Tonight it was The Beatles, "Abbey Road" to warm up the system. Followed by Carly Simon, "No Secrets", then Melissa Manchester "Greatest Hits", followed by Suzanne Vega, "Solitude Standing" and Joni Mitchell, "Hejira". Ended with Steely Dan, "Aja". Excellent wine, excellent cheese, excellent fruit, excellent music. Jan |
Nick Lowe - Jesus of Cool (new 180g reissue on Yep Roc) I had forgotten how much I love this album - it's just one incredibly catchy song after another. The new remaster is wonderfully punchy and does great service to Lowe's production, too bad my copy is one of the dirtiest and noisiest new records I've ever bought. Hopefully I can find a friend with a cleaning machine who's willing to give it a spin, because my efforts at cleaning it manually aren't doing jack. |
The menu tonight: Brahms "Symphony No. 3 in F Major, Op. 90" Walter/NY Philharmonic (Columbia Masterworks "six eye" ML 5126) Beethoven "Symphony No.1 in C, Op. 21" Ansermet/L'Orchestre De La Suisse Romande (Decca/London CS 6388) Miles Davis "Sketches of Spain" (Columbia PC 8271) Reissue Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington "Recording Together For The First Time" (Roulette SR52074) Classic Records 200g reissue Bill Evans Trio "Sunday At The Village Vanguard" (Riverside 9376) OJC 180g reissue All accompanied by a very nice 2005 Bordeaux |
Montepilot, I have not had the opportunity. My copy is the original Decca/London, from which the Speaker's Corner reissue was made. I can only imagine immersing myself in that piece on quiet, heavy vinyl. The Argenta is my personal favorite reading of "Symphonie Fantastique". I have many of the Speaker's Corner reissues and have never been disappointed in their quality. Tonight we are listening to: Yehudi Menuhin/Ravi Shankar "West Meets East" (Angel 36418) Albeniz "Iberia" Turina "Danzes Fantasticas" Ansermet/L'Orchestre De La Suisse Romande (Decca/London CS 6194) Manuel de Falla/Alicia de Larrocha "Dances from "La Vida Brave", "Three Cornered Hat", "El Amor Brujo", "Four Spanish Pieces", "Fantasia Betica"" (Vox Turnabout TV 34742) |
Finishing off with Rimsky-Korsakov "Scheherazade" Dorati/Minneapolis; "Russian Easter Overture" Dorati/LSO (Mercury SR90332) "Great Music by Russian Composers" release. I really like the performance of both of these pieces on this LP. The Scheherazade is a little tipped up, and doesn't quite get the visceral impact that the Reiner/Chicago does on RCA. The sound of the Russian Easter Overture is a little more balanced. Two different orchestra and halls. |
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Berlioz "Symphonie Fantastique Op, 14" Argenta/Paris Conservatoire (London CS 6025) A "blueback" pressing. Some surface noise to listen through, but a wonderful reading of this piece. With a pretty cheesy cover to boot. Beethoven "Symphony No. 8 in F Op.93" Ansermet/L'Orchestre De La Suisse Romande (London CS 6388) |
Two different performances of Berlioz, Symphonie Fantastic. One with Massimo Freccia, conducting The Royal Philharmonic on Chesky. The other with Thomas Beecham conducting the French National Radio Orchestra on HMV Concert Classics. I love both performances with the Chesky having the edge in sonics. Gil Evans, Out of The Cool. Classic Records Impulse Reissue. Especially La Nevada. Highly recommended. Happy to hear of Rushton's comments on the Enigma Variations. I recently purchased this record but have not yet heard it. I first heard this record on the original shaded dog label in a collectors shop more than 10 years ago. He was asking $150.00 for the record which was way out of my range at the time. I was pleasantly surprised to see it reissued by Classic Records. I hope the "bright & hard" sound Rushton experienced does not overshadow my memories of the excellent original. |
Elgar, "Enigma Variations" - Monteux/LSO (RCA LSC 2418, Classic Records reissue) - another excellent Kenneth Wilkinson engineered recording for RCA under contract with Decca. One of the great performances of this work. The Classic Records reissue is a bit bright and "hard" sounding, but with excellent resolution and full range sound. Schubert, "Symphonies 1 and 2" - Bohm/BerlinPO (DGG 2530 216) - very nice performances Schubert, "Arpeggione Sonata for Cello and Piano" - Rostropovich -vc, Britten -pf (Decca reissue on King SuperAnalogue 9123) - superb performance . |
Today, so far: Faure "Requiem Op. 48" Chorus and Orchestra of the Church of St - Eustache, Paris/Emile Martin (Nonesuch H-7158) Emerson Lake & Palmer "Emerson Lake & Palmer" (Cotillion SD 9040) Bill Evans Trio "Waltz For Debbie" (Riverside 9399) Pink Floyd "Wish You Were Here" (Columbia Half - Speed Mastered Promo copy) |
COB - Moyshe McStiff & the Tartan Lancers of the Sacred Heart This is a wonderful folk album, COB (Clive's Original Band) was lead by Clive Palmer, a founding member of the Incredible String Band who left to travel the world and came back brimming with new ideas. It's one of the most intensely personal statements I've ever heard, with all three members pulling their weight instrumentally and vocally. Sunbeam Records recently released an expanded 180g 2xLP, well worth checking out for fans of folk and psychedelic music. others waiting to be spun: Anne Briggs - Sing a Song for You LP Washington Phillips - What Are They Doing in Heaven Today? LP and i listened to Amy Winehouse - Back to Black this morning. |
I love this recording and performance, too. Britten was one of the rare few composers whose efforts as a conductor of his own music created definitive performances of his works. benjamin britten - "young person's guide to the orchestra & serenade for tenor, horn and strings," on the decca/london label |
benjamin britten - "young person's guide to the orchestra & serenade for tenor, horn and strings," on the decca/london label cs 6398, u.k. press. conducted by benjamin britten (c1964), i absolutely love this record. found in the $1 bin at the habitat thrift store, bought on a whim, and NM/NM to boot. color me enlightened. |
Sigur Ros "( )" (Fat Cat Records fatlp22) Cowboy Junkies "The Trinity Session" (RCA/BMG Canada 8568-1-R) Patricia Barber "Modern Cool" (Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab MFSL 3-45005) 45 rpm Beethoven "Symphony No. 6 "Pastoral"" Ormady/Philadelphia Orchestra (Columbia D7S 745) From the box set "Beethoven: The Nine Symphonies" |
Thanks for that Rush! I am anxiously awaiting the arrivals of my tapes and modded machine from The Tape Project. Given what you have just described above, it should be worth the wait. This may be the only thing out there that will give my vinyl reproduction a run for it's money. In addition to the "Arnold Overture" the coming release of "Waltz For Debbie" and "Saxophone Colossus" should be a real treat. My playback will be via a Technics 1500 with the heads reworked and the output section rewired to be fed to a Bottlehead Seduction that has been built to be a tape head preamp. |
This afternoon was a meeting of the local audio group, and our host is a subscriber to The Tape Project series of reel to reel tapes. He had the first three releases: one-to-one direct copies from the master tape, 15 ips, mastered on top quality tape decks and electronics. WOW!! First up was the Malcolm Arnold "Arnold Overture" from Reference Recordings. Simply vast soundstaging, incredible dynamic range and immaculate resolution. This is what I hear from the best 45 rpm vinyl reissues, only more so. Then the Jacqui Naylor and finally the Dave Alvin recording. But it was the Arnold that stole my heart and stole the day. Our host's playback deck was a 40 year old Ampex with tube electronics, dead stock with no updates or modifications. And it sounded beautiful. I can only begin to think how much better it will sound as he gets around to updating the electronics section or replacing the heads. . |
Today (so far) Emerson Lake & Palmer "Brain Salad Surgery" (Manticore MC66669) Emerson Lake & Palmer "Pictures at an Exhibition" (Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab MFSL 1-031) Stravinsky "Firebird" Dorati/LSO (Mercury SR90226) 33 rpm 200 gram reissue. As my previous post and today's posts indicate, I have been on an ELP tear the last few days. Running through different pressings of their recordings. I have never been impressed with the sonics on most of their recordings. That said, the MOFI "Pictures" is pretty good, as is the Manticore pressing of "Welcome Back My Friends To The Show That Ends" live set. Most disappointing in my collection has been every pressing I own of "Brain Salad Surgery". If someone can recommend a good pressing, please advise. |
Horace Parlan Quintet, "Speakin' My Piece" - Blue Note 84043-45 (Music Matters 45 rpm reissue) (Yes, this is a marvelous reissue.) Cannonball Adderley, "Know What I Mean?" Riverside 9433-45 (Analogue Productions 45 rpm reissue) Vince Guaraldi, "A Charlie Brown Cristmas" - Fantasy 8431-45 (Analogue Productions 45 rpm reissue) Sonny Rollins, "Saxophone Colossus" - Prestige OJC-261 (P-7079) (Analogue Productions reissue, 33 rpm) Honeyboy Edwards, "Shake 'Em On Down" - Analogue Productions APO 2010 Sonny Rollins. "The Sound of Sonny" Riverside RLP 12-241-45 (Analogue Productions 45 rpm reissue) . |
Women artists on the turntable tonight: Emmylou Harris, "Blue Kentucky Girl" (with miserable groove damage) Kate & Anna McGarrigle, "Kate & Anna McGarrigle" Nanci Griffith, "The Last of the True Believers" Rickie Lee Jones, "Rickie Lee Jones" Billie Holiday, "Lady Sings the Blues" Janet Baker, "Favourite Encores - Strauss, Schubert, Mendelssohn " . |
Mozart, "Concerto for Bassoon"-Ormandy, Philadelphia Orchestra, Bernard Garfield, Bassoon. Columbia Masterworks Mono recording. Offenbach, "Gaite Parisienne"-Fiedler, Boston Pops RCA 45 rpm & Chesky 180g pressing. I wanted to hear how the 45 rpm pressing compared to the Chesky. Arthur Salvatore had this to say comparing the Chesky to the RCA 33 rpm: "The Chesky has the strong points of both and then some. It is even more natural than the original and has all the desirable qualities of the Classic; enhanced immediacy, lower distortion, superior dynamics and frequency extremes etc., while still avoiding its somewhat dry and "hi-fi" sound. The Classic is cut a few dB louder and has the real original cover; in stunning high gloss color no less. I suppose you can't have everything." I am inclined to give a very slight edge to the Classic RCA 45rpm. Although it is a tough call. |
Rosza, "Concerto for Violin and Orchestra" - Heifitz, Hendl/DallasSO, RCA LSC 2767-45 (Classic Records 45 rpm reissue) -- Since Russ mentioned it last night I couldn't help but pull it out tonight to enjoy again. Thanks for the reminder, Russ. The Benjamin "Romantic Fantasy" for violin, viola and orchestra on the flip side is no slouch of a piece of music, either. But it's the Rosza that's really special. . |
Montepilot: The one Classic reissue of the Heifetz recordings that is problematic is the Bruch Scottish Fantasy. I love the reading, but there is a constant low frequency rumble in the recording (either subways or the conductor bouncing on the podium) that is very distracting if you have a full range speaker system and don't have a rumble filter on your preamp (remember those?). It is not noticeable on the original pressing, which I have, because it rolls off the lows, but the wider frequency range of the new pressings actually seems to be a disadvantage in this case. I think you should also get the Rozsa concerto, which has been such a standard for the piece that few violinists have dared to record it. He may miss a few notes here and there, but his fire makes up for it, and the recording is pretty good. Of course, as with all the Heifetz recordings, the violin is spotlit more than you would hear in concert, but then again, are you paying your money to hear Sir Malcolm Sargent or Heifetz? |
Yes, they're pretty good. Classic Records managed a pretty balanced frequency response even in the 33 rpm issues. "Can anyone offer input on the RCA Heifitz recordings on Classic records?"The best of the bunch sonically, for me, is the Hendl Violin Concerto on LSC 2734 - really superb! These are also quite good sonically, if not quite up to the standard of the Hendl recording: LSC 2435 - Sibelius Violin Concerto LSC 2652 - Bruch Violin Concerto LSC 1903 - Brahms Violin Concerto . |
