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Most Realistic Recordings

I was recently listening to my daughter practice the piano and I was enjoying quite a full-body sonic experience. I later went to my system and picked out a few piano recordings that I suspected were recorded well, but as I listened, I just didn't have anything close to the same experience. The piano just didn't sound right, nor nearly as full as I had just experienced while listening to my daughter. I know what pianos sound and feel like. I grew up playing many different types and understand their differences. I've done some research on recording pianos and have learned they are particularly difficult to record well.

As I've delved deeper into this audio hobby/interest and acquired more respectable gear, the more general question that keeps coming to my mind is this: How did this music sound at the time it was recorded? (presuming it was a person playing an instrument, not something "mixed" or electronic). Meaning, if I had been in the room, would I have heard or felt the same? Or is there something about the recording setup/micing/mixing/etc. that has failed to capture the moment? Or has the audio engineer intentionally filtered some of that out?

Now, being an audiophile (i.e., a music lover) has many paths and many goals. For me, I love lots of different kinds of music and am not too caught up in the ever changing landscape of audio gear and the need to try something new. I hope to get to the point where a well-captured recording sounds realistic in my room on my system. I like full-spectrum sound (i.e., if the note/sound is in the track, I want to hear it). I know that accurate, realistic reproduction through any system is depends a great deal on the equipment and the room it's being played back in. I don't expect my system to give me that jaw-dropping "I'm there" experience (yet), but some day I hope to get there.

So, to my question above, I would very much love to hear if anyone feels they have heard an album, a track, a recording of some kind that could be used to test out the "realism" of one's system. What would you say is a recording that more accurately captured the sonic hologram of the moment it was performed. Any genre is ok. And if you think a particular studio/company does this well, I'd love to hear about it!

And, please, I don't want the conversation to about gear or room treatment. This is about the recording itself, the source material, and how accurately the entire moment is captured and preserved. I respect everyone's personal experiences with your system, whatever it's comprised of. So, please don't argue with each other about whether a recording didn't sound realistic to you when it sounded realistic to someone else. Let's be civil and kind, for how can you deny what someone else's ears have heard? Thank you! I'm excited to learn from you all!

tisimst
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o_holter
975 posts
 

A dilemma appears - what is meant by "realistic"? The best possible sound from the band or artist? Or what we would actually hear, at a concert? Yes thank you, both - studio as well as live albums? That’s my view. But my idea of "realistic" goes towards "good", "the best possible" sound. Although this is often a studio album, it can be a live album, or concert.

For example, I have the excellent piano album by Maren Selvaag: Close to Shore (2016 LP on Pave the way label, recordet at Avatar studio in New York). A year later, I heard her at a concert in Aulaen, in Oslo, from a seat in front. The sound was way better! But then, Aulaen is known for its good acoustics (maybe the piano was better too, though I doubt it). So there you go.

Some other suggestions from my side - somewhere along the line from "good" to "realistic":

A Aftab: Vulture prince. Have ordered the LP based on what I hear from Qobuz streaming.

Sault: Air is also on my LP to buy list, sounds good from streaming. Demanding recording - choir, orchestra, etc.

LA4, The: Pavane pour une infante defunte (1976 LP, On: EW. Code: EW10003
Pure and realistic, even includes full recording details and pictures.

Pillip Glass: Akhenaten. 3x LP 180g in box with folder. Quite realistic? The hymn, especially, is both otherworldly and beautiful.

Terje Rypdal: Conspiracy, ECM LP 2019. Electric realism? His guitar work feels sculptural.

Robby Krieger: The ritual begins at sundown (LP, R&D records 2021). Check out his version of Chunga’s revenge - for more amazing guitar work.

Charles Lloyd: Tone poem (LP on Blue note, 2020). Great sound.

Pharaoh Sanders + Floating points + London symphony orchestra: Promises. Luaka Bop LP, 2021. Also very good sound (if not quite up to Tone poem - but this must have been more difficult to record).

Some honorable mentions:

Prefab Sprout: I trawl the megahertz (LP on Sony, 2018). Beautiful. Hypnotic. Realistic? Who knows. This is a very "produced" album.

Bob Dylan: Time out of mind. This album stands out as a "produced" album, for me, with a special atmosphere, created I think mainly by Daniel Lanois.

Procol Harum: In Concert With The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (1972 Chrysalis LP). This is a great illustration of the challenges of recording an orchestra and a rock band (1) in sync and (2) tuned to each other. Realism AND good sound are less easy to achieve, than e g with a small jazz combo.

A general point, regarding giving some preference to ’good’ sound: even if it isn’t quite ’realistic’ at the moment - e g, ’you can’t do that on stage’, - it can become more realistic, in the future. Music engineers and producers are very much part of music development, in this view. Consider the Beach boys, trying to recreate the magic on the original single version of Good vibrations, in concerts - they couldn’t quite do it, but they certainly became a better band by trying (like, on their Holland LP).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

digsmithd
913 posts
 

Ecm bobo stensons war orphans is really nicely recorded.

Cantando as well.

John taylor has some cd's out that are well recorded/peter erskines set of cd's.

fredisdead
7 posts
 

As @needfreestuff mentioned, the stuff released by the Japanese label, Three Blind Mice, is, generally speaking, quite well recorded.

Also, check out some of the Maybeck Recital Hall Series:

 

sfgak
120 posts
 

I nominate John Coltrane’s album My Favorite Things. In the Qobuz HiRes mastering (24/192), the imaging is superb: I can clearly delineate the exact location and even the angle of McCoy Tyner’s piano, the locations of Steve Davis and Elvin Jones, and finally Coltrane on the far right (when viewed by me). The recording quality of the whole album is phenomenal, for which I credit meticulous microphone placement.

sokogear
1,096 posts
 

If you are talking vinyl, the pressing quality and process matters of course, but the truly great sounding records were expertly engineered and then care and quality were taken in the pressing process.

I recently tried a couple of the MFSL Ultra disc one steps that eliminate steps in the tape to record manufacturing process, and the Paul Simon Still Crazy one really sounds like you are in a room with him and the back up vocals are really incredible and well defined. Instruments are great too. They're pricey, but worth a splurge for a few albums in a collection. I'd prefer if they cut out some of the big packaging cost and dropped the price closer to the Analogue Productions 45s, which are also great. I'm not a fanatical tree hugger, but these CDs killed an lot of them. I wouldn't buy one just for the pressing quality though, I have to really like the album.

I preordered the Somthin' Else Ultra disc which is my 2nd favorite jazz album and can't wait to hear that one. I have all of the MFSL original UHQRs (except Tea for the Tillerman - I have the AP one of that which is great) and the Ultra Discs are as good as or better than them, but it's hard to judge because the music is so different and the UDs are 45s and the UHQRs are 33s. In my experience, 45s always have an advantage, all other things being equal.

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