Some great ones already mentioned.
Bob Dylan: Oh Mercy
IMO its beautifully recorded and Man In The Long Black Coat is stunning.
Chris |
Some recent releases (well, most are recent), all with excellent music and sound:
White Stripes - Icky Thump
Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz
Radiohead - In Rainbows (Discbox version, haven't heard the regular one)
Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Pavement - Brighten the Corners (original version - haven't heard the reissue)
The Lemonheads (s/t)
Architecture in Helsinki - Places
The Breeders - Title TK
Frank Black & the Catholics - Show Me Your Tears
Belle & Sebastien - If You're Feeling Sinister
Blonde Redhead - 23
Beirut - The Flying Club Cup
50' Wave - Power & Light
Pixies - Doolittle (MoFi version) |
I am assuming this is primarily a list of LPs, and most popular music (a little bit of jazz and blues). This is a pretty good list of good well recorded music that is strong on both sound and music content (No "Jazz at the Pawnshop"). The following are my additions, in no particular order:
Kraftwerk: "Electric Cafe" (almost any Kraftwerk album
would qualify)
Pink Floyd: "The Wall"
Kate & Anna McGarigle: Self Titled (GREAT album)
Warren Zevon: Self Titled (GREAT album)
Van Morrison: "Alstral Weeks" (recent audiophile reissue)
Bright Eyes: "I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning"
Zappa: "Apostrophe"
Grateful Dead: "American Beauty" (Rhino reissue)
Ricki Lee Jones: "Girl at Her Volcano"
Doors (limited edition box set, particularly "Strange Days" and "The Doors")
Michael Hurley: "Have Moicy!" (incredible, off-beat folk/blue grass)
David Peabody: "Americana"
Claudia Gomez: "Salamandra"
Ella Fitzgerald/Marty Paich Ochestra: "Whisper Not"
Ella Fitzgerald: "Clap Hands Here Comes Charlie"
Armstrong/Ellington: "The Complete Louis Armstrong and Ellington Sessions"
Bill Berry All Stars: "For Duke"
Clark Terry, Dizzy Gillespie, Freddie Hubbard: "Alternate Blues"
The Great Jazz Trio: "Direct from LA"
Yamamoto Trio: "Midnight Sugar"
Lester Bowie: "The Great Pretender" |
Many thanks to all who have posted their picks in this thread!!!
With some clip and paste, one can make quite the listening list, or a list of records to look out for at swaps, used record shops, ebay, yard sales, and, of course, Audiogon! I have purchased some records from Audiogon, all with great success.
The mention of Heart, Dreamboat Annie, on the Mushroom label is a great pick, by the way. I have it, love it, and listen to it regularly.
Cheers! |
Luka Bloom- the title is "Riverside". Incredibly well-recorded singer-songwriter! And the music is really good as well as the recording quality. It's on the Reprise label.--Mrmitch |
Thomas Dolby -- The Flat Earth. Listen to "I Scare Myself" -- delicious!
One thing I wanted to glean from this question posted was information on "sleeper" records. Records that are not normally thought of as high fidelity, yet turn out to be very well recorded and engineered -- records right under our noses that are actually of great quality. Also, records that are normally known for their music, but not for their sound quality, yet turn out to be sublime in that respect.
Great stuff posted so far!
Cheers. |
2 that unexpectedly blew me away with quality and music....
XTC - Apple Venus Volume 1
Elvis Costello - All this Useless Beauty
Great thread. |
Hey Clarets2,
Thank you for your input and kind comment!
Why just two nights ago I was listening to Black Sea and Skylarking... (I hadn't seen your post yet.) If I didn't already post those XTC albums to this thread, I do so now. I am now in the market for an lp of Apple Venus Volume 1. I know almost all of the songs on it. I can only imagine how great this masterpiece must sound on vinyl!
I will also check out the Elvis album! This recommendation of yours has also made me want to re-visit the albums that I do have from him. I enjoy all of Elvis Costello's music (I am still not sure about "The Juliet Letters", though). I will re-visit the albums I do have to check the recording qualities. I may post them as recommendations.
Cheers! |
Have you listened to Band on the Run (Paul McCartney and Wings) lately? Really nicely recorded! Some really interesting arrangements and instrumentation. Very enjoyable experience! |
- Nora Jones - The Fall , probably the most sexy LP I own and an amost good recording too |
The Decemberists- The CD- The Crane Wife
Excellent sound, music, and vocals. |
Lou Reed -- A perfect night (live in London) is amazing as Stereotimes.com reported in a 2004 review |
Dire Straits "Love Over Gold"
Pink Floyd "The Final Cut"
UK "Danger Money"
Stuff I have on Epic (old Jeff Beck & SRV) sounds good too.
Whole-hearted agreement with Tvad about the ECM label.
Why these? I hear what I always listen for...air, space, dynamics, good imaging. Musical content connects for me on an emotional level. |
Nine Inch Nails' studio releases are uniformly excellent. Not sure industrial angst is everyone's cup of tea (it is mine). |
Hmmm, Mst, I will have to re-visit my lp's of Bauhaus, and Tone on Tail! I don't think it falls under the industrial genre, but Cocteau Twins albums are pretty well recorded, too.
Great input! I think I'll find the Nora Jones lp to purchase.
I listened to XTC -- Murmur tonight. So far, the three albums I have of their's, Black Sea, Murmur, and Skylarking are excellent. Truly enjoyable with complex, interesting music, and very well recorded. I am still looking for Apple Venus Volume 1. I know they have Volume 2 on cd ... must find the record ...
Cheers! |
... By the way ... The album by XTC is "Mummer", not "Murmur." Murmur, is an excellent album by R.E.M. with greats like Radio Free Europe, Laughing, Talk About The Passion,Sitting Still, etc.
Sorry. |
Santana-- Abraxas is my test record as well as my test CD. The vinyl is limitless; any time I make an improvement in my system, I can hear it on that LP. |
Cool! Good to know.
Mine are Rickie Lee Jones, self titled album. The first song I play is Easy Money, then other cuts. The next album is Paganiniana, with Ruggiero Ricci, Water Lily Acoustics label. Finally I play Pat Metheny, As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls. September Fifteenth is the first song I'll play from that album. I'll usually follow up with some cuts from Pirates by Rickie Lee Jones.
I'll have to check out Abraxas on vinyl! Thanks for the recommendation!
Three albums worth checking out are from Chick Corea/Return to Forever -- Return to Forever, My Spanish Heart, and Tap Step. I often play them when I make adjustments system or mods to my amp or pre-amp. They feature interesting percussion, vocals, and soundstaging. They are well recorded, and very enjoyable jazz. My first year college roommate who was a jazz and classical guitar major turned me on to Return to Forever, and My Spanish Heart. He also introduced me to Bitches Brew -- Miles Davis, and quite a bit of Coltrane. I am indebted to him greatly! (He hated Pat Metheny, by the way, I could never get him to dig it. He finally appreciated Pat after a girlfriend introduced him to it.)
Cheers. |
You want velvet-smooth vocals, crystal clear? You want him in your room, singing to you? Get Marvin Gaye -- Here My Dear. You won't believe the texture in his voice on this record. It is sublime.
Marvin wrote this album about his ex-wife Anna. His profits from this record went to her as part of their divorce settlement. It is interesting to follow his emotions as they develop through the course of the album. It tells the story of their love from beginning to end.
It is so well recorded, and so beautiful. It is ironic that this album did not do well in sales and ended up in cut-out bins. A true sleeper, and a masterpiece! |
David Bowie - 'Man Who Sold the World'. My UK RCA copy from '73 is quite good.
Badfinger - 'Straight Up' on Apple. The U.S. pressing is fine.
Tyrannosaurus Rex - 'Unicorn'. I have a 'Replay' UK re-issue that sounds marvelous. Pre-T. Rex, the record has more of a folk/Tolkien hippie-vibe than the later glam rock.
The Who - 'Sellout'. My Japanese pressing is quiet and sounds great. 'Tommy' is also good, the German pressing being quite remarkable.
Joe Walsh - 'Barnstorm'.
Jackson Browne - 'Running on Empty'. Some great live recordings - check out the cricket on stage.
Blue Nile - 'A Walk Across the Rooftops'. Clear synth music from the Linn label. |
Greatfull Dead: American Beauty, an original or first I believe. Label is darker green. Stevie Wonder:Innervisons, I gave in on this one. It's one of the newer japanese pressings they sell for $50.00. IMO, it was money well spent. Cat Stevens: Teasers & the Firecat. This one is the MFSL Anadisc. May be hard to find, but this one is special IMO. Love this thread BTW. |
Great contributions! Thanks!
Haven't done it yet, but someday I will compile a list from this post -- when I have the time... |
Soundtrack to "where the wild things are" by Karen O and the Kids. Stunning recording, and it's obvious they mastered the vinyl version with great care and precision. Also a "new" record not plagued by bad pressing problems like so many others now a days.
In particular last track on side one: Hideaway. Beautiful song, & just perfect for showing off many vinyl virtues. There's a lot air in between sounds/instruments etc. so a system with very low background noise is a must. and for this, again, I'll state thank god it's pressed so well. My new reference song when swapping/changing components etc as there's just nothing your system can hide behind. |
Men at Work: Business as Usual. Nothing fancy, just $6.00 at my local record shop. After that I played James Taylor: Sweet Baby James on Warner Green label. Sounded pretty awesome too. |
Thanks All!!!
Old thread, but new entry. I agree with Heart -- Dreamboat Annie.
It is one of my 10 desert island albums. Dream of Blue Turtles is also
in the 10. Joe Walsh -- The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get is also
in the 10. These are for the music and the recording quality; they
stand out. XTC -- Apple Venus vol. 1 is just too expensive. I don't
trust the reissue to sound good. My reissue of Nick Drake's first
release doesn't sound nearly as good as my copy of its original release.
The reissue is on 180g vinyl...A surprise I
got was how good the engineering and sound was of an original pressing
of the B52's album Wild Planet was. Through a good system I discovered
it is really well recorded! It's a fun album, too.
Happy listening!
|
