I have recently been truly enjoying the magnificent tastes in this vast group of enthusiasts. The 'AGON RECORDINGS TO DIE FOR LIST, or favorite... whatever.... listings. I thought I would add yet another. I own a setup which includes Reimer Tetons for the fronts which go as far down as 14 Hz! I am always looking to push their abilities and have trouble finding many recordings that can get down to the 'basement' frequencies and blow my mind. I would love to build a little reference list of your favorites for all of us to check out. Of course, take into account musicianship as that appears to be important to most of us. It can be in any format you wish - Vinyl (even though I am not set up for it...), DVD-A, SACD, redbook, etc. and any style you like as well. So - for my 3 choices to get this going (hopefully....) I submit for your listening pleasure:
Mino Cinelu - self titled (redbook) I have never heard a redbook disc with such incredible low end - world music - really a terrific disc!!
Jean Guillou, organist; Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Stravinsky, 3 Dances from Petrouchka; Dorian CD DOR-90117 (redbook) - The 32 foot pipe on this recording is really something to behold - I am not usually the biggest fan of this type of music. However, I find this disc to really be excellent and not the total typical 'organ' type disc.
Grateful Dead - 6-85 - Hershey Park, Pa. - uncompressed soundboard recording - 'drums' section. This is the kind of recording that you would have to get through a trading circle (or from me for that matter...) Rarely do I hear a recording that 'feels' like it felt to be at the show during the drum break. Anyone who has heard this has been pretty blown away by it.
Even though I did not mention any DVD-A or SACD recordings I sure have a few. Hey - I DID say only 3 - got to stick to my own rules, right?!...
Wow! It was wild to see my post from 10 months ago refreshed and responded to again !! So cool!! Only a group like this continues to respond and help others with the knowledge they possess! That is so rare and so nice! I will add a few more ideas for you in a different vein:
Me'Shell N'Degeocello: You can't go wrong with most of her material - all her albums sport some really deep low end bass in an R&B style that is atmospheric, intelligent and highly, highly musical. Try Peace Beyond Passion, Comfort Woman or her latest disc - name escapes me - newest disc is more jazz oriented in nature but very hip.
Prince - New Power Generation - Love him or hate him - this disc sports some funky, funky low end. Not to mention, if you and the Mrs. are in need of a little 'somethin' 'somethin' to set things in motion this disc has some spots to get freaky!!
Marcus Miller - most of his newer material is dripping with low end funk. However, the first track that pops into my head is his remake of 'Boogie On Reggae Woman'. Now THAT'S a rump shaker!!
I would love to hear more from all of you if you still are game for suggestions. ESPECIALLY considering, as if the Tetons weren't enough, I went over the edge and added a 1000 watt Reimer sub w/ a 15 inch driver to my setup. My system is now equivalent to a wrecking ball of low end when it calls for it without being the least bit boomy. Just ask Neil over at Clearsound - he'll tell you!!
Sandra Collins - Marscruiser Not alone tonight - track 10 of CD 2 of the Perfecto Presents series by Paul Oakenfold. This uplifting rock song within a Techno framework shows Sandras great sense of timing, rhythm, and trippy basslines. Combining some of the fat bass of Emerson Lake and Palmer synths and arena rock bass makes this anthem to not being alone a great sing along song that you cannot get out of your head. A great female vocalist singing about not being alone tonight. Sandra Collins Part 2
Fragma - Risk my Soul track 12 of the Embrace CD. Delivers subsonic punches underpinning a soaring ballad in a classic Euro Trance style song featuring a female vocal. Definitely a foundation shaker of a ballad. Great use of dynamic range in an uncompressed techno love song. You will not hear the bass unless you can go to 30 or less. Fragma Embrace
RCP, greetings from the Chocolate City. There's no doubt about it, Virgil definitely schmaltzes up the interpretations to a certain degree but when compared to the many other various "...by the book..." versions out there that seem so wooden and lifeless that it communicates to me a sense that Fox is in total control whereas these other organists are a little cowed by the whole scenario, much like a 12 year old might feel at his first organ recital with the parents and all the world watching. I am a bit taken aback by your finding the recording to lack spaciousness and hall ambience. I can assure you that is decidedly not the case on the Ultragroove vinyl. The venue comes off as a cavernous space with decay and reverb that trails off forever. I have the RR Felix Hell disc and would agree it is lacking in this regard and most definitely to the UG. I virtually never listen to my Crystal Clear vinyl copy because I so much prefer the UG. I will now go back and refresh myself with a critical replay in the near future. Incidentally, my recollection of the liner notes on the UG tells me that the performance on that label was a seperate one from the CC so it is very possible that miking was altered between them. It's funny actually, because the UG was recorded on DAT at a sampling rate below the current redbook standard (37,500 hz) so it is counterintuitive that it would take precedence over the CC but the ears say otherwise. On a final note I must confess that I am lucky enough to be able to experience vinyl replay on a Walker TT. I bought one 9 years ago from Lloyd back in the days of his company's infancy. He gave me a real good deal on a table he'd been dragging around to all the shows so that I could afford it. In the pantheon of the Walker customer base, I'm sure I fit into the trailer trash section---probably a section of one. I only bring up the table because it is a champeen at detail and ambience retrieval. If there is any flesh, it will flesh it out. Certainly this has impacted my perception of the UG pressing. Don't be a stranger.
I have been able to go to CDUniverse and sample many of the recommended recordings. They are so varied in style and there are so many fabulous recordings!! I need a bank loan!! I encourage all of you to check them out and if anybody has any more to recommend.....?
I have both the CD and the original Crystal Clear vinyl of the Fox recordings. While I love old Virgil's style and exciting interpretations, it should be noted that there are those who do not appreciate the, uh, innovative and colorful registrations he used (for the same reasons they probably don't like Jean Guillou). And I disagree about the recording quality only in that I find it way too close-up a recording, with virtually no hall ambience at all. I can see where atrahern, as an organist, might have a different perspective than those sitting in the audience(I've noted this from singing in our choir loft vs. sitting in the church for an organ recital), but the fact is a recording of an organ recital is also supposed to be a recording of the space in which that organ is located, and The Digital Fox has none of that. In this regard, I would put a number of other organ recordings, especially the Priory recordings of European organs, the Mercury recording of Dupre at St. Thomas and the RR Felix Hell disc (which also has limited hall sound, though more a function of the recording venue), above this album sonically. Still, Fox was always my favorite organist, and the Fox recording is a lot of fun to listen to, far more exciting than anything Michael Murray has ever recorded IMHO, and has plenty of bass. An interesting side note on The Digital Fox--it was recorded Direct to Disc on the vinyl, so there are a few clinkers in there; however, the CD was made from digital tapes and was able to include some edits to fix up the few mistakes. Personally I prefer the vinyl version, the mistakes give more of a feeling like you're listening to a live performance.
As a post script to my previous post, the fox in the "Digital Fox" is, of course, Virgil Fox and that is available on both vinyl and redbook. After rereading my post of yesterday, I would like to clarify that I consider the vinyl Ultragroove to be the finest recfording I have heard period, not just in the pipe organ genre. Hope you get to experience it sometime.
Digital Fox Vol. 1 & 2. Direct to disc recoreded both in analog (on Crystal Clear records in 1977) and on DAT (subsequently released on vinyl on the Ultragroove label and offered in 1983, I believe). I have both on vinyl and (suprise, suprise) prefer the Ultragroove. It is the greatest pipe organ recording extant and the overall finest one I have ever heard, period. A genuine slab buster. Soundtrack "The Lost Highway". With artists ranging from Angelo Badalamenti to Rammstein, eclectic is the operative word but there are several tracks with lows that will rearrange the pix on your walls for you. Bella Sonus "Enamoured". Saved the best for last but recommending it may not help because it went out of print about 2 years ago. From the boutique Neurodisc label, it is the finest example of redbook I have ever heard. Musically it's hard to pigeonhole as there are elements of trance/electronica, chant, some flamenco even. Recording quality is pure and crystalline and the majority of cuts are punctuated with way down low enduring synth lines that'll leave your Reimers gasping, I promise you. This is the one disc I chose to send to George Louis to be my test mule for his Reality Check process. Buy it without a second thought if you can dredge it up.
That Mino Cinelu disc I mentioned at the beginning of the post is SO worth seeking out if you guys don't have it. The recording is astounding in spots. Besides the fact that it throws low end like no other disc I've heard, it also appears to throw surround or holographic type imaging in spots like in the first 3 minutes on the disc - similiar to a 'Q-sound' type mix like Amused To Death. This is a disc everyone in the group should at least hear.
Laurie Anderson, "Bright Red" - The first cut, "Speachless", is a workout for any system. The lows are contrasted against some shimmering highs of cymbals and triangles and the like.
Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition has some pretty low organ notes on it and, believe it or not, the soundtrack to Titanic, specificly "My Heart Will Go On". It has some sub 20hz on it. Well, you asked for 3 so I'll throw in my first fav, Purple Haze by Jimi. No one said I couldn't be eclectic.
UB40, Contaminated Minds, we all know how the reggae loves deep deep bass and this track on their "Signature" album is a great example of how low you can go.
Since there continues to be such a generously informative list growing from this thread I respectfully list 3 more entries: Virtuoso Pieces of Chinese Percussion Yim Hok-Man (SACD) The cut on this disc which also appeared on the Burmeister CD sampler is stunning !!
The best of Mickey Hart (DVD Audio) Not only are there many great low end festivities on this disc but the surround quality is first rate as well if you are into such things...
Peter Gabriel - Long Walk Home (redbook) I believe this one is out of print and harder to find. This is craziness - trust me!!!
Wow!! I have an ever growing wealth of material to buy!!! This is fun!
The Chemerani Trio "Qalam Kar" - Persian percussion trio (father and sons I believe). Not only will it exercise the low end, but it'll throw a soundstage that'll give you whiplash.
For organ music, which can, depending on the instrument and the organist, have the deepest bass of all instruments, check the thread Organ CDs with really deep bass.
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