Steven Stone looks at two of Rodney Crowell's best albums - the 2001 release, The Houston Kid and 1988's Diamonds and Dirt. Which one is better? That's like comparing peach pie with chicken gumbo - they're both part of the same musical feast..
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September 2011 Archives
What's Really Selling?
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The world is changing. What's red hot now can be colder than a white russian in 1921 inside of a couple of months. All it takes is the flash of the latest press release. And record sales? Well, don't bet on Jazz at the Pawnshop making a comeback any time soon...
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A "Good" Review
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What is a good review? It means different things depending on who you are and what your relationship to the product under review might be. Steven Stone believes that good review should be about information...
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Charles Sawtelle, Music from Rancho DeVille
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Some albums get better with time. Charles Sawtelle's Music From Rancho Deville ranks as one of the most essential and important bluegrass albums of the decade. It also sounds wonderful...
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Are You Insured?
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Look at all that gear! It's insured, right? And what exactly is it insured for? Theft? Fire? Flood? And are you covered for the current value of ALL your gear? If your response is any of these questions is "I don't know," you need to do some homework...
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What is Mid-fi?
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Nowadays even $30 T-amps from EBAY sound pretty darned good. Perhaps its time to reexamine our old audiophile concept of "mid-fi"? It's not about price anymore, it's about sound and how much attention is paid to sound...
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My Five Rules for EBAY
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Should you or should not make a bid on that oh so tempting amp or that built-like-a-tank CD player listed on EBAY? That is the big bucks' question. Steven Stone offers his five personal rules to help keep him out of trouble on EBAY and Audiogon...
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Two Sierra Records Gems
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"Historical Recordings" by their very nature are usually not audiophile sound spectaculars. These two Sierra Recordings are no exception. But if American roots music is your thing, these recordings should be in your library, sonic warts and all.
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Bob Carver is Back
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The old joke goes like this - a guy has a job working in the circus cleaning up after the elephants. His brother-in-law offers him a job working nights cleaning up at a bank for twice the money, but he turns down the job. by saying, "What? and give up show business?"
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Another One Bites the Dust?
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Atlanta's Criminal Records has announced that it will close on November 1st. Is this a harbinger of future woes for record stores or an isolated phenomena? While some people feel that record stores are doomed, Steven Stone offers another scenario...
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The History of High End Audio
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This in-depth record of the birth of audiophilia charts the history of the hobby from its World War II roots to the emergence of transistors to the rise of turntables and beyond, and recounts the names that innovated to bring audiophilia to where it is today.
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Mastering - The Final Frontier
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Does your CD copy of The Red Hot Chili Peppers new release sound different than the LP release? According to the guys who mastered it, the two versions SHOULD sound different because they were mastered differently...
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Fourmile Fire Anniversary
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One year ago Steven Stone experienced the Fourmile Canyon fire up close and personal. It helped put things in perspective. Music matters, but the gear that it's played through is all replaceable. So the next time you think you'll just DIE if you don't get a particular piece of gear for your system. Trust me, you won't.
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Steven Stone has been writing music reviews for Vintage Guitar Magazine since the mid '90's. As a regular Friday feature he will revisit some of his favorite albums for Audiophile Review. The first, from Nickel Creek, was recently re-released in vinyl. Doug Sax mastered the original CD. Here's great sound and great music...
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