My current favorite all-format album is the Raveonettes' Raven in the Grave (Vice), which sounds smoky-fab whether I'm listening to it via CD, MP3, or LP. I asked Raveonettes co-founder Sune Rose Wagner, 38, how the band (Wagner and co-conspirator Sharin Foo) corrals the backbeat for its 21st-century-cool Wall of Sound. Read on for his answers (and for a listen to "Forget That You're Young," a track from the new album.)
Also: Van Morrison’s Moondance in 5.1 on Blu-ray, Santana’s third album on audiophile vinyl, and ’80s tunes revamped by The Big Bright. Plus, let’s see…oh, yeah, Katy Perry.
One of the most famous (and probably most bootlegged) unfinished albums in rock history is about to see the light of day in an offical release, authorized by the band, including Brian Wilson (who had in 2004 released - with Van Dyke Parks - his
Porcupine Tree: Fear of a Blank Planet (Atlantic). As personified by this concept album's young protagonist, the worldview of the Planet isn't just blank.
The genius of Pink Floyd's music is intertwined with the genius of the recording of the music. And the innovative studio techniques used by the band and its producers and recording engineers are integral to the music. It's impossible to imagine The Dark Side of the Moon without vital creative touches such as the sound of clanging money or thumping heartbeats. Perhaps no other band has pushed the technical envelope so aggressively, or profited from it so enormously. The catalog of their works is one of innovation - both musically and sonically.
