So far
Beethoven "Symphony No. 6" Philharmonia/Klemperer (Angel S 35711)
Miles Davis "Kind of Blue" (Columbia CS 8163) Classic Records 200g reissue
Jennifer Warnes "Famous Blue Raincoat" (Cypress/A&M 0100)
Bill Evans Trio "New Jazz Conceptions" (Riverside 12-223) This version of the trio had Teddy Kotick doing the bass duties |
Tonight: comparative listening to 33 rpm vs. 45 rpm versions of some of Classic Records' RCA reissues.
So far, there is no contest sonically (did anyone suspect otherwise?).
But, my question in doing this was: "Did the mastering of the 45 rpm versions avoid the hard brittle top end plaguing some of the early 33 rpm issues sufficiently to make it worth the gamble of buying a few more of the 45s to replace other disappointing early release 33s?"
So far, the answer is "YES" for the following LPs (listening to selected tracks on each):
"Clair de Lune" RCA LSC-2326 - the sound of strings on the 33 rpm is brittle in the upper frequencies to the point I don't find it enjoyable to listen to (at least on my system). The 45 rpm does not have this problem: the string tone is smooth and extended. Definitely not polite and rolled off like many of the originals (so don't come here looking for that original "Shaded Dog" sound; this is more like what I expect to hear in an excellent "contemporary" recording. The 45 rpm also has all the other virtues we've come to expect of this media.
"Gonoud: Faust/Bizet: Carmen Suite" LSC-2449 - The 33 rpm version of this is much better, and much more listenable, than I recalled. The top end has some of that brittleness and hard edge to it, but not nearly so much as some others. Just every now and then the massed strings jump out and BITE. Still..., the 45 rpm version is simply soooo muuucch better in so many respects.
"Belioz: Symphony Fantastique" LSC-1900 - MUCH improved string tone on the 45 rpm version. The 33 rpm is not as bad as I recalled, as with LSC-2449; but the 45 rpm is a very distinct improvement in every respect. (And still my favorite performance with a modern orchestra is the Freccia/RPO reissued on Chesky CR 1. (If you can find it and have a choice, get the 180 gram, not the lighter weight first pressing run).
Conclusion? For me I will go ahead with some additional 45 rpm Classic Record purchases (such as the Sibelius/Finlandia LSC-2336 which sounds so sad on the 33 rpm version and is such a GREAT performance and recording, and such as the Reiner/Spain LSC- 2230), but cautiously.
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Beta testing Paul Frumkin's 2 stage LP cleaning solutions, so I am going through a variety of older LPs, cleaning them and listening
Vivaldi "Four Seasons" von Karajan/Berlin PO (DG 2530 296)
Tangerine Dream "Rubycon" (Virgin International VI 2025)
Art Pepper "Meets the Rhythm Section" (Contemporary S75532) |
It's been a 60s & 70s morning...
CSN&Y - So Far
Deep Purple - Made In Japan
Rahsaan Roland Kirk - The Inflated Tear (great LP!)
Jimi Hendrix - Electric Ladyland
Cheers, Spencer |
Playing now:
Varese: Ameriques; Milhaud: L'homme et son desir; Honegger: Pacific 231, Abravanel/UtahSO, Vanguard SRV 274 Classic Records reissue - WOW!
Planned for later:
Pentangle: "Cruel Sister", Reprise 6430
Na Cabarfeidh: "stick it in your ear" - highland pipes, whistles, drums, guitars - these guys can play!
Pentangle: "Basket of Light"
Sonny Rollins: "Way Out West" (45 rpm reissue from Analogue Production's Fantasy series).
And, as it is now getting later in the evening (and no one else has posted so I can still edit this post), the significant other has gone to bed so music with a lot of bass energy is no longer an option. So let's move to "music-with-no-bass": Renaissance music for viola da gamba, lute and voice:
"Songs of a Travelling Apprentice" Cohen/CambridgeConsort, Titanic TI 19. (If you enjoy early music, the recordings on the Titanic label are very worthwhile picking up whenever you see them. Nice performances that are well recorded.)
As an aside, here was another example of what a difference a good record cleaning fluid can make to the sound of an LP. I'd cleaned this LP originally (some years back when first purchased) with a home brew alchohol-based solution and VPI RCM. I hadn't played this LP for several years, and listening tonight, I was bothered by some sibilance I just couldn't eliminate (VTA adjustment, add a touch of dampening, nothing worked). So, since I'd never cleaned this "clean" record with Disc Doctor, back it went for a quick clean using my recently adopted Disc Doctor regimen. BINGO: no more sibilance.
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air "10,000 hz legend" good late night lp |
Ali Akbar Khan (serod) and Sri Swapan Chaudhuri (tabla) on "Maihar" - a marvelous recording by Kavi Alexander, Water Lily Acoustics 10
Earlier this evening:
Joan Baez, "In Concert" Vanguard VRS 9112
Cannonball Adderley, "Somethin' Else" Blue Note 1595 (Classic Records reissue)
Miles Davis, "Kind of Blue" (Classic Records reissue) |
Mingus - Ah um (reissue)
Monk - Mysterioso (riverside)
Sibilius/Walton - Violin Concertos - Francescatti NY/Bernstein, Philly/Ormandy (Cbs Masterworks)
Ravel - Daphne & Chloe - Munch/BSO (Camden)
Mussorsky - Pictures@An Exhibition - Shura Cherassky
(Nimbus Super Analogue 45rpm) Sweet!
Cheers, Spencer |
Mendelssohn - Octet in E, ASMF Ens, Argo
Mendelssohn - Sextet in D, Vienna Octet, London
Borodin - Piano Quintet in c, Vienna Octet, London
Shostakovich - Piano Quintet, Melos Ens, L'Oiseau Lyre
CHAMBER MUSIC - a glorious gift!!
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ok it's my CD player but Led Zeppelin I & II |
Tonight,
Beethoven "String Quartet, Op.131" Bernstein/Vienna Philharmonic (DG 2531 077) Surprising recording. Not your basic DG "house sound", but an airy, stirring reading of this melancholy work.
Bill Evans "New Jazz Conceptions" (Riverside RLP-223)
Santana "Caravanserai" (Columbia KC 31610)
Al Stewart "Year Of The Cat" (Janus JXS-7022)
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doc watson(home again) micheal schenker group (msg) |
Shostakovich, String Quartet No. 1, Talich Qt, Supraphon
Shostakovich, Pf Quintet, Talich Qt, Supraphon
Respighi, Ancient Airs & Dances, Suites 1-3, Marriner/LAChmO, EMI
... Delightful performances above!
Dylan - Blonde on Blonde (I could become convinced this was his best album, if it weren't for the fact that I like so many others!)
Ray, I see you got the Doc Watson. What do you think?
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Rushton,you described the sonics of this album perfectly!im going to order Southbound next ,great music and recording,really puts the musicains in the room with you ,,good choice |
my vpi 16.5 came in today,,,,,,its 12:00 and im still listening to freshly cleaned lps,,,i cant seem to stop help,, |
Ray, glad you like Home Again; the a capella "Pretty Saro" cut is a particular favorite of mine on this LP. When I first heard this LP, I'd recently watched the film "Songcatcher" (a fictionalized account of the real work of collecting traditional songs in Appalachia in the early 1900's) which included a rendition of this song. When I heard Doc Watson sing Pretty Saro, his rendition really grabbed me.
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Hah! I'm not going to help stop you, Ray. Welcome to the club!! |
i will not buy anymore stuff,i will not buy anymore stuff ,i willnot ,,, i ,,,who am i kidding, |
Eva Cassidy: Songbird (digital disc)
Susann McDonald: The World of the Harp (digitally mastered Telarc LP)
Pat Metheny: New Chautauqua (LP) |
your right Rushton,,once you start you cant stop ....;; santana "caravanserai"next |
I envy you guys, I have to shut it down about 8 PM because of the kids. I get away with 10 PM in the summer. Maybe I'll have to start posting what I'd like to be listening to right now. |
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Listening through some dups...
Dvorak, New World Symphony, Kertesz/VPO, Decca SXL 2289
(Listening to seven different pressings/reissues of this marvelous performance to see what to recycle: Decca, London, Decca Jubilee, King SuperAnalogue, Speakers Corner. Time for some to go to another home...)
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John Mayer Room for squares |
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In my head; Eva Cassidy: Songbird, title track
You know, internally I am just as talented as Eva ever was. |
1: Warren Zevon Asylum 7E-1060
2: Yes, Close to the Edge Atlantic SD-19133
3: Elton John, Captain Fantastic MCA 2142 MCA (734)
4: Joni Mitchell, Hejira Asylum 7E-1087
5: Stan Getz, Focus Verve VE-1-25-28
6: Eddie Harris, Electrifying EH 4MWB 4M106
7: Kingston Trio Capitol T-996
8: Frank Zappa, Apostrophe Discreet DSK-2289
9: Pink Floyd, WYWH (HSM) Columbia HBL-43453 |
Just call me Mr. Recycle... ;-) |
Cowboy Junkies "Trinity Sessions" forgot how much it sounds like real live music |
right now, Beatles - "Abbey Road" i bought it used, cleaned it up, but it is in really bad shape, but still sounds great, if you can mentally shut out the clicks and pops |
steely dan (gaucho) rickie lee jones (pirates) john prine (bruised orange) |
I got a recommendation yesterday from the owner of Diamond Groove... I was in his store picking up an order,we were talking music...Chad pulled out an album of Alison Krauss and Union Station ,So Long So Wrong and asked me if I have heard this...I knew of the group, I have not listened to them...The release is a two L.P.set from Mo.Fi.2-276 180g,Chad looked me dead in eye and said... you have to check this out...Number one...I really enjoy their music ,what a great band!...The recording...My GOD...I hope Mo.Fi.continue this [surpreme] quality.In the past they were hit and mis...more mis then hit...Check it out... |
Stiltskin,
Thank you for the recommendation. I have the "Live" Union Station, as well as several Jerry Douglas releases. I have always found the quality of the recordings to be top notch.
I will have to put "So Long, So Wrong" on my shopping list. |
Hello Slipknot1,Have you taken delivery of your preamp yet?.. Your in for a treat,though you know that. I like live recordings very much and will pick up a copy of Union Station...Let me know what you think of So Long So Wrong... |
Hey Stiltskin,
6 months and holding... My last contact with Mick was 3-4 weeks. That was a little over a month ago... |
Varese: "Offrandes/Octandre/Integrales/Ecuatorial," Contemporary Chamber Ensemble, Arthur Weisberg (cond), Nonesuch 71269.
(Another great recording from the Aubort/Nickrenz team. If you enjoy 20th century music with more "avant-garde" flair and you haven't explored the music of Edgar Varese, don't miss this LP as an opportunity! Also, don't overlook the many other outstanding LPs from the Nonesuch Contempary Music series of recordings. The soprano on the "Offrandes" is the superb Jan DeGaetani: anything she has recorded is well worth exploring, but her remarkable work with contemporay music is particularly compelling.)
"Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Songbook," Verve MGV 4001/2, Speakers Corner reissue. Great work by Speakers Corner once again.
Sonny Rollins: "Saxophone Colossus," Prestige P-7079 Analogue Productions reissue.
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Hi Stiltskin. Glad to see your recent contributions to this thread; your comments on "So Long So Wrong" are great to have!
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Hello Rushton,Yes the M.O.FI./Rounder recording of So Long So Wrong is really something to behold...Perhaps you can weigh in on this,and any one eles...I was blissfully ignorant on what was achieved with monolithic recordings...What a huge mistake.My mono L.P.collection needs to grow for me to purchase a mono cartridge,so I can experience these jems at their very best...Disregarding mono recordings because they are mono...You truly are missing out... |
I'm pulling out all my favorites; SRV, Diana Krall, Mark Knopfler, John Mayer, Metallica, Dave Brubeck, Paul Desmond, Led Zepplin and anything else I can find. I picked up a new Lehmann Cube SE two weeks ago and got my Dynavector 17d2mkII this week...its a good day!!! |
Congratulations, Dlwask! The night should turn out well for listening. Around here, we're gravitating towards a chamber music evening, but "The Wall," "Who's Next" and "Night at the Opera" all stand beckoning in the wings. If the recently acquired copy of "Ummagumma" were cleaned, I know where I'd be heading. Hmmm..., maybe a short cleaning session is in order! Nope, significant other is headed to bed early so chamber music it will be. Coming up: Malcolm Arnold's "Fantasies" for various instruments, Hyperion series of LPs (great stuff; often lots of fun) Alwyn, String Quartets, Qt of London, Chandos ABRD 1063 (nice performance! but a digital LP with that nasty digital edge on the strings) Crumb, Sonata for Cello, Helmerson -vc, BIS LP65 Hindemith, Sonata for Cello, Helmerson -vc, BIS LP65 (Frans Helmerson is a marvelous cellist who is vastly underappreciated in the U.S. His recordings for BIS in the late '70s are uniformly superb: LP-5, 25, 26, 28, 35, 64. His recordings with BIS continue to date. www.cellist.nl/database/showcellist.asp?id=67) ...{"What? You're a classical music lover and you don't collect BIS recordings?!? ...For shame! You're missing some marvelous recordings.} Bach, Suites for solo cello, Mercury Speakers Corner reissue (just one or two at a time) Villa-Lobos, Various Pieces for Guitar, Mats Bergstrom -gui, Proprius PROP 9521 (one of those ocassional digital recordings that sound superb! two mikes and a DAT recorder, 1989.) That should make for a satisfying evening! . |
Rushton I played the Wall by coincidence around 7 o'clock tonight and WYWH also |
Playing now:
Pink Floyd: "Wish You Were Here" - Mejames, thanks for the added encouragement... I can't believe how GOOD this early Columbia pressing sounds! I was expecting to find sonic mediocrity, but no way. This pressing sounds really good: clean, open, dynamic. Columbia PC 33453; Deadwax: AL 33453-1A (2A handwritten next to it).
The Who: "Who's Next"
Hmmm... also better sounding than I was expecting from this MCA label issue (MG7-12888-W3). Makes me wonder what a first pressing Decca pressing would sound like?
Just goes to show that increasing the resolution of one's system does NOT make one's ancient well-played LPs sound worse: these never sounded better.
Coming up:
Suk, String Qt 2, Suk Qt, Supraphon 1111 3370
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Just finished:
Respighi "Church Windows" (Reference Recordings RR-15 45 rpm)
Louis Armstrong "Satchmo Plays King Oliver" (Audio Fidelity AFLP 1930)
Bach "Suites For Unaccompanied Cello" Janos Starker (Mercury SR3-9016 reissue)
Upcoming:
Pink Floyd "Delicate Sound Of Thunder" (Columbia PC2 44484) |
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Tom Waits - Nighthawks at the Dinner
Great Live performance of Tom Waits, pretty good recording as well...makes you think you are there sitting across from Tom and his piano |
Tindersticks - Waiting for the Moon
Everything But The Girl - Baby, the Stars Shine Bright
David Gilmour - Self-titled
Holst - Planets Mehta/LA Phil. (Speakers Corner/Decca)
Respighi - Pines of Rome Reiner/CSO RCA orginal nice!
Rach3 Janis Dorati/LSO Orig. Merc Living Presence
Brahms Concerto #1 Munch/BSO RCA Red Seal dog
All your Pink Floyd picks made me dig out David Gilmour. Forgot what a nice album that first solo LP is...Cheers,
Spencer |
Spencer I forgot about this recording thanks for the reminder. I particularly like "rent" |
Playing Now:
Stravinsky: ÂFirebird Ballet, Stravinsky(cond), Columbia ML 5728 mono  Wow! This old mono LP sure has dynamic impact and clarity. Much better that the stereo Â2-eye copy of this same recording also in my collection. Too bad this copy has some inner groove wear. A classic interpretation of this work by its composer.
Coming up:
Prokofiev: ÂRomeo and Juliet, Highlights from the Ballet Ansermet/LÂOrchSuisseRom, London CS 6240
Vaughan Williams: ÂSinfonia Antarctica Previn/LSO, RCA LSC-3066 (Another superb recording by the great Decca recording engineer Kenneth Wilkinson; a great performance to contrast against the Boult/LonPhilO on EMI; may just have to play both performances back-to-back)
Rachmaninov: ÂEtudes-Tableaux with the incomparable John Ogdon, pf. EMI HQS 1329.
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Nothing for me tonight. I am stuck at work, babysitting a software upgrade :( |
