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Great Recordings, Sonically Speaking - and Why.

I think many of us would accept that artists such as Pink Floyd, Steely Dan, and Dire Straits have consistently put out music that was at least originally recorded to a high technical standard. [I'm not too sure what the loudness wars may have done to subsequent reissues, but even so, the tone and timbre thankfully tends to remain intact.]

However there must be plenty of lesser known recordings out there that could be said to be of a high sonic standard.

One such recording that I like to put on in the background whilst I'm doing other things is a piano recording that features wonderfully lush timbre and some delightful tunes.

This one is The Disney Piano Collection by Hirohashi Makiko and to me it makes a lot of other piano recordings sound a little washed out.
cd318
ozzy's avatar
ozzy
7,498 posts
 
sumaato,
I am 68 and heard the name porcupine tree but never heard any of the music. The other's you have mentioned, never heard their names before!

ozzy
robert53
469 posts
 
Pet Shop Boys - Please - LP 180 Gram Parlophone
Joe Jackson - night and Day- LP 180 Gram A & M Universal Music
Lee Ritenour - Six String Theory and Stolen Moments - CDs
Glen Miller - In The Digital Mood - CD ( Made in Japan )
fyn
35 posts
 
Carmen Gomes Inc. " Up Jumped the Devil" is an outstanding example of how good a recording can be if the engineer takes the time to get everything right; Understanding the music and the musicians and making optimal use of the acoustic space and high quality equipment.

The album is available in RedBook CD on https://carmengomes.bandcamp.com/
and in hi-res on https://soundliaison.bandcamp.com/  
for ultra hi-res, DXD and DSD there is the https://www.soundliaison.com/ site.

There's a superb review of the album on the site that jimf421 mentioned;
....."This is some of the best sounding drum sound I have ever heard on a recording. Very dynamic and not reserved. The sound of the double bass is full, rich and powerful where needed but with no hint of bloat. And the guitar.....It is clear and reverberant. Naturally, not with added reverb. Of course, the vocals are captured beautifully. Carmen is right there in front of you. This recording doesn’t take you to the recording studio. Even better, it brings the recording studio to your listening room. Very few studio recordings do this. The drums to the left, Carmen in the middle in front of the instruments and the bass just to the right of her and the guitar to the right side of the soundstage. The sound is totally three dimensional. You almost feel like you can reach out and touch everyone. The sound is totally open with natural decay and depth. It is stunning. It really is. No hyperbole.".... https://audiophilestyle.com/ca/reviews/sound-liaison-one-mic-recording-r957/

cd318 OP
2,636 posts
 
@fyn,

Good review, it might be worth checking.
Seems like a lot of care was taken in the recording to maximize fidelity and not commerciality.

Not my favourite genre but I'll give some of the more upbeat numbers a listen later.


"One more word about the drums. Far too many recording engineers pan the drums across the soundstage, giving an unnatural size to the drums. Not here. The drums are focused in the sound field and sound like a drum kit does live. I wish this was the case in more jazz recordings."
 
sumaato
100 posts
 
sumaato,
I am 68 and heard the name porcupine tree but never heard any of the music. The other's you have mentioned, never heard their names before!
ozzy
Ozzy, If you put a foot in the water with any of those artists/labels, it will lead you to other artists/recordings of quality. Have fun!
Here's a few more:
--Cassandra Wilson
--The Future Kings of England
--Moses Sumney
--Agnes Obel
--Reference Recordings label-Classical
--Artemis on the Blue Note label
More to discover