VA - The Wonderful Sounds of Female Vocals (2018) [SACD]

"Humungous conflict of interest alert! I wrote this compilation's liner notes and created the 22 song track order. ... The sources all were high-resolution files, some DSD, some PCM, depending upon what (Chad) Kassem was originally given in the digital domain, or in most cases what Gus Skinas produced in DSD using the original analog tapes. ... This double LP set works well as entertainment and as a great sampler of the LPs mostly released by Analogue Productions and mostly AAA (where there's tape to begin with). You can't go wrong." — Music = 10/11; Sound = 10/11 - Michael Fremer, AnalogPlanet.com.

I've been doing this (cherry picking great recordings for reissue) for a long time, and I think I've got a good idea of what audiophiles like to hear. This is all of your female vocal demo cuts in one place." — Chad Kassem, Acoustic Sounds owner

Female vocalists have forever been celebrated by audiophiles and music lovers alike. Whether the delivery is delicate or bombastic, a great female vocal well-recorded is just so sensuous. It's the genre that most often typifies the potential of hi-fi and what it can do to engage our emotions. It's no wonder the hallways of any hi-fi show will be resonating with the sounds of sparsely-arranged recordings of great women singers. It's the genre that best shows off the systems that manufacturers and dealers are trying to sell.

Now, you can have all of those best demo tracks on one album. Show stoppers by Julie London, Diana Krall, Rickie Lee Jones, Nina Simone, Janis Ian, Phoebe Snow, Jennifer Warnes, Dusty Springfield, Shelby Lynne and many more. Every single track is an audiophile demo classic. Drop the needle and drop your friend's jaw!

Michael Fremer, of AnalogPlanet.com and Stereophile Magazine, walks you through each track and its historic place with very through and entertaining liners.

Ever have that moment where you want to really light up your system — either for a late-night session by yourself or for when you've got company — and you don't want to keep changing records to keep the hit parade going? This album ends that issue. You've only got to make one selection.