Bach Battle

Decca/London introduced Phase 4 Stereo in 1961. For classical music, the Phase 4 approach was based on miking every orchestra section individually, along with mics for selected instruments – up to a maximum of 20 channels, which were then mixed via a recording console. This resulted in a dynamic, in your face sound with relatively little hall ambience. The quality of the sound mostly depended on how skillfully the recording engineer balanced each channel – and the results were not always consistent. Thus, the Phase 4 sound was the antithesis of the minimally miked, “simplicity is wisdom” approach of the RCA’s early Living Stereo and Mercury’s Living Presence recordings, along with Telarc’s early digital recordings.

This is the first new album by American guitarist Jeff Coleman in three years, since 2021. The album is an all-guitar instrumental album by the talented guitarist, who has played in the progressive metal band COSMOSQUAD as well as supporting many other Japanese artists. The album features many of the rock scene's most talented musicians, including guests Chad Smith (Ds), Shane Garaas (Ds), and Jimmie Johnson (B). Jeff himself is also a highly recognized guitarist in the rock scene, as he is consistently ranked high in the rankings of popular guitarists by specialized magazines!

Decca/London introduced Phase 4 Stereo in 1961. For classical music, the Phase 4 approach was based on miking every orchestra section individually, along with mics for selected instruments – up to a maximum of 20 channels, which were then mixed via a recording console. This resulted in a dynamic, in your face sound with relatively little hall ambience. The quality of the sound mostly depended on how skillfully the recording engineer balanced each channel – and the results were not always consistent.

"A 40 CD overview of some of the most sonically-spectacular classical and film soundtrack albums ever made. With 11 albums enjoying their first international CD release, Decca here celebrates a unique chapter in its own engineering history. Created in 1961, Phase 4 used the then-new multi-mixing techniques to deliver albums of maximum immediacy, clarity of instrumentation and breadth of dynamic range. 200 classical releases were eventually released on this label, with the first major classical releases 50 years ago in 1964. This set shows Phase 4 in its prime – big classical works requiring large scale orchestras, ripe for the display of spectacular sound engineering feats.

On the eve of his centenary in 2018, Sony Classical releases the most important collection, Leonard Bernstein’s classic American Columbia recordings, remastered from their original 2- and multi-track analogue tapes. This has allowed for the creation of a natural balance (for example, between the orchestra and solo instruments) that brings the quality of these half-century-old recordings, excellent for their time, up to the standards of today’s audiophiles. In addition, there has been a meticulous restoration of some earlier masterings in which LP surface noise was too rigorously eliminated at the expense of the original brilliance.