Anything their little heart desires. I am not embarrassed of anything in my collection.
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Most folks are familiar with the human voice. I like to demo ballad singers from the 50’s like June Christy’s "Something Cool," Jo Stafford’s recording she did with Art VanDamme, Doris Day’s "Day by Day ... or Chris Connor’s "All About Ronnie." . If you notice, all the above are mono albums that were never issued in stereo. Mono recordings just seem to reproduce the great naturalness of the human voice. Modern recording engineers tend to strong arm the digital reverb dial too much for my taste, making it sound as though the artist is singing from the inside of a cave. Frank |
Second the following earlier picks: Nils Lofgren - Keith Don't Go Patricia Barber - Alfie A lesser known (probably because sung in French) fave of mine: Michel Jonasz - Le Temps Passé (From the album 'La Fabuleuse Histoire de Mister Swing') Not only the best live recording I have ever heard, but with astounding soundstage and bass that will raise the odd eyebrow. |
Depends on the person: for a Baptist minister friend I played the Messiah; for a young guy who wanted soothing strings, a Mozart string quartet; for someone who liked it lively, Armik, the neo-flamenco guitarist; for classical nuts like me, either the Bach B minor mass; or to check out the bass, Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances... Any random person? James Taylor. |
@andy8400 yours is an excellent tip! I wonder why Mapleshade CDs are usually disregarded as audiophile delights, they are dirt cheap and sound better than most XRCDs, RR, or CDs from Naim or Linn labels. No blockbusters in Mapleshade catalog, but the sound is stunning! An excellent demo/advertisement for their hardware though!! |
In keeping with the spirit of the OP's question, I'm eliminating all SACDs (such as Norah Jones' "Come Away With Me"), DVD-As and other specialized discs (except XRCD which is a standard CD). One of many possible great demo CDs is: "Mapleshade's Music Festival". Some have mentioned Patricia Barber but the exaggerated echo applied to her voice eliminates these otherwise excellent recordings, IMHO. |
+1 to wgutz for the Lindsey Sterling mention. She's awesome! Here are mine.... Andreas Vollenweider - Book of Roses, first three tracks Dire Straits - Private Investigations Neil Young - A Man Needs a Maid, Live at Massey Hall Diana Krall - A Case of You, Live in Paris Dave Brubeck - Take Five (of course) David Gray - Please Forgive Me, White Ladder Patricia Barber - Anything from Cafe Blue or Live in Paris |
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@lewin_author and @almarg I envy you!!! I wish I had friends to whom I could play any classical LP! usually the answer to what they like to hear is "whatever..." and I go for "Jazz at the Pawnshop" as a punishment. @lewin_author, you are my man! Symphonic Dances under Eiji Oue is my all-time favorite! Finally issued on vinyl, this is where I go to impress myself! ;-) |
Hello, gang! Well, I always reach for The Rite of Spring conducted by Eiji Oue on Reference Recording (RR-70CD). Very dynamic - Powerful - Engaging! Also, I must add, when listening to Vinyl - I pull out my original 1985 LP of Sade-Promise. The sound is breathtaking - performance excellent! Kind regards, Lance ATL, GA |
I want to second what a couple of others have said, Keb Mo - As soon as I get paid, is stunningly recorded, the whole album. SRV - Tin Pan Alley, fantastic Pink Floyd - Wish you were here, particularly Welcome to the Machine Also add, Eva Cassidy - Autumn Leaves, Who knows where the time goes Robert Plant - Great Spirit off Fate of Nations is unbelievable Chris Issac - Wicked Game Getz-Gilberto - Girl from Ipanima, the whole album SACD is remarkable Led Zeppelin - I, II, III of the most recent remasters - Finally they sound great! |
"A song that sells a good system is ’If You Go’ by Shirley Horn from the 1991 ’You Won’t Forget Me’ album. You’ll swear that the artists are in the room with you. I can only imagine how good it would sound in hirez." Hi cycles2, Absolutely. YWFM is my #1 demo cd to discern sonic impact from changes in cabling, equipment, tweaks, etc. Fantastic sound. Don’t understand why it is overlooked by the remastering industry, although no remastering is necessary IMO. Best to you, Dave |
cycles2, What a good one! Have you heard Mitch Ryder's version? Surprising. https://secondhandsongs.com/performance/293830/versions |
Patricia Barber- Companion XRCD ... a stunningly good recording and Shakti's first album -- with John McLaughlin... a spectacular album with Zakir Hussein on tablas... transcendental! I was privileged to see them live in 1977 and I'll never forget it! DSOTM in SACD 5.1 is like hearing it for the first time! |
CD: All Jamaican All Star Jazz Band, especially the covers of (this is not a joke.) "My Boy Lollopop" and "Walk On By"; alternately for real jazz buffs, Maynard Ferguson and Diane Shur "Live From Montreaux". LP: Rosie O'Grady's Good Time Jazz Band on Direct Disc. The tuba solo on "When You're Smiling" is to die for. The triangle, followed by a full dixieland band on "Japanese Sandman" places the instruments in you face, well actually , ears. Once they are awed, we get back to what they want to hear. |
Tracy Nelson-Live From C Block D, is one of my favorite demos, especially for newbies to my listening room. Kind of a mixture of folk, country rock, and one of the most powerful female vocalists around. Originally part of Mother Earth, her live stuff is mesmerizing. No one seems to know about her, but having seen Mother Earth live in the late 60's/early 70's got me hooked on her vocal talents. |
Call me different I go for stuff that has unusual musicality and is downtempo BY BAND NAME - Album Name AIR = 10,000 Hz album for near rockers ALL INDIA RADIO - The Silent Surf - low key BLISS - my favorite female voice BALMORHEA - Self Titled, mellow BANCO DE GAIA = Last Train to Lhasa - Trains to Music on this one track BROKENKITES = Fugue State, deep and demanding EMANCIPATOR - Safe in the Steep Cliffs, articulate composition KATIE MELUA - yet another notable voice LINDSEY STERLING - Shatter Me = killer modern violin Let me know if anyone listens to these and I will rattle out the rest of the alphabet of my music. |
