Santa Must Be an Audiophile

Happy New Year! How were your holidays? I must have been on Santa's (and Mrs. Linear Tracking Lives!') good list because I made a haul on the music front. Let's start with the "new" turntable I found under the tree. Mrs. LTL! knew my old Technics linear tracking turntable had been retired. So, she replaced my Technics SL-5 with the Technics SL-6. For you audiophiles, that's moving up from a belt drive to a direct one. Other than that, it's pretty much like taking a time machine back to 1983, and I love it. She also included a magazine ad for the turntable that she found on eBay. I'll be framing that and hanging it above my "vintage" stereo.

Now on to the music. I have written quite a bit about the new Orange Juice box set, 'Coals to Newcastle,' and Santa must have caught those posts because now I have it. I'm very impressed with Domino's job of assembling -- in my opinion -- the best reissue of 2010. Each of the seven discs are in a cardboard sleeve with (where applicable) the original artwork, and the whole set is bound in what looks and feels like a hardcover book. Nothing gets me more excited than when a band with almost an entire catalog of out-of-print albums gets this kind of reissue treatment. I cannot recommend this box set highly enough. Order now.



The rest of this musical Christmas was a tribute to my affection for all things Macca. My mother got me the three-disc DVD called 'The McCartney Years.' The first two discs consist of more than 40 music videos from "Maybe I'm Amazed" to "Fine Line," as well as several other extras. The third disc is all live performances, including Wings on their famous 'Rockshow' from 1976, 'Unplugged' from 1991 and a long set from Glastonbury in 2004. McCartney's Live Aid and Super Bowl appearances are here, too. I am pleasantly surprised at how many of Sir Paul's music videos are new to me. For example, I assumed I had seen every '80s-era clip, but one had, apparently, eluded me. "Waterfalls" is not only a beautiful song, but it is one of McCartney's best videos. Check it out below:



Speaking of "Waterfalls," my last gift is the underrated album 'McCartney II.' I have never owned it on vinyl before, but Mrs. LTL! took care of that in a big way. I got a still sealed original pressing of the LP that included the 7" single of "Coming Up." That's the live version that became much more well known than the studio version from the record. So, the big question now is whether I take it out of the plastic. Should I leave it sealed and keep it admire it as a collector's item, or do I open it and play the heck out of it (as it was meant to be)? It's a nice dilemma, I know. Now that's a merry Christmas. 'McCartney II' is out of print, but you can find copies here.