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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Today it would be:
*Fever - Peggy Lee. Recorded in 1956 great sonics. Polygram
*Bach Keyboard Partitas 1-6, Ralph Kirkpatrick, Archiv. Again- 1956. Incredible air.
*Bach Organ Concerti after Vivaldi. Robert Noehren. What is it about 1956?
*Duets - Rob Wasserman. Rickie Lee Jones, Jennifer Warnes, Lou Reed - my favorite tracks
*beyond the Missouri Sky - Pat Metheny and Charlie Haden. Verve
and I forgot to mention...
Two stunning, off-the-beaten-path CD's:

Many fine choices above, am lucky enough to own a few dozen of them. Here are two you may have never heard of.

#1, Jonathan Elias, The Prayer Cycle

A choral symphony in nine movements. Stunning recording. And yet the sonic qualities pale in comparison to the emotional experience. Words fail me to describe the music.

Typical of the reviews by listeners on Amazon:

"...I first heard this as part of a radio program on the local NPR station, and was shamed into silence. The diversity of collaborators in this work (including US folk-rocker James Taylor, Yemenite singer Ofra Haza, Canadian rocker Alanis Morissette, the late Musrat Fateh Ali Khan [one of his last performances], the American Boychoir w/Devin Provenzano, the English Chamber Orch. & Chorus) shows the great number of fields that composer Jonathan Elias was drawing from.

The song "Hope" will lift your spirit, while James Taylor's melancholy vocals on "Grace" will move you to tears (At first, I thought he would be horribly out of place, but his voice fits the work perfectly!). The lyrics run all over the map in language. There are lyrics in Urdu, Mali, Latin, English, French, Italian, Hungarian, Dwala, Tibetan, German, Spanish and Hebrew, but they are listed in English in the CD booklet. I gather this is Elias' way of uniting the world. The lyrics are prayers, laments and pleas for forgiveness. The themes are loneliness, war and regret.

The style of music is definately classical, but does not limit itself to European roots. There are distinct influences from Africa, the Orient, and even various tribal nuances. For someone who was raised on European Classical music, it may be a shock to the system, but it works, and it is wonderful!

I forsee this recording to be one of the hand-picked few that future generations will draw upon for inspiration. As we as a people on this planet become closer, our world seems to become smaller. Our hopes, dreams, and cultures begin to overlap. This recording is proof that, when skillfully co-ordinated they can create incredible harmony.

Highly, highly reccomended. ..."

No one has yet given this CD less than the full 5 stars on Amazon.

I would be very interested to hear from anyone else who has discovered this CD.

URL:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00000ICMK/qid=1053404522/sr=8-4/ref=sr_8_4/102-4643195-9660129?v=glance&s=music&n=507846

#2 Less significant than the above, but exceedingly lovely:

Rosa Passos, "Eu e meu Coracao"

Brazillian singer/guitarist/composer, samba music. The songs and liner notes are in Portugese. It does not detract. In fact, I think I enjoy the music all the more for not being able to understand the words. The album is just Ms. Passos singing her songs and playing her guitar, accompanied by only an upright bass. Absolutely liquid vocals.

This is an import, but is available from Amazon. No one has yet reviewed it there. I think I may have to be the first. I found it at a local Borders.

When I think of how much money the college boys spend on alcohol trying to coax their coed counterparts into, uh, all-night study sessions, let's just say that I would have loved to have discovered this album 20 years ago!

Again, if anyone else out there is familiar with this recording, I would love to hear what you think.

Regards, and thanks for your ideas above,

GnD
An Opera CD for those who would never, ever buy an Opera CD: The #1 Opera Album ( 2CD set Decca 289 467 632-2). Now, I know some are thinking that they would rather get a poke in the eye with a sharp stick than listen to Opera, but you owe it to yourself to invest in this CD. Consider it an experiment. Start by listening to Disk 1 tracks 1,6,16, and Disk 2 tracks 9,10,11, and 16. The performances and sound are both stunning. This will become a "system demo" disk for many skeptics. I bought this at a Best Buy. Enjoy.
Other recordings to die for are just about any Steve Kimock Band shows made by several people using Schoeps and vintage Neumann/Schoeps/AKG/Telefunken tube microphones with full permission of the band. The sound has to be believed; non compressed sound with first class A/D and tube mic preamps...

There are hundreds of internet friendly bands among them moe, Leftover Salmon, John Scofield, and more (a few dead shows here and there...); check it out.

All available via the internet on download at such places as GDLIVE.ORG, philzone.net.

for a primer and links to the various software and database/show sites go to etree.org. It walks you through the process and all the software to download, convert to WAV files, and burn the CDR, is shareware and easily available. Only caveat is you must have a reliable wideband connection; no dialups need apply. It is completely FREE other than your time and the requisisite PC hardware.

This is as close as you are going to to get to live sound unless you get a recording taped under similar circumstances that has not been "processed" subsequent to the initial recording.

regards,

carl