artist: Billy Joel function popUp(URL,NAME) { amznwin=window.open(URL,NAME,'location=yes,scrollbars=yes,status=yes,toolbar=yes,resizable=yes,width=380,height=450,screenX=10,screenY=10,top=10,left=10'); amznwin.focus();} document.open(); document.write(""); document.close(); album: 52nd Street format: SACD - Stereo label: Columbia release year: 1999 performance: 6.5 sound 6 reviewed by: Jerry Del Colliano 52nd Street was a big success for Billy Joel in the late 1970s. While he was in a New York state of mind, he and producer Phil Ramone were able to muster up three big hit songs for the album including “Big Shot,” “Honesty” and “My Life.” He solidly defined himself as the quintessential piano bar rocker who can successfully tell a story through music and captivate an audience. His star appeal is still strong today, more than 20 years after his ascent to superstardom despite a high-profile breakup with his super-model wife and a well-publicized scandal with his management. Much as with Eric Clapton, you’d be hard-pressed to say Billy Joel’s ups and downs in life haven’t earned him right to really play the blues.

artist: Jeff Beck function popUp(URL,NAME) { amznwin=window.open(URL,NAME,'location=yes,scrollbars=yes,status=yes,toolbar=yes,resizable=yes,width=380,height=450,screenX=10,screenY=10,top=10,left=10'); amznwin.focus();} document.open(); document.write(""); document.close(); album: Blow By Blow format: SACD surround, Stereo label: Epic release year: 2001 performance: 8 sound 7.5 reviewed by: Jerry Del Colliano Take one part “Debbie Does Dallas” and mix it with a little “Magnum P.I.” and you have a good idea of what to expect from one of the more famous guitar rock albums of all time – Blow By Blow from Jeff Beck. Clearly the inspiration for the character Nigel in the immortal film This Is Spinal Tap, Beck is respected to this day by generations of guitarists for his impressive runs and rock-meets-jazz fusion sound.

artist: Bucky Pizzarelli album: Swing Live format: DVD-Audio & SACD label: Chesky Records release year: 2001 performance: 9 sound 10 reviewed by: Richard Elen Most of the major record companies have by now come down on one side or the other of the War of the High-Quality Audio Discs, with some opting to release Super Audio CD product (notably Sony) and others deciding on the competing DVD-A format (such as Warner Brothers). Still others have announced their intention to do one or the other but have not yet ruled out both.

artist: Tchaikovsky album: 1812 Overture Performed by Erich Kunzel; Cincinnati Pops Orchestra; Kiev Symphony Chorus; Children’s Choir of Greater Cincinnati format: DVD-A & Hybrid Multichannel SACD label: Chesky Records release year: 2001 performance: 9 sound 10 reviewed by: Richard Elen Caution! DSD Cannons! Telarc International made recording history in 1978 when they used digital audio technology to record the 1812 Overture for an album that essentially launched the company. The album – apparently the first digitally recorded and mixed project – was a landmark in many ways. With its live cannons and astonishing dynamic range, it quickly became the ultimate demo disc – and the ultimate test for a home sound system.

An Introduction to SACD, Chesky Records, 2001 | Performance 9 | Sound 9 | Grammy Award-winning Chesky Records was founded in 1978 by composer/musician David Chesky and his brother and business partner Norman, in New York. Norman recalls: "We wanted to please both musical connoisseurs and the high-end audiophiles by signing some of the best musicians in the world, and then capturing their live performances with the latest and best technology." Adds David, "I would walk into a recording studio and see fifty microphones set up. When I realized that people don't hear music that way, and that musicians play differently when they are recorded like that, I decided that if we ever started a company, it was going to have a different and unique recording philosophy."