Little Wing - Stevie Ray Vaughan
Hell Freezes Over - pretty much any track - Eagles
Let Down - Radiohead
What selections do you play when showing off your system to others?
I find that when I'm having someone listen to my system that I usually play the same 4 or 5 selections. I tend to lean towards vocals and acoustic presentations. Mine are as follows:
Hold That Line- Tedeschi Trucks Band
Roadhouse and Automobiles- Chris Jones
The Hunter- Jennifer Warnes
River Blues- Eric Bibb
Flight of the Hippo- Bela Fleck and the Flecktones
It's All in the Game- Merle Haggard
Your Bright Baby Blues- Jackson Browne
What are yours?
79 responses Add your response
@wolf_garcia "Nobody who doesn't already care about great audio really cares about how cool you think your stereo is. They simply do not give a damn generally, and may say something complimentary to be nice...kind of like "Nice train set," or "Nice tiny doll house furniture collection," or "Stamps...How cool!"" That's a bit of a cynical stance. Actually, I've made converts... some people who thought they didn't care, or hadn't ever really thought about it, have really come around very quickly to the concept of excellent stereo once they listened to some music through my system... even casual acquaintances who have attended my poker nights have taken notice and actually asked about my system, and that's just w a Pandora stream playing quietly in the background. Neophytes ears can indeed be opened. Some people have never really been aware of what a difference even a relatively modest carefully selected stereo system can make to music enjoyment. Once they hear it for themselves, they can turn towards it very quickly. Just today I was mentoring someone who approached me for advice about putting together a good budget system; his interest was piqued by what he had heard casually through my own modest system... |
Take A Walk On The Wild Side. Lou Reed A Case Of You. Diana Krall Magnificent Seven. The Clash These Days. Greg Allman Oh Well. Sara K Tired of typing, but I agree with many here that it's best to let your friend pick some of the songs regardless of what I might think about the sonic quality. When they hear an old fave in a new way they tend to get it... |
I'm hardly cynical...and it's not a "stance" as I did use the word "generally." I'm simply speaking from many years of reality with this stuff, and yeah they "can" turn towards it and it baffles me that most people just don't...they want giant screen televisions with crystal clear images, phones that do anything, blah blah...but serious audio? Ha. Go to nearly anybody else's house and they're perfectly satisfied with the convenience of being able to yell instructions at a tiny speaker and play bad classic rock in the background all night...drives me nuts. I've had people ask me for advice about what to get for themselves but they rarely follow through as the vast majority do not care. I'm fine with it as it doesn't dampen my fun one bit. |
It's fascinating what others listen to. I like to look over people's music collections. Once ear opening electronic music. Vy experimental. Vy weird. Planets Mehta LA Phil. 1st track Mars they will feel they're being invaded. And it will sound familiar cuz of being used as a soundtrack on many a video. |
Tiger Prowl - Cualli (electronic show-off music) Battle for Dawn - Brand X Music (epic cinematic music) In Deep and Wooded Forest of My Youth - Xanthochroid Sad But True - Metallica (for the drums, which were recorded in a very unique way) The Last Samurai soundtrack - Hans Zimmer I Can't Make You Love Me - Bonnie Raitt (for vocals) Steamer Lane Breakdown - Doobie Brothers (for acoustic instruments) |
@andynotadam , would that be the live at Paris recording of "A Case Of You"/Diana Krall or the studio recording? |
Great thread. Here are my current digital choices, all served in high res: Sarasate: Carmen Fantasy, Op. 25: 4 Moderato - Anne-Sophie Mutter - Carmen - Fantasie Lay Lady Lay - Cassandra Wilson - Glamored Horizontal Blue - David Piltch - Take One Ocean Wide, Canyon Deep - Jacob Collier, Laura Mvula, Metropole Orkest, Jules Buckley - Djesse Vol. 1 The Spot - Mickey Hart - Planet Drum Siren Singing - Yello, Fifi Rong - Point Analog is for another post. kn
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@immatthewj Yes, the Live In Paris Version. |
When pressed it can be difficult for some people to come up with a song on the spot. Especially when surrounded by hundreds of CDs and records. But if someone has made it into my listening room, then the odds are good I know at least a little something about their musical tastes. So I like to pick something they are likely to have heard many, many times before. Beatles or Stones. Ella and Louie. Take Five by Dave Brubeck. You get the idea. |
@andynotadam I was on an ebay SHM CD buying binge, and I believe I did get that live Norah Jones CD. I have only listened to it once, though. I picked up the Live Krall SACD from Amazon when I was on another binge. I do really like that live cover version she does. Although I think I've only listened to that one 3 times, my impression was that it was very dynamic. Wallflower is my favorite SACD by Diana Krall; I like the tracks she covered and I think she did a great job. Her cover of "Desperado" rivals Linda Ronstadt's (imo) and I love her cover of "California Dreaming." On yet another binge (MD this time) I think I picked up every SACD by Norah Jones they had available. On one of them, she does a cover of Tom Waits "Long Way Home" that always makes me smile and want to sing along (which I don't, because I really want to hear Norah, not my own out of tune singing). |
Bcuz I'm all about that bass: Stevie Ray Vaughn - "Tin Pan Alley" Dave Matthews: "Grey Blue Eyes" Prince: "Dark" P.M. Dawn: "I'd Die Without You" Diana Krall: "My Love Is" Whitney Houston: "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" Eightball & MJG: "Just Like Candy" *Only a quality set up will catch all of the bass in this one.
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Here's some tracks that would show off a great system... 'Isobel' - Yuri Honing Trio (Alive) 'Drum Boogie' - Arne Domnerus (Live is Life) 'Acoustic Revenge' - Antonio Forcione (Live!) 'Dream a Little Dream of Me' - Benny Goodman (Benny Goodman & Friends) 'Private Investigations' - Dire Straits (Love Over Gold) 'Chuck E.'s in Love' - Rickie Lee Jones (Naked Songs Live and Acoustic) 'Dimming of the Day' - Tom Jones (Spirit in the Room) 'Startup' - Bernt Moen (Closure) 'Done Got Old' - Buddy Guy (Sweet Tea) 'Resurrection Blues' - Otis Taylor (White African) 'Mondscheinsonate' - Ray Brown/Laurindo Almeida (Moonlight Serenade) 'Blues in Advance' - Clifford Jordan (Live at Ethell's)
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Some great suggestions here! I usually have a few selections that I think sound really good on my system (Philip Glass selections, Michael Jackson, etc) but if I know that persons personal tastes I play something they know well. That’s when it gets interesting. My granddaughter likes 21 Pilots. One friend loves Queen. Another likes female torch song vocals. They each sit in my chair and I play what they like. The usual comments when I play a song they know very well, “Wow! What a great system! I’ve never heard this song sound better”. Mission accomplished. |
Delayed response... First, the guy asked what selections do you play. Just list the songs you feel show your rigs capabilities and stop with the lack of "emotional connection" I went through most of the posts and listened for songs that made my system come alive. That's the fun of the forum; to discover music and equipment that enhance your experience. That said, while listening to recommendations, I came across this outstanding piece that will test the dynamics of your rig. Truly spectacular. Needless to say, I had an emotional connection! Mazeppa, Act I: Gopak from Eiji Oue - Minnesota Orchestra - Album: Exotic Dances from the Opera Others I like: Man in a long black coat - Bob Dylan Rider on the Storm - The Doors Apoleipein - Metaz Descendez Happiest Days > Another Brick 2 - Pink Floyd Then they can play what they want!
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