Written In Their Soul - The reviews are in!

People are saying very nice things about Written In Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos.

“….may be the greatest behind-the-scenes glimpse into the process of making records since The Beatles’ Anthology series…” - Alex Greene, Memphis Flyer, 6/22/23

“...deserving accolades for this monumental project is the restoration and mastering done on all tracks by Michael Graves….He certainly deserves Grammy consideration for his yeoman duty, as the acoustics on this set is excellent…This is a must-have for fans of the label, who can gain insight into the craft of Stax songwriters. And a giant Bravo goes out to Omnivore’s Cheryl Pawelski, for her vision and perseverance to see this labor of love to its issuance.” - Jeff Krow, Audiophile Audition, 6/24/23

“...arguably the most significant archival release in years…Those demos are an important part of the story…Taken as a whole, they help complete the picture, opening a window into the process of creating [Stax’s] revered body of work…” - Bill Kopp, Goldmine Magazine, 7/18/23

“New Stax collection will make you rethink one of American music’s most important record labels…a much more profound story being told about the label…an essential piece of music history…All of [the recordings] deepen, broaden, and complicate our understanding not only of Stax but of Southern soul and Sixties/Seventies popular music.” - Jonathan Bernstein, Rolling Stone, 6/22/23

“The Mother Lode has landed…It goes without saying that Stax Records in Memphis will always be the most revered true soul music entity of all-time…WRITTEN IN THEIR SOUL: THE STAX SONGWRITER DEMOS really does feel like the music’s Bible…This is a full-on hallelujah moment, and gives real rejoicing for an accomplishment that only happened once. Sing it loud.” - Bill Bentley, Americana Highways, 6/29/23

“...fantastic…a holy grail…a very high quality production…” - Mark Smotroff, Audiophile Review, 6/21/23

“...a veritable treasure trove of soul and R&B songs and serves as a portal to a period of music history that has had a huge impact on music today…This collection is a must have/listen for fans of soul, funk and R&B, and those that appreciate music history.” - Joey Willis, Glide Magazine, 6/26/23

“One of the more fascinating releases of the year” - George Harris, Jazz Weekly, 6/12/23

“...nothing short of epic…beautiful imperfections…so well put together…” - Elvis Mitchell, KCRW (Los Angeles), 6/17/23

“Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos is a monumental document, proving once again that Stax soul runs deep.” - Michael Elliot, No Depression, 6/22/23

“...a treasure trove to discover.” - Joerg Feyer, - Rolling Stone Germany, 6/23/23

“...a compelling argument that there is still much to learn about the iconic soul label…For fans of Stax Records or soul music more generally, Written In Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos is a revealing inspection of the creative process and addendum to the Stax story.” - Ezra Wheeler, Daily Memphian, 6/22/23

“Written in Their Soul is the stuff of dreams...shed[s] light on the label’s behind-the-scenes creative genius at work…” - Lois Wilson, Record Collector Magazine (UK), July ‘23 issue

“...remarkable…This trove has already become the soundtrack of my summer.” - Tom Wilmeth, Something Else Reviews, 6/26/23

Michael Graves talks with Evan Toth, Again

If you're looking for an in-depth conversation on the restoration and mastering for the new Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos on Craft Recordings, this is for you. 

Michael Graves speaking at The Library of Congress

Michael Graves is honored to be speaking at the AES Conference on Audio Archiving, Preservation & Restoration on June 1-3 at the Library of Congress National Audiovisual Conservation Center in Culpeper, VA.  Cheryl Pawelski and Graves will be giving a presentation on how, Written In Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos, came into existence as well as share some audio restoration examples by Graves.

Stax in The New Yorker Magazine

Written In Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos is featured in this month’s New Yorker Magazine. Burkhard Bilger tells the story of the Stax songwriters as well as how this project came to be.

“So here’s the thing,” Pawelski says. “Everyone knows Otis Redding and Isaac Hayes. But do they know Homer Banks and Bettye Crutcher? Do they know Deanie Parker? To be able to honor some of these songwriters—it’s more than just getting a cool record out for me. This is the last Stax story. A story that hasn’t been told.”

Written In Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos announcement

This is a big one!  And so much fun!  7 CDs of mostly unheard Stax recordings (146 total tracks, 140 previously unissued!).  Planet Earth can thank Cheryl Pawelski for saving this material from oblivion.  She's been patiently sifting through mountains of audio (for the past 16 years), with very little info or documentation to go by, piecing together this story of the songwriters at Stax Records. The music is of course fantastic, but much of it had been through the wringer sonically and was in need of a pretty major overhaul.  That's where Michael Graves came in.  More details in the coming weeks.

Michael Graves Participates in Recording Academy Advocacy on AI & Copyright

As artificial intelligence continues to impact music creation, the Recording Academy is working closely with the U.S. Copyright Office to ensure that copyright law continues to protect human creators. Michael Graves was invited to participate in these discussions, contributing perspective from his work in mastering, audio restoration, and archival preservation.

The meeting, hosted by Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. and Acting Chief Advocacy & Public Policy Officer, Todd Dupler, brought together Recording Academy leadership and senior officials from the U.S. Copyright Office, including Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter, for a firsthand look at how AI is intersecting with modern music workflows. A key takeaway reaffirmed an essential principle: copyright protection requires meaningful human authorship, and works generated entirely by AI are not eligible for copyright under U.S. law.

(L-R) Todd Dupler, Josh Godwin, Maureen Droney, Michael Graves, Emerson Mancini, Alana Da Fonseca, Shira Perlmutter, Harvey Mason Jr., Qiana Conley, Suzanne "Suzy" Wilson at Evergreen Studios in Burbank, CA, March, 22 2023

Also in attendance were members of the Recording Academy’s Producers & Engineers Wing, including singer-songwriter-producer Alana Da Fonseca, multi-GRAMMY and Latin GRAMMY-winning engineer Josh Gudwin, and GRAMMY-winning mastering engineers Michael Graves and Emerson Mancini, along with Maureen Droney, Vice President of the P&E Wing, and Qiana Conley, Los Angeles Chapter Executive Director.

For Osiris Studio, where preserving human performance and artistic intent is central to every project, this distinction is critical.  Michael Graves appreciated the opportunity to participate in this important dialogue and to help represent the perspective of engineers and archivists working at the intersection of technology, creativity, and preservation.

Cheryl Pawelski Wins GRAMMY

Cheryl Pawelski at the 65th GRAMMY Awards, Los Angeles, CA February 5, 2023

By Michael Graves

This year's GRAMMY Awards are but a memory now.  I'm sad to report that Blondie: Against The Odds: 1974-1982 did not take home the award.  But not too sad because that honor went to my good friend, historical producer par-excellence and frequent collaborator Cheryl Pawelski.  Cheryl shares this award with her co-producer, Jeff Tweedy for their work on Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (20th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition).  The project is an outstanding achievement and couldn't be more deserving. 

The other nominees in this category have all gone above and beyond as well.  Congratulations to Robert Russ and Martin Kistner for Glenn Gould’s The Goldberg Variations - The Complete Unreleased 1981 Studio Sessions, Scott Billington, Ted Olson, Mason Williams and Paul Blakemore for Doc Watson’s Life's Work - A Retrospective, Jonathan Sklute, Kevin Marques Moo and Lucas MacFadden for Freestyle Fellowship’s To Whom It May Concern and finally my fellow nominees, Tommy Manzi, Steve Rosenthal, Ken Shipley, and Tom Camuso for Blondie. 

Behind the Making of Blondie: Against The Odds 1974–1982

In this in-depth Tape Op interview with Larry Crane, Steve Rosenthal and Michael Graves discuss the extensive process behind Blondie: Against The Odds 1974–1982, a definitive box set documenting the band’s formative years. Spanning 124 tracks, including 36 previously unreleased recordings, the collection features newly remastered versions of Blondie’s first six studio albums alongside demos, alternate takes, and rarities sourced from both label vaults and Chris Stein’s personal archive.

The interview details the technical and archival challenges involved, including recovering and transferring water-damaged tapes, evaluating multiple tape generations, and referencing original LP pressings to guide restoration and mastering decisions. Rosenthal and Graves also discuss the curatorial balance required when presenting unreleased material — preserving historical accuracy while maintaining musical coherence. The result is a comprehensive archival release that sheds new light on Blondie’s evolution from their early CBGB days to international prominence.

👉 Read the full interview on Tape Op:
https://tapeop.com/interviews/153/making-box-set-blondie-against-odds-1974-1982

GRAMMY Nomination for Blondie: Against The Odds

Blondie: Against The Odds: 1974-1982 has been nominated for a GRAMMY Award! Michael Graves is thrilled to be sharing the nomination with Tommy Manzi, Steve Rosenthal, Ken Shipley, and Tom Camuso. Congratulations to all the other nominees who woke up to some very fun news this morning! This will be Graves' 13th GRAMMY nomination. The 65th Annual GRAMMY Awards ceremony will be held at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on February 5, 2023 and broadcast live on CBS.

Bound For Hell: On The Sunset Strip

If the Sunset Strip has a mythology, it’s usually told through the handful of bands that “made it.” Bound For Hell: On The Sunset Strip flips the perspective—focusing on the independent, local, and often unsigned artists who built the scene in real time, night after night, long before the major-label feeding frenzy arrived.

Curated as a 21-track snapshot of early ’80s L.A. hard rock / glam metal in its most volatile form, the collection also makes a point of documenting artists who were too often written out of the narrative—especially the women who fought for space in an aggressively testosterone-heavy ecosystem.

The set arrives as a deluxe 2LP box with an ephemera-stuffed gatefold and a 144-page hardbound book, alongside a CD edition and digital release.

Mastering & Restoration at Osiris Studio

Because this music lived in the margins—private pressings, demos, out-of-print releases, one-off appearances—the audio existed across a wide range of source formats and conditions. For this project, Michael Graves meticulously restored and mastered the compilation from an unusually diverse set of materials, including home-made cassettes, vinyl, CD, and digital files, then shaped those disparate origins into one cohesive, continuous listening experience—a record that hits with consistent impact while still preserving the character (and chaos) of the Strip.

Credits

Label: Numero Group
Compilation Producers: Adam Luksetich, Kevin Estrada
Book / Scene Essay: Katherine Turman
Audio Restoration & Mastering: Michael Graves — Osiris Studio

Bound For Hell: On The Sunset Strip is a reminder that scenes aren’t built by headlines—they’re built by bands, flyers, van-loads of gear, and songs that survive however they can. Osiris Studio is honored to help bring this chapter of L.A. hard rock history into sharper focus—loud, aggressive, and finally presented as a unified album experience.