A great cd recording - Martin Deny's "The Best of Martin Deny". Originals date back to the 50's, amazingly recorded and truly dynamic, an absolute great demo cd (especially tracks 5 to 20). |
Carmen McCrae (Sings the Great American songbook)
When evaluating new equipment, this is the one I always pull out. If you can find it in Vinyl, all the better.
Unbelievable recording of great live jazz. |
Only 5 is tough, but here goes(off the top o' me head w/o a lot of thought):
1. Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
2. Kate Bush - The Hounds of Love
3. Radiohead - OK Computer
4. Roxy Music - Avalon
5. P.J. Harvey - Songs From the City, Songs From the Sea
Damn, I couldn't get in any Ramones, Clash, Talking Heads, Yes, Weezer, Bjork, Liz Phair, Who, Bowie, etc. etc. This list-thing is a cruel idea! ;^) |
As a big WHO fan, I love the Mobile Fidelity version of WHO's Next. Very impressive in soundstage and dynamics. |
1. Jane Monheit, "Come Dream With Me". If you like young, sultry, female vocalists who can emotionally communicate, go no further than this CD. The recording is spectacular in an unecumbered way, but it is Monheit's voice and conviction in what she is singing that will have you playing this CD over and over, even if Tom Harrell's performance as a sideman on this CD is somewhat shaky.
2. Carmen McRae, "Carmen Sings Monk". What a great, great, singer this lady was. Beautifully recorded intimate night club setting.
3. Sergio Mendes, "Brasileiro". Still one of the greatest recordings of any music, regardless of genre, I've ever heard. If this doesn't get you moving...you're dead.
4. "Gypsy Passion: New Flamenco", a Narada Collection. The liner notes say" sensuous rhythms, scorching guitar, profound spirit...". The liner notes are right on target.
5. Leonard Slatkin conducts Russian Showpieces, RCA Red Seal. Everything to test the soundstaging capabilities of your system, and its micro and macro dynamics. Beautiful music, beautifully done. (Pictures At An Exhibition, Prokofiev's Classical Symphony in D, etc.,). |
Roger Waters "Amused to Death"
Amazing how every time I listen to this I have to check to see if I'm only using two channels. This thing comes from all over the room. |
TRIO MEDIAEVAL WORDS OF THE ANGEL
KRALL, DIANA LOVE SCENES
TAFELMUSIK ORCH / JEAN LAMON BAROQUE FAVORITES DISK 1
WATERS, ROGER AMUSED TO DEATH
PEER, DEAN UCROSS
LINN COLLECTION 2000, THE THE LINN COLLECTION 2000 |
Arvo Part "Tabula Rasa' NAXOS 8.554591
Performance: ***** Sound: ****
John Williams "The Giutarist" Sony Classical 60586
Performance: ***** Sound: ***1/2
CALAMUS "Splendor of Andalus" MA Recordings MO26A
Performance: ***** Sound: *****
Praetorius "DANCES FROM TEPSICHORE" L'oiseau-Lyre D 153566
Performance: ***** Sound: *****
Alexandar Glazunov "SYMPHONY No.4" MFCD 897
Performance: ***** Sound: ***1/2
|
Tough to narrow down to just five but I'll try to hit various genres
1. Rachmaninov Piano Concerto # 2- Earl Wild, Chesky Gold Remaster.
2. Gary Peacock/Ralph Towner- Oracle, ECM. Talk about a sonic and musical blockbuster. The speed of the upright bass on this CD is mind boggling.
3. Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherezade- Eije Oue, Reference Recordings. Wonderful music, outstanding recording.
4. Holly Cole- Don't Smoke in Bed with Cassandra Wilson's Blue Light 'til dawn a very close second, if you like this style of music.
5. Doug MacLeod- Hard to Find, JVC XRCD. Just listen and you'll understand why. |
Another.........Jacintha "Autumn Leaves" the songs of Johnny Mercer, an FIM XRCD2 is the best CD I have ever heard in my system. But a couple others I would add to the list are 1. Alison Krauss "Forget About It", amd 2. Allison Moorer "Alabama Song"-- both are very well recorded and great music-- these two are not "audiophile discs though". Cheers. Craig |
Diana Krall, surely mentioned. |
In no particular order....
Peter Gabriel "Security"
Larry Carlton & Lee Rittenour "Larry & Lee"
Dire Straits "Love Over Gold"
XTC "English Settlement"
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark "Architecture & Morality" |
well, jazz will dominate my list, but i also have varied taste. (whoever recommended curtis mayfield, and issac hayes, i can get with that. and honorable mention. al green's, let's stay together. i like my soul too).
1) kind of blue
2) sonny rollins, a night at the village vanguard
3) ella fitzgerald, mack the knife
4) antony santos, la battala. check this out, you will love it, more peppy than the jazz.
5) traffic, low spark of high heeled boys. it doesn't get better than than the title song. the pinnacle of rock (it's a little jazzy too).
best song perhaps: my back pages as done by keith jarrett. just beautiful.
i also like the song 'stop draggin my heart around" by stevie nicks. her and steve winwood were amazing voices. |
Here are some in no particular order
"The Heart Of Saturday Night" Tom Waits (All Time favorite record)
"Nothing Like The Sun" Sting
"The Lilywhite Sessions" Dave Matthews Band
"Do You Want More?!?!" The Roots
"Eternity & Main" Jack Williams
"Come Away With Me" Norah Jones (new, but this instantly became a fav of mine)
"The Fever Diaries" David Barrett
"Tales From An Acoustic Planet" Bela Fleck
I would have to add one more recording I made of Myself and my Father, singing and playing around a campfire at his house about 3 hears ago...it's not the best quality, but I enjoy it.
Cheers
Z
I could probably add 50 more albums to this list, and I if I were limited to only these I would jump off a bridge, but these are probably pretty close to my favs. |
Roger Waters Amused To Death(LP, The disc SUCKS when compared to the LP...yes even the gold one)
Paul McCartney Unplugged (CD)
Alpha Blondy and the Wailers "Jerusalem" (Linn LP)
Al Stewart Time Passages/Year of the cat LP
Willy Deville "Miracle" (If you are a Dire Straits nut, you NEED this album, since it was produced by sir Mark himself.)
If you get the CD make sure it is the REAVEN RECORDS release. The other one SUCKS!
UB40 "Live, with Energy" LP is good but the CD blows it away.
Anything Sting has ever done. |
1. The Mermen "Food for other Fish" - masters of psychedelic surf - a cd that changed the way I think about music (also the most awe-inspiring cd I've ever heard)
2. Bela Fleck and the Flecktones "Flight of the Cosmic Hippo" - the disc you should use to test bass response
3. Pat Metheny "Imaginary Day" - the best guitar player I've ever seen
4. Slacktone "Into the Blue Sparkle" - Dave Wronski, probably the best guitar player I've never seen--yet!
5. Hollywood Fats "Rock This House" - my favorite blues cd - Fats died way too soon |
Ooooohhh! Forgot one - gotta stick in Talk Talk's "Colour of Spring". Little known gem!
CD |
A couple that people might not have heard about:
*T Bone Burnett's self-titled album. He's best known for producing others (esp. the O' Brother music), but this is an astonishing recording. Poweful, haunting vocals and wonderful musicianship. Performance and sound quality both rate a 10.
*Hadacol, All in Your Head. Excellent alt-country that rocks. Sound is raucous and great. If you think that nobody makes good music anymore, check this.
Like they say in Latin, "In matters of taste there can be no dispute." You like what you like. |
1. John Hammond "Wicked Grin"
2. Madonna Japanese 12" EP "Lucky Star/Holiday"
3. Dire Straits US re-issue CD "Communique"
4. Muddy Waters MFSL or Classic DAD "Folk Singer"
5. Duke Ellington MFSL "Blues in Orbit"
no order of preference... there are too many to mention.. |
Try on CD Jasper Van't Hof's Face to Face with Ernie Watts and Bo Stief. |
For pop music
Listen to:
Dire Straits "Brothers in Arms"
Steely Dan "Aja" |
Loutraki, for Steely Dan I suggest the LP (much better than the cd). For Dire Straits there is a double "best-of" cd with studio & live recordings that sounds OK. |
My top 5 list: 1. Ry Cooder - "Bop til' you drop" (Must have) 2. Larry Carlton - "Discovery" (Excellent) 3. Miles Davis - "Kind of Blue" (Of course) 4. Diana Krall - "Stepping Out" (Her Best) 5. Steele Dan - "Gaucho" (Awesome) and a Classical extra Mozart "Requiem - LaCrimosa" |
The top 5 that I could listen to for ETERNITY... Hmmmm..
Ok, without trying to evenly distribute to the differing styles, based purely on ecstatic listening pleasure:
1. Bach St. Matthew Passion, Concertgebouw Orch conducted by Willem Mengelberg "live" Palm sunday recording. He was not only one of the genius conductors of the century, but the best choirmaster I have ever heard. Listen to the violin and flute solos also. To die for. Absolute transcendental Bach and REAL.
2. Brahms Horn Trio, Joseph Szigeti violin, Horszowski pno, John Barrows horn. They take this way beyond the stratospheres. In my opinion, this kills the famous Busch, Serkin, Brain recording. Good luck finding a copy of this though. The Brahms Piano Trio in C Major with Szigeti, Hess and Casals comes close to this.
3. Mozart Divertimento in E-flat for vln, vla, and cello. Live performance from Prades festival. performed by Joseph Fuchs, Lillian Fuchs, Paul Tortelier. This will not only want to make you die, but also jump off a tall building with a running start. One of the most startling, inspired, live chamber music performances I have ever heard. And such fine playing by all. On Koch International, along with the finest Mozart symphonia concertante on record, which happens to be live by Joe and Lillian Fuchs.
4. Late Beethoven Sonatas, EMI, Artur Schnabel. Schnabel's late beethoven, completely lucid interpretations. Great sound too.
5. the Cavatina from Beethoven's Opus 131, Berlin Phil, conducted by Wilhelm Furtwangler. They actually play it better than any string quartet recording I know of. This performance is a piece of heaven.
As I am a performing musician, I listen to alot of recordings which have some surface noise. I would never trade a mediocre perfectly recorded performance for a noisy artistic one. So be aware of that when you listen to these recordings. |
Rickie Lee Jones - "Rickie Lee Jones" self titled LP
Fleetwood Mac - "Fleetwood Mac" self titled LP
Brand X - "Livestock" LP
Kinks - "Schoolboys in Disgrace" LP
Blue Oyster Cult - "Secret Treaties" LP |
Can't have just one list! Must have a popular list and a classical one.
POPULAR:
Bob Dylan - "Love and Theft"
Bob Dylan - "Blood on the Tracks"
Emmylou Harris - "Pieces of the Sky"
Allman Brothers - "Eat a Peach"
Van Morrison - "Astral Weeks"
CLASSICAL:
JS Bach - "Cello Suites" (Fournier, Archiv)
Grieg - "Lyric Pieces" (Pletnev, piano; DG)
Mozart - "Complete Piano Sonatas" (Uchida, Philips)
Mussorgsky - "Pictures from an Exhibition" (Pletnev, piano, Virgin)
Rachmaninov - "Piano Concerto No. 3 (Marta Argerich) |
Not in order, all on vinyl:
Eric Clapton & BB King, Riding With the King
Issac Stern & Zubin Metha, Brahms Violin Conc.
Glen Gould, Goldberg Variations, Bach
Stevie Ray Vaughn, Couldn't Stand the Weather
Mike Bloomfield & Al Kooper, Super Session |
Eric Clapton: "Unplugged". I get a sense of the sound bouncing off of the auditorium walls, with spaciousness, and he sounds very warm. Guitar strings are crisp, and leave the speaker, coming out boldly into the room. Very warm, and very 3 dimensional. Also very upbeat, and musical. His vocal presence is very good, yet with excellent separation. Images are very well defined, with good texture, yet not too strong. Very good placement. I really like the piano also. The pacing is adds to the overall musicality, and I have found this to be 1 of 2 of my favorite cd's. |
I have a record titled "Sugarloaf Express" released by JVC. It is a direct to disk record and was purchased around 1980. It has Lee Ritenour, Patrice Rushen, Abraham Laboriel, Dave Grusin, and Harvey Mason. Good music and fantastic sound. I've never seen another like it; pity it has one audible scratch on side A. That was courtesy of a college party.... |
al stewart the last days of the century
elp trilogy
dire straits on every street
everything by peter white |
1. Grateful Dead, American Beauty. Classic. Will change your perspective. Top of my list for over 25 years.
2. Billy Joe Shaver, Gypsy Boy. (Vinyl) Dark, haunting... takes you to a different place.
3. Kris Kristofferson, Silver Tongued Devil. You either hear it or you don't. If you do, you'll never let it go.
4. Louis Armstrong, Verve. Compilation of his more soulful sessions. Simply Wonderful.
5. Guy Clark, Old Friends. Emotionally draining, accoustically captivating. |
Jennifer Warnes, "The Well." Jenny is a magnificently talented vocalist. This is great music, which also happens to be an almost flawless recording/production. |
Molvaer Nils Petter "Khmer" ECM electronic jazz album! |
Being mindful to limit my selctions to audiophile grade recordings, here goes.
Peter Gabriel: UP
Lee Ritenour: Wes Bound
Lyle Lovett: Joshua Judges Ruth
Harry Connick Jr.: She
Acoustic Alchemy: Positive Thinking
Patricia Barbara: Cafe Blue
Jazz at the Pawn Shop: Jazz at the Pawn Shop
Bela Fleck and the Fleck Tones: Outbound |
Here are a few specialized recommendations:
Best Blindfold recordings (without vision you'd SWEAR they were playing in the room with you) -
1. Sacred Feast - Gaudeamus (SACD 6.0 but would still be tops at 5 channel)
2. Swing Live - Bucky Pizzarelli (DVD-A)
3. Dreamland - Madeleine Peyroux (HDCD)
4. The Raven - Rebecca Pigeon (SACD)
5. Because of You - Kenny Rankin (CD)
Best Impression recordings (play for your friends and watch them trade in their systems)
1. Sacred Feast - Gaudeamus (SACD 6.0 but would still be tops at 5 channel)
2. Nice 'n' Easy - Cincinnati Pops (SACD)
3. Swing Live - Bucky Pizzarelli (DVD-A)
4. Bug Music - Don Byron (CD)
5. Dreamland - Madeleine Peyroux (HDCD)
Best Performance recording (reasonable audio but blow-your-head-off music)
1. Swingin' for the Fences - Gordon Goodwin (CD)
2. Rock 'n Roll Gumbo - Professor Longhair (CD)
3. Mi Tierra - Gloria Estafen (CD)
4. Dream a Dream - Charlotte Church (SACD)
5. Beethoven Piano Concertos 3 & 4 - Emil Gilels w/Szell (Vinyl; available on CD)
Best You-Probably-Never-Heard recording
1. My Baby Just Cares For Me - Nina Simone (CD CHARLY 6)
2. In Need Again - Repercussion Unit (Vinyl; available on CD)
3. Spirit of the Forest - Baka Beyond (CD)
4. Dakar Heart - Jimi Mbaye (CD)
5. Bass,Bass,Bass,Bass,Bass, and Bass - L'Orchestre De Contrebasses (CD) |
Miles Davis, Ascenseur pour l'echafaud (what no mention? addendum to Some Kind of Blue); Thelonious Monk, Complete Columbia Recordings (offhand); Arnold Schoenberg, Kammersymphonie no. 2; Olivier Messian, Vingt regards sur l'enfant-Jésus; Mary J. Blige, Share My World (for the young 'uns); would have to return to state exact renditions of Schostakovitsch, the 3 B's (on symphonic Beethoven certainly Klempner in lieu of Karajan), Getz/Gilberto... |
[Edit: ohlala, of course that's KlempERER re Ludwig vans symphonies who may have been a Klempner too but only dubitably was he ever a dirigent of any water works] |
Lyle Lovett,and his large band
KEB'MO
David Sanborn ,straight to the heart
Diana Krall,live in paris
Miles Davis,blue |
I recently came across Jennifer Warnes, "The Well." It's a "10" all around. I have her other discs, but this one is her best. Sound Quality 10, Performance 10. |
1)La Boheme, Jossi Bjorling Victoria De Los Angeles,Cond: Beecham
2)Blue Nile "walk across the rooftops"
3)Joni Mitchell "Both sides now"
4)Eleanor Mcevoy"Yola"
5)Robbie Robertson"Robbie Robertson"
But ask me in a month,make that a week and it will be different |
Not in order - All vinyl:
Firebird/Afternoon of a Faun - Erich Leindsorf/Los Angeles Symphony - Sheffield
Soundtrack to Local Hero - Mark Knopfler - Warner bros.
American Beauty - Grateful Dead - MFSL
Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd - MFSL
Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie - Ella Fitzgerald - Verve
Waltz For Debbie - Bill Evans Trio - Riverside/Acoustic Sounds
Live at Fillmore East - Allman Brothers Band
Live/Dead - Grateful Dead - Warner Bros. (Green Label)
Shostakovich - Symphony #5 - Conducted by Semyon Bychkov -
on Philips
Love Over Gold - Dire Straits
Many of the Mercury Living Presence discs, but especially:
Ancient Airs and Dances - Respeghi
Famous Blue Raincoat - Jennifer Warnes
Absolute Torch and Twang - k.d. lang
Lush Life - Linda Ronstadt |
Some of this will sound crazy. okay, all of it, but here's an odd list.
1) Hoyt Axton 'Fearless' The vocals and single guitar on the song 'Gypsy Moth' are recorded very close and sound amazing.
2) The Carpenters I can't think of the name of the LP but it's the one with 'Make believe it's your first time.' Again this is very well recorded. Better than the rest of the LP. No I don't normally listen to this kind of stuff, but this is my exception.
3) Jethro Tull 'Crest of the Knave' I am a big fan of this band, and this grammy winner is one of the best. Well recorded and fun to hear. Those two don't always go together.
4) John Coltrane 'A love Supreme' An incredible artist gets in touch with what is really important in this life.
5) Elvis Presley 'Elvis Presley' The clash knocked off the cover but few have matched the sound and energy. I love the Simply Vinyl reissue of this.
It's hard to stop at five but everyone else deserves a chance too. |
Over 1000 CDs My Favorite is 'Tenderness' by Kip Hanrahan. Find the Vinyl or the German Issued CD. These issues are transcendent musically and sonically. Unfortunately the domestic CD is sonically disappointing, but it is better to have heard this in any format than to have never heard it at all. |
Lots of great music listed here already. Maybe some of these sre repeats but here goes.
1)Satchmo Plays King Oliver- Classic Records reissue LP
2)Oh Brother Where Art Thou Soundtrack- cd
3)James Taylor 'Hourglass'- cd
4)Norah Jones 'Come Away With Me'- Classic Records LP
5)Alison Krauss 'New Favorite'- LP
Oh yeah, it is tough to stick with just 5. By the way this is a really fun thread. |
Patricia Barber -> *MoDeRn CoOl* What an eye opener. WOW! Dynamic contrasts, with very transparent, and very well placed mikes, etc. |
OOPS!
Had anyone mentioned Ry Cooder "Jazz" on german WB vinyl? |
Today it would be:
*Fever - Peggy Lee. Recorded in 1956 great sonics. Polygram
*Bach Keyboard Partitas 1-6, Ralph Kirkpatrick, Archiv. Again- 1956. Incredible air.
*Bach Organ Concerti after Vivaldi. Robert Noehren. What is it about 1956?
*Duets - Rob Wasserman. Rickie Lee Jones, Jennifer Warnes, Lou Reed - my favorite tracks
*beyond the Missouri Sky - Pat Metheny and Charlie Haden. Verve
and I forgot to mention... |
Two stunning, off-the-beaten-path CD's:
Many fine choices above, am lucky enough to own a few dozen of them. Here are two you may have never heard of.
#1, Jonathan Elias, The Prayer Cycle
A choral symphony in nine movements. Stunning recording. And yet the sonic qualities pale in comparison to the emotional experience. Words fail me to describe the music.
Typical of the reviews by listeners on Amazon:
"...I first heard this as part of a radio program on the local NPR station, and was shamed into silence. The diversity of collaborators in this work (including US folk-rocker James Taylor, Yemenite singer Ofra Haza, Canadian rocker Alanis Morissette, the late Musrat Fateh Ali Khan [one of his last performances], the American Boychoir w/Devin Provenzano, the English Chamber Orch. & Chorus) shows the great number of fields that composer Jonathan Elias was drawing from.
The song "Hope" will lift your spirit, while James Taylor's melancholy vocals on "Grace" will move you to tears (At first, I thought he would be horribly out of place, but his voice fits the work perfectly!). The lyrics run all over the map in language. There are lyrics in Urdu, Mali, Latin, English, French, Italian, Hungarian, Dwala, Tibetan, German, Spanish and Hebrew, but they are listed in English in the CD booklet. I gather this is Elias' way of uniting the world. The lyrics are prayers, laments and pleas for forgiveness. The themes are loneliness, war and regret.
The style of music is definately classical, but does not limit itself to European roots. There are distinct influences from Africa, the Orient, and even various tribal nuances. For someone who was raised on European Classical music, it may be a shock to the system, but it works, and it is wonderful!
I forsee this recording to be one of the hand-picked few that future generations will draw upon for inspiration. As we as a people on this planet become closer, our world seems to become smaller. Our hopes, dreams, and cultures begin to overlap. This recording is proof that, when skillfully co-ordinated they can create incredible harmony.
Highly, highly reccomended. ..."
No one has yet given this CD less than the full 5 stars on Amazon.
I would be very interested to hear from anyone else who has discovered this CD.
URL:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00000ICMK/qid=1053404522/sr=8-4/ref=sr_8_4/102-4643195-9660129?v=glance&s=music&n=507846
#2 Less significant than the above, but exceedingly lovely:
Rosa Passos, "Eu e meu Coracao"
Brazillian singer/guitarist/composer, samba music. The songs and liner notes are in Portugese. It does not detract. In fact, I think I enjoy the music all the more for not being able to understand the words. The album is just Ms. Passos singing her songs and playing her guitar, accompanied by only an upright bass. Absolutely liquid vocals.
This is an import, but is available from Amazon. No one has yet reviewed it there. I think I may have to be the first. I found it at a local Borders.
When I think of how much money the college boys spend on alcohol trying to coax their coed counterparts into, uh, all-night study sessions, let's just say that I would have loved to have discovered this album 20 years ago!
Again, if anyone else out there is familiar with this recording, I would love to hear what you think.
Regards, and thanks for your ideas above,
GnD |
An Opera CD for those who would never, ever buy an Opera CD: The #1 Opera Album ( 2CD set Decca 289 467 632-2). Now, I know some are thinking that they would rather get a poke in the eye with a sharp stick than listen to Opera, but you owe it to yourself to invest in this CD. Consider it an experiment. Start by listening to Disk 1 tracks 1,6,16, and Disk 2 tracks 9,10,11, and 16. The performances and sound are both stunning. This will become a "system demo" disk for many skeptics. I bought this at a Best Buy. Enjoy. |
Other recordings to die for are just about any Steve Kimock Band shows made by several people using Schoeps and vintage Neumann/Schoeps/AKG/Telefunken tube microphones with full permission of the band. The sound has to be believed; non compressed sound with first class A/D and tube mic preamps...
There are hundreds of internet friendly bands among them moe, Leftover Salmon, John Scofield, and more (a few dead shows here and there...); check it out.
All available via the internet on download at such places as GDLIVE.ORG, philzone.net.
for a primer and links to the various software and database/show sites go to etree.org. It walks you through the process and all the software to download, convert to WAV files, and burn the CDR, is shareware and easily available. Only caveat is you must have a reliable wideband connection; no dialups need apply. It is completely FREE other than your time and the requisisite PC hardware.
This is as close as you are going to to get to live sound unless you get a recording taped under similar circumstances that has not been "processed" subsequent to the initial recording.
regards,
carl |
