I just bought a CD by Kenso, a Japanese progressive rock band. Really enjoyable music, but just a terrible recording.
Soulive - Next. Energetic Acid Jazz.
Martin Taylor - Solo. Incredible acoustic guitar work.
The Datsun - The Datsuns. Undoubtedly overhyped, but much better IMO than most of the overhyped stuff. Pretty straightforward rock, but it does rock
Porcupine Tree - In Absentia. Progressive rock. Decent recording, nice guitar work. |
I've been overworked and in need of severely distracting and engaging material (soothing material some other time), so I've been buying: thrash metal, electronic experimental, hip-hop/funk, japanese 70's blues/sabbath worship, french fusion/RIO, finnish casiotone hard trance:
Exumer: Possessed by Fire, Rising from the Sea (Teutonic Terrors re-releases)
Bruce Haack: Electric Lucifer vol. 2
The Lord Wierd Slough Feg: S/T
Herbie Hancock: Perfect Machine
Aavikko: Multi Muysic
Blues Creation: Demon and Eleven Children
Magma: Kobaia
Some of it sounds great on a nice system, some of it sounds, well, awful. But ALL of it has taken my mind way off work.
Music isn't just about fidelity - that was only a recent invention. |
System of a Down: Toxicity - Very entertaining (not enough of the MTV satan repenting type sound, however).
The White Stripes: White Blood Cells - Again, not enought of that tasty MTV mojo.
Boulez Conducts Bartok (Sony SACD) - Hoochie Mama!
The 'Stones SACD remakes - Need you ask?
Elena Papandreou (Naxos) - Her Disc is O.K. (classical guitar); Her live performance is from another planet...
Wishbone Ash: Wishbone Ash - Doesn't sound the same without the fine colombian... |
Here's what I have purchased in the last 30 days:
1) Audioslave
2) Little Feat / Waiting for Columbus remaster
3) Elvis Costello / My Aim Is True remaster
4) Peter Gabriel / Security remaster
5) David Gray /A New Day At Midnight
6) Eric Dolphy / Outward Bound
7) Charles Lloyd / Voices in the Night
8) Allan Holdsworth / Road Games
9) Bill Evans / At the Montreux Jazz Festival |
I just got a copy of Miles Davis "live at Montreux". Awesome!!! Of course with 20 CD's not everything is awesome, but one of the most consistent big sets I have heard. Not for everyone since this is his later period with music like you will hear on "Tutu" but I really enjoy it. |
I've just picked up two Bill Evans cds, Portrait in Jazz and Explorations. They are the Riverside remasters with the 20bit K2 super coding, sort of poor man's XRCDs. Great music, very good sound.
I also recently picked up Keith Jarrett - Vienna, ECM, sound quality is good, music is excellent, I just wish they would keep the mike away from Keith. His noises while playing are extremely annoying. |
The most recent I've got Molvaer Petter Nils "Khmer" on 1997 ECM CD and listen to it over and over and still want to listen. Great masttering or maybe not great but makes me stun.
Fish for Fish self-titled album on vinyl now also drives me nuts.
20 Souvenirs of Dalida is for my wife which is also great vinyl.
I now have an extra rare CD reissue of Ginger Baker "African Force" the vinyl retails arround $60...100 i.e. too costly to get. |
Bowie - Ziggy Stardust - remastered Cd
Rod Stewart - Every Picture - remastered Cd
Lou Reed - RnR Animal - remastered Cd
Robin Trower - Bridge of Sighs - remastered Cd
Zwan - (Billy Coragin) Cd
Junior Wells - Blues Hit Big Town - Cd
Sun Volt - Trace - used Cd
Kinks - Muswell Hilbillies - remastered Cd
Muddy Waters - Folk Singer - SACD
Stones - Rolling Stones Now! - Hybrid SACD
Donald Fagen - Nightfly - DVDA
Love - Da Capo - 180g LP
Wilco - YFH - 180g LP
Dylan - Blood On The Tracks - unopened LP
Neil Young - On The Beach - used LP (2nd copy)
Kinks - Kinkdom & Kontoversy - orig. pressings |
Going back to Soul Music/R&B: Joe Tex, Greatest Hits, Wilson Picket, A Man And A Half, Solomon Burke, The Very Best of..., Brook Benton, Endlessly, Otis Redding, The Very Best of...,Sam Cooke, Greatest Hits. Most of these on Rhino. |
Without comment I've bought the following (among others) mostly from Acoustic Sounds.
Gene Ammons 'Boss Tenor' 45rpm LP
Pee Wee Russell 'Portrait of Pee Wee'
Everly Bros 'Best of' Gold CD
CCR 'Willy and the Poorboys'
Zoot Sims & Al Cohn 'Either Way'
Thelonious Monk & Gerry Mulligan 'Mulligan Meets Monk'
Milt Jackson & Wes Montgomery 'Bags Meets Wes'
Bill Evans 'Sunday at the Village Vanguard'
Paul Desmond 'Summertime'
CCR 'CCR'
Robert Lucas "Usin' Man Blues"
Bennie Wallace 'OldSongs'
Bruce Katz 'Transformation'
Sonny Rollins 'Saxophone Colussus'
Johnny Griffin 'Introducing..'
George Harrison 'Brainwashed'
Willie Nelson 'Stardust' 45 rpm LP
Mulligan & Desmond 'Blues in Time'
Neil Young 'Harvest' DVD-Audio
All the above are 180g LPs unless otherwise noted.
Also picked up some Booker T, Bob Dylan, MC5 and The Rascals (among others) from Sundazed. These are all 180g LPs and are very reasonably priced.
|
Man, I went *crazy* at Christmas-time:
"Willie and the Poor Boys" - CCR - 20 bit K2 super-master
"Green River" - CCR - 20 bit K2 super-master
"Bayou Country" - CCR - 20 bit K2 super-master
"Cosmo's Factory" - CCR - 20 bit K2 super-master
"Spartacus" - Triumvirat - Imported re-master
"Illusions..." - Triumvirat - Imported re-master
"And Furthurmore" - Hot Tuna (live) - HDCD - AWESOME!!
"Sultans of Swing" - Dire Straits - HDCD - ditto
"Utopia" - Todd Rundgren - Re-master
"El Corazon" - Steve Earle - HDCD
"Jazz at the Pawnshop" - 5 Swedish guys - Super HDCD!
"Emotion" - Martina McBride - HDCD - super sound
"Evolution" - Martina McBride - HDCD - ditto
"Spk. of the Devil" - Chris Isaak - HDCD - Excellent!
"Guitar Slinger" - Brian Setzer
"Country Life" - Roxy Music - HDCD
"Avalon" - Roxy Music - HDCD - Fabulous sound!
"Snow Goose" - Camel - Imported re-master - Superb!
The really cool part? Except for "Jazz at the Pawnshop" and "Avalon" I didn't pay more than $8.00 for any of them, most of them were half that. Great music doesn't have to cost a small fortune if you shop hard enough...
HDCD RULES! |
Jwrobinson, do the CCR vinyl remasters live up to the hype? Rlwainwright, how about the sound on the 20 bit K2 super masters? Always looking for older music that does not suffer from flat sounding later generation pressing or poor transfer to CD. Thanks. |
Blkadr, I'm not sure the CCR reissues live up to the hype (what does), but the sound is excellent. Of course, the music speaks for itself. But I must admit I've heard few, if any, 180g/200g reissues that I didn't like.
However, for another level of quality, go for the heavy vinyl 45 rpm recordings. The few I've heard are virtually unmatched. The only drawback is their price.
Jim |
I bought 3 enjoyable CDs within the last month:
Jemeel Moondoc- "Revolt of the Negro Lawn Jockeys"
Khan Jamal- "Balafon Dance"
William Parker- "O'Neal's Porch" |
......just picked up "A Tribute to Johnny Cash"-- songs by some really unexpected artists, eg Dylan, Springsteen, and I think my favorite is Keb Mo' doing his version of "Folsom Prison Blues". And Little Richard does "Get Rhythm"-- many C/W artists too of course. An interesting and mostly well recorded CD.
Also just got the 2 CD set of "The Essential Leonard Cohen". And an old LP recording (1974) now on CD-- JJ Cale's "Okie". This CD of soft blues/rock really does rock and is quickly becoming a favorite. Cheers. Craig |
New Massive Attack: 100th Window
Cannonball Adderly:Mercy,Mercy,Mercy...live at the club
Art Blakey: Moanin
Mozart: Requiem (the Choral of all Chorals)
James Brown Box set
Etta James: Tell Mama
Jah Wobble:Bass...the Final Frontier
The Complete Stax recordings Box Set |
Dylan: Live '75
James Carter: JC on the Set
Patricia Barber: Modern Cool
Eva Cassidy: Live at Blues Alley
Beethoven: Cello sonatas |
LP's in the past month:
"The Blues Alone", Mayhall
"James Bond 007 13 original themes"
"Soliloquy", Sandy Owen/Quiex II vinyl
"Basia London Warsaw New York"
"Ross Tompkins and Good Friends", CJ series
"From: Monty Alexander, Ray Brown, Herb Ellis", CJ series
"The Scott Hamilton Quintet, the 2nd set", CJ series
"The Dolphin", Stan Getz Quartet, CJ series
"Circles", the Jim Hall Trio, CJ series
"Marian McPartland, @ the festival", CJ series
"Coming Out", Johnny O'Neal, CJ series
"The Butch Thompson Trio", Prairie Home Companion
"Ray Brown Trio, Live @ CJ festival 1979"
"Some Time in NYC", John & Yoko
"Carmen McRae in person, SF"
"Butch Thompson", Prairie Home Companion
"Lanza on Broadway", RCA
"Love Me", Yvonne Elliman
"The Student Prince", Mario Lanza (SD Living Stereo)
"Crossroads", Tracy Chapman
"Gilbert Begaud, live @ the Olympia, Paris"
"Baby the Rain Must Fall", Glenn Yarbrough
"Solomons Seal", The Pentangle
"After the Rain", Michel LeGrand
"Silent Night", Mahalia Jackson
"Caruso Favorites", Mario Lanza (SD Living Stereo)
"The Trinity Sessions", Cowboy Junkies
"Yesterday", Maurice Chevalier
"The Magic of Doris Day"
"For Lola" Brubeck, CJ series
"Reunion". Monty Alexander, John Clayton & Jeff Hamilton on CJ
"Tonight in Person", The Limeliters (Living Stereo)
"Daniel Varsano", plays Alfred Satie
"I Love Lucy", 30th anniversary LP
"The Wildest Show @ Tahoe", Louie Prima and Keely Smith
"Those Wonderful 30's", various on Decca
"Tony Bennet and Count Basie, in person"
"Instant Brubeck", on Harmony
"The Art of the Japanese Bamboo Flute"
"Opus DE Jazz", on Savoy
"The Songs of the Singing Cowboys"
The Jazz Singer", Danny Thomas
"Take Your Burden to the Lord", Brother Vernard Johnson
"Yves Montand's Paris"
"Jerome Kern Revisited", Ben Bagley
"CAL", film score by Knopfler
"Closer to the Ground", Joy of Cooking
"Andrae Crouch & Disciples, Live @ Carnegie Hall"
"The Great American Songbook", Carmen McRae
CD's in the past six weeks:
"Peggy Lee Sings With Benny Goodman"
"The Rough Guide to Paris Cafe Music"
"Billy Eckstine & Quincy Jones @ Basin Street East"
"Sultans of Swing"
"Blonde on Blonde"
"Klezmer Nutcracker Shirim"
"Khevrisa", European Klezmer music
"Misia Ritual"
"12 Deadly Cyns", Cyndi Lauper
"A Tribute to Rosa Parks", on Verity Records
"Live @ the Quick, Bela Fleck
"Not a Clue", Japanese classical guitarist (all notes in Japanese).
"Les Parapluies DE Cherbourg", Michel Legrand
"The Beau Hunks play the Original Little Rascals Music"
"The Masterworks of Satyajit Ray"
"Mira Zakai, Unaccompanied"
Though I am "Rich, Famous and, well you know the rest" all but 8 items (CD's) are from the local thrifts. My wife picked up 8 of the CD's through an online points program for my B-Day. |
Just picked up Derick Truck band. |
