Beautiful recordings:Janis Ian "Breaking Silence", Mary Stallings"Fine and Mellow", Dave Brubeck "Time Out'.
Truly Stunning Vinyl Album
Hey friends, I'm relatively new here, first topic post but I read Audiogon topics daily. I'm a total neophyte with a not-inexpensive mid-fi system (Rogue Cronus iii Dark amp, Michel Gyro SE TT, Maggie 3.7i speakers, and a single Perlisten D15s sub, and an Eversolo DMP A8 streamer), and a growing vinyl collection that I'm partial to over streaming (unless I'm working and can't bother to flip the record). I love classic rock, Neil Young, the Stones, and the Grateful Dead, but really I like almost all genres (not into rap or thrasher metal) and since setting up my system I routinely play jazz and classical albums, and artists I never paid much attention to but now listen to quite frequently because their albums sound great on my system (e.g. Jethro Tull, Santana). So with all of that context, what I'm interested in is any TRULY STUNNING vinyl albums you can recommend, in any genre. I'm not asking for a desert island list, or any list of your favorite albums. I have those lists too, but they're dominated by musicians/groups I love and aren't necessarily "stunning" beyond my own subjective tastes. I'm interested in hearing about the one or two albums in your collection that just blow you away for whatever reason (and please explain). I'll kick it off with the Impex reissue of chamber music by Jascha Heifetz in mono, called The Lark. If you had told me that one of the top 3 records in my collection would be a mono chamber music album, I'd have laughed you out of my house. But it just blows me away. I listen to it daily. Why does it blow me away? Mostly it's the opening piece, Heifetz and an organist playing Vitali's Chaconne. It starts off with somber organ tones that I feel in my soul thanks to the Perlisten D15s sub, and then all of a sudden Heifetz comes crashing in with his piercing violin, and it is so darn stunning and beautiful I could listen to it daily until they plant me. And I don't even have a mono cartridge! So that's the type of album I'm looking for, in any genre. Something younwould play for anyone, and regardless of what genre they prefer, they would likely agree this album is truly stunning. Can you recommend anything like that? And in case you're interested, here's a great review of the Heifetz album:
https://positive-feedback.com/reviews/music-reviews/jascha-heifetz-the-lark/
Thanks for any recommendations!
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I don’t listen that much to classical on lp because the wide dynamic range of the music is poorly served in this medium—average recording levels have to be set quite low which makes noise, like ticks and pops quite intrusive. Still, there are many very good sounding recordings on vinyl. Every record I have heard on the British label Lyrita was terrific sounding. Among my favorites for sound and content iis Elizabeth Machonchy’s Symphony for Double String Orchestra. I have the EMI recordings mentioned above and they too are good. Jazz is particularly well served on vinyl, with many of the great recordings sounding better than digital reissues, and many originals sound better than vinyl reissues. If you want to show people how spectacular mono records sound, get a vinyl copy of Sonny Rollins “Saxophone Colossus.” Many original issues are very expensive, but, big labels like Columbia pressed a lot of copies so otiginal issues are not super rare and they are very well recorded. I like, for example, Brubeck’s “Take Five” and Ellington’s “Blues in Orbit” as examples of spectacular stereo recordings from the late 1950’s (it is sad to see how little recordings have improved since then). For audiophile recordings of every genre, get almost every direct-to-disc recording for vivid and ‘alive” sound. M&K records (e.g. “For Duke” (Ellington numbers), “Fatha” (Earl Hines)), Sheffield Records (e.g. Wagner Ring excerpts, Amanda McBroom “Growing Up in Hollywood Town”) and East Wind (Japanese jazz label, e.g., Great American Jazz Trio “Direct From L.A. “) have amazing sound. Another great Japanese label is Three Blind Mice (e.g., Yamamoto Trio “Midnight Sugar”). The Swedish label Proprius does very good sounding records, although I did not like their famous “Jazz at the Pawnshop” for the performance (not the sound) and played it only once. |
Absolutely stunning is what I understand is the first digital recording made available to the general public, the LP Fredrick Fennell conducting the Cleveland Symphonic Winds on Telarc Stereo 5038. Infectious music by Holst, Handel and Bach with the introduction of the infamous Telarc bass drum that will make your sub stand up and salute. Avoid the CD release, however, it’s horrendous. Gotta hear Erich Leinsdorf and the Los Angeles Philharmonic performing Wagner on a Sheffield direct disc Sheffield Lab 7. Reference level dynamics and instrumental textures. Mel Torme and the Buddy Rich Big Band at their absolute peak in “Together Again for the First Time” a 1978 direct to disc album from Century records (CRDD1100), a Grammy winner in 1979. I was lucky to see them live in 1979. Unique in my experience, this album was also released in a “normal” release on Gryphon G-784. Exactly the same performance but the D2D was recorded with 2 mics on the band and a solo mic for Mel while the Gryphon was recorded and with the more typical multi-mic arrangement to tape. Interesting comparison… Finally, a Harry Pearson favorite on Lyrita, Malcolm Arnold: English, Irish, Scottish, & Cornish Dances. This is music you can play for your friends who hate classical music. The original LP is rare and expensive if you can find one, but the CD, Lyrita SRCD.201, is excellent and still available for like $15 on Amazon. |
Masterpieces by Duke Ellingtonhttps://www.musicdirect.com/music/vinyl/duke-ellington-masterpieces-by-ellington-180g-mono-vinyl-lp/ |
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