Audiophile Vinyl

This month we review: Tony Rice, The Blue Aeroplanes, The Mugwumps and Santana

This month we review: Bryan Ferry, December’s Children, Jethro Tull and Harold Land

Nothing beats the buzz of discovering new bands, especially when they could shape the very future of music. Johnny Sharp on the hot new groups hitting all the right notes

It has been suggested that bands are a dying breed in the modern age. As technology enables individuals to create fuller tapestries of music than ever before without the need to recruit a drummer on the basis of whether or not they own a van, or stick with an annoying keyboard player because his dad lets you use his warehouse for rehearsals, the incentive to go it alone is strong. The costs of touring with five or six people in tow is also pretty prohibitive, and it's a more complicated proposition in the studio. Meanwhile, the relative marginalisation of hard rock and indie pop - genres that traditionally rely on the guitar-bass-drums-vocals formula - hasn't helped.

Johnny Sharp explores the perils and the payoffs of pop's paradigm shifts before bringing you 20 albums from artists whose bold, about-turns in musical style just have to be heard

If it ain't broke, so the maxim goes, don't fix it. But no artist worth their garlands ever paid much heed to that way of thinking - with a few honourable exceptions such as The Ramones. Nonetheless, most musicians prefer evolution to revolution, letting their approach to their work develop naturally as the muse dictates, sudden changes in style only running the risk of alienating fans.

Indulge yourself with linen-wrapped slipcases, in-depth liner notes and heavy art-card covers as Ken Kessler brings you 20 of the best deluxe reissue LPs coming your way...

With the vinyl revival now so firmly established that new pressing plants are being built, the competition has heated up regarding mastering, pressing techniques, vinyl thickness, playback speed and, as seen here, presentation. Deluxe packaging and pressings cost more, so it is applied mainly to milestone albums.

This month we review: Miles Davis, Curtis Counce, Sandy Salisbury & Curt Boettcher, and The Undertones