Introducing Off the Record: One Album, Start to Finish, on a Hi-Fi System Built to Reveal It

When did you last listen to an album? Not as background or as a playlist, but the whole record, Side A to Side B, giving it your full attention. That's the idea behind Off the Record, a new monthly vinyl listening night at ListenUp Denver. Starting Friday, November 6, we'll gather a small group on the first Friday of each month, drop the needle on one great album and play it in full on a $200,000+ McIntosh and Sonus faber system.

Reserve your seat for Vol. 1: Blake Mills, Heigh Ho (2014) on Friday, November 6th.

How Off the Record Works

Each night is simple by design: one record, one hour, twelve guests.

• One album, played in full. No skipping, no shuffle. We play the record the way the artist intended it to be heard, and flip it between sides.
• Twelve seats only. Keeping the group small means everyone sits in the sweet spot, close enough to hear what the system can do.
• A killer reference-grade system. McIntosh amplification and Sonus faber loudspeakers bring out detail, space and texture that most of us never hear from our favorite records.
• Conversation after the last track. Phones go on silent while the record plays. Once it ends, stay and talk about the music and the gear with our Hi-Fi team.

We're running Off the Record as a trial this fall, with Vol. 1 on November 6 and Vol. 2 on December 4. If it resonates, we're hoping it becomes a first-Friday tradition.

Vol. 1: Blake Mills, Heigh Ho (2014)

For our first night, we chose a record that rewards close listening as much as any we know.

The musician behind the music

You may not know Blake Mills by name, but you've almost certainly heard him. The Malibu-raised guitarist, songwriter and producer has quietly shaped some of the most acclaimed records of the last fifteen years. As a producer, he's behind Alabama Shakes' Sound & Color, Perfume Genius' No Shape and Glory, Laura Marling's Semper Femina and Japanese Breakfast's For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women). As a session player, he's on Phoebe Bridgers' Punisher, Weyes Blood's Titanic Rising and Bob Dylan's Rough and Rowdy Ways. He even wrote and produced the songs for the fictional band in Daisy Jones & The Six—one of my favorite TV shows if you've never watched. His work has earned him Grammy wins and multiple Producer of the Year nominations.

A gathering of musical minds

Heigh Ho is Mills' own record, and his second solo album. He cut it at Ocean Way studios in Hollywood with a remarkable group of players: drummer Jim Keltner, bassists Don Was and Mike Elizondo, keyboardists Benmont Tench and Jon Brion, and Fiona Apple, who sings on “Seven” and “Don't Tell Our Friends About Me.” Mills described his priorities for the album as “songs, sonics, and capturing performance.” On top of that, he plays guitar, bass, drums, organ, harmonica and percussion himself. The result is a warm, patient album drawing on folk, country and blues, where every sound feels considered and each song is given time to unfold.

What to listen for

This is exactly the kind of record a great system was made for. Listen for how the instruments respond to the vocal, how a small rhythmic detail shifts the weight of a line, and how the arrangements leave room for each player's personality. Follow the arc from the opening “If I'm Unworthy,” through the two duets with Fiona Apple, to the long closing pieces, “Shed Your Head” and “Curable Disease.” Over twelve tracks, Heigh Ho gives its songs room to breathe, and gives you time to live inside them.

Meet the System

Heigh Ho will play through a flagship McIntosh chain with one of the rarest loudspeakers in the world. Here's the path the music takes, from the groove to your ears.

1. McIntosh MT5 Precision Turntable: The record spins on a magnetically suspended platter, driven by a belt to keep motor noise away from the music. A custom aluminum tonearm and a Sumiko Blue Point moving-coil cartridge trace the grooves.
2. McIntosh C12000 Preamplifier (C12000C + C12000ST): McIntosh's flagship preamp splits into two chassis, keeping the controller and power supplies apart from the delicate audio circuits. Its fully balanced, tube-powered phono stage turns the tiny signal from the cartridge into music. Its Hybrid Drive lets us choose between a vacuum tube or solid-state output.
3. McIntosh MC1.25KW Monoblock Amplifiers: One amplifier per channel, each delivering 1,200 watts. That much headroom isn't about volume. It means the quietest passages and the biggest swells come through with complete control. And yes, those are the famous blue meters.
4. Sonus faber Il Cremonese Ex3me, Automobili Lamborghini Edition: Handcrafted in Italy in collaboration with Lamborghini, ListenUp is lucky to have a pair of these speakers which are limited to 50 numbered pairs worldwide. The five-sided cabinet is shaped by Lamborghini's design language, with an open top that reveals the crossover like a supercar's engine bay. They reach down to 25 Hz, deep enough to feel the bass as well as hear it. (Please note: the ListenUp link provided is not the Automobili Lamborghini Edition of the Il Cremonese Ex3me)

Behind it all, a McIntosh MPC1500 Power Controller protects every component from surges and filters noise from the wall, so the system runs on clean, stable power. Every piece of this system is available through ListenUp. Ask our team about it after the session.

Join us for Vol. 1

Seats are limited to twelve, and we expect them to go quickly.

Off the Record, Vol. 1: Blake Mills, Heigh Ho
Friday, November 6th from 6:00-7:00 PM
ListenUp Denver: 685 S Pearl St, Denver, CO 80209
12 guests, RSVP required

Reserve your seat for Vol. 1: Blake Mills, Heigh Ho (2014) on Friday, November 6th HERE.

Can't make November? Vol. 2 is Friday, December 4. Follow ListenUp Denver on Eventbrite to be the first to hear which record we're spinning next.