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.

Cheryl Pawelski Wins GRAMMY

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

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. 

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.

Evan Toth talks with Michael Graves

I mastered Evan Toth’s excellent album, The Show, last year. After exchanging a few emails we realized that we have a lot in common and a lot to talk about. As luck would have it, Evan hosts a radio show on Fairleigh Dickinson University’s WFDU, 89.1 FM called The Sharp Notes, writes for The Vinyl District and hosts his own podcast. With the upcoming release of Blondie: Against The Odds 1974-1982 we decided it was finally time set up the microphones, fire up the Zoom and do a proper interview. You can see the YouTube interview below and the Vinyl District audio only interview here. The radio show (here) is the same interview but he’s added some music that I’ve mastered into the conversation.

Bound For Hell

Time to reconnect with your inner headbanger. Numero Group has just announced a box set chronicling the early heavy metal scene here in L.A.: "Bound For Hell: On The Sunset Strip." You can almost smell the Aqua Net. Produced by Adam Luksetich and Kevin Estrada, with audio transfers, sound restoration and mastering provided by your friends here at Osiris Studio (Joy Graves, Jordan McLeod and Michael Graves).

Bobby Owsinski talks with Michael Graves on the Inner Circle Podcast

Back in 2001 when I was trying to figure out what exactly a mastering engineer does, I read Bobby Owsinski’s excellent book, “The Mastering Engineer’s Handbook.” I pored over every word. It gave me a solid foundation for the craft of mastering and set me on the road to what I do now. Bobby also produces a well-respected podcast for music industry people (any fan of music will appreciate it too).  This is me on that podcast talking about my career path and some of the tools and techniques I use.