Permanent Waves
Digital Man
Linda Ronstadt - Don't Cry Now (MFSL)
DR = 11
DR = 11
Today's Audiophile Album Playlist
- Thread starter Permanent Waves
- Start date
Permanent Waves
Digital Man
John Lee Hooker - The Healer (MFSL)
DR = 13
DR = 13
Permanent Waves
Digital Man
Paul McCartney & Wings - Band on the Run (DCC)
DR = 12
DR = 12
Thanks Nines!
Vinyl is fine, such as those released by MFSL for instance. :thmbsp:
Japanese vinyl...I'm not sure. :scratch2: I know that many of my first press CD's are Japanese, but though I often find those to be the best sounding versions of certain albums, they are not "audiophile" in the sense of being different since they are just standard Redbook CD's, so I haven't planned on posting them in here. I assume the same goes for vinyl Japanese pressings; however since I'm not into vinyl personally I must profess ignorance on this issue.
However, with that said (if it is indeed correct), since the term "audiophile" is imo very ambiguous and arbitrary, I can see that what is generally considered as the best sounding version of a release (on standard vinyl or CD) could also be considered "audiophile" in that sense. So I think that this thread could encompass such releases and I, at least, have no problem with them being in here. :thmbsp:
So, short version: I think regular CD and vinyl releases that are considered at least among the best sounding versions of an album are fine and once again that this thread could evolve into something more encompassing regarding what is an "audiophile" release by including what are regarded as the best sounding versions of an album even if (or regardless of whether) those are just standard vinyl and CD issues. After all, imo, often my standard first press CD's (or later standard remasters/remixes) are the best sounding versions of a given album, so surely they are "audiophile" in the most important sense of the word: they sound the best to me!
Got it, thanks. :thmbsp:
Sarah Vaughan
The Lonely Hours
-Roulette- (45rpm, one-sided, clear vinyl) Classic Records "Limited Edition".
......
Mozart
Violin Concertos
Marianne Thorsen - Violin
These 2L releases are hi resolution DXD 352.8khz/24bit Direct Metal Masters. Every year Stereophile Magazine releases a list of "Records to Die for" and this was on the list. It also won the Norwegian GRAMMY as Best Classical Album.
Recorded in Selbu Church, Norway, May 2006 by Lindberg Lyd As. Pressed by PALLAS Germany
2L Records
2L-038-LP
Violin Concertos
Marianne Thorsen - Violin
These 2L releases are hi resolution DXD 352.8khz/24bit Direct Metal Masters. Every year Stereophile Magazine releases a list of "Records to Die for" and this was on the list. It also won the Norwegian GRAMMY as Best Classical Album.
Recorded in Selbu Church, Norway, May 2006 by Lindberg Lyd As. Pressed by PALLAS Germany
2L Records
2L-038-LP
Dennie
Klipsch La Scalas
Hasten Down The Wind -- Limited Edition #2905 24k Gold CD
Linda Ronstadt
1976/2009 Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs Ultradisc II
In addition to original material, Linda covers Patsy Cline's "Crazy" and Buddy Holly's "That'll Be The Day" and emerges with sure-fire hits.
Released in the middle of the singer's prime output, 1976's Hasten Down The Wind is one of Linda Ronstadt's most powerful, mature and yes, adventuresome albums she was to undertake. Drawing on mostly ballads and using crafted arrangements to emphasize vocals (many featuring gorgeous a capella sections); never to-date had she delivered such a song-to-song concentration of emotion. Continuing to find her muses in writers as diverse as the late Warren Zevon ("Hasten Down The Wind"), Ry Cooder ("The Tattler"), Willie Nelson ("Crazy") and truly Karla Bonoff ("If He's Ever Near" and two of the strongest cuts: "Lose Again," "Someone To Lay Down Beside Me"), this collection was the artist's first to go platinum and captured her a Grammy for the year's Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Her cover of Buddy Holly's "That'll Be The Day" charted at #11 on the Singles Chart, while "Crazy" peaked at #6. The album itself topped the Country Chart and went to #3 on Pop. Support comes from many of her regulars; Andrew Gold, Russ Kunkel, Waddy Wachtel, Kenny Edwards and Dan Dugmore plus guest harmony vocals on the title tune by Eagle Don Henley.
Features:
• Numbered, Limited Edition
• 24 Karat Gold - Ultradisc II
Selections:
1. Lose Again
2. The Tattler
3. If He's Ever Near
4. That'll Be The Day
5. Lo Siento Mi Vida
6. Hasten Down The Wind
7. Rivers Of Babylon
8. Give One Heart
9. Try Me Again
10. Crazy
11. Down So Low
12. Someone To Lay Down Beside Me
Permanent Waves
Digital Man
Good! I wasn't sure I understood it myself. :saywhat:
I think it will be beneficial to many to have well regarded vinyl versions of albums posted in here. :yes:
I've got that one too, as well as Prisoner in Disguise on MFSL. :thmbsp:
The Kinks - You Really Got Me & Kinda Kinks (MFSL)
DR = 10
Permanent Waves
Digital Man
Billy Joel - Glass Houses (MFSL, SACD)
DR = 13
DR = 13
Good! I wasn't sure I understood it myself. :saywhat:
....
Yeah, .....you basically said as long as it comes from an audiophile label or sounds real good.
KrisM
Lunatic Member
I spun a few gold CDs this weekend.
Robert Johnson - King Of The Delta Blues Singers
Billie Holiday - Lady In Satin
Duke Ellington - Black, Brown, Beige
Miles Davis - Kind Of Blue
Van Morrison - Blowin Your Mind
All Sony Mastersound titles.
Also played a Mofi CD, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee - Sonny & Brownie.
Robert Johnson - King Of The Delta Blues Singers
Billie Holiday - Lady In Satin
Duke Ellington - Black, Brown, Beige
Miles Davis - Kind Of Blue
Van Morrison - Blowin Your Mind
All Sony Mastersound titles.
Also played a Mofi CD, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee - Sonny & Brownie.
Permanent Waves
Digital Man
Yeah, .....you basically said as long as it comes from an audiophile label or sounds real good.
Yep, in my typical prolix over-explaining way.
I wasn't sure I had it right regarding vinyl releases though.
Nice! I think I have some of those titles on MFSL/AF/or DCC but not on SMS. I'll have to check. I don't have many SMS titles.
KrisM
Lunatic Member
I've got a bunch of them. I worked for Sony years ago, and got a nice discount on their music catalog. They had a flat rate per disc, so the Mastersound CDs were priced the same as the regular CDs.:thmbsp:
I don't play them all that much, but this thread has me thinking I should revisit them all.
Permanent Waves
Digital Man
Ah, very cool! :thmbsp:
And yea, it's good to periodically compare different releases of an album to reassess the sonic qualities between them imo (especially after you change something in your system(s)).
I was wrong: I have the Van Morrison - Blowin Your Mind, Billie Holiday - Lady in Satin, and Miles Davis - Kind of Blue on SMS and not on any other gold label. I have a MS Word list of all of my gold titles, but I haven't keep it totally up to date. Got to do that!
Dennie
Klipsch La Scalas
Bat Out Of Hell -- 24k Gold CD
Meatloaf - Songs by Jim Steinman
1977 Cleveland/Epic Legacy
Indulgent, Overblown ... Just The Way I Like It!, May 19, 2000
By Bill R. Moore (New York, USA)
(TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Bat Out of Hell (Audio CD)
This album falls somewhere between progressive rock, classical, and opera. Strange? Yes. Good? Definitely. A classic? You bet.
One reviewer said that Meat Loaf is a "pretty good singer". Man, is that a major understatement. Meat is one of the greatest singers of all-time. Although he is not my favorite singer, you'd be hardpressed to find another rock vocalist who could pull off these songs and not make them sound corny.
Despite what some reviewers have said, that is exactly what he does here. Every single song is a masterpiece. The title track is a classic rock song, with the timeless "motorcycle guitar" from Todd Rundgren (who also does a masterly job producing this album). Paradise is the most well known song from here, and with good reason, it is great. Heaven Can Wait is a simple song (a rarity on this album) that features one of Meat's best ever vocal performances and some great piano work from Roy Bittan.
Jim Steinman is a genius, plain and simple, anyone who could write such grandiose, sprawling music as this should be given credit, and no one else could've sung it except for Meat Loaf. For that reason alone, Bat Out of Hell is worth owning.
Side one
No. Title Length
1. "Bat Out of Hell" 9:48
2. "You Took the Words Right out of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night)" (intro spoken by Jim Steinman and Marcia McClain) 5:04
3. "Heaven Can Wait" 4:38
4. "All Revved Up with No Place to Go" 4:19
Side two
No. Title Length
5. "Two out of Three Ain't Bad" 5:23
6. "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" (duet with Ellen Foley) 8:28
7. "For Crying Out Loud" 8:45
KrisM
Lunatic Member
It's a Mofi blues night.
Albert King - Born Under A Bad Sign
Jimmy Reed - At Carnegie Hall
Albert Collins - Cold Snap
All three are highly recommended, IMO. The Reed actually has nothing to do with Carnegie though, but is an awesome two for one disc.
If I have time, I might also play some John Mayall Mofi goodness.
Albert King - Born Under A Bad Sign
Jimmy Reed - At Carnegie Hall
Albert Collins - Cold Snap
All three are highly recommended, IMO. The Reed actually has nothing to do with Carnegie though, but is an awesome two for one disc.
If I have time, I might also play some John Mayall Mofi goodness.
Last edited:
Permanent Waves
Digital Man
Very cool.
I'll look into those. I'm not real big on blues and only have a few gold blues albums. Miles Davis - Kind of Blue (SMS)
DR = 14
Compared to my 1997 Columbia CD remixed release (DR = 13), I prefer this SMS version. The former release is clearer, but it also, as so typical of the loudness war which was fully underway by the late 90's, unnecessarily louder than need be imo.
These are the only two versions I actually have of this album since I played it so often during my teen and college years (first on cassette and later on the '97 CD release) that I don't often listen to it these days. I still should check out some other digital releases of it sometime.
Dennie
Klipsch La Scalas
Hey PW, I don't have the Mofi "Prisoner".... yet!
This is the only other Mofi "Gold" of hers I have.... :thmbsp:
Simple Dreams -- Limited Edition #575 24k Gold CD
Linda Ronstadt
2009 Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs Ultradisc II
Linda Ronstadt just couldn’t lose. Another of her interpretive masterworks, 1977’s stunning Simple Dreams continued a creative streak that found the singer turning out album after album of incredible material at an astonishing one-per-year rate until she finally began to come back down to earth in the early 1980s. Featuring an expanded palette of styles and cutting-edge narratives, Simple Dreams may go down in history as Ronstadt’s greatest work.
Achievements:
• Grammy Nomination for Record of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female
• Five consecutive weeks as the No. 1 record on the Billboard Album Chart
• Two Top 10 Singles
Paired again with expert producer and arranger Peter Asher, Ronstadt delves into even deeper emotional waters to convey the feelings associated with loss, fantasy, risk, and romance. Her choice of material is simultaneously appropriate and bold. The singer’s smash cover of Roy Orbison’s “Blue Bayou”—which remains the definitive version—sits alongside an edgy reinvention of the Rolling Stones’ “Tumbling Dice.” As she does on the latter, Ronstadt also turns the tables on a smoking rendition of Warren Zevon's “Poor Poor Pitiful Me.” With her strong female presence, she puts a woman in the power position on a male-dominant song. On Simple Dreams, she not only joins the elite boy’s club—she runs it.
Electrifying country-rock threads run throughout the album, which features a host of top-notch musicians that include fiddler David Lindley, Neil Young associate Spooner Oldham, guitarist Waddy Wachtel, and a superb horn section. As all great session performers do, they invisibly blend into the song, and allow Ronstadt's singing to carry. And it’s not just her voice but her way with words, phrasing, and tones. She takes every song personally. Whether conveying sympathy, sadness, loneliness, or—as on her remarkable roots duet with Dolly Parton on the traditional “I Will Never Marry”—proud independence, the feelings are her own. Every note brims with conviction, passion, and understanding.
Mastered from the original master tapes, Mobile Fidelity’s numbered limited-edition 24K Gold CD marks the first time that this timeless classic has been presented in any kind of remastered form. Intimate, immediate, and detailed, the pressing brings Ronstadt’s seven-octave range to the fore. As a result, these songs have never sounded so emotional, rich, pure, or, in a word, human.
Features:
• Numbered, Limited Edition
• 24 Karat Gold - Ultradisc II
Selections:
1. It's So Easy
2. Carmelita
3. Simple Man, Simple Dream
4. Sorrow Lives Here
5. I Never Will Marry (w/Dolly Parton)
6. Blue Bayou
7. Poor, Poor Pitiful Me
8. Maybe I'm Right
9. Tumbling Dice
10. Old Paint
This is the only other Mofi "Gold" of hers I have.... :thmbsp:
Simple Dreams -- Limited Edition #575 24k Gold CD
Linda Ronstadt
2009 Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs Ultradisc II
Linda Ronstadt just couldn’t lose. Another of her interpretive masterworks, 1977’s stunning Simple Dreams continued a creative streak that found the singer turning out album after album of incredible material at an astonishing one-per-year rate until she finally began to come back down to earth in the early 1980s. Featuring an expanded palette of styles and cutting-edge narratives, Simple Dreams may go down in history as Ronstadt’s greatest work.
Achievements:
• Grammy Nomination for Record of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female
• Five consecutive weeks as the No. 1 record on the Billboard Album Chart
• Two Top 10 Singles
Paired again with expert producer and arranger Peter Asher, Ronstadt delves into even deeper emotional waters to convey the feelings associated with loss, fantasy, risk, and romance. Her choice of material is simultaneously appropriate and bold. The singer’s smash cover of Roy Orbison’s “Blue Bayou”—which remains the definitive version—sits alongside an edgy reinvention of the Rolling Stones’ “Tumbling Dice.” As she does on the latter, Ronstadt also turns the tables on a smoking rendition of Warren Zevon's “Poor Poor Pitiful Me.” With her strong female presence, she puts a woman in the power position on a male-dominant song. On Simple Dreams, she not only joins the elite boy’s club—she runs it.
Electrifying country-rock threads run throughout the album, which features a host of top-notch musicians that include fiddler David Lindley, Neil Young associate Spooner Oldham, guitarist Waddy Wachtel, and a superb horn section. As all great session performers do, they invisibly blend into the song, and allow Ronstadt's singing to carry. And it’s not just her voice but her way with words, phrasing, and tones. She takes every song personally. Whether conveying sympathy, sadness, loneliness, or—as on her remarkable roots duet with Dolly Parton on the traditional “I Will Never Marry”—proud independence, the feelings are her own. Every note brims with conviction, passion, and understanding.
Mastered from the original master tapes, Mobile Fidelity’s numbered limited-edition 24K Gold CD marks the first time that this timeless classic has been presented in any kind of remastered form. Intimate, immediate, and detailed, the pressing brings Ronstadt’s seven-octave range to the fore. As a result, these songs have never sounded so emotional, rich, pure, or, in a word, human.
Features:
• Numbered, Limited Edition
• 24 Karat Gold - Ultradisc II
Selections:
1. It's So Easy
2. Carmelita
3. Simple Man, Simple Dream
4. Sorrow Lives Here
5. I Never Will Marry (w/Dolly Parton)
6. Blue Bayou
7. Poor, Poor Pitiful Me
8. Maybe I'm Right
9. Tumbling Dice
10. Old Paint
Similar threads
