Music Reviews

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Mike Mettler  |  Dec 20, 2025

In Part 4 of our end-of-year multi-part “Best Music Box Sets” series, S&V music editor Mike Mettler shares ten more boxes for you to get in hand just under the holiday shopping wire—plus, he provides a final, stocking stuffer bonus: His Top 5 Dolby Atmos releases of 2025. . .

Mike Mettler  |  Dec 08, 2025

In Part 3 of our end-of-year multi-part “Best Music Box Sets” series, S&V music editor Mike Mettler serves up five more than mighty fine music box set recommendations for any/all of your potential gift recipients and/or personal wishlist coffers accordingly. . .

Mike Mettler  |  Nov 29, 2025

Here in Part 2 of our end-of-year multi-part “Best Music Box Sets” series, S&V music editor Mike Mettler gets right back to it with five heaping helpings of great music box set offerings for you to consider for holiday gift giving and/or personal collection coffer-filling. . .

Mike Mettler  |  Nov 24, 2025

Welcome to our end-of-year multi-part “Best Music Box Sets” series to help one and all with legit gift-giving ideas and/or, shall we say, audiophile rationalizations for filling out our own collections accordingly. Read S&V music editor Mike Mettler’s Beatles-related box set recommendations to see which ones—from both The Fabs collectively, and from each of their respective solo careers—rate way beyond compare for any and all holiday shopping endeavors. . .

Mike Mettler  |  Oct 31, 2025

“Happy Halloween, everybody!” That’s the late, great Frank Zappa, joyfully addressing the rabid crowd in attendance at one of his most infamous, recurring Halloween shows in New York. After a few years of its lying dormant, Zappa/UMe has just resumed this special All Hallows Eve FZ reissue series with—to use Zappa’s own words—The Big One: Halloween 78, which is now available as a 5CD box set complete with the entire four-hour concert (plus some choice costume goodies!) and a 180g 2LP highlights edition. Read S&V music editor Mike Mettler’s review of both editions to see why Halloween 78 is worth listening to tonight, and/or at any time of the year. . .

Mike Mettler  |  Sep 30, 2025

Hard to believe it’s been 30 years since Coolio’s instant classic “Gangsta’s Paradise” entered our aural lexicon in August 1995—but here we are in the here and now, where the perpetually classic g-funk/rap song has recently been re-released anew as both a blue-vinyl 45 and in a heavenly immersive Dolby Atmos mix. On a recent Zoom call—in their first ever joint interview—“Paradise” producer Doug Rasheed and featured vocalist and hookmaker L.V. tell S&V music editor Mike Mettler how they created the bedtrack that Coolio added his heartfelt lyrics into, what the analog recording reveals that digital doesn’t, and why “Paradise” will endure in perpetuity. . .

Mike Mettler  |  Sep 21, 2025

In recent months, five albums by alt-hip-hop pioneers De La Soul have been made available in Atmos, including their groundbreaking 1989 debut, 3 Feet High and Rising. On a recent Zoom call, De La Soul’s Posdnous and S&V music editor Mike Mettler got down to discussing the good vibes of all that good ol’ De La magic being transformed into the full 360, the “gumbo” approach to their layering skills, and where they got that ding at the end of De La Soul Is Dead. . .

Mike Mettler  |  Aug 31, 2025

With Labor Day Weekend upon us, a pair of “spiritual” Dolby Atmos tracks—one old, one new—honor the divine connection many of us have with the now-passing summer season: Norman Greenbaum’s forever holy Top 5 hit “Spirit in the Sky,” and N’Awlins royalty Jon Batiste’s brand-new “Angels.” Read Mike Mettler’s review to find out if the Atmos mixes of “Spirit” and “Angels” truly reach for the heavens as the almighty 360-degree gods surely intended. . .

Mike Mettler  |  Aug 24, 2025

Southern hip-hop superstar Gunna is on top. The proof can be found throughout the Atlanta rapper’s latest and sixth full-lengther, The Last Wun, which is chock full of the beats, traps, and themes that got him there. Read Mike Mettler’s review to find out if the Dolby Atmos mixes of two key Last Wun cuts, “WGFT” and “Him All Along,” heighten the 360-degreee trajectory of Gunna’s ever-evolving, wellness-oriented mind, body, soul, and flow credo. . .

Mike Mettler  |  Jul 31, 2025

Take me to the river, and drop me in the Atmos. In other words, Talking Heads’ second studio album on Sire, July 1978’s More Songs About Buildings and Food, just received some quite-fulfilling Super Deluxe Edition love from Sire/Rhino just a few days ago on July 25, 2025, and in multiple formats. Read Mike Mettler’s in-depth review of the 3CD/1BD version of Food to see how the new Atmos mix of the core album enhances this key early entry in the Heads’ most formidable catalog. . .

Mike Mettler  |  Jul 26, 2025

Once relegated to the second- and third-tier touring circuit, Tina Turner—the once and future Queen of Rock ’n’ Roll—scratched, shimmied, and vocally clawed her way back onto the international stage with her May 1984 comeback LP on Capitol, Private Dancer. Read Mike Mettler’s deep-dive review of Parlophone’s ultra-expanded 5CD/1BD 40th Anniversary Edition of Private Dancer to see if it’s river-deep worthy of Tina’s hard-fought legacy. . .

Mike Mettler  |  Jul 24, 2025

CD-centric box sets continue to be released at a fairly reasonable clip, and they’re usually stocked with bonus material, outtakes, alternate takes, and more. Even better, some of these boxes include additional BDs with historical live performances and period videoclips, plus 5.1 and/or Dolby Atmos mixes to boot. One such example is the just released 2CD/2BD deluxe box set from Esoteric Recordings that expands upon onetime Cream bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce’s most excellent 1971 solo release, Harmony Row. Read music editor Mike Mettler’s in-depth review to see how this box opens up the core content of Row in all the right ways. . .

Mike Mettler  |  Jun 28, 2025

Summertime, and the listening’s easy . . . or something like that. What better way to get into the listening swing of thing by checking out some choice Fleetwood Mac reissues—namely, their 1975 to 1987 6LP/5CD collection and Mobile Fidelity’s 180 45rpm 2LP remastered upgrades of Mirage and Tango in the Night. Read music editor Mike Mettler’s in-depth review of each of these mighty Mac offerings to see which one(s) you need in your collection ASAP. . .

Mike Mettler  |  Jun 21, 2025

LG Malique is having a moment—and it’s the right moment. The Arkansas-bred rapper is all about sharing positivity and encouraging uplift, vibes that permeate all 22 minutes of his new eight-song mixtape EP, Carved in Gold. Read Mike Mettler’s review to find out if the Dolby Atmos mixes of two key Gold cuts, “Don’t Come Closer” and “Give It to God,” take Malique’s messages into the 360-degree heights where they belong. . .

Mike Mettler  |  May 30, 2025

Forty years ago this month in May 1985, the savior of the then-burgeoning compact disc format arrived in the name of Dire Straits’ fifth studio album Brothers in Arms, a career-defining release that became the first CD to ever sell a million copies. Read music editor Mike Mettler’s combo deep-dive review of the just-released BIA 40th Anniversary Edition 5LP and 3CD box sets and companion 1LP and 1BD editions, plus find out just how good BIA sounds in Dolby Atmos. . .

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