Mike Mettler

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Other Tech
The Future of Recorded Music - Part 4
Mike Mettler  |  Jul 04, 2006

Musicians sound off about the merits and detriments of the CD and how they're dealing with a digital-delivery-oriented future

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Music Reviews
The Jimi Hendrix Experience: Ladyland Deluxe Edition
Mike Mettler  |  Feb 01, 2019
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.
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The MettleShop Interview: Richard Thompson, Dream Weaver
Mike Mettler  |  Oct 20, 2010

So we’re here to dissect the Dream Attic, as it were…

Dissect the Attic? Okay, sounds dangerous.

I really like the decision you made to cut this album live while you were on tour earlier this year in the western US. Was that always the intent? How long ago had you decided that route when you were working on this material?

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The S&V Interview
The Music Is Out There: David Duchovny Shares His Every Third Thought
Mike Mettler  |  Mar 07, 2018
David Duchovny is no weekend music hobbyist. The original music of the noted actor/director/writer (The X-Files, Californication) is now on full display on his second album, Every Third Thought. I got on the line with Duchovny to discuss the importance of vocal enunciation, leaving what he feels sounds “real” in final mixes, and why you’ll never hear his singing voice on The X-Files — even though you’ve heard one of his songs appear on the show.
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The S&V Interview
The Myths and Legends of Rick Wakeman and His 4.0 and 5.1 Mixes
Mike Mettler  |  Jul 07, 2016
Just typing out the name “Rick Wakeman” instantly conjures up indelible images of flowing capes, huge banks of keyboards, synths, and pianos, and a cavalcade of great-sounding organ compositions. Currently, Wakeman is putting the finishing touches on the 5.1 mix for The Myths and Legends of King Arthur 2016 and is also readying for a fall tour with his former Yes bandmates, vocalist Jon Anderson and guitarist Trevor Rabin, as ARW. I called Wakeman, 67, across the Pond to discuss his affinity for surround sound, his unique in-studio game plan, and his thoughts about the passing of his friend and onetime collaborator David Bowie. Ground control to Grand High Wizard Wakeman...
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The S&V Interview
The Neal Morse Band Progresses Into a Fine Sonic Dream
Mike Mettler  |  Feb 10, 2017
Neal Morse is a busy man. The former Spock’s Beard vocalist/keyboardist found much great success after embarking on a long and fruitful solo career 15 years ago. Morse also runs his own label, Radiant Records, and he somehow finds the time to front two other sonically adventurous progressive-leaning bands, Transatlantic and Flying Colors. Before venturing across the Pond for an upcoming European tour in March and April, Morse called me from his home studio in Nashville to discuss how the journey of how The Neal Morse Band's new double-disc release The Similitude of a Dream came together, where you can find the album’s special “yacht rock” moment, and why he just can’t get behind the concept of streaming.
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Music Reviews
The Police: Synchronicity Super Deluxe Edition Box Set
Mike Mettler  |  Nov 14, 2024

Synchronicity is the album that vaulted the blended British/American trio The Police into the megaplatinum global-phenomenon stratosphere, itself a 10-track master class of envelope-pushing pop songwriting, clever and sometimes challenging song arrangements, and truly elite musicianship. To properly fete the band’s studio swan song, A&M/Polydor/Universal Music Recordings has issued several expanded multiformat editions of Synchronicity, including an 84-track 6CD box set and a more abbreviated 43-track 4LP box set. Read Mike Mettler’s review of both super deluxe editions to see if you should add either, or both, to your collection and listening rotation accordingly. . .

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Media Server ReviewsPortable Player Reviews
The Pono Session
Mike Mettler  |  Aug 19, 2014
Does Pono deliver on its promise of providing high-res digital music that best reflects how the artist intended you to hear it? I listened to a number of FLAC files at 192/24, 176.4/24, and 96/24 on a yellow PonoPlayer through Sennheiser HD-650 headphones during an exclusive listening session in New York City, and—spoiler alert—the answer is a most emphatic yes.
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Music Reviews
The Replacements: Pleased to Meet Me - Deluxe Edition
Mike Mettler  |  Oct 09, 2020
Performance
Sound
"The Replacements are self-destructing right in front of me."

That's what I was thinking to myself as I watched these four Minneapolis-bred indie-rock stalwarts attempt to play through their rag-tag set while opening for Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers on August 19, 1989, at the Brendan Byrne Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

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The S&V Interview
The Retro-Cool Analog Vibes of Nick Waterhouse
Mike Mettler  |  Apr 03, 2019
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.
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