Dire Straits – Brothers In Arms (1985) [MFSL 2013] [SACD / Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab – UDSACD 2099]

Dire Straits - Brothers In Arms (1985) [MFSL 2013]

Title: Dire Straits – Brothers In Arms (1985) [MFSL 2013]
Genre: Rock
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Brothers in Arms brought the atmospheric, jazz-rock inclinations of Love Over Gold into a pop setting, resulting in a surprise international best-seller. Of course, the success of Brothers in Arms was helped considerably by the clever computer-animated video for “Money for Nothing,” a sardonic attack on MTV. But what kept the record selling was Mark Knopfler’s increased sense of pop songcraft — “Money for Nothing” had an indelible guitar riff, “Walk of Life” is a catchy up-tempo boogie variation on “Sultans of Swing,” and the melodies of the bluesy “So Far Away” and the down-tempo, Everly Brothers-style “Why Worry” were wistful and lovely. Dire Straits had never been so concise or pop-oriented, and it wore well on them. Though they couldn’t maintain that consistency through the rest of the album — only the jazzy “Your Latest Trick” and the flinty “Ride Across the River” make an impact — Brothers in Arms remains one of their most focused and accomplished albums, and in its succinct pop sense, it’s distinctive within their catalog.

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2 min read

Dire Straits – Brothers In Arms (1985/2005) [20th Anniversary Edition] [SACD / Vertigo – 9871498]

Dire Straits - Brothers In Arms (1985/2005) [20th Anniversary Edition]

Title: Dire Straits – Brothers In Arms (1985/2005) [20th Anniversary Edition]
Genre: Rock
Format: MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Brothers in Arms brought the atmospheric, jazz-rock inclinations of Love Over Gold into a pop setting, resulting in a surprise international best-seller. Of course, the success of Brothers in Arms was helped considerably by the clever computer-animated video for “Money for Nothing,” a sardonic attack on MTV. But what kept the record selling was Mark Knopfler’s increased sense of pop songcraft — “Money for Nothing” had an indelible guitar riff, “Walk of Life” is a catchy up-tempo boogie variation on “Sultans of Swing,” and the melodies of the bluesy “So Far Away” and the down-tempo, Everly Brothers-style “Why Worry” were wistful and lovely. Dire Straits had never been so concise or pop-oriented, and it wore well on them. Though they couldn’t maintain that consistency through the rest of the album — only the jazzy “Your Latest Trick” and the flinty “Ride Across the River” make an impact — Brothers in Arms remains one of their most focused and accomplished albums, and in its succinct pop sense, it’s distinctive within their catalog. [In 2005 Mercury released a 20th anniversary limited edition version of Brothers in Arms in the Hybrid/SACD format.

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2 min read

Dire Straits – On Every Street (2024 MFSL Remaster) (1991/2024) [SACD / Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab – UDSACD 2239]

Dire Straits - On Every Street (2024 MFSL Remaster) (1991/2024)

Title: Dire Straits – On Every Street (2024 MFSL Remaster) (1991/2024)
Genre: Rock
Format: SACD ISO

Dire Straits never made a big to-do about its final run. In classic understated British fashion, the band simply let its music speak for itself. And how. Originally released in September 1991, On Every Street became the group’s swan song — a lasting testament to the influence, musicianship, and integrity of an ensemble whose merit has never been tainted by cash-grab reunions or farewell treks. It remains an essential part of the Dire Straits catalog and a blueprint of the distinctive U.K. roots rock the collective played for its 15-year career. 

Sourced from the original master tapes and housed in mini-gatefold-LP packaging, Mobile Fidelity’s hybrid SACD of On Every Street presents the album like it has always been meant to be experienced: in reference-grade audiophile sound. Recorded at AIR Studios in London and produced by Dire Straits leader Mark Knopfler, it features all of the band’s sonic hallmarks — wide instrumental separation, visceral textures, seemingly limitless air, broad soundstages, atmospherics that you can almost reach out and feel. Each element is made more vibrant, physical, and lifelike on this collectible reissue. Afforded full-range dynamics and transparent clarity, the songs from On Every Street burst with nuanced details and vibrant colors. Dire Straits’ playing appears to float, their intricate performances organized amid hypnotic, fluid, three-dimensional arrangements. Mobile Fidelity’s definitive-sounding SACD also brings into transparent view Knopfler’s finely sculpted guitar lines, expressive tones, and laid-back vocals — as well as the balanced accompaniment from his band mates. Here’s a record on which you can hear the full blossom and decay of individual notes, and imagine the size and shape of the studio. It is in every regard a demonstration disc. And it happens to be filled with timeless fare. Remarkably, On Every Street almost never came to light. Dire Straits initially dissolved in September 1988 after touring behind its blockbuster Brothers in Arms and suffering the departure of two members. At the time, Knopfler professed his desire to work on solo material; bassist John Illsley also explored other pursuits. But Knopfler’s decision in 1989 to reconvene with the country-leaning Notting Hillbillies side project reignited a spark to reconvene his primary band and craft a fresh batch of songs. Six years removed from Brothers in Arms, Knopfler, Illsley, keyboardist Alan Clark, and keyboardist Guy Fletcher teamed with A-list session pros — steel guitarist Paul Franklin, percussionist Danny Cummings, saxophonist Chris White, guitarist Phil Palmer included — to create what still stands as an unforgettable farewell. The platinum record brings the band full circle in that it returns Dire Straits to a quartet formation; finds the group refreshingly out of step with the era’s prevailing trends; and sees Knopfler and Co. knocking out song after song with the deceptive ease of a punter tossing back a pint at a pub. That subtle cool, clever poise, and innate control — signature traits that no other band ever matched — dominate On Every Street. Knopfler’s clean, virtuosic six-string escapades unfurl with dizzying melodicism and economical efficiency. Led by his winding fills and focused solos, Dire Straits traverse a hybrid landscape of rock, jazz, country, boogie, blues, and pop strains with near-faultless prowess. More than any other entry in the group’s oeuvre, On Every Street welcomes quick detours down back alleys and into the depths of human souls. What makes it more brilliant is its staunch refusal to cater to commercial expectations or take advantage of prior successes; every passage feels true, every measure echoed in the service of song. It’s evident in the humorous satire of “Heavy Fuel,” closeted desperation of the witty “Calling Elvis,” and shake-and-bake bounce of “The Bug.” It pours from the album’s darker corners, as on the high-and-lonesome melancholy of the title track and bruised emotionalism of “When It Comes to You.” Hinting at the open-minded approaches and boundless curiosity he’d embrace as a solo artist, Knopfler doesn’t limit himself when it comes to style or subject matter. Look no further than “You and Your Friend,” a shuffle whose all-inclusive lyrics encourage an array of interpretative meanings. Another of the album’s deep cuts, “Iron Hand,” comes on as one of the band’s most memorable moments — the narrative addressing the abuses of power at the 1984 Battle of Orgreave during the U.K. miners’ strike. Given cinematic heft by the expert production, the true-fiction account puts into perspective the richness, poetry, and depth of On Every Street. “Every victory has a taste that’s bittersweet,” sings Knopfler on the title track. At least that bittersweetness seldom sounded so damn good on record.

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4 min read

Dino Rubino – Mi Sono Innamorato Di Te (2008) [Japan 2017] [SACD / Venus Records – VHGD-202]

Dino Rubino - Mi Sono Innamorato Di Te (2008) [Japan 2017]

Title: Dino Rubino – Mi Sono Innamorato Di Te (2008) [Japan 2017]
Genre: Jazz
Format: SACD ISO + DSF DSD64 + Hi-Res FLAC

From the hot Italian jazz scene comes an impressive debut album of a young trumpeter. Dino Rubino was born in 1980 in Sicily. He first studied piano but switched to trumpet after hearing Tom Harrell in a concert. One of his teachers, the legendary trumpeter Enrico Rava, has praised Rubino as one of the best players in his generation. The title track from this album, “Mi sono innamorato di te” was written by Luigi Tenco and was first released in 1962.

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1 min read

Dimitrie Cantemir, Hespèrion XXI, Jordi Savall – Istanbul: The Book of Science of Music (2009) [SACD / Alia Vox – AVSA 9870]

Dimitrie Cantemir, Hespèrion XXI, Jordi Savall - Istanbul: The Book of Science of Music (2009)

Title: Dimitrie Cantemir, Hespèrion XXI, Jordi Savall – Istanbul: The Book of Science of Music (2009)
Genre: Classical
Format: MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Jordi Savall’s continued interest in Mediterranean traditions brings him to Sephardic and Armenian music centered in Istanbul and an author who wrote The Book of the Science of Music, a volume that he discovered as he was preparing his earlier program Orient–Occident. Dimitrie Cantemir (1673–1723) had two brief spells as Prince of Moldavia but is better known as a leading intellectual of Eastern Europe and the only one with a reputation known in the West. His interesting background and career, told in the notes, need not be summarized here, but he grew up at the Sultan’s court while his father and brother were successive princes of Moldavia under the Sultan’s protection. Succeeding as prince, he transferred his allegiance to the tsar with disastrous results and spent his last 12 years in exile in Russia. His book contains 355 works, including nine of his own compositions, all notated in a system of his own devising. Seven works on this disc are makam taken from this source, another seven tracks are improvised preludes to each of them, and the remaining seven tracks are devoted to Sephardic and Armenian selections, the former drawn from Isaac Levy’s modern editions. Four other makam from the same book were heard in Orient–Occident.

While such an extended concert of unfamiliar and exotic instrumental music can be off-putting, repeated hearings become mesmerizing. The booklet identifies three separate groups of players for Turkish, Armenian, and Sephardic repertoire, but members of Hespèrion XXI are included in all three groups. The notes are printed in the label’s usual half-dozen languages as well as Turkish and Armenian (the last in its unique non-Roman alphabet). The 196-page booklet is lavish in its display of art and manuscripts of the period, photos of the performers, and the covers of the ensemble’s previous productions. The surround sound adds to the appeal of the production. Few labels are turning out such lavish albums as consistently and regularly as Savall’s own. – J.F. Weber, Fanfare “This is a typical Alia Vox Hesperion release: sumptuously packaged, richly illustrated, and supported by edifying scholarly notes about the music and its historical context. It’s recorded in clear yet atmospheric sound…In addition to the late Montserrat Figueras, there is wonderful singing by the Israeli Lior Elmaleh ad the Turk Gursoy Dincer.” BBC Music Magazine, June 2012 *****

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3 min read

Dick Hyman Trio – You’re My Everything (2012) [Japan 2018] [SACD / Venus Records – VHGD-274]

Dick Hyman Trio - You're My Everything (2012) [Japan 2018]

Title: Dick Hyman Trio – You’re My Everything (2012) [Japan 2018]
Genre: Jazz
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Dick Hyman is a virtuoso jazz pianist whose career spans nearly 70 years. Fundamentally a swing pianist, he is also known for his research and mastery of all jazz piano styles known to man, from ragtime and bebop and beyond. His debut album for Venus Records is a Harry Warren songbook. Supported expertly by bassist Jay Leonhart and drummer Chuck Redd, Hyman performs these evergreens such as “You’re My Everything” and “42nd Street” with vigor and inventiveness. The tone of his piano is beautiful, and this particularly good-sounding disc captures it well. Recommended.

Throughout a busy musical career that got underway in the early ’50s, Dick Hyman has functioned as pianist, organist, arranger, music director, and composer. His versatility in all of these areas has resulted in film scores, orchestral compositions, concert appearances and more than 100 albums recorded under his own name. While developing a masterful facility for improvisation in his own piano style, Hyman has also investigated ragtime and the earliest periods of jazz and has researched and recorded the piano music of Scott Joplin, Jelly Roll Morton, James P. Johnson, Zez Confrey, Eubie Blake and Fats Waller, which he often features in his frequent recitals. Other solo recordings include the music of Irving Berlin, Harold Arlen, Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Richard Rodgers and Duke Ellington. Some of his recordings with combos are From The Age Of Swing, Swing Is Here, Cheek To Cheek, and If Bix Played Gershwin, plus numerous duet albums with Ruby Braff, Ralph Sutton, Shelly Berg, Ken Peplowski and others. With Hyman, we see a truly unique specimen of jazz. He has a brain that functions as a sort of comprehensive jazz encyclopedia. Along with that, he is a pianist with the skills to demonstrate perfectly almost every known technique and style to emerge during the course of the genre’s 100 year-plus history.

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2 min read

Dick de Graaf – Fo4r Winds (2002) [SACD / Turtle Records – TRSA0012]

Dick de Graaf - Fo4r Winds (2002)

Title: Dick de Graaf – Fo4r Winds (2002)
Genre: Jazz
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Dutch saxophonist De Graaf was looking to make this album a sort of sequel to a previous session in which he had been invited to play with musicians from Mali in West Africa. He found it inspiring but he had to fit into their musical concept. In Fo4r Winds he has created a more personal concept album, using all his own compositions except for one, and making them the basis for improvisations which honor the various cultures of the members of his world music/jazz band.
I was immediately attracted to the inclusion in the band of both steel pans and the sophisticated African harp known as the kora. Also percussionist Burhoe plays some mean tablas on several of the tracks, lending an East Indian flavor to the music. Both kora virtuoso Diabaté and bassist Diallo are from Mali. Some attempted mixes of world music and jazz fall rather flat because it sounds like the two approaches to the music are just trying to fit in without stepping on each other’s musical toes. Not so De Graaf’s group – most of the tracks sound like completely integrated musical ideas that don’t cry out India / Caribbean / Africa and so on as you hear the various ethnic instruments featured. And there’s no lack of good tunes along with the catchy rhythms that make you want to get up and dance. This is a mostly instrumental album, the vocals are minimal. The clarity of the hi-res stereo puts you up close to the band and digging the unexpected instrumental sounds. The kora is especially well-represented; I don’t believe I had appreciated before what a rich and unique sound Mali’s national instrument has!

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2 min read

Diana Ross – All The Great Hits (1981) [Reissue 2018] [SACD / Universal Music Hong Kong – 5384122]

Diana Ross - All The Great Hits (1981) [Reissue 2018]

Title: Diana Ross – All The Great Hits (1981) [Reissue 2018]
Genre: Disco, Funk, Soul
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

All The Great Hits is a compilation album by Diana Ross released in 1981, the second Motown compilation set to capitalize on the success of 1980’s diana produced by Chic. Her duet “Endless Love” with Lionel Richie was from a movie with Brooke Shields and, just like 1980’s “It’s My Turn”, had already been released as a single and on a soundtrack album. The double-album detailing Ross’ career at Motown was released in the weeks preceding her RCA debut Why Do Fools Fall in Love and became her third album that year to reach the top 40 in the U.S. The album was certified Gold in the USA and Platinum in the UK.
Diana Ross is certainly a diva of goddess-like proportions. Whether joined by the Supremes, or out on her own, her voice is unmistakable and powerful, plus she possesses the uncanny ability to take songs penned by others and make them very much her own – to imbibe them with her very soul. This collection of Ross’ best-known and loved hits is perfect testament to her massive gift. Working closely with both singer/songwriting duo Ashford & Simpson, as well as producers Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards (both of Chic), Ross brought six songs to the top of the pop charts over a decade – all included here. From the early classic gospel-inflected “Reach Out and Touch (Somebody’s Hand)” and the empowering chest beater “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” to the lite soul of “It’s My House,” Ross demonstrates full range. Also featured are the massive club hits “Upside Down” and “I’m Coming Out,” cut with Rodgers and Edwards. Strong and up-tempo, both songs became disco manifestos across the country in the early ’80s and helped to keep the genre alive just a little bit longer. And, of course, this compilation is completed, naturally, with both the sultry throb of “Love Hangover” and the Lionel Richie duet “Endless Love.” If there is a failing at all, it is within the “Medley (With the Supremes).” This glossy track hits the highlights, but really, why butcher such amazing songs? Any one would be better off slipping a Supremes greatest-hits onto the old turntable. But for the casual listener, this probably hits the spot. It’s heavy on the chart-toppers, and a sweet sonic masterpiece by anyone’s standards.

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3 min read

Diana Krall – The Look Of Love (2001) [Reissue 2002] [SACD / Verve Records – 589 597-2]

Diana Krall - The Look Of Love (2001) [Reissue 2002]

Title: Diana Krall – The Look Of Love (2001) [Reissue 2002]
Genre: Jazz
Format: MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

The Look of Love doesn’t tamper with Diana Krall’s ongoing success, continuing the emphasis on romantic ballads and embracing them with lush string arrangements. At the core, of course, is Krall’s voice. She’s developing into one of the great torch singers, with an approach that’s both direct and subtly nuanced, true to the song and yet deeply personal.

Diana Krall has a good voice and plays decent piano, but this somewhat ridiculously packaged Verve CD seems like an obvious attempt to turn her into a pop icon, and sex symbol to boot. The bland arrangements by Claus Ogerman (who conducts the London Symphony Orchestra or the Los Angeles Session Orchestra on each track) border on easy listening, while Krall and her various supporting musicians, including John Pisano, Russell Malone, Christian McBride, and Peter Erskine (among others), clearly seem stifled by their respective roles. There are plenty of strong compositions here, including standards like “I Remember You,” “The Night We Called It a Day,” and “I Get Along Without You Very Well,” but the unimaginative and often syrupy charts take their toll on the performances. What is even sillier is the label’s insistence on attempting to photograph the artist in various sultry poses, which she evidently wants to discourage by refusing to provide much of a smile (the rumor is that she’s not happy with this part of the business at all). If you are looking for unchallenging background music, this will fit the bill, but jazz fans are advised to check out Krall’s earlier releases instead.

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2 min read

Diana Krall – The Girl In The Other Room (2004) [SACD / Verve Records – 0602498620465]

Diana Krall - The Girl In The Other Room (2004)

Title: Diana Krall – The Girl In The Other Room (2004)
Genre: Jazz
Format: MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Singer/pianist Diana Krall breaks new ground interpreting modern standards by Tom Waits, Mose Allison, and Joni Mitchell, as well as compositions by herself and new husband, Elvis Costello. Krall’s piano-jazz cred comes through loudly and clearly on her Count Basie-styled version of the Bonnie Raitt staple “Love Me Like a Man” (written by folk-bluesman Chris Smither). But it’s the collaborations with her spouse that unearth untapped emotional nuances of her velvet voice; many are reminiscent of Bill Evans’s moody, impressionistic pieces. The title track, “Narrow Daylight,” “Abandoned Masquerade,” and “I’m Coming Through” all deal with love and loss. “Departure Bay,” a picturesque ode to her hometown of Nanaimo, B.C., proves that this is the start of something big, and that two heads–and hearts–are better than one.

While the jazz fascists (read: purists) may be screaming “sellout” because Diana Krall decided to record something other than standards this time out, the rest of us can enjoy the considerable fruit of her labors. The Girl in the Other Room is, without question, a jazz record in the same manner her other outings are. The fact that it isn’t made up of musty and dusty “classics” may irk the narrow-minded and reactionary, but it doesn’t change the fact that this bold recording is a jazz record made with care, creativity, and a wonderfully intimate aesthetic fueling its 12 songs. Produced by Tommy LiPuma and Krall, the non-original material ranges from the Mississippi-fueled jazzed-up blues of Mose Allison’s “Stop This World” to contemporary songs that are reinvented in Krall’s image by Tom Waits (“Temptation”), Joni Mitchell (“Black Crow”), Chris Smither (“Love Me Like a Man”), and her husband, Elvis Costello (“Almost Blue”). These covers are striking. Krall’s read of Allison’s tune rivals his and adds an entirely different shade of meaning, as does her swinging, jazzy, R&B-infused take on Smither’s sexy nugget via its first hitmaker, Bonnie Raitt. Her interpretation of Waits’ “Temptation” is far more sultry than Holly Cole’s because Krall understands this pop song to be a jazz tune rather than a jazzy pop song. “Black Crow” exists in its own space in the terrain of the album, because Krall understands that jazz is not mere articulation but interpretation. Likewise, her reverent version of Costello’s “Almost Blue” takes it out of its original countrypolitan setting and brings it back to the blues. As wonderful as these songs are, however, they serve a utilitarian purpose; they act as bridges to the startling, emotionally charged poetics in the material Krall has composed with Costello. Totaling half the album, this material is full of grief, darkness, and a tentative re-emergence from the shadows. It begins in the noir-ish melancholy of the title track, kissed with bittersweet agony by Gershwin’s “Summertime.” The grain in Krall’s pained voice relates an edgy third-person tale that is harrowing in its lack of revelation and in the way it confounds the listener; it features John Clayton on bass and Jeff Hamilton on drums. In “I’ve Changed My Address,” Krall evokes the voices of ghosts such as Louis Armstrong and Anita O’Day in a sturdy hip vernacular that channels the early beat jazz of Waits and Allison. The lyric is solid and wonderfully evocative not only of time and place, but of emotional terrain. Krall’s solo in the tune is stunning. “Narrow Daylight,” graced by gospel overtones, is a tentative step into hope with its opening line: “Narrow daylight enters the room, winter is over, summer is near.” This glimmer of hope is short-lived, however, as “Abandoned Masquerade” reveals the shattered promise in the aftermath of dying love. “I’m Coming Through” and “Departure Bay,” which close the set, are both underscored by the grief experienced at the loss of Krall’s mother. They are far from sentimental, nor are they sophomoric, but through the eloquence of Krall’s wonderfully sophisticated melodic architecture and rhythmic parlance they express the experience of longing, of death, and of acceptance. The former features a beautiful solo by guitarist Anthony Wilson and the latter, in its starkness, offers memory as reflection and instruction. This is a bold new direction by an artist who expresses great willingness to get dirt on her hands and to offer its traces and smudges as part and parcel of her own part in extending the jazz tradition, through confessional language and a wonderfully inventive application that is caressed by, not saturated in, elegant pop.

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5 min read