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All the old issues of Stereo Review are online!!

And available here:   https://www.americanradiohistory.com/HiFI-Stereo-Review.htm

The infamous Clark amplifier test is January, 1987, if anyone wants to re-live that.  I remember reading that when it came out (I was just out of college, but, having worked at an audio shop when I was 14, was already well into the hobby).  That was when I began to be aware of how I might be suckered by appearances.

Lots of things to love or hate, but oh, the advertisements!
ahofer
crimsoniter's avatar
crimsoniter
31 posts
 
Thanks for the link
Yet i fear i may lose too much time in there having fun
Its a good thing im off this week..

So from the 1st issue i looked at

THE JEFF BECK GROUP: Beck-Ola Cosa Nostra. Jeff Beck (guitar) ; Rod Stewart THE BLUE VELVET If ND: Aim Gooney, (vocals); Ron Wood (bass); Tony Newman (drums) ; Nicky Hopkins (piano). All Shook Up: Spanish Boots; Girl from Mill Valley; ailhouse Rock; and three others. EPIC BN 26478 54.98, ® HN 668 (33/4) $6.95,® N14 10220 $5.95, C) NMS 10220 $6.95.

Performance: Dismal Recording: Loud Stereo Quality: Okay

Jeff Beck must be the most over -rated rock guitarist around. He has based an entire style on elements --feedback, distortion, jumbled fingering, and bent notes-that better players use for purposes of dynamic contrast and the building of emotional tension. Why he has such a large following is hard to understand. His group is not much better. The vocals are handled by Rod Stewart, a pedestrian singer, at best; the rhythm team is adequate but dull. Only pianist Nicky Hopkins, presumably not a regular in the Beck group, shines fbrth-as he almost always does-with touches of genuine originality. His performance of his own piece, Girl from Mill Valley., a gentle, gospel -based song, is one of the album's few high points. But not high enough to warrant paying the overall price of admission. D. H.
dweller's avatar
dweller
3,786 posts
 
D.H. is a real sweetheart. Ill give you two guesses what "D.H." stands for.
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,816 posts
 

@crimsoniter, I saw the Jeff Beck Group live in late-68, at either The Carousel Ballroom or Fillmore. I was stoked to finally hear Nicky Hopkins live (I later met and spoke with him in L.A. in ’81. Sweet guy, and one of the best English musicians of them all), not to mention Beck. I had loved Jeff’s playing in The Yardbirds, though some of the playing I liked was actually Eric Clapton, uncredited on the For Your Love album.

Anyway, as Jeff took off on a solo in one song, Rod Stewart wandered back to the rack of spare guitars, picking up one and strapping it on. He meandered back toward the front of the stage, strumming the guitar. Jeff noticed him, and immediately stopped playing. He watched Rod for a moment, a look of contempt crossing his face. Jeff then walked up to his mic and said, in a voice dripping with disgust, "The thing isn’t even plugged in. Bloody wanker." I couldn’t agree more. After The Jeff Beck Group, Stewart went on to ruin The Small Faces. Helping him with that endeavor was another wanker from The Jeff Beck Group, Ronnie Wood.

smerdyakov
5 posts
 
Thanks for posting this. Oh, Bring back yesterday, bid time return!
harrylavo's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
harrylavo
346 posts
 
Great to see all those "Audio" mags.  My dad was an electrical engineer and audiophile before the word was coined.  We received "Audio Engineering" (its predecessor) and then audio from 1948 or earlier.  I subscribed until Audio stopped publishing.  Bought Stereo Review but found it not very useful except for ads and some articles.  Loved the first ten years of The Absolute Sound, liked International Audio Review, Listener, Sensible Sound, and others.  Great to see many beginning to come together in one spot.  
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