Audio Chews: the hi-fi and music community

mattlynch

hi all,
as in the title , i would love to know your personal faves,doesnt have to be five of course,, any format, any genre
thankyou all in advance,
best regards,
matt

uglymusic

What are yours, Matt?

mattlynch

thats a tough one, but i will have a go,
first up would have to be a recent purchase, James Blake,self titled,, the vinyl first pressing is quite alarmingly real sounding and seems to have endless extension at both frequency extremes ,
next up is the Isaac Hayes shaft soundtrack on the stax label, first pressing, beautiful ,dynamic and again gives a very real presentation,
jimi Hendrix electric ladayland ,track record first pressing, ,,my jaw hit the floor the first time i heard this and every time since,the studio , performers and hangers on are all captured with aplomb, still makes me very sad that we lost this guy when he was just getting into his stride,,
black sabath paranoid , first pressing, this is the best recorded rock lp ever, it feels like the band just walked in and played , real dynamics and an innocence in the performance that is so rare IMO,
buena vista social club , classic records quiex 200g edition, transports me right there in front of the band, special!
Mingus, blues and roots and ah um, brilliant recordings and performances, a depth to the recordings and brilliantly clear positioning of the performers, i often wonder how many times Mingus had to re-take these lps as they are to me perfect and sound like there was only two mono mic's with the performers being moved around to get the balance right rather than an engineer faffing around with a desk,
miles Davis , quiet nights and porgy and Bess, i have these in first re-issues and they are fantastic,, again a little bit of recorded magic that always gives me the impression they were recorded from a few rows back with only a stereo or two mono mic's, vivid and dynamic but subtle and gentle too,
there are more but i think that will do for now,
i look forward to your posts guys,
all the very best,
matt
:)

uglymusic

OK. I reserve the right to choose a completely different five, but these are pretty good:

Paul Bley/Gary Peacock/Paul Motian - Not Two, Not One
Don Cherry - Brown Rice
Charles Mingus - Ah Um
Abdullah Ibrahim - Africa. Tears & Laughter
David Torn - Prezens

They're all plain Redbook digital rips.

alfamatt

I'd like to add Shelby Lynn's Dusty Springfield tribute album entitled Just a little lovin'

Fantastic open, uncompressed & dimensional sound.

OK, I'm not saying that she is better than Dusty, but the recording quality is superb, regardless of what you think of her interpretations.

Check out the 1st track if in doubt.

I try to avoid using the same old tracks time after time to judge hifi systems with, as I end up getting fed up of certain songs. I dread to think how dealers feel when they hear the same songs in their dem rooms day after day!

Matt.

scottyhammer

Chris Jones - roadhouses and automobiles is a fantastic recording which is a benchmark by which all producers should want to achieve.

Brumjam

Agree with Matt re Shelby Lynne's 'Just a Little Lovin' album - I've not heard better than this in terms of recording quality.

Eva Cassidy's 'Live at Blues Alley' is a great live recording and I can't help be moved every time I listen to it.

Will have a think about my remaining three choices.

James

Docfoster

Louis Armstrong plays WC Handy.
Electric Lady land is a good call above, as is Mingus ah um.
Most of the Ella Fitzgerald songbooks are wonderfully realistic.
A left field choice - New FADs "pigeonhole" is nicely underproduced, and underrated LP.
The original Rare on Air compilation is good too - Lindsey Buckingham's solo acoustic of Never Going Back Again is brilliant.

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