Album Of The Week - Sunday 27th April 2008

Cat Stevens - Tea For The Tillerman

Not a new album, but a great one nonetheless, Tea For The Tillerman shows Stevens at his finest. From the sarcastic, almost playful tones and expressions in his voice in 'Wild World' (the grunt on the word 'and' in the chorus never fails to please), to the desperation that's felt in the track 'Father and Son', this album is full of so much emotion you can't help but be moved by it.

Some may recognise that the title track is played over the closing credits of the Ricky Gervais series 'Extras'. Not a long track, 'Tea For The Tllerman' starts off mellow then builds to a grand chorus of voices.

Whatever mood you are in this is a great album to sit down and listen to. With it's underlying messages and raw emotion, it will have you thinkning in no time at all.

Track listing

1. Where Do the Children Play?
2. Hard Headed Woman
3. Wild World4. Sad Lisa
5. Miles from Nowhere

6. But I Might Die Tonight
7. Longer Boats
8. Into White
9. On the Road to Find Out
10.Father and Son
11.Tea for the Tillerman

Home Theatre Madness.

Although I do dream of one day having enough space and of course cash to have a dedicated home cinema, I find that there is such a thing as going overboard. One fine example of this is a man by the name of Jeremy Kipnis.

As a former engineer/producer for Chesky Records who started his own classical music label, Epiphany Recordings Limited, Kipnis has put together what he calls the Kipnis Studio Standard (KSS). The KKS comprises of a Sony ultra-high-resolution (4,096-by-2,160) SRX-S110 digital projector and an 8.8 channel surround system that unsurprisingly uses a heck of a lot more speakers than that, all for the unpaltry sum of around $US6mil.

For more information visit: http://www.kipnis-studios.com/

My Current Set Up

At the moment my set up is:

Slimdevices/Logitech Squeezebox 3 (with CD collection ripped to FLAC)
Moodlab Concept DAC
Sonic Impact Super-T amp
Homemade speakers with Pioneer bass drivers and Fostex ribbon tweeters
Harmonic Technology Truthlink interconnects with Eichmann Bullet plugs
Sony TOSlink Cable
Kimber 4vs Speaker cables with Kimber Banana plugs


What I would like my set up to be:

Slimdevices/Logitech Squeezebox 3 with boulder mods
Possibly a Benchmark DAC
Cyrus 8vs Intergrated amp
Either Martin Logan Source Loudspeakers or Ambience Ultra Ribbon 1400's
Contemplating the Harmonic Tech Digital Silver Cable
I am happy with the speaker cables at the moment as I have just upgraded them to the Kimber 4vs

Album Of The Week - Sunday 20th April 2008

Nils Landgren - Sentimental Journey

Nils Landgren hails from the often overlooked source of music Sweden. Playing a custom made red trombone from yamaha Landgren's release sees an album of covers performed in his own unique stylings. These covers all form some sort of sentimentality within Landgren.

Included in the compilation is a haunting cover of Leon Russell's 'This Masquerade', and 'Should I Care' by some unkown pianist called Clint Eastwood (yes, that Clint Eastwood). The Sting track Fragile is a phenominally moving duet with Swedish vocalist Rigmor Gustafsson and is by far one of my favourite tracks on the album.

Other collaborators on the album include Viktoria Tolstoy on 'Be There For You', and Esbjorn Svensson, a well known jazz pianist and frequent contibutor of Landgren's albums.

A superbly produced ACT release, this is one album that will show off your system but also show it's weaker points. Great for late night, solo listening sessions and dinner parties, Sentimental Journey's relaxed emotion is just the thing for those who wish to take things easy for a while.

Track List

01 Speak Low (Nash/Weill)

02 Ghost In This House (H. Prestwood)

03 This Masquerade (Leon Russell)

04 Nature Boy (Eden Ahbez)

05 Fragile (G.M Sumner)

06 In A Sentimental Mood (Duke Ellington)

07 The Ballad Of The Sad Young Men (Wolf/Landesmann)

08 My Foolish Heart (Washington/Young)

09 Should I Care (Eastwood/Bayer Sager/ Thompson)

10 Be There For You (Serletic/Kadish)

11 Sentimental Journey (Green/Brown/Homer)

12 Everything Must Change (B. Ighner)

13 I Will Survive (Fekaris/Perren)

Harmonic Technology Truthlink Interconnects

As I have just begun upgrading my mid-fi system (yet again), I began searching Ebay for a bargain. Since I didn't have enough money to start on an amplifier or speakers, I thought I'd take a different route and upgrade my cables. Now although my wife thinks I am cable crazy, I feel that I can't get enough. I settled on the Harmonic Technology Truthlink Interconnect after reading through their webpage.

Their webpage reads:
Harmonic Technology's Truth-Link highest purity 6N copper interconnect cable, which is available in both a single-ended RCA connection and a balanced XLR configuration, utilizes our unique (OCC) Single Crystal™ copper (99.9997%) conductors to provide the finest copper interconnect cable available. Our research in Balanced Field Geometry™ and the use of the best insulation available allows Harmonic Technology's Truth-Link interconnects to open up the sound field of your system like you ave never experienced before.

The set of cables I purchased are terminated with Eichmann Bullet plugs, which after searching the internet, are not to everybody's liking partly due to their tight fitting connection. Upon installing these cables I noticed a much smoother sound than before. All the harshness had been taken away and in it's place, a flowing, viscous liquid with a blackness and quietness that was not present using my old diy shoestring interconnects. In my opinion, The Truthlinks are a sound investment for any mid-fi system.

Price Paid: $189AU (incl. delivery)

http://www.harmonictech.com/products/truth_link.html

Muse-ic To Meridian's Ears

A new breed of audiophiles has just taken over the market. Estimated in the tens of millions of dollars, a new merger by the Muse Group with Meridian may see the hi-end audio company hit the mainstream. The Muse group headed by Israel born Arnon Milchan, consists of a who's who of the worlds richest moguls. James Packer, son of late media mogul Kerry Packer, Johann Rupert, chairman of luxurious brands such as Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels, Nelson Peltz, of investment group Triarc; and Yahoo chief Terry Semel, have all joined forces along with Rupert Murdoch, in obtaining a 48% share in the UK based audio company.

Founding member of Meridian, Bob Stuart says the interest from Muse came as a surprise, albeit one that is most welcome. Founded in 1977, Meridian first came to Milchan's attention when he was looking for some home entertainment equipment to fitout his London residence. Since then, Milchan persuaded real-estate mogul Steve Wynn to outfit his Las Vegas hotels with Meridian equipment. Wynn became so enamoured with the products, he promptly ordered another 4000 units to furnish his properties.

James Packer has also begun utelising Meridian products in his Crown Casino's private salons.

Album Of The Week - Sunday 13th April 2008

Rufus Wainwright - Rufus Does Judy At Carnegie Hall

Rufus Wainwright may not be to everybody's liking. With his some times nasally voice, some people may find it becomes a little overbearing when settling down for a solid listening session. If you can make it past that then you're in for a treat. With his highly melodic songwriting style and subtle humour, Wainwright would have to be one of the greatest performers of the last few years.

Rufus Does Judy is exactly what it says on the cover; the entire Judy Garland concert reinterpreted and having fun while doing it. Wainwright's grandfather and mother attended the original concert which laid the foundation of Rufus', some may call it, infatuation with Judy.

Full of campness and and attention to detail (at one point Wainwright states the reason he is speaking is "because Judy speaks here."), Wainwright pulls off a great show. With guests Martha Wainwright, Kate McGarrigle, and Judy Garland's daughter Lorna Luft making special appearances, the album gets into full swing with beutiful renditions of Stormy Weather, Zing! Went the strings of my heart among others.

Slightly jazzy yet always camp, Rufus Does Judy is great album though some may find it difficult to sit through the entire two disc performance.

Track List

01. Overture: The Trolley Song/Over the Rainbow/The Man That Got Away
02. When You're Smiling (The Whole World Smiles with You)
03. Medley: Almost Like Being in Love/This Can't Be Love
04. Do It Again
05. You Go to My Head
06. Alone Together
07. Who Cares? (As Long as You Care for Me)
08. Puttin' on the Ritz
09. How Long Has This Been Going On
10. Just You, Just Me
11. The Man That Got Away
12. San Francisco
13. That's Entertainment
14. I Can't Give You Anything But Love
15. Come Rain or Come Shine
16. You're Nearer
17. A Foggy Day
18. If Love Were All
19. Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart
20. Stormy Weather
21. Medley: You Made Me Love You/For Me and My Gal/The Trolley Song
22. Rock-A-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody
23. Over the Rainbow
24. Swanee

25. After You've Gone
26. Chicago