Mike Mettler

Sort By: Post Date | Title | Publish Date
Music Reviews
The Tragically Hip: We Are the Same
Mike Mettler  |  Apr 19, 2009
Zoë/Rounder
Music •••• Sound ••••
Where there's smoke, there's fire.
Continue Reading >
Music Reviews
The Traveling Wilburys: Revisited & Remastered
Mike Mettler  |  Oct 26, 2016
Performance
Sound
There are supergroups, and then there are The Traveling Wilburys. The wink/nudge humor behind the band name and the multiple nicknames of its five members is all George Harrison, the late Monty Python–loving Beatle, who put together a cream-of-the-crop collective for a pair of fabulously harmonious albums, 1988’s Vol. 1 and 1990’s Vol. 3. Harrison coined the word “Wilbury” in reference to in-studio recording gaffes attributed to faulty equipment, of which he told producer Jeff Lynne: “We’ll bury ’em in the mix.”
Continue Reading >
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Velvet Underground
Mike Mettler  |  Mar 24, 2023
Picture
Sound
Extras

The Velvet Underground is not for everyone—nor were they ever intended to be. The critically regarded avant-garde darlings of Andy Warhol's Factory scene of late-1960s New York, the VU forged a truly groundbreaking style of music that saw the doo-wop/pop songwriting and seedy poetry predisposition of guitarist/vocalist Lou Reed embed with the hypnotic, drone-centric playing style of violist/pianist/composer John Cale.

Continue Reading >
Music Reviews
The Vinyl Never Lies: The Full Henry Rollins Interview
Mike Mettler  |  Aug 25, 2011

We bring you, at last, the full version of our talk with Henry Rollins that ran in the September print and iPad editions of Sound+Vision. Enjoy!

Continue Reading >
Music Reviews
The Vinyl Never Lies: The Full Henry Rollins Interview Page 2
Mike Mettler  |  Aug 25, 2011

We bring you, at last, the full version of our talk with Henry Rollins that ran in the September print and iPad editions of Sound+Vision. Enjoy!

Continue Reading >
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Wall
Mike Mettler  |  Apr 15, 2016
Picture
Sound
Extras
The first brick of The Wall was set in place over 72 years ago on February 18, 1944, the day British Army Second Lieutenant Eric Fletcher Waters was deemed “missing in action, presumed dead” during the Battle of Anzio in Aprilia, Italy in World War II. Ever since then, his son, Roger Waters, has attempted to come to grips with that loss and the ensuing ripple effects of the spoils of war in both his lyrics and music, best realized in Pink Floyd’s 1979 magnum opus, The Wall. Waters later took The Wall Live on the road in 2010–13 for 219 performances as a fully realized audio/visual extravaganza, and I can personally confirm it as being the bestlooking and best-sounding stadium concert I’ve ever attended.
Continue Reading >
Reference TracksThe S&V Interview
The Waterboys’ Mike Scott Pours a New Sound Palette for ‘Out of All This Blue’
Mike Mettler  |  Dec 20, 2017
Career songwriters often find themselves on a perpetual quest to add new tools to their creative toolboxes in order to keep things fresh. Such has been the case for Mike Scott, chief architect of British alt-rock stalwarts The Waterboys, who turned to GarageBand and some interesting plug-in choices to fuel the almost two-dozen songs that comprise his band’s expansive new double-disc effort, Out of All This Blue (BMG).
Continue Reading >
Reference Tracks
The Who: Tommy Super Deluxe Edition
Mike Mettler  |  Feb 19, 2014
Jack Robinson / Universal Music Archives

Performance
Sound

Pete Townshend was on a spiritual mission, determined to produce a rock opera that would reflect his own path to enlightenment. His band mates in The Who were initially wary, but once they understood the multifaceted story of a deaf, dumb, and blind kid who sure played a mean pinball, there was no turning back from climbing the mountain. The epic sprawl of 1969’s Tommy catapulted The Who forever into the rock ’n’ roll stratosphere. And now Tommy gets a fuller archival due on this four-disc 45th anniversary Super Deluxe box set, achieving yet another new-vibration milestone on Blu-ray. (More on that disc’s groundbreaking surround mix in a moment.)

Continue Reading >
The S&V Interview
The Wonder of Elvis and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Mike Mettler  |  Nov 18, 2016
Elvis Presley would have loved to have taken advantage of today’s meticulous recording standards. Fact is, The King was very much a stickler in the studio. Elvis also had an affinity for orchestral arrangements, something his estate was able to realize last year with If I Can Dream: Elvis Presley With the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RCA/Legacy), which has sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide to date. A worthy sequel, The Wonder of You: Elvis Presley With the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, has just been released. I reached out across The Pond to get album producers Don Reedman and Nick Patrick’s takes on the sonic differences between the two albums, how a certain mantra guided their respective hands and ears, and what aspects of modern recording Elvis would have embraced.
Continue Reading >
Spatial Audio File
Those Were the Best Days of My Spatial Audio Life
Mike Mettler  |  Jun 24, 2022

Remember when we all knew exactly what the song of the summer was? With today’s non-centralized listening habits, it’s harder and harder to have a mass consensus on what constitutes the very best new song to hear pumping out of a car radio and/or at the beach—or through your headphones/earbuds of choice.

Even so, there will always be songs, whether new or old, that define the summer experience, and some of the choices herein this week’s Spatial Audio File definitely fit that bill. Naturally, each of the five tracks to follow has been thoroughly spec’ed and checked by way of my personal deep-dive listening sessions on both my home system and headphones alike. Sometimes, I even put my shades on to get into the proper full-on summertime vibe. You too can find these and other stellar Made for Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos tracks within the always expanding Apple Music library.

Shades duly doffed, I now present to you this week’s quintet of sun-drenched but wholly unbowed immersive tracks as follows. . .

Continue Reading >

Pages

X