Whats on your turntable tonight?

Bjork, Selmasongs the soundtrack to the Lars Von Trier movie Dancer in the Dark. I picked the the Little Indian reissue, direct metal mastered on 200g vinyl.

This is one of many titles I picked up this weekend during the Montreal Audio Show. Out of all them this is the biggest surprise. I already owned the CD of this recording but was never impressed by the sound quality. But the vinyl blew me away.

Other picks were:
Keith Jarret - Yesterdays, double LP on ECM. Fabulous and Musical! It was a costly addition to my collection so I had high expectations, and my expectation were easily met.

Blue Rodeo's new album, sounds good but not terribly impressed by the music. There are a few good tracks. I bought for my wife mostly. I prefer Five Days in July.

I also picked up various other used titles on ECM, and some classical titles as well. I'll save my comments on those for future posts!

Dave Brubeck "Gold"

Sphere "Flight Path"

Joni Mitchell "Song to a Seagull"

Poulenc "Organ Concerto" Michael Murray/Atlanta Symphony/Robert Shaw/ Telarc

"Diggin' Up Down Under!" - V/A [Dig The Fuzz '9?] Way strong Aussie 60's freakbeat comp
Peter & Gordon - "In London For Tea" [Capitol '66]
Gram Parsons/Flying Burrito Bros. - "Sleepless Nights" [A&M '76, rec. '70 and '73]
The Persuaders - S/T [Atco '73]
Bill Evans - "Quintessence" [Fantasy '77] With Kenny Burrell, Philly Joe Jones, Ray Brown and Harold Land...gotta spin this masterpiece of intense quietude and compellingly intimate recorded sound at least one day each year

Then in memory of Robert Culp finally watched supposed cultural touchstone and multi-Oscar winner "Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice" [Columbia '69, dir. Paul Mazursky] which I'd had for years without giving it a play (mostly pedestrian soundtrack by the ubiquitous Quincy Jones). Dated? Of course, in the extreme, but that's half the point with a piece like this, that could and would never be made in later days, and it does feel like it captures one facet of a unique moment in time (and place -- this could only have been set in California). Though one might wish for a slightly more jaundiced view -- and despite some less than completely believable or fully developed pretenses (not to mention a notable lack'o what and who else was going on in the world at the time, only implied by the degree to which it's ignored in the film's insularly depticted, bourgeois faux-hip sunnySoCal backdrop) -- this still manages to hold up as not only funny but challenging, one assumes not least of all for the actors involved. So here's to ya Bob (and Natalie, who could not have been any foxier)

e,

Do you know the performance of the Poulenc "Organ Concerto" by Pretre (with Durufle on organ) on EMI ASD 2835? It has a wonderful performance of the Gloria for Soprano Solo, Chorus and Orchestra on the reverse side. This version of the Organ Concerto has always been my favorite, even in the Angel pressing incarnation.
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Monahans - Low Pining

The music/band is phenomenal. This slab, that I have on my tt right now is - one of the best recorded/pressing's = great sounding records I have heard to date.

Genre: Indie Rock (Americana)