WOW-ing your friends! BEST demo music?

SixCats!

Super Member
Hi all,

Long time no talk to. I hope this post finds you all well.
Guys...I am seeking to make a list of THE best music to SHOW OFF your system to friends! This December...I will be in my new HOUSE and I plan to set up several systems. I want to invite some non-audiophile friends over and BLOW their minds!
Well...at least as best I can with the gear I own. I swear...I WILL get myself a pair of MG 12's and a SUB WOOFER for one system!
Anyway...I digress...I recently received a gift from my wife of a album I once owned in the 70's and I think the first two "cuts" are PERFECT for the old RAZZEL DAZZEL! The group is
"10 cc" and the album is "THE ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACT".
The first song is "ONE NIGHT IN PARIS" followed by "I'M NOT IN LOVE". I think both these songs sound MIND BLOWING so I am putting them on my list. Also...WALTER CARLOS "A CLOCKWORK ORANGE" has some FAR OUT cuts that leave people WOW'ed.
Anyway...I sure would love to hear from my fellow AK'ers as to what your FAVORITE music would be to show off your system(s).

Regards,
SixCats!
 
Just a few that I use -

Robben Ford & The Blue Line
Eve Cassidy ~ Live At Blues Alley
Sarah McLachlan ~ Afterglow
Allison Krauss ~ Forget About It
Greg Trooper ~ Floating
Diana Krall ~ Love Scenes
John Hiatt ~ Crossing Muddy Waters
John Kay ~ Heretics & Privateers

-Dave
 
These are the three that I use when auditioning a new piece or simply letting someone listen to my system:

Daniel Lanois - "Shine"

Bela Fleck and the Flecktones - "Little Worlds"

James Carter - "Chasin' the Gypsy"

All three are quite diverse from each other and give you system a good workout- Jim
 
Three that I always fall back on:

Dire Straits, Brothers In Arms
Joan Armatrading, The Shouting Stage
Van Morrison, Into The Music
 
I want to invite some non-audiophile friends over and BLOW their minds!

For this I like to use 2 pieces everyone has heard a million times
and know every note. Take Five by Dave Brubeck SACD and
Breathe from pink Floyd's DSOTM MFSL gold. Blows their minds every time with the dynamics, you can see their eyes widen ! :cool:
Then it can be whatever they favor, the job is done.

Carl
 
Oh, I usually give them a taste of a few different tunes:


Low Rider by War
Magic Carpet Ride by Steppenwolf
Lucky Man by Emerson Lake & Palmer
You Shook Me All Night Long by AC/DC


That's just a few of them off the top of my head. That usually keeps em comin back for more! ;)



Retro
 
Neil Young Unplugged- Like a Hurricane has a nice organ intro if you got it cranked up.
 
Gaslighting ally by Steely Dan
Whispers and moans by Crowded House
Queen of misery by Toy Matinee
Ruby Ruby by Donald Fagan (Anything from that album)
Tragic Comic by Extreme

I'm sure more will come to me!
Ed
 
CCR - Born on the Bayou
Dire Straits - Calling Elvis
Doobie Bros - Living on the Fault Line
EL&P - Tank
Grateful Dead - Feel Like a Stranger
Little Feat - Fat Man in a Bathtub
Rolling Stones - Can't you hear me knocking
 
"Book of Saturdays"-Lark's Tongues in Aspic, King Crimson 1973. It's backwards. Seriously. "I Don't Wanna Grow Up"-Bone Machine, Tom Waits, 1996. "Autobahn", Kraftwerk, 1975. "The King James Version" Harry James, Sheffield Labs, 1977. "Tear the Roof Off the Sucker", Parliament, 1976. That oughta do for a start. They will either be impressed, or think you should be committed.-Sandy G.
 
The Lucky One - Alison Krauss & Union Station
Gallo Del Cielo - Joe Ely
Not Tonight - Shemekia Copeland
Slipstream/Locomotive Breathe - Jethro Tull
Drive to Survive - Jimmy Thackery & The Drivers
 
Greetings and salutations fellow audio nuts. Long time lurker, first time poster. Nice place youse have here. Right off the top of my noggin I'd say most anything by Bernard Herrmann, but especially the Mysterious Island soundtrack will rock 'em back.
 
I like the intro on Bostons Third Stage, a good pressing of Yes's Roundabout is good, as well as any Yes radio fare. It is a whole different animal on good vinyl through a good system. But for a good time I put on a 33 1/3 single of Clarence Carters Strokin' with the Dr. CC B side. Gets 'em every time. As well as singles of Yes's Owner of a Lonely Heart and some Clapton singles. Just remember, most folks haven't heard their favorite tunes on a decent system, so if the production is good, it will automatically blow them away.
 
Right off the top of my head...I'd start with ...

Supertramp - Cannonball off the 'Brother Where you Bound' LP

Jean-Luc Ponty - The Art Of Happiness off the 'Cosmic Messenger' LP

Both of these tunes are very dynamic, and one is an 'Instrumental' the other has 'vocals'.....

If your not familliar with them ...give them a quick listen...you'll be mildy impressed.....if not overwhelmed!...
 
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A CD that recently found it's way to the top of my demo list

Los Lonely Boys -- (Self titled debut album)

Live performance: Eagles -- Hell Freezes Over
Rock and Roll: The Beatles -- One
Jazz: Chris Botti -- A Thousand Kisses Deep
Diana Krall -- The Look Of Love
Blues: Shoebox Full Of Blues -- Texas Blues album (Various Artists)
Classical: Vivaldi -- The Four Seasons
Mozart -- Eine Klein Nachtmusik Vienna Philharmonic
Tchaikovsky -- The 1812 Overture

I don't always go for the artist but rather the quality of the production of the album for a demo. I prefer artists that everyone has heard before. Even if they hate the artist or the song or whatever. At least I know they heard it before. If they have heard it before, then they have a frame of reference to compare the rig I am demoing for them to something they already have experience with. It make more of an impact with people when they hear a familiar tune and hear stuff in the tune that they never heard before.

I go with the same cd when I demo equipment for myself because of the frame of reference thing. If I listen to something I know and have heard before, I am more critical of the gear and how it is reproducing the sound rather than listing to a favorite tune at the time.

I also try to listen to my demo music often so I can follow every nuance of the song on one reference system. It makes it easier to pick out strengths and weaknesses of equipment that is being demoed.
 
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