Howie Weinberg is a fantabulous motherfucker. That’s what Dimebag Darrell of Pantera told me. Well not me directly…

But more about Howie in a few…

I was getting an early listen to the new album Transference, set to be released January 19, 2010 by Austin, Texas band Spoon. I was really feeling the album and decided to do a little research and see what I could come up with for a post. You see, I just didn’t know much about Spoon, and wanted to familiarize myself with them if I was going to write a post about them for you.

I was surprised with all the things I learned. For example how the band is loved for it’s music as well as its perseverence in the face of major label abandonment.

In 1996 the band released it’s first full length release Telephono. It was loved by fans and critics alike. Then these Indie heavyweights get courted by the label Elektra Records.

By 1998, Spoon’s Elektra debut is brought out into the world to hear. A Series of Sneaks was also well received by fans and critics, and was considered a big creative leap for the band. Sadly, this album did not sell fast enough for Elektra, and the band was dropped from the label. Four months after the album release date.

Fascinating information right? Yup. But I want to tell you about Howie Weinberg.

But discovering that the band was using Mr. Weinberg to master the album, I thought that was something special.

Mastering always used to sound like a cakewalk of a position. You just make it sound better and coherent. How hard could that be? It’s hard. I got into some mastering work before, and it’s painstaking work. Also coupled with the pressure that you are the last person to lay hands on the music, a lot of blame can get dropped on your head.

Howie Weinberg is the best in the buisness. I think you can tell on Transference how well that album moves from track to track and how great each indivudual track sounds. With a resume that looks like a selection of all my favorite albums and artists (Nevermind, The Mars Volta, Public Enemy, Muse, Modest Mouse, 3 Years, 5 Months & 2 Days in the Life Of…, Licensed To Ill) it’s probably not a bad guess that the bands and albums he works on will come out platinum on the other side.

Just like Transference will. At least I think it will. If you do your part…

EDITOR’S NOTE: All right…The Web Sheriff and the bands label have asked us to take this one down. You can stream the whole album here. It really is a good album. Go pick it up. -mookie