Cry: On speakers - much better than on phones for the soundstage but I still found it to be too accentuated to the sides, so, even though this has a lot going for it, particularly the rich timbre of Mr. Charles's voice, it wouldn't be one of my choices, but I do agree that this has a natural and clear sound and is a good candidate, particularly if this is the type of recording one might generally listen to.
Exodus: Well, I heard this a lot when it came out but exclusively either on the radio or other people's systems so I never heard it at its best but, when I played it, well, wow, I was seriously impressed. Definitely a good choicel
Alexandra Leaving: Yes, great presence and an open natural soundstage.
And yes, I did find a great DG recording from the 1960s: Karajan's Beethoven symphonies with the BPO. One of my favourite movements is the 4th from the 3rd symphony ('Eroica') and I was really suprised by this: the sensation of being in the middle (I'd say) of the auditorium was well captured and the sound was quite electrifying. - Karajan creates it but the recording captures it.
I compared it with three other more recent recordings, two of which it easily outdoes in rendering the music as a performance rather than just a recording, and one of which was quite similar in presentation. I can quite easily see how the 60s recording would be considered preferable as all three of the newer ones have a detectable 'analytic' quality. That works both ways: it gives you better clarity for following the various melodic lines and picking out the instruments but at the same time it sounds like more like a great recording than a great performance. So, what one prefers at any time may be a matter of mood, perhaps, as well as where you're going to place your attention - I know I can get lost in analyzing the sound rather than enjoying the music.
So, this exercise has definitely made me more willing to give the older recordings the benefit of the doubt; quite likely if I were to pick the most enjoyable (and hair-raising) recording of the Eroica, I'd be tempted to pick the Karajan, although I do have many others but haven't had the time to listen to them all - LVB is very demanding of the listener!
Here's one with both sax and trumpet over piano, bass, and percussion, that you might like to try: Good Influence on the album Neighbourhood by Manu Katché. It's on ECM who have a reputation for excellent recordings.