Whats on your turntable tonight?

Palasr, any comments on the sound quality of the Doors - Morrison Hotel (45 RPM/Analogue Productions)?
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Rushton,

I also own the first Doors LP and Strange Days from the 45 RPM series, and I think they both make significant improvements over the originals. My impression of Morrison Hotel is that it may be the best of the lot (thus far) - it really parses the frequency extremes nicely, opens up the soundscape to let the recording breathe dynamically, and removes a lot of grunge I felt always vexed this particular recording. While I never owned any exotic pressings of Morrison Hotel, this 45 absolutely eviscerates the copy I do own. Just my 2 cents.

Tonight: LA Woman

Thanks, Palasr!

Last night I took the new 45RPM version of LA Woman out for a spin. Nope. I'd pass on this one if you own a nice original with the die-cut/cellophane cover. The original has the music in spades, whereas the 45 leaves something behind - it's rather clinical in its presentation, and I felt there were a few passages where they tried too hard to crank up level, resulting in overload bordering on distortion; the equalization of the low frequencies also seems too bloated for my taste. The original pressing has better balance top to bottom, and captures the essence of the performance better.

For my money, I like Morrison Hotel the best out of the four I bought, closely followed by Strange Days. The first album trails not too far behind, and LA Woman comes in a very distant fourth and is my only regret of the bunch. Good listening.

Listened to this afternoon:

Dvorak, "New World Symphony," Leonard Slatkin conducting the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Telarc DG-10053.
Very slow tempi in the first two movements; worked for me but won't be to everyone's taste. Wonderful sonics -- one of Telarc's best IMO.

Beethoven, "Hammerklavier Sonata," Paul Badura-Skoda performing on an 1824 Fortepiano, Astree AS47.
An absolute treasure, musically and sonically.

Best regards,
-- Al