Audiogon "RECORDINGS TO DIE FOR" list


I've been listening to some of my favorite recordings this weekend and was wondering what others on Audiogon felt were there favorites. We have all seen the Stereophile "Records to Die For", The Absolute Sounds recommended list, Music Directs' list, The Golden Ear, etc. now I'm hoping to assemble the Audiogon "Recordings To Die For". Please list your five favorite recordings, the ones you listen to over and over or play for friends. I would assume the sonic quality is excellent in that this is an audiophile site. The performance and enjoy ability should also be excellent. Please leave your top five, even if they are already chosen so we can discover the very top for the Audiogon listeners. ALSO PLEASE REFRAIN FROM CRITICIZING OTHERS OPINIONS AND JUST LEAVE YOUR FAVORITES!

August 2002: I have compiled a summary and a full printer-friendly list of all of the recommendations below.
click here to view summary
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My favorite five are,
Alan Parson Project ~ Pyrimid
Patty Smyth ~ Patty Smyth
Be Good Tayna's ~ Blue Horse
Eva Cassidy ~ Songbird (Superb Performance)
Willie Nelson ~ Greatest Hits (HDCD version) Excellent.

Three that come to mind, one a recent favourite, one slightly older, and finally a gendre-defining classic.

Camille, _Le Fil_

Femme vocal stuff, but not your typical jazz trio "audiophile music". Sung all in French, and the vocals are everywhere -- a lot of the background instruments are vocals too -- the "raspberry" as percussive element is an example of the fun in this album. Nice bass (electric and acoustic), nice dynamics, great voice, highly recommended.

Einstürzende Neubauten, _Silence is Sexy_

Those of you familiar with the artist's name probably remember them as a proto-industrial band (think punks gone "Stomp" and setting fire to things), but really they've gone and done something remarkable: this is an album of actual songs, and they are very good. Sung in a variety of languages (mostly German, some English), and yes it does get slightly raucous at times, but in a rock'n'roll kind of way. But every metal scraping, compressor blast, and rubber mallet thwack is done in the context of making music, and it is surprisingly well-recorded. Again -- nice use of dynamics in a contemporary "pop" context (as opposed to jazz or classical).

Talk Talk, _Spirit of Eden_

Probably the first "post-rock" album, this album has enough atmosphere for an entire career, but alas, they only did two albums like this (the other being [b][i]Laughing Stock[/i][/b]). You wouldn't think a band whose breakaway hit was the synthpop standard "Talk Talk" could do an album with such an unorthodox disregard for rhythm, and yet, here it is. Songs don't have the standard structure of verse/chorus so much as they ebb and flow to the tides of whimsy. Lots of cleanly recorded trumpet and highly distorted harmonica and a bunch of other instruments in between as well as scratchings and scrapings of who knows what and quite possibly the burbling of a nearby brook (alright, it's probably a rainstick, whatever).

And yet, not a single sound is out of place -- every single one is purposeful.
Name - Artist (Format; Label)
Waiting for Columbus - Little feat (LP; Warner Bros)
Shootout at the Fantasy Factory - Traffic (LP - Island)
Sunday at the Vanguard - Bill Evans (CD; Riverside - a little 'bright' - LP is probably much better)
Explorations - Bill Evans (SACD; Riverside)
Sound of Sonny - Sonny Rollins (SACD; Riverside)
Silver's Blue - Horace Silver Quintet (LP; Epic)
Meeting by the River - Cooder & Bhatt (CD, Water Lily Acoustic)
Tabula Rasa - Fleck, Bhatt, and Chen (CD, Water Lily Acoustic)
My 5 faves:

Red-King Crimson
Pawn Hearts-Van Der Graaf Generator
Egyptology- World Party
Two Doors- Michael Shrieve, Jonas Hellborg & Shawn Lane
Spin- Stewart&Gaskin

Riki
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