Great music but poor recording recommendations.


It hit me that, when I visit most of my audiophile friends, that they are always playing Holly Cole, Pat Barber, Diana Krall, Kraftwerk, Dead Can Dance and other things that are well recorded but not very consonant with my musical sensibility. Most of the music I really enjoy is pretty badly recorded. So I thought that, in the interest of widening musical exposure, we could start a thread with great music that is not particularly well recorded but deserves a hearing from our audiophile friends. Doesn't have to be the worst recording ever or anything like that, just mediocre will do. I'll throw three out. "Introducing Roland Kirk", originally released on Argo and subsequently on Chess. This is Kirk's first record as a leader, before he became Rashaan, a real winner. Recording quality suffers in comparison to his later work on Mercury/Limelight and Atlantic. Robert Earl Keen, "Number 2 Live Dinner". OK, I said that I wouldn't pick the very worst recording, but this may be right up there, hey, it's my thread so I can cheat. Unbelieveable songwriting from this unsung Texas troubadour. Townes (who made a few terrible sounding recordings as well) would be proud. The Strokes "Room On Fire", their latest effort sounds like a direct-to-disc compared to this sophomore outing. More sludge than a Mississippi River flood. One can easily argue that, in this case, we are dealing with artisitic intent. For a brief moment, the only new band that mattered. Next.
128x128viridian
A couple of cds with great music that is poorly recorded are Santana's "Abraxas" and "The Joshua Tree" by U2. It may just be the particular versions I have but these have less than audiophile sound. These two recordings are some of the ones I listen to when deciding if speakers are keepers or not.
-Iggy and the Stooges, Raw Power/It's good to have this stuck in your head, but it's painful to go back and listen to cuz the recording is so bad.
-Roland Kirk, Prepare Thyself to Deal With a Miracle
-Sun Ra, Astro Black
-Ornette Coleman, The Art Of Improvisers
-T-Rex, Slider
-Mule, Wrung
So much mentioned on A'gon about Joni Mitchell these past few days. For me it's BLUE. Also, does anyone know of a good sounding remaster of Exile on Main Street (Stones)? I find the 180 gram vinyl edition a TOTAL waste of 25 bucks.
I also agree very strongly about Yes- Fragile, fabulous work of art but disappointing recording (why does this happen when Yes was at the top of their game???)
One example leaps to mind for me- Jimi Hendrix.

IMO, much of his recorded legacy serves as a reminder of the importance of properly recording musical talent.

Still, I listen :)