From Sinatra to Buffalo Springfield, Otis Redding to Tangerine Zoo... Ken Kessler brings you 20 monophonic masterpieces that prove stereo is not always the superior choice
Sixty years after its demise, monophonic sound seems a mere curiosity. Like pre-recorded open-reel tapes, there’s a cut-off after which mono was relegated to niche usage. Today it survives only for archival reissues, and this is for two reasons...
Designer looks, battleship build quality, superior sonics... Ken Kessler is beguiled by an amplifier that shows off its manufacturer’s true colours
True story: a knowledgeable audiophile arrives at my listening room in mid-November. Pink Triangle’s Integral integrated amplifier is driving a set of Wharfedale Diamond 8.1s, its badge covered with tape. I state to this collector of some repute with a memory spanning 35 years, ‘You will never guess who made this amplifier. Never’.
This month we review and test releases from Anne Drummond & Café, Roger Eno, Nadia Tarnawsky/Cappella Romana, Bill Cunliffe and The Devin Daniels Quintet
This month we review and test releases from: Sun Ra Arkestra; Janine Jansen and Klaus Mäkelä; Arild Andersen; Trondheim Jazz Orchestra & Espen Berg; and Michael Dease
Are you a completist? Always hungry for rarities? Fellow sufferer Ken Kessler has you covered with a host of box sets offering everything from ’60s US rock to British folk
Despite streaming’s challenge to physical media, especially for the post-Boomer audience, CD box sets continue to proliferate. The most obvious benefit is diminutive size: all but two of the sets here will fit into your standard CD storage. This, of course, appeals to those who are tempted by space savings, which is why streaming and downloads have made such advances.