Music Review: Phil Collins - Hello, I Must Be Going

This article was first published at Blogcritics.org

There are at least three good reasons for classic rock lovers to take a hard look at Audio Fidelity's latest release in its 24K+Gold Compact Disc series, Phil Collins' Hello, I Must Be Going.  First of all there is the music.  Second there is the sound quality.  Third, even if you think all Collins' music sounds the same, the discs in this Audio Fidelity numbered and limited series may be collectibles waiting to happen.

First things first, the album's ten tracks are samples of Collins at his dramatic, albeit resentful best.  If you like what Collins does, and while it may not be hip to admit it, I have to say I do, how can you not want a pristine version of the ultimate bitter kiss off anthem, "I Don't Care Anymore?"  The album is filled with a lot of the same kind of venom nurtured art: "I Cannot Believe It's True," "Do You Know, Do You Care?," "It Don't Matter to Me."  There is no muse like a woman, even one you are divorcing.  You have to wonder who it is the singer is listening to in "Thru These Walls."  How the upbeat cover of the Supreme's "You Can't Hurry Love" managed to make its way onto the album is open to question, but it does at the least offer something of an antidote to the overall sweet bitterness.

The sound quality on these Audio Fidelity discs is exceptional.  As their website describes it, their process replaces the "irregular plated surfaces of standard aluminum discs" with a perfected layer of 24K gold free from "any type of physical defect."  Mastered in this case by noted audiophile music restoration specialist, Steve Hoffman the CD aims for what he calls a "lifelike" sound.  In answer to a question on his website, Hoffman says:  "I want that 'breath of life.' That’s what I want. If it sounds like a fake approximation of nothing that’s alive—that is not it for me. I want it to sound like, (and it doesn’t matter if it is Buddy Holly or Blood, Sweat and Tears or The Doors) I want it to sound like they could be standing in the same room where you are listening."  While there are those who argue there are superior re-mastering processes, the sound on the Audio Fidelity discs is impressive enough for me.

Finally there will be those who, as I suggested in my review of the Audio Fidelity release of James Taylor's Sweet Baby James, will not even bother to cut open the shrink wrap on their CD.  Limited edition, numbered, and nestled in what the manufacturer calls "deluxe packaging with see-through slip cases," these discs are prime candidates for collectors. A quick check on eBay shows that there is indeed a market for past issues.  The Band's self-titled album, for example, is on sale for $89.99.  Given contemporary interest rates, there could be worse ways to invest your money.

Seriously, the Audio Fidelity 24K + Gold series offers a selection of some of the best classic rock mastered with expert care.  Hoffman is on record as saying his goal is for the music to sound "alive."  As far as this ear is concerned, it is a goal he has reached.

Music Review: James Taylor-Sweet Baby James

Article first published as Music Review: James Taylor - Sweet Baby James [Audio Fidelity 24K+ Gold] on Blogcritics.

For those of us whose vinyl copies of James Taylor's triple platinum 1970 album Sweet Baby James have been worn out with use, Audio Fidelity has released a limited numbered edition of the masterpiece in their 24K+ Gold Compact Disc Series which uses a unique process to create the kind of warm sound many feel has been lost on today's standard disc. As they describe the process, they use the original mixes to create what they consider the best versions of each song to produce a disc with a 24 karat defect free gold surface. It is a disc with the kind of excellent sound in general that will thrill both Taylor aficionados and audiophiles as well. Of course there are likely to be those that never even open the shrink wrap on this deluxe edition in its see through packaging in the hopes that albums in pristine condition will command a good price on some future collectibles market. After all, the discs are numbered.

On the other hand, those who stow it away will be missing a fine listening experience. The album, honored as the 103^rd on the Rolling Stone list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time," shows Taylor at his emotional best. Not only is it filled with songs that were to put the mellow singer on the charts, they were written with an honest personal intensity that went beyond mere artifice. "Fire and Rain," the album's break out single, is a clear illustration. In interviews Taylor has said that the song is about his experiences in mental institutions dealing with depression. While his statements about the causes of that depression differ, it is impossible to escape the essential emotional truthfulness of the song.

Add to this a song list that includes "Steamroller," "Lo and Behold," "Blossom," "Country Road" and "Oh Susannah" and you've got an album that deserves everyone of its many accolades. And that doesn't even include my own personal favorite, the brilliant faux folk lullaby that serves as the album's title. It is a song that describes as well as any the essence of Taylor's music: a "song which is soft but it's clear/As if maybe someone could hear." Maybe if it helps you to sleep you can believe it. It is the music of maybe, the music of uncertainty. While it is marked with that sweet melancholy that marks so much of the singer's work, "Sweet Baby James" is one of those songs that echoes in your ear and never grows old.

But in the end, Taylor doesn't need me to say nice things about this album; it has had more than enough praise piled on it as it goes into its fifth decade. It is a welcome addition to the Audio Fidelity gold catalogue, where by the way it joins with new releases of his albums One Man Dog and Walking Man as well as Carly Simon's No Secrets.