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FEBRUARY 2007
I’ve been listening to the new Norah Jones album, not too late, and I like it a
lot. (Blue Note Records 0946 3 74516 2 5)
What makes this album pivotal and somewhat risky for Ms. Jones is that
she wrote or co-wrote all of the songs. She has done a great job. It’s a
lovely album with enough musical and stylistic variety to involve the listener
while being thoroughly entertaining.
While most of the songs on the CD concern parting and separation, or the
fear thereof, political issues get some playing time as well. My favorite
song, “sinkin’ soon” offers clever lyrics and New Orleans jazz flavors along
with some really great trombone playing. The song’s second verse takes its
only overtly political turn as she sings, “We’ve drifted from the shore/With a
captain who’s too proud to say/That he dropped the oar.” It hardly needs
to be called The Katrina Disaster to make its point.
More outwardly political is “my dear country” where she asks the questions:
Who knows maybe the plans will change
Who knows maybe he’s not deranged
I think, unfortunately, that we know the answers to those questions.
On a lighter note, “little room,” offers some subtle humor and lovely
imagery.
Ms. Jones is pushing forward artistically without going so fast that her fans
can’t keep up.
I did my listening on the living room system and sonically the album
sounded wonderful. It should sound even better on the main system.
I also spent some time listening to a garage sale CD, John Klemmer’s Touch
from 1975. Remember it? I haven’t heard it since I listened to it on vinyl in
the late 70s. My system at the time was some basic Sony turntable, a
Sansui G-9000 receiver, and a pair of Electro Voice Interface A speakers. I
won the Sansui receiver in a sweepstakes run by Rolling Stone magazine. I
only had this receiver for a short time before losing it, the rest of the
stereo, and most of my records in my divorce. I got the china. This
property division was pure viciousness but with the irony that I sold the
china for $1400, more than I am sure the stereo was worth. Had I not
needed the money to pay my lawyer to keep my visitation rights, I would
certainly have purchased a new stereo. What rankles is that I know that I
would not have had the foresight to invest in some used McIntosh or
Marantz tube equipment. I just wasn’t a tube person then. Darn.
I have to admit, though, that I am still curious about just how good or bad
the G-9000 actually sounded. I never got to where I had a system around
it that would have revealed its strengths or, more likely, its weaknesses. My
suspicion is that it would probably sound decent today but would lack the
imaging ability that I have come to consider a necessary part of music
reproduction.
Touch is still a great album. Listening to thirty-year-old albums should be
viewed with a touch of caution, however, as you never know what long-
disused memory cells will decide to switch on as a result.
The Rogue Stereo 90 amplifier should be back early next week. It got a
new circuit board to the tune of $480 plus shipping costs. I’m happy that it’
s coming back and am looking forward to getting it into the system.
Now that my daughter is back at college, I am back to breaking in the Audio
Experience +R preamp. Since I am also looking at some break-in time with
the Rogue, my plan is to run both heavily for the next month or so until I
feel that they are broken-in and then put the old Audio Experiment preamp
back in the system. That should make any differences in the preamps
pretty evident. I want to run the Rogue hard enough to make absolutely
sure that it is working properly. I don’t want it sitting while I break-in the
preamp and then find it has a problem. But for this, I would just continue
to run the Audio Experience with the VTL, which, by the way, is sounding
great. I think getting it out of the equipment rack allows it to run cooler; it
seems much happier out in the room and it is certainly a lot easier to bias.
I have accumulated a number of CDs in the past month or so that I am
looking forward to hearing. Among them are Erin Bode’s first album, which
was a Christmas gift, the new Bob Dylan, four Stereophile CDs, and albums
by Ofra Harnoy, Leila Josefowicz, and Jan Garbarek, all of which I found
used. I should really get to “work” and do some listening.
Hope you have someone to send you a Valentine.
Kent Johnson
January 31, 2007
I’ve been listening to the new Norah Jones album, not too late, and I like it a
lot. (Blue Note Records 0946 3 74516 2 5)
What makes this album pivotal and somewhat risky for Ms. Jones is that
she wrote or co-wrote all of the songs. She has done a great job. It’s a
lovely album with enough musical and stylistic variety to involve the listener
while being thoroughly entertaining.
While most of the songs on the CD concern parting and separation, or the
fear thereof, political issues get some playing time as well. My favorite
song, “sinkin’ soon” offers clever lyrics and New Orleans jazz flavors along
with some really great trombone playing. The song’s second verse takes its
only overtly political turn as she sings, “We’ve drifted from the shore/With a
captain who’s too proud to say/That he dropped the oar.” It hardly needs
to be called The Katrina Disaster to make its point.
More outwardly political is “my dear country” where she asks the questions:
Who knows maybe the plans will change
Who knows maybe he’s not deranged
I think, unfortunately, that we know the answers to those questions.
On a lighter note, “little room,” offers some subtle humor and lovely
imagery.
Ms. Jones is pushing forward artistically without going so fast that her fans
can’t keep up.
I did my listening on the living room system and sonically the album
sounded wonderful. It should sound even better on the main system.
I also spent some time listening to a garage sale CD, John Klemmer’s Touch
from 1975. Remember it? I haven’t heard it since I listened to it on vinyl in
the late 70s. My system at the time was some basic Sony turntable, a
Sansui G-9000 receiver, and a pair of Electro Voice Interface A speakers. I
won the Sansui receiver in a sweepstakes run by Rolling Stone magazine. I
only had this receiver for a short time before losing it, the rest of the
stereo, and most of my records in my divorce. I got the china. This
property division was pure viciousness but with the irony that I sold the
china for $1400, more than I am sure the stereo was worth. Had I not
needed the money to pay my lawyer to keep my visitation rights, I would
certainly have purchased a new stereo. What rankles is that I know that I
would not have had the foresight to invest in some used McIntosh or
Marantz tube equipment. I just wasn’t a tube person then. Darn.
I have to admit, though, that I am still curious about just how good or bad
the G-9000 actually sounded. I never got to where I had a system around
it that would have revealed its strengths or, more likely, its weaknesses. My
suspicion is that it would probably sound decent today but would lack the
imaging ability that I have come to consider a necessary part of music
reproduction.
Touch is still a great album. Listening to thirty-year-old albums should be
viewed with a touch of caution, however, as you never know what long-
disused memory cells will decide to switch on as a result.
The Rogue Stereo 90 amplifier should be back early next week. It got a
new circuit board to the tune of $480 plus shipping costs. I’m happy that it’
s coming back and am looking forward to getting it into the system.
Now that my daughter is back at college, I am back to breaking in the Audio
Experience +R preamp. Since I am also looking at some break-in time with
the Rogue, my plan is to run both heavily for the next month or so until I
feel that they are broken-in and then put the old Audio Experiment preamp
back in the system. That should make any differences in the preamps
pretty evident. I want to run the Rogue hard enough to make absolutely
sure that it is working properly. I don’t want it sitting while I break-in the
preamp and then find it has a problem. But for this, I would just continue
to run the Audio Experience with the VTL, which, by the way, is sounding
great. I think getting it out of the equipment rack allows it to run cooler; it
seems much happier out in the room and it is certainly a lot easier to bias.
I have accumulated a number of CDs in the past month or so that I am
looking forward to hearing. Among them are Erin Bode’s first album, which
was a Christmas gift, the new Bob Dylan, four Stereophile CDs, and albums
by Ofra Harnoy, Leila Josefowicz, and Jan Garbarek, all of which I found
used. I should really get to “work” and do some listening.
Hope you have someone to send you a Valentine.
Kent Johnson
January 31, 2007