Audiophile Digital

Squeeze
Trixies
BMG 964202933 (two CDs + Blu-ray)

I ordered this from Squeeze's website when announced last year, curious because it was out on CD, LP, MP3, FLAC and Blu-ray audio – an audiophile's dream. Trixies finds the band re-recording songs which hitherto existed only on a 50-year-old demo tape. Wow, were Difford and Tilbrook precocious! One of the UK's best-ever rock bands tells the story of a louche nightclub, reminiscent of The Kinks' 'Lola' and much of Lou Reed's canon, the latter not surprising as Squeeze is named after a Velvet Undergound album. The second CD contains the demos, the Blu-ray providing Dolby Atmos and 24-bit stereo. Long-term fans have grounds for rejoicing. Also out on LP [BMG 964216311] in various colours; I chose transparent red. KK

Sound Quality: 90%

Hawkwind
Hall Of The Mountain Grill – Remastered
Atomhenge QATOMCD1060

It's a great time to be a Hawkwind devotee, especially if you're partial to the classic, early-'70s lineup of Dave Brock, Nik Turner, Lemmy, Simon House, Simon King and Del Dettmar. This superbly remastered edition of the 1974 release adds eight tracks culled from singles and alternate versions, and it stands as one of the better examples of the 'space rock' genre which Hawkwind might not have invented, but certainly dominated. The crucial science fiction tropes are present and accounted for, while Lemmy's moments hint at what would follow a few years later with Motörhead, eg, 'Lost Johnny'. So, yes, this is as much a hard rock effort as it is prog-rock. KK

Sound Quality: 85%

Graham Nash
Songs For Beginners
Analogue Productions CAPA067SA

Nash's first solo was released in 1971 following CSNY's masterpiece, Déjà Vu, all four producing solos at that time, eg, Stephen Stills [HFN Jul '26]. This sounds more like one of the group's efforts rather than a solo, but that attests to Nash's importance in CSNY, as both writer and vocalist. This is a delicious, archetypal Left Coast singer-songwriter effort, full of glorious harmonies and, mandatory at the time, A-list guest musicians including Crosby, Young, members of The Grateful Dead, The Turtles' John Barbata, et al. Standouts include protest songs 'Military Madness' and 'Chicago', with an uplift from 'We Can Change The World'. KK

Sound Quality: 90%

Stevie Nicks
Bella Donna
Mobile Fidelity UDSACD2301

An earlier Album Choice in One-Step form [HFN Apr '26], this DSD version loses little in the transition. In the context of a hi-fi magazine read by audiophiles, it's rather thought-provoking in the sense that it was recorded in 1981, before digital took over the studios of the world, so maybe an album's analogue origins truly are beneficial when presented in a digital format. It certainly suffers no discernible artifice when compared to the One-Step 45rpms. Fans of the A-list guests in their own right – a brace of Eagles, Tom Petty, a few Heartbreakers, an MG, Little Feat's Billy Payne – will delight in familiar moments, but the real value is for diehard Fleetwood Mac worshippers. KK

Sound Quality: 90%