Best sounding record you have

So of everything you have what is the one absolute best recording?

Good music is obviously a given no plinky test discs please.

 

Difficult - that...

Possibly something like "Song for Bob Dylan" off of David Bowie's "Hunky Dory" on vinyl, or maybe "Six blade knife" off of dIRE sTRAITS' "Dire Straits" on vinyl?

Certainly nothing in my CD collection sounds as good as these on vinyl.

 

Diana Krall's 'All for You' (dedication to the Nat King Cole Trio) - I've heard nothing get close to that for quality (and I own a fair few CD's) - it is stunning and pretty good musically to boot.

So, go get yourself a copy.

Matt.

 

Andy Warhol off of Hunky Dory is the one which always makes me think f##k thats good. On CD. The whole cd is great and the first thing I listen to when I get something new.

 

PLEASE PLEASE tell me it's not the EMI 2001(?) remaster of Hunky Dory?

If so, you've GOT to track down a 1983 RCA original CD isssue (and no, I kid you not!). Compared to the remaster, it has life and groove; for some reason the "no noise" process on the remaster has shaved off all the fun factor and groove and made it sound curiously hollow...

"Andy Warhol"'s a great track though - love that laughter at the beginning and the guitar sound - awesome. Almost as good musically as "Queen bitch"

 

<bub>you non-ferrous weeny boys should know better; they're all good, of course</bub>
Currently playing the Honest Jon Candi Statton double vinyl. Sublime.

 

Thankfully its an early one! Never heard the remaster, but I've heard a lot of bad things about it.

How many other classic albums have been killed by a bad remix I wonder?

 

Beatles - Abbey Road - MFSL - Side 2

Absolutely stunning from beginning to end.

 

Muddy Waters Folk singer on Classic Quiex SV vinyl. A bit of a hifi show number but I couldn't care less.

 

Future Sound of London - Lifeforms

 

On CD, possibly The Mountain by Steve Earle and the Del McCoury Band. Great bluegrass and sounds absolutely gorgeous - one of my few HDCDs and a good argument that if SACD and DVD-A turn out to be the flops they seem to be, that HDCD should be looked at again.

On Vinyl - Ella and Louis (Verve, modern 180g repressing) - a 47 year old recordingand sounds sublime - Oscar Peterson trio and Buddy Rich backing too. Its just too cool for words and sounds like aural honey.

 

I have this at home and haven't heard it yet, so will make sure I give it a spin over the weekend, along with the Ella 'Songbook' albums I got at the same time. Thanks for the reminder, Uncle Ants, and for the heads up re. Buddy Rich, as I didn't know he was playing on it.

My own choice for best sounding recording I have, and in continuation/cross-pollination from a previous thread, would be 'Spaced Out' by William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy. I particularly like the air and space captured in Nimoy's rendition of 'Both Sides Now', air and space which Joni Mitchell should, rightfully, now vacate.

 

Probably Verve Jazz Masters 4: Duke Ellington, though it's a compilation and the quality isn't entirely consistent. It's 12 songs recorded live or live in studio in the late 50s and early 60s, most of which sound absolutely sublime, sound quality-wise (they all sound sublime music-wise ). Loads of tape hiss, and not as crystal-clear as a modern recording, but it just sounds so good! Best thing is I got it in the bargain bin for like 3 quid!

There's something about recordings from that time period - dynamics, naturalness, and plain realism - that is nearly always missing in the bulk of modern recordings.

Dunc

 

Hunky Dory for me aswell.

 

On vinyl, it would probably be either 180g Back in Black - AC/DC, or Jonas Hellborg - Bold, though sadly this isn't available any more
And on cd, somewhere between Phish's Round Room (amazing live-in-the-studio sound), and Jamaaladeen Tacuma's Dreamscape (also not available anymore )
Though there are a number of classical recordings I have which are technically better than all that jazz and rock nonsense!

 

I'd go jazz every time for best recording, my favourite period being the 'early stereo' days of the late 50s early 60s. Decent Blue Note, Impulse, Verve and Riverside pressings take a hell of a lot of beating. It always amazes me that recording and record production technology has moved backwards from this point at such an alarming rate!

With rock music the question is far harder to answer as the inevitable “accurate to what?†question rears it's ugly head. Certain recordings stand out as being exactly right for the source material and add something magical of their own by avoiding “accuracyâ€Â: George Martin's work with The Beatles, Martin Hannett's work with Joy Division etc. It is impossible to separate the production from say Unknown Pleasures, The White Album or stuff like The Doors albums etc. For the “truth†school of production I think Mogwai's Come On Die Young takes some serious beating – the drum sound off that vinyl is astoundingly convincing… it could almost be a 50s jazz LP! Plenty of other post rock has an exceptionally natural and 'un-manipulated' sound – try hunting down a few of the early Kitty-Yo label recordings from bands like Couch, Surrogat, Kante etc.

I'm pretty surprised that so many people are sighting Bowie's Hunky Dory as such a landmark, it's nice enough for sure, but the best recording ever? I've dug out my nice orange label RCA original pressing and it's playing on the deck now… I love it, but it certainly wouldn't make anything close to my 1st choice.

Tony.

 

I concur with Tony regarding his opinion on Jazz.

I have a broad taste which embraces everything from Classical to modern pop (favourite of the moment is Maroon 5 - Songs about Jane) but probably the 'best' recording I have is an LP which I have owned since the mid-seventies.

"Midnight Sugar" by the Tsuyoshi Yamamoto trio (three blind mice tbm-2523) is an example of an intimate recording of a Jazz trio which can almost trick you into believing that you are at the venue!

I was interested to see that it appeared in the 'Demi-God' list of recordings on the Audio Critique website.

See here for other rated recordings:-

http://www.high-endaudio.com/supreme.html#Div

 

I have the green label version, the UK 8track cartridge, and a 1983 RCA (made in Japan) CD pressing - ALL of them sound better (yep, including the 8track) than most things I own on any other format - although Jimi Hendrix "Isle of white" on 8track cartridge sounds excellent as well. In fact, those two carts REALLY surpised me!!!

Apparently the green label version is more "audiophool" than the orange label - since I've never heard the orange version I can't comment.

As for jazz, well, it might well sound better, but if I'm supposed to be assessing the sound quality I need something that I can stay awake to

 

Hey Goomer. Did you like it?

 

Apologies but I'd have to name more than one...

On vinyl...

Judie Tzuke: Sportscar
Miles Davis: Tutu

On CD...

Dave Weckl Band: Rhythm of the Soul