Recommendations for really well-recorded music for high-end audio system demo


I’m using my system to give some local high-end audio demos for fun, and although I have a good selection of tracks I can always use more and am sure you guys have some great ones out there.  First and foremost I’m looking for really well-recorded material that shows off what a good system can do — you know, the “wow your friends” tracks we all have, and if it happens to be good/fun music as well that’s a nice bonus although not necessarily a requirement.  I’d recommend listing the artist, album, and track so it’s easier to find the right version, and if you feel like elaborating on anything notable that makes it particularly good for a demo that’d be helpful/interesting but not necessary.  As an example…

  • Patricia Barber, Companion, “Like JT” — Great live jazz club vibe, fun instrumental with excellent imaging/depth/3D soundstage.

Thanks for anything ya got!

soix

Last night when I finished up I did some major speaker repositioning and I just got finished with six hours plus of delicious break-in/auditioning of those Revel speakers. Because of that, I thought of three more tracks that might meet your criteria.

From that test disc I alluded to in a previous post ("My Disc" The Sheffield/A2TB Test Disc) is Dish Rag which was originally on I’ve Got The Music In Me/Thelma Houston & Pressure Cooker. It never hit me until tonight how good it sounds, and particularly the sound of the trombone stuck with me tonight. (I listened to it twice.) The blurb on the CD insert says to pay attention to the voices of the two keyboards and the "vertical lift in the entire sound as the horns come in over the keys." Hmmm, and they also noted the "fat sound" of the trombone that I liked.

On the Chesky CD The Raven by Rebecca Pigeon, she does what I would consider an almost ethereal cover of Spanish Harlem. That is one of those CDs that Chesky brags about the great job they did of micing it and not manipulating it any further. It struck me that Rebecca Pigeon played a non musical role in that movie with Al Pacino starring as Phil Spector. She played the role of an assistant to his defense team.

Back sometime back in the ’90s I bought the self titled CD by a group called Once Blue (lead vocalist, Rebecca Martin) because I really liked the nuances and inflections of her vocals. The track I suggest is Trumansburg. (Which I believe is a town somewhere in NY.) Besides what I can pick up on her vocals, on that track I used to hear (I don’t know much about music, so bear with me) this distinct "shoomp" sound (I remember thinking that it sounded real) when whoever was playing the cymbals stepped on that pedal thing that made them compress real distinctly. I haven’t been able to hear that "distinct "shoomp" nearly as clearly for quite some time, and I tried it again tonight, but either it made a bigger impact on me back then because I was new to better-end stuff, or I have lost the frequency that I was hearing that so clearly on, or the room I moved all my stuff into several years ago is flawed to the point that the sound I remember is not reproduced as well. But regardless, the CD is probably what would be considered cut a bit hot and up front, and I find the stuff in her vocals subtle and neat to hear.

Many good suggestions so far...here's a few of mine..

- Paul Simon - anything on Graceland

- Alice in Chains - Live at the Majestic

- Jeff Lorber - My Bass

- Malia - Raising Venus

- Frank Zappa - Can't afford no shoes

- Carbon Based Lifeforms - Seeker

 

I always check these frequent threads on various forums (and magazines etc) looking for new tracks to check out. Frequently it's "the usual" but some great new (to me) ones on this thread. Thanks!

In case they weren't already mentioned here, a couple back at you:

Helplessly Hoping by Anna Nalick

Bad Guy Billie Eilish

Witches Cowboy Junkies

Acid Tongue Jenny Lewis

What's New Linda Ronstadt

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road Sara Bareilles

Hotter Colder This is the Kit

 

For all us old white guys :)

Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris - Western Wall - Sweet Spot
Phosphorescent - Muchacho - Song for Zula
Nnenna Freelon - Better Than Anything - Straighten up and fly right
Paolo Fresu - Alma - Alma

For the under 18 crowd I haven't a clue...  Maybe

Tom Waits - Rain Dogs - Walking Spanish