The album at 70: A format in decline? …With lower revenue from recordings, album royalties aren’t the pension plan they once were, but the broader consecration of popular music as a heartbeat of 20th and 21st century culture extends far beyond the artists themselves. Anniversary coverage has proliferated — 20 years of OK Computer; 30 years of Bad; 70 years of ‘the album’. And there’s ever renewed interest in concertising albums whose creators have died or split up — reproducing a classic album live in the same way an orchestra might do with a classical score.
Los Angeles, CA | Capitol Studios’ Mastering King Goes Out on a Vinyl High. Says Ron McMaster, who retires on July 12, of making records: “The fact that it’s still strong blows my mind.” There’s a theory dubbed “nominative determinism,” a fancy name to describe people who gravitate to jobs that fit their names. You could hardly find a better example than the man who has sat alongside a mixing console and vinyl lathe in one of the basement studios in the Capitol Records tower for more than three decades. “What better name for a mastering engineer than… Ron McMaster!” says Ben Blackwell, the co-founder of Third Man Records, who has worked with the veteran on several projects. “Look up his credit on the Demolition Doll Rods’ first album — it’s my favorite listing on a record ever.” A quick scan of the credits reveals the listing burned into Blackwell’s memory: “Masterfully Mastered by the Master at Tower Mastering — Ron McMaster.”
Te Awamutu, NZ | Vinyl junkie in Te Awamutu for weekend fair: A self-described “record junkie” is bringing his travelling fair back to Te Awamutu for the third time in 10 years. Brian Wafer runs record fairs around the North Island and is hosting one at the Scout Hall on Saturday. The New Plymouth man has been collecting records for more than 50 years. The first song he ever listened to on vinyl was All My Loving by The Beatles at the age of 10. “It was one of the only ways to listen to music back then,” Brian says. “It’s still the best way to listen to music now.”
London, ENG | Twickenham Record Fair to raise money for charity: St Mary’s Church Hall will host the second Twickenham Record Fair later this month. The fair is organised by Eel Pie Records shop and vinyl lover Steve Sutton. It will feature 24 tables loaded with collectible vinyl from specialist traders presenting a massive selection of records. The event is free to the public, but there is a voluntary £1 contribution to go towards Shooting Star Chase. June’s fair raised almost £600 for the charity. Doors open at 9am and the Fair will run until 4:30pm.
Fourteen Genesis albums set for vinyl reissue: A total of 14 Genesis studio albums will be reissued on heavyweight vinyl next month via UMC / Virgin EMI. Trespass (1970), Nursery Cryme (1971), Foxtrot (1972), Selling England By The Pound (1973), The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway (1974), A Trick Of The Tail (1976), Wind & Wuthering (1976), …And Then There Were Three (1978), Duke (1980), Abacab (1981), Genesis (1983), Invisible Touch (1986), We Can’t Dance (1991) and Calling All Stations (1997) will all feature the original artwork and come with a download card. The only record not included in the series is the band’s 1968 debut From Genesis To Revelation.
