RunOutGroove
Addicted Member
I was just thinking about how there are so many recordings in my collection which are beautifully recorded and have that kind of super detailed, immersive sound that us audiophiles dig, but aren't the ones that are typically spoken about when it comes to audiophile recordings. Getting beyond the typical DSOTM, KOB, Dire Straits, Diana Krall, Nora Jones, etc records, I wonder what folks' favorite music that maybe just so happens to sound great on a good audio system. What are folks' favorites, not just for recording quality, but for the actual content of the music as well, which maybe aren't the typical choices?
Here's my list:
801 - Live A really well recorded all-star progressive rock/art rock group playing one off the few (maybe the only) gigs that they did. With a great, very creative take on the Beatles’ Tomorrow Never Knows.
Genesis - Seconds Out Though I’m generally not such a big fan of post the Peter Gabriel band, the first few albums they did with Phil Collins as the leader had much of the same vibe as the PG albums and the older stuff that he sings on this live album are perfect, not really so much different sounding than the PG versions. The band is at a really high point of their power and the sound on this is about as good as any live rock record I’ve heard.
Morphine - The Night This was their last album and didn’t seem to make as big a splash as some others of theirs, but this one for my money is as great as anything they ever did. It’s got a super well crafted vibe to it, like they spent a long time in the studio getting really creative and trying out various things. It’s got each of the two drummers that they used over the years and in some parts you can hear them playing together, though what they do is so subtle, it isn't always obvious that they're playing together; it’s more about texture than power. The bass on here (all of 2 strings!) sounds huge and the whole effect is very 3D.
Javanese Court Gamelon (Electra/Nonesuch) - This music is much different than the more common Balinese Gamelon style and is slower, spookier and with more of a mystical vibe. Not for everyone as the ultra-slow, careening vibe of it and the odd intervals the singers hit make it sound very odd to Western ears. It’s really got a certain magic though to folks who are more open to it and the recording, done with what I believe was an early portable digital unit is incredibly great, capturing not just the music but the ambience of where it was recorded; outdoors with the sounds of insects, birds, etc as a background. It’s got a very immersive holographic quality to it.
Potato Eaters - self titled An obscure band that didn’t last very long, from the Bay Area, from the early 90s. Imagine a mix of Talking Heads, Fairport Convention and country music and you might get close to their thing. Really beautiful, mournful stuff, perfectly played and sung and recorded with a great deal of detail and subtlety. Nice male/female vocal harmonies and pedal steel guitar, which is an unusual thing for a rock band, but this isn’t an ordinary rock band at all…
Randy Weston - Blue Moses Weston was an American jazz pianist who spent lost of time on the African continent and his music was certainly shaped by that. This one is a really expansive effort with longer, very composed kinds of tunes, a large all-star band and a vibe that kind of reminds me of Bitches Brew, even if the music is fundamentally quite different. Both are very textural and very deep. This one, though it’s much more on the composed side of things, still has elements which have the kind of freedom found on Bitches Brew.
Steve Hillage - Fish Rising This one has to be on any list of the silliest progressive rock concept albums, with it’s theme of following the lifecycle of salmon! The music though, is really incredible with various parts sounding jazzy, rocking and ambient/electronic. The band is an all star affair and the way that the music ebbs and flows definitely makes the listener feel the aquatic theme. The way that it’s recorded really helps that vibe as well - super detailed and immersive.
Gong - You They have several other albums that I probably like as much, but this one somehow feels most complete and has the best flow of all of their efforts. Progressive rock, but without the more typical classical influence and with more of a jazz thing going on (with lots of saxophone and flute!). Parts have a real European “Gypsy jazz” character. If you’re open to a more whimsical vibe than the typical British prog (those folks were a mix of French, British and Australian), this might be something to check out.
Bill Frisell Trio - Live This one is probably my favorite by him. All three of these guys feel like equal players here and the interaction between them is what really makes it so great. The music has a really distinct vibe even though the material goes off in so many different directions: jazzy, pop, ragtime even and some very abstract kinds of things. It’s another one of those live albums where the recording quality is somehow every bit as good as the best studio albums, but with more of a spontaneous kind of vibe than studio albums typically have.
Dave Holland - Conference of Birds - A record which night be called “free jazz,” yet it has plenty of composed parts along with the freer sections and is much more on the lyrical side of things than much of the stuff that’s typically in the free jazz bag, which can be far more aggressive and abrasive (though in a good way, if you’re up for that kind of thing!). It sounds much like the title suggests; as if bird song coalesced into some kind of more coherent, more melodic kinds of motifs. Some of the composed parts have a kind of baroque quality to them… stately, beautiful… free. As just about every other ECM record is (and I could have chosen many others), it’s super-well recorded.
Here's my list:
801 - Live A really well recorded all-star progressive rock/art rock group playing one off the few (maybe the only) gigs that they did. With a great, very creative take on the Beatles’ Tomorrow Never Knows.
Genesis - Seconds Out Though I’m generally not such a big fan of post the Peter Gabriel band, the first few albums they did with Phil Collins as the leader had much of the same vibe as the PG albums and the older stuff that he sings on this live album are perfect, not really so much different sounding than the PG versions. The band is at a really high point of their power and the sound on this is about as good as any live rock record I’ve heard.
Morphine - The Night This was their last album and didn’t seem to make as big a splash as some others of theirs, but this one for my money is as great as anything they ever did. It’s got a super well crafted vibe to it, like they spent a long time in the studio getting really creative and trying out various things. It’s got each of the two drummers that they used over the years and in some parts you can hear them playing together, though what they do is so subtle, it isn't always obvious that they're playing together; it’s more about texture than power. The bass on here (all of 2 strings!) sounds huge and the whole effect is very 3D.
Javanese Court Gamelon (Electra/Nonesuch) - This music is much different than the more common Balinese Gamelon style and is slower, spookier and with more of a mystical vibe. Not for everyone as the ultra-slow, careening vibe of it and the odd intervals the singers hit make it sound very odd to Western ears. It’s really got a certain magic though to folks who are more open to it and the recording, done with what I believe was an early portable digital unit is incredibly great, capturing not just the music but the ambience of where it was recorded; outdoors with the sounds of insects, birds, etc as a background. It’s got a very immersive holographic quality to it.
Potato Eaters - self titled An obscure band that didn’t last very long, from the Bay Area, from the early 90s. Imagine a mix of Talking Heads, Fairport Convention and country music and you might get close to their thing. Really beautiful, mournful stuff, perfectly played and sung and recorded with a great deal of detail and subtlety. Nice male/female vocal harmonies and pedal steel guitar, which is an unusual thing for a rock band, but this isn’t an ordinary rock band at all…
Randy Weston - Blue Moses Weston was an American jazz pianist who spent lost of time on the African continent and his music was certainly shaped by that. This one is a really expansive effort with longer, very composed kinds of tunes, a large all-star band and a vibe that kind of reminds me of Bitches Brew, even if the music is fundamentally quite different. Both are very textural and very deep. This one, though it’s much more on the composed side of things, still has elements which have the kind of freedom found on Bitches Brew.
Steve Hillage - Fish Rising This one has to be on any list of the silliest progressive rock concept albums, with it’s theme of following the lifecycle of salmon! The music though, is really incredible with various parts sounding jazzy, rocking and ambient/electronic. The band is an all star affair and the way that the music ebbs and flows definitely makes the listener feel the aquatic theme. The way that it’s recorded really helps that vibe as well - super detailed and immersive.
Gong - You They have several other albums that I probably like as much, but this one somehow feels most complete and has the best flow of all of their efforts. Progressive rock, but without the more typical classical influence and with more of a jazz thing going on (with lots of saxophone and flute!). Parts have a real European “Gypsy jazz” character. If you’re open to a more whimsical vibe than the typical British prog (those folks were a mix of French, British and Australian), this might be something to check out.
Bill Frisell Trio - Live This one is probably my favorite by him. All three of these guys feel like equal players here and the interaction between them is what really makes it so great. The music has a really distinct vibe even though the material goes off in so many different directions: jazzy, pop, ragtime even and some very abstract kinds of things. It’s another one of those live albums where the recording quality is somehow every bit as good as the best studio albums, but with more of a spontaneous kind of vibe than studio albums typically have.
Dave Holland - Conference of Birds - A record which night be called “free jazz,” yet it has plenty of composed parts along with the freer sections and is much more on the lyrical side of things than much of the stuff that’s typically in the free jazz bag, which can be far more aggressive and abrasive (though in a good way, if you’re up for that kind of thing!). It sounds much like the title suggests; as if bird song coalesced into some kind of more coherent, more melodic kinds of motifs. Some of the composed parts have a kind of baroque quality to them… stately, beautiful… free. As just about every other ECM record is (and I could have chosen many others), it’s super-well recorded.
![Thievery Corporation - Sounds From The Thievery Hi-Fi - CD (Album), 1997 [r27602559] | Discogs](https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fi.discogs.com%2F7KaiOFQmiGnyiw2NeCnHJEI1fCmhTo8u0pIYnvhOlhc%2Frs%3Afit%2Fg%3Asm%2Fq%3A90%2Fh%3A589%2Fw%3A600%2FczM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz%2FLWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt%2FYWdlcy9SLTI3NjAy%2FNTU5LTE2ODg2OTI4%2FNzQtMzU2MC5qcGVn.jpeg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=7dc6329495e1d95d951293848db5162fc8617cf86ac7e3f3b47c05f3d5c0802c "Thievery Corporation - Sounds From The Thievery Hi-Fi - CD (Album), 1997 [r27602559] | Discogs")