What's the best pop song to test your audio equipment's dynamic range?

For rock and roll bass response, I rely on Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain" from Rumours. John McVie's bass solo near the end of the song can really test the woofers. Lindsay Buckingham's accompaniment just after the solo to end the song adds some great high frequencies in contrast.
 
I like New Order's Blue Monday for a good speaker workout. Lots of bass that will make your speakers break out into a sweat :D
 
Dire Straits "Portobella Belle" or "Where Do You Think You're Going?"

Thomas Dolby "Airhead"

Pink Floyd "Hey You"

................. and another Michael Jackson hit "Billy Jean". It really is a superbly recorded and mastered hit.
 
I will never forget...

Hearing the synthesized organ kick in on Elton John's "Funeral for a Friend". Bought my first real gear based on that.

Test your dynamic range and dynamic headroom with that one...:thmbsp:
 
Fred Sanford said:
Prince, "7"
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+1. I got if from "Fred".

Though his same test CD got me to also purchase Walter Becker's "Eleven Tracks of Whack" for a buck off Half.com after hearing "Down at the Bottom. (Ended up getting a full refund, too, since it was claimed "as new" but was a library copy drilled as a cut-out. Some good stuff for testing there, too, and the price (free) was certainly right.) I generally use anything from Steely Dan or Donald Fagen, but the pros get tired of hearing that. "Two Against Nature" works for me; in particular the cuts "Cousin Dupree" and "What a Shame About Me".
 
BB King - The thrill is gone
Pink Floyd
Dire Straights
Steely Dan
Willie Nelson to test the tweeters
Waylon Jennings to test the bass
Early CCR is great,not a lot of bass
Nirvana unplugged in New York
 
BMWCCA said:
+1. I got if from "Fred".

Though his same test CD got me to also purchase Walter Becker's "Eleven Tracks of Whack" for a buck off Half.com after hearing "Down at the Bottom. (Ended up getting a full refund, too, since it was claimed "as new" but was a library copy drilled as a cut-out. Some good stuff for testing there, too, and the price (free) was certainly right.) I generally use anything from Steely Dan or Donald Fagen, but the pros get tired of hearing that. "Two Against Nature" works for me; in particular the cuts "Cousin Dupree" and "What a Shame About Me".
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Each of the tracks on that test CD mentioned above is for different purposes- actually, one of the most revealing recordings I have is George Winston's "Cast Your Fate To The Wind", solo acoustic piano. It'll tell you a LOT about your system.

The Walter Becker song is an oddball for that disc, but mostly it's there 'cause the production (as you'd predict) is flawless, but yet the electronic snare drum sample used can rip your head off if the system's high end is dialed up too high, or if any distortion is happening through the signal path.

"7" is an everything-including-the-kitchen-sink recording, with deep lows and dense vocals & percussion. Still, if you can pick it all out, and the lead vocals have some room to rise & fall within the mix, your rig is tracking a difficult tune. The Sugarcubes re-mix of "Coldsweat" has a similar purpose, but doesn't have the deep low end.

By the way, Phil, I think the k. d. lang song on there ("Wash Me Clean") might actually have clipped when I did the transfer- I notice some breakup on the right woofer on any system I play the compilation on. Be careful...oh, and I put the live 2 Vs. Nature DVD on to CD, sounds good. I might be in your town this coming week, we should hook up. I wanna hear your masquerading LX"55"s.

je
 
I use the old Sheffield drum and track record. On cd. It is just the old analog recording on disc but the hiss makes me nostalgic and put on some lps. But once again the famed studio bands "Pink Floyd, Steely Dan," or their ilk do fine. I really don't see the really deep bass on pop recordings very often so why the torture test? I mean if its really hardly ever there? Why sweat it? But the one thing I demand of bass is that it actually have the right notes. No one note bass if you know what I mean. I actually like to hear the different notes on a bass, not a drum with a twang. Oh and someone recommended the BB King live at Cook County Jail recording and it is also superb for plain guitar and male vocal. I mean you are there. Have fun and remember it only has to please you.
 
My all time favorite to test my system is Tank by Emerson, Lake & Palmer the drum solo with the phase shifting effects just smokes with intensity!!! :thmbsp:
 
ugornot said:
I use the old Sheffield drum and track record. On cd. It is just the old analog recording on disc but the hiss makes me nostalgic and put on some lps. But once again the famed studio bands "Pink Floyd, Steely Dan," or their ilk do fine. I really don't see the really deep bass on pop recordings very often so why the torture test? I mean if its really hardly ever there? Why sweat it? But the one thing I demand of bass is that it actually have the right notes. No one note bass if you know what I mean. I actually like to hear the different notes on a bass, not a drum with a twang. Oh and someone recommended the BB King live at Cook County Jail recording and it is also superb for plain guitar and male vocal. I mean you are there. Have fun and remember it only has to please you.
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When I personally mention the deep low bass, it's both to see if it's reproduced in balance with the rest of the spectrum, and also to see if the sound sags or distorts- in the Prince example, there's a ton of crisp & clear stuff going on along with the low notes, if the system is running only one amp per side it's apparent when the amp isn't up to snuff. If there's a sub set too loud, things get ugly really quickly.

The initial question was dynamic range, though the discussion (and suggestions) have strayed away from that.

je
 
Not pop...but 1812 Overture on Telarc.

One of the best speaker busters out there for showing off dynamic range. I believe it even comes with a caution/warning about potential for speaker/system damage.

I've also used 311's "Sweet" to pound the chest a little bit.
 
Fred Sanford said:
When I personally mention the deep low bass, it's both to see if it's reproduced in balance with the rest of the spectrum, and also to see if the sound sags or distorts- in the Prince example, there's a ton of crisp & clear stuff going on along with the low notes, if the system is running only one amp per side it's apparent when the amp isn't up to snuff. If there's a sub set too loud, things get ugly really quickly.

The initial question was dynamic range, though the discussion (and suggestions) have strayed away from that.

je
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Although my post followed yours it was not specifically to you. During numerous posts bass kept getting mentioned and factually in most pop recordings it is not that demanding. My reference was toward his "pop" preference. Actually I am listening to my last suggestion as I type specifically "Three O'Clock blues/My Darling" and I think the recording is pretty nifty. Not especially the dynamic range but the transients are phenomenal. Using my handy dandy dB meter I find that the softest music played (not the silence with no music) runs a tad below 60 dB. The high levels are approaching 90 dB on peaks. That's getting nigh on 30 dB dynamic range on the music. Not from silence to peaks, but soft music to peaks and I maybe have limited knowledge but I was told this is very good for a recording. And although the bass line may be a tad pedantic I find it very enjoyable and realistic. Perhaps its our definition of dynamic range that is the problem. I have always considered the dynamic range of a recording to be the softest music to the loudest music. Not the silence to the loudest. In that case you are checking the dynamic range of the medium/system. I hope this clears up any confusion. I hope you better understand my response as to the OP's question.
 
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