to be able to sample the initial run. Specifically, the album that stood out to me most was Smokey Robinson's, Smokey album which I frankly wasn't very familiar with, and so an appropriately deep dive into the new record was warranted and my review can be found at The Tracking Angle.
Nat King Cole: Live at the Blue Note Chicago
I was excited to learn about this one: recently "found" tapes of Nat "King" Cole performing (on vocal and piano) at the Blue Note Chicago from the late 50s. Who doesn't love Cole's vocal stylings, but I'm always a sucker for his piano playing which I always feel is absurdly underrated. This set is a boon for folks just like me, and so it was with great interest that I interviewed the set's producer, James Sàez.
Vinyl and Food in Philly
My old friend John and I hopped onto the New Jersey Turnpike and made our way to Philly to see what we could find in a mad, 20 hour escape from the NYC metro area. Of course, we visited a few record stores, but also ate food, and had no problem finding high quality eats in the City of Brotherly Love.
Brian Ray - Interview
Recently, several Paul McCartney videos were posted on the internet featuring Macca performing in London with his old buddy - and drummer - Ringo. Right in between the two Beatles, stood Brian Ray who continues to hold down the fort as guitarist, bassist, and backing vocalist for Paul McCartney since 2002. So, it was with great honor - and a bit of star-struckiness - that I jumped to spend some time with Brian discussing his latest album, My Town.
Review: PS Audio Stellar Strata MK2
I love music, and I love records, and I love hifi equipment, but I've never written about stereo equipment before. So, here I am doing it for the first time. All listeners - or audiophiles - have a certain approach, a way that they prefer to listen. For me, a good rig consists of a great integrated amp with a superlative phono input and a solid set of speakers. When I learned that PS Audio had released a no-nonsense integrated amp, I reached out to see about a review. And, so you can read my take at Michael Fremer's, The Tracking Angle.
Andy Summers: Interview
This year found me interviewing my second member of The Police. There's only one guy to go before I interview them all. Hint: the final musician's name starts with an "S" and ends with a "ting". Andy's guitar sounds are - of course - world renowned and I was pleased as punch to speak with him about that and also his photography work that he's recently been fusing with his music to create a multi-media live show.
Review: Record Doctor X Keeps It Clean and Comes Out Swinging
I love records, but - hey - it's not easy to keep that stuff clean! It takes time, dedication, and a few good units to help you maintain that collection that you've spent plenty of time and energy on. Pangea Audio's latest incarnation of the Record Doctor caught my eye and I was glad they sent me a unit to review which I do (and did) at The Tracking Angle.
Interview: Peter Holsapple and Will Rigby from the dB's
In 2024, the dB’s partnered with Propeller Sound Recordings to reconnect with long-time fans and attract new ones. Notably, their first two albums were initially available in the U.S. only as imports. While the albums have been reissued in various formats over the years, this is the first time they will be released on vinyl in America. Both records have been remastered and are available in different color variants. I was fortunate to speak with both Peter Holsapple and Will Rigby about the reissue campaign and their upcoming live shows.
Wrensilva's "The Standard" Balances Form With Function
During October of 2024 I had the opportunity to visit Wrensilva's pop-up showroom which was located at the Hotel Chelsea in NYC. The location was a perfect setting to showcase Wrensilva's take on the making a large console stereo modern. I brought along some of my records to try out on the unit and wrote a piece that detailed my experiences.
Nathan Trueb / Another Glory - Interview
José Medeles and Nathan Trueb have known each other for many years and have worked on a few projects in the past. They met at Jose’s world renowned drum shop - Revival Drum Shop in Portland, Oregon - when Nathan was looking to purchase some percussion instruments. After jamming and getting to know one another as musicians, they officially joined forces and created a new self-titled project that they call Another Glory. Nathan joined me this year (with a special guest) to tell us their story.
Lessons in Music and Life: Remembering Edward Decker
One begins to enter a weird stage of their life when the people who made an impact on them in their formative years begin to pass away. I had one such experience late in 2024 when I heard that my first - and only - guitar teacher passed away. Though it had been years since I spoke with Eddie Decker, I still have some extremely vivid memories of learning the guitar from him.
Eilon Paz: Interview
Eilon Paz isn’t so much a record collector, he’s more a collector of record collectors. Paz is a photographer who noticed the uniqueness of record collectors, just as the new wave in vinyl popularity was taking hold. He took his profession and his passion and pointed his camera at record collectors and their collections. First on the web as a blog, his project became a well-regarded book titled, Dust & Grooves which was first published in 2014. I'm so glad to have had the opportunity to speak with him about his journey.
Roger Eno: Interview
Some interviews are so easy to conduct; they're a quick witted repartee that feel as though you've chatting with a friend whom you haven't seen in some time. During these conversations, there's nothing that feels off the table and you end with the feeling that it would be fun to continue the conversation somewhere down the road. One conversation like that this year was my chat with Roger Eno who is currently releasing a few albums that stem from his the skies, they shift like chords album. This one is called skies: rarities and - as we learn during the interview, there are more albums coming to accompany it.
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