Mike Mettler

Music Disc Reviews
Rush: Hemispheres - 40th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition
Mike Mettler  |  Apr 09, 2019  |  0 comments
Performance
Sound
Rush was on a roll. After the celebrated Canadian trio had finally broken through the FM ether with 1976's dystopian statement piece 2112, they took the next evolutionary sonic turn with 1977's expansively majestic A Farewell to Kings. The following year, Rush rotated the screws once again by taking their proto-prog metal to the headiest of limits on 1978's Hemispheres, their final mind-altering statement of the Me-So-Introspective Decade before shedding their muso-skins yet again with 1980's forward-thinking Permanent Waves.
Continue Reading >
The S&V Interview
The Retro-Cool Analog Vibes of Nick Waterhouse
Mike Mettler  |  Apr 03, 2019  |  0 comments
We called retro-cool singer/guitarist Nick Waterhouse at his homebase in Southern California to discuss his finely soulful new self-titled album and how an artist’s name can come to define their personal brand of sound, how he reconciled his mono tendencies with making an album in stereo, and the clever but logical way he mixes his passion for both 45s and 33s.
Continue Reading >
Stream On
Hands On: Roon Music Playback, Management System
Mike Mettler  |  Mar 22, 2019  |  1 comments
Once you let Roon manage your digital audio playback, your multizone listening aspirations will be fulfilled.
Continue Reading >
The S&V Interview
Reese Wynans: A Consummate Sideman Fronts His First, Sweet Solo Release
Mike Mettler  |  Mar 20, 2019  |  0 comments
Keyboard maestro Reese Wynans called us from his homebase in Nashville to discuss how he and producer/partner Joe Bonamassa decided where his organ should appear in the final mixes of his first ever solo album Sweet Release, why he began listening to vinyl again, and how he had to instantly be on his A-game when he first joined up with Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble.
Continue Reading >
The S&V Interview
Dido: A Vocal Ingenue Who’s Still on Our Minds
Mike Mettler  |  Mar 13, 2019  |  0 comments
Celebrated British chanteuse Dido called us to discuss her new album Still on My Mind and how her best song mixes are meant to draw you in as a listener, when and when not to use reverb, and why sequencing remains critical to the arc of an album.
Continue Reading >
The S&V Interview
80 Years Strong: Legendary Canadian Songwriter Gordon Lightfoot
Mike Mettler  |  Feb 27, 2019  |  1 comments
Legendary Canadian songwriter Gordon Lightfoot called us from his homebase in northern Ontario to discuss why he personally tunes his guitars before every show, how and why he made the choices about where his vocals appear in studio mixes, and the continuing importance of historical accuracy in his songwriting.
Continue Reading >
Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Bohemian Rhapsody
Mike Mettler  |  Feb 22, 2019  |  1 comments
Picture
Sound
Extras
The indisputable success of Bohemian Rhapsody confirms what many of us have known for decades: Queen was one of the biggest rock bands in the world, and their late frontman Freddie Mercury was one of the singularly most polarizing and mesmerizing popular-music performers of the 20th century.
Continue Reading >
The S&V Interview
Eric Schenkman Puts a New Spin on the Blues
Mike Mettler  |  Feb 13, 2019  |  0 comments
Guitar maestro Eric Schenkman (of Spin Doctors fame) called us from his homebase in Toronto to discuss the creative process behind his new blues-tastic solo album Who Shot John?, his inherent audiophile tendencies when it comes to vinyl playback, and where he currently fits in on the “totem pole” of visionary musicianship.
Continue Reading >
Music Disc Reviews
The Jimi Hendrix Experience: Ladyland Deluxe Edition
Mike Mettler  |  Feb 01, 2019  |  0 comments
Performance
Sound
The nomenclature of the key line that appears within the credits of the original October 1968 double-vinyl release of Electric Ladyland tells quite the prescient tale: “Produced And Directed By Jimi Hendrix.” The most crucial word in that phraseology, of course, is Directed, as the ace guitar slinger spent a good bit of his in-studio time in 1968 thinking in purely cinematic terms.
Continue Reading >
The S&V Interview
Steve Hackett: At the Edge of Sonic Exploration
Mike Mettler  |  Jan 30, 2019  |  0 comments
We got on the line with iconoclast guitarist Steve Hackett to discuss the rudiments of the soundscapes that comprise his stunning new album At the Edge of Light, the importance of physical packaging in the digital age, and, of course, his plans for future solo-catalog-derived surround sound reissues.
Continue Reading >

Pages

X