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RECORDS THAT HAVE IMPRESSED PEOPLE SO MUCH THEY BOUGHT MY STEREO

 Remember the good ol' days when you put ads in the local newspapers and were not afraid. to let total strangers into your home? I remember one time I got a call from a girl who wanted to make arrangements to come over with a friend to check out some speakers I had advertised for sale in the newspaper classifieds.She showed up with a guy who was obviously blind.She led him in and directed him toward the speakers.The speakers were not playing anything yet, but he walked over to one of them,felt all up and down the perfect cabinet with his hand and without even hearing a note,he shook his head "No" to the girl and they left out the door.The whole thing took less than a minute.I guess the cabinets didn't "feel" big enough to him.But that's not the way it usually went.You usually had to put something on so they could hear how the equipment sounded.

 Even back then when home audio was at its peak,you usually wouldn't' get that many calls on a classified ad,so you knew you really had to make it count.Which brought up a bit of a decision making dilemna of just what music to play for them in order to impress them enough to make the sale.

 Nowadays a lot of people at shows and such choose simple minimally miked recordings of a singing voice,(usually female) and a few background musicians, a piano usually.Now these recordings do sound pleasant enough but the music itself is usually not particularly memorable or "really COOKING". To really impress someone into spending serious money, shouldn't' they be using something more musically memorable with lots of complex,beautifully layered instrumentation? When selling equipment that's the kind of stuff I used to use to demonstrate equipment.Maybe the sound is not 100% as clean as some of these so called "purist" recordings chosen today,but they were clean enough and far more impressive in other ways; and not "a bore".The idea is to stimulate and excite people into wanting something bad enough to pay for it,and at those prices they "really" have to want it.Here then are some of the LP's that I used to demonstrate equipment with which almost always got me that "sale"so I could use the money to continue on my upgrading path.These are mostly obscure, seldom if ever discussed titles but not so rare you can't find them somewhere with good selection.

 Jungle Fever by Neil Larsen.This not that well known late 1970's  jazz fusion classic features really cooking keyboard playing by Neil Larsen,(original compositions too) along with excellent guitarist Buzz Feiten,with really good drummer and percussion and occasional,but tastefully arranged horns.Really excellent,memorable and unique.I believe Neil, who is depicted on the cover was from Florida,but the group seems to be better known in Japan.The Japanese know amazing jazz and a great recording when they hear it.

 I DON'T CARE "ask anyone".This one I discovered in a 1970's pawnshop that always had boxes upon boxes of used records.It was not in the greatest shape and years later I finally found a mint copy.Once again a really unique cooking sound with great compositions,vocals,great variety of instrumentation, rhythm and horn section,and really good music with a lot of interesting stuff going on simultaneously.The music even often has a sense of humor,like the title. 

 Downwind/Crosscurrents by the group Gong.Same era,same kind of music and recording.Pierre Moerlan is a great vibraphone player along with his younger brother,teamed up with great musicians like former Rolling Stones guitarist Mick Taylor and others.Once again a whole lot of cooking instrumentation going on at once.Very unique.May take several listens to grow on you.By the fourth or fifth listen you might find it a  unique masterpiece.The CD is decent also but I think is available only as an import.The LP is not that rare but somewhat scarce here in the US.Mostly original compositions.You won't believe their version of Santana's classic Oye Como Va,(spelling?),especially on a high end system with fast transient response.

 RIO by Lee Rittenour.This is something very different by him with a Latin tinge.If ever there was a guitar album of mostly acoustic instrumentation where the guitarist just could not choose a wrong note being on such a creative high, its this one.This was recorded digitally and has a hint of digital character but is still a wonderful recording.Loads of different instruments used on this one.Fairly common to locate as an LP or CD.Very hard to locate as a Japanese XRCD. Speaking of Japan I will soon be experiencing my first ULTRA HIGH QUALITY CD on order.They make the discs out of a special material that is said to allow more faithful and precise pit pressing.

supertweak
jsd52756
432 posts
 
Shadorne: I heard the live acoustic version of "Keith..." on Radio Paradise a couple weeks ago while driving and it is freakin' awesome.  Thanks for reminding me.  Off to Tidal I go to play it at home.
Thanks for reminding my geriatric ass about it.
-John
kacomess
199 posts
 
Two obscure but well-recorded albums of the era:
The original pressing verges on spectacular and it's both cheap and readily available on Discogs.com: "The Camarata Contemporary Chamber Group, The Velvet Gentleman: Music of Erik Satie"

Another -  overpriced on the used market, but a 2011 vinyl re-release of the 1970 album is available on Acoustic Sounds - is, "On the Shore" by the British psychedelic folk-rock group "Trees". The cover is one of the best from the famed Hipgnosis studio.

uncledemp
778 posts
 
Wow, Rastus, haven’t heard or thought of them in years. What a blast from the past!
noromance's avatar
noromance
9,766 posts
 
Dug out Talk Talk ’The Colour of Spring’.
Bought it when it came out in the 80s. Great studio analog recording and a seminal album of the New Romantic genre. Sounds better than ever. Great percussion and bass.

supertweak OP
90 posts
 
Thanks for the recommendations.I will actively try to seek out some of them.There was  a jazz fusion supergroup called Return To Forever headed by Chick Corea with Stanley Clarke on bass and Al Dimeola on electric guitar.There is a CD box set with a generous amount of their music that's great music and near reference quality.Watch the volume the dynamics are loud.Another reference sound quality CD is the best of Bill Bruford.I believe he was the keyboard player for the group Yes before going solo.Very unique excellent well recorded music.Track 1 and 2 on the CD were the ones that got the most airplay.The last track "The Sahara Of Snow" they used to use in the Jazz Laserium show back in the late 1970's and early 1980's here.Heavy Weather by Weather Report was another cooking album.Never get tired of it even after 40 years of occasionally playing it.There is a group called Passport which is also great and plays in the same style.There is a half speed mastered LP entitled Max Groove which is also a cooking favorite.Tim Weisbergs albums are also really consistently good music,cooking at times and his bass player was unbelievable.Try Tim Weisbergs 4 or Listen to The City.Interestingly there was group called Listen To The City and their self titled LP is great music.Rastus was a good group that to me sounded like a cross bbetween The Electric Flag with Buddy Miles and The Sopwith Camel.There was an album I really liked by a group named Peddler also which is really obscure I believe.

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