Mike Mettler

Music Reviews
Classic Yes on Vinyl: The Steven Wilson Remixes
Mike Mettler  |  Oct 18, 2018
Performance
Sound
Calculating how many times key entries in the Yes catalog have been remastered, remixed, repackaged, and reissued can sometimes feel akin to tallying how many official live albums The Grateful Dead have released over the years—well, okay, maybe not quite that many, but still…. It can also be somewhat arduous to keep up with all the ongoing Yes release permutations without a scorecard, let alone decide which ones are worth purchasing.
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The S&V Interview
JD Souther on the Legend of Longbranch/Pennywhistle
Mike Mettler  |  Oct 10, 2018
This is the ballad of Longbranch/Pennywhistle, the legendary 1969 collaboration between late Eagles co-founder Glenn Frey and his longstanding songwriting compadre, JD Souther. We got on the line with Souther to discuss the reissue’s sonic-restoration process, whether he thinks Longbranch/Pennywhistle pioneered the country rock movement, the origins of a truly unique band name, and the singular legacy of Glenn Frey.
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Stream On
Streams People Play
Mike Mettler  |  Sep 28, 2018
Who wins in the streaming war between Apple Music and Spotify? You do, of course.

Last month, you and I made a pact, right here in this space. What, you don’t remember? (Apparently, even audiophiles have ADD.) Well, our agreement was essentially this: We the golden-ear people wholly accept streaming as another worthwhile delivery system for receiving and listening to our music, especially given the strides some of the services have been making in providing higher-quality, higher-resolution streams. (Coming back to you now?)

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The S&V Interview
Tommy Shaw on Mixing Styx’s ‘The Mission’ in 5.1
Mike Mettler  |  Sep 26, 2018
Some long-gestating sonic missions are simply worth the wait. Case in point: Styx’s June 2017 studio concept album The Mission (Alpha Dog 2T/UMe), which recently entered into the 5.1 stratosphere via the 24-bit/96kHz surround sound mix found on the just-released two-disc CD + Blu-ray Edition of the album. As good and enveloping as The Mission sounds in stereo, it sounds even better in its hi-res 5.1 mix — and that’s due in no small part to the creative synergy between the record’s three chief sonic architects: Styx guitarist/vocalist Tommy Shaw, producer/guitarist/vocalist Will Evankovich (Shaw-Blades, The Guess Who), and producer/engineer Jim Scott (Tom Petty, Wilco, Dixie Chicks). I spoke with Shaw and Evankovich to delve into the making of the surround sound mix of The Mission.
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The S&V Interview
Robbie Robertson on the 50th Anniversary of The Band’s Music From Big Pink
Mike Mettler  |  Sep 12, 2018
Photo: Elliot Landy (1968)

Released 50 years ago this past July 1, The Band's Music From Big Pink immediately set the world of popular music on its collective ear, and it's now being celebrated in a super-deluxe box set that includes a 24/96 5.1 mix of the album on Blu-ray. We get on the line with Band mastermind Robbie Robertson to discuss the secret to the overall intimacy of the Big Pink recording itself, the key elements that make the 5.1 versions of “The Weight” and “Chest Fever” instant benchmark reference tracks, and what Band album he’d be interested in having remixed in 5.1 next.

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Music Reviews
Love: Forever Changes - 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition
Mike Mettler  |  Aug 31, 2018
Performance
Sound
Always the pauper, never quite the prince. Such was the case for Love, the racially integrated Los Angeles psychedelic/folk-rock hybrid who were always on the cusp of breaking through the ether during those heady revolutionary times of the late 1960s, but just couldn’t totally get there. While the sounds of other SoCal Sunset Strip brethren like The Doors and The Byrds made the leap into mass consciousness, Love’s impact initially came at more of the cult-favorite level—though their multicultural influence has only grown over the ensuing years, especially within the British alternative scene of the early ’90s.
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The S&V Interview
Lennie James, Morgan Jones on The Walking Dead
Mike Mettler  |  Aug 22, 2018
The peak-era TV juggernaut known as The Walking Dead continues to roll-roll-roll along on its bloody and unbowed path, and it remains one of the best-shot, best-designed, best-looking, and best-sounding shows being broadcast today. That said, TWD is actually best enjoyed on hi-res disc, and its ever-galvanizing eighth season was just released by Lionsgate on Blu-ray and DVD. Lennie James, who plays the struggling pacifist Morgan Jones, discusses why his character endures, why he feels the show’s soundscapes are underrated, and how two other cult-favorite characters he’s portrayed over the years might fare if they met Morgan on the road in the zombie apocalypse.
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Stream On
It’s a Stream, Stream, Stream, Stream World
Mike Mettler  |  Aug 17, 2018
Has streaming saved the music industry? Depends on whom you ask. If we’re to believe certain vocal factions within the music business, we’re already officially entrenched in the “end of owning music” era...
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The S&V Interview
Tom Bailey, Synth-Pop Songcrafter
Mike Mettler  |  Aug 08, 2018
Photo by James Cumpsty

Tom Bailey, the chief architect of the super-successful ’80s synth-pop masters Thompson Twins (“Hold Me Now,” “Love on Your Side”) is back with a cosmically named solo album, Science Fiction. We called him during a tour stop in Houston to discuss the sonic structure of the album, how he once built his own P.A. speakers, and reconnecting with listening to music on vinyl.

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The S&V Interview
Elliot Scheiner, Surround Sound Mixmaster
Mike Mettler  |  Jul 25, 2018
Legendary producer/engineer Elliot Scheiner at LA's iconic Capitol Studios.

“I make these records, so I know what the artists want to hear,” notes legendary producer/engineer Elliot Scheiner (a.k.a. ELS) while perched behind the main mixing board in Capitol Records Studio A in Los Angeles. I sat down exclusively in the control room with Scheiner and the members of acclaimed indie/folk-rockers Dawes to discuss their mutual and individual goals for surround sound recording and mixing, and how well it all comes across in the ELS Studio 3D premium audio system in the 2019 Acura RDX.

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