Goldberg Variations, JS Bach, Murray Perahia: Outstanding playing and very good recording. I love this piece, and I think Perahia's version is the best.
24 Preludes and Fugues for Piano, D Shostakovich, Keith Jarrett: A 20th century descendant from the Goldbergs, fully their equal.
Live at Maybeck Hall, Gene Harris: OK, OK, so I like solo piano recordings. This is great "mainstream" jazz, superb recording (like many of the Concord "Maybeck" recordings), currently nosing out Bill Evans' Sunday at the Village Vanguard.
The Harder They Come, The Harder They Fall (Soundtrack), Jimmy Cliff and others: It's got the reggae beat, the tunes, the words, and the soul. The Stones' Sympathy for the Devil is a close runner up.
Cole Porter Songbooks, Vol I and II, Ella Fitzgerald: Didn't have to type "Fitzgerald," did I? Along with the rest of the Songbooks, these are Great American Music.
And, since I'm over the limit anyway:
I've Got the Room Above Her, Paul Motian: the most interesting jazz drummer (also on Sunday at the Village Vanguard) because he makes the drums into a musical instrument. Outstanding recording. |
Dead Lovers Sarabande 1
Dead Lovers Sarabande 2,
Songs From The Inverted Womb,
Es Reiten Die Toten So Schnell,
La Chambre D'echo
All by Sopor Aeternus.
The reason is that they all emotionally move me more than any other person/group I know (or music I have in my collection). It is the most soulful, passionate and intense music, beautifully written, played and sung. The lyrics are simply superb, although unless you speak German one needs to get the translations (no worse that a lot of operas) from the cd cover or website.
Best played in a darkened room...........Very gothic. |
thanks sogood51 foir the link. i listened to a couple of songs. all i can say is wow.
i need to think of my favorite selections. it's hard because i may be in the mood for jazz or classical, new age, etc. at different times.
i guess away of looking at the question is to ask:
if someone confiscated all but 5 recordings, what would they be ??
i will try to answer this question. for simplification, i will stick to my cd collection--about 1050 recordings.
i have some esoteric stuff and the best sounding discs are not necessarily my favorites. |
In no particular order:
Johnny Mathis - Open Fire, Two Guitars - incredible voice, clean guitar, no gimmiks
Allman Brothers - Live at Fillmore East - IMO One of the best live recordings ever and I grew up on it
Beatles - Rubber Soul - Love the imagery that it invokes
Mahavishnu Orchestra - Inner Mounting Flame - This is how I got into Jazz
Emmylou Harris - Wrecking Ball - The voice, the production, nuff said |
N.P.O.
Cinemagic Dave Grusin , Hes a great writer.
Live At The Fillmore East The Allman Brothers Band, nuf said.
Abby Road The Beatles. saving the best for last..
Tchaikovsky 5th, Ormandy The Philadelphia Orch.
Beethoven 6th, Gunter Wand, N. German Radio Sym. Orch.
All of the above recording are played every few months. |
Mrtennis Here you go: http://www.stretta.com/~matthew/index.htmlIf you have a subwoofer or two they will get a very good workout...lots of 20hz stuff in these two. Note: "Waterworks" is a two cd set. You can listen to the complete cd (MP3) at the link by clicking on the cd cover at the top of the page. Dave |
hi dave:
i went to tower.com and amazon.com and could not find any listings for archetribe. are these recordings out of print ?? |
I agree with Dave---too many but here's a shot at 5 for now:
EGBDF--Moody Blues
Dream Seqence--Tangerine Dream
Boy's and Girls--Brian Ferry
Beggars Banquet--Rolling Stones
Annie Haslam--Annie Haslam
Bonus: Elvis is Back--Elvis Presley
Mike |
I agree -- very tough to pick only 5 or to be confident that this 5 is the right 5. That said, I would include, at least:
Joseph Flummerfelt and the Westminster Choir "Like as a Hart," for its choral sound and sensibility and because it includes Edward Bainton's And I Saw a New Heaven;
Emil Gilels playing the Brahms No. 2, because of the incredible broad tempo at the beginning and because it's Brahms (Let Nothing Ever Grieve You is also on the Flummerfelt);
The Sibelius Symphony No. 5 because I love the themes and the construction of it and (probably) because it appeals to the brass player in me;
Lyle Lovett's "Joshua Loves Ruth" because it draws me in and because of his ironic writing and his musicianship (Road to Empanada almost makes it entirely on the strength of "I'm a Long Tall Texan"); and
Shostakovich Preludes and Fugues, Ashkenazy, because it is such a towering achievement.
This leaves out so much -- Cassandra Wilson, Andy Bey, Prokofiev, string quartets, piano trios, Nojima playing Liszt, Shirley Horn, etc. Thanks, Newbee, for including the Faure and some Mahler. And thanks, Mrtennis, for the interesting task.
David |
Humm, only five. Well it's been newage and subwoofer week at my house.... I'll have to leave some good ones out I guess.
1. ARCHETRIBE...."Waterworks", (Matthew Davidson)
2. ARCHETRIBE...."Earthtones", (Matthew Davidson)
3. RABBIT-PROOF FENCE...."Long Walk Home", (Peter Gabriel)
4. COBALT BLUE...."Live At The Aquarium", (Michael Brook)
5. MICHAEL BROOK...."HYBRID", (Michael Brook, Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois)
To be honest...I have way to many "most favored" and could never pick only five...kind of a mood thing for me.
Dave |
Last things first - all of these are recordings that especially communicate an emotion with which I connect. They are not necessarily the best in any way shape or form of anything, and I don't listen to them often. Special music for special times. I would never refer to them as 'favorites' - I've a lot more recordings that get far more play time than these - the list is too long and I really can't differentiate that finely. FWIW.........
Beethoven #5 Kleiber
Faure Requiem, Original Version, Herreweghe
Mahler 6, Sanderling
Sibelius 4, Von Karian
Eva Cassidy, "Over the Rainbow"
and a 6th for good measure -
Sibelius - "Songs for Male Voice Choir" which includes a reduction of Finlandia meant to be use by Solders in the war with Russia. If you have any sense of patriotism in your bones and you appreciate Sibelius and the history of Finland this will bring a chill and a tear! |
El Cant Del Sibil La / Jordi Savall & Montserrat Figueras (oh my god, that voice! recorded in a church and really captures that environment)
Le Pas du Chat Noir / Anouar Brahem (Haunting. Inovative. I never tire of it)
Swordfishtrombone / Tom Waits (just one of many Waits I could not live without. This one is particularly textured and the songs are brilliant)
Temptation / Holly Cole (combine a gorgeous voice with Tom Waits song writing and record it well...what can I say, I love Tom Waits and this is a fantastic cover that never fails to thrill me)
Bach Works / Lara St. John (not the most accomplished performance, but it always seems to move me nonetheless....perhaps something about the cavernous sounding environment it seems to be played in...dunno, but I'd include it in my top ten)
Marco |
Neil Young - Greendale
Uncle Tupelo - March 16th - 20th
Al Dimeola - Live in San Fransico (not sure about the title)
NIN - With Teeth
Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
They are all very well recorded. Love the lyrics of Young, Tupelo and Wilco. NIN is just good for when I am in a rock mood. Dimeola, well I really enjoy good acoustic guitar. |
