Best sounding* rock album?

[Anonymous]

Pink Floyd (Dark side, Wish Yiu Where Here, Animals, The Wall)

Marillion ( Script.........., Fugazi, Clutvhing at Straws, Misplaced Choldhood)

Led Zeppelin IV

Slipknot (Vol3)

Linkin Park (Meteora)

Iron Maiden ....................

Metallica (Metallica, Death Magnetic)

Red Hot Chilli Peppers (Stadium Arcadium)

 

[chebby]

BigAir:Fahnsen:What never stops amazing me, is all the dull music people listen to, in their quest for "good sound"... It's like reading rubbish novels in a quest for the ultimate typography...

Usually people like the music they like and have to accept the sound quality it's recorded in ...... rather than picking their music for the sound quality.

I too would like to know what you listen to ...... as opposed to judging other's with no admission on your own part... !!??

You have missed the point of Fahnsen's post. (In fact most of his posts.)

His point is that... you/your tastes in music/your chosen audio equipment etc. are all vastly inferior to him/his tastes/his audio equipment.

It is the whole point of being Fahnsen.

 

[Anonymous]

Somewhat harsh, I feel. I mean the only reason for the existence of some bands must be that they sound good on HiFis - why else would we have the Fleetwood Macs or the Eagles of this world? Or even Pink Floyd, nestling in their little musical dead end.

AC/DC and Oasis, particularly the live albums, I'd add to the best sounding, as in raw, list. Plus the classic Who live at Leeds.

 

[Craig M.]

once again, chebby cracks me up.

 

[chebby]

Tarquinh:....why else would we have the Fleetwood Macs or the Eagles of this world? Or even Pink Floyd, nestling in their little musical dead end.

Indeed. I would struggle to enjoy anything much from the above. (Although FM did some decent blues in their early years.)

However, of the many friends, colleagues and family members who have enjoyed the bands you mentioned, none of them ever bought them to 'show off' their stereos.

I have never been into very 'cerebral' music like Pink Floyd because I am not very cerebral myself

(I prefer happy music and get depressed listening to PF for more than 10 minutes on my own.) I am just a sucker for anything you can dance to (Reggae, Ska, Soul, Funk, Big Band, Pop) and cheesey old pop from the 1950s - 1970s. Even Abba on a bad day! I don't 'get' heavy metal or heavier rock. (All the camp posturing and pouting and the leather pieces and studs etc. What IS that, and why does it have to be so damned loud?)

Strangely (for me) I got into Be-Bop style jazz a few years ago and then really 'lost it' by buying stuff like Sinatra at the Sands (with Count Basie) and all sorts of 'crooner' stuff like Andy Williams, Matt Munroe, Nat King Cole etc.

My classical tastes are very narrow and light. (No symphonies or Opera at all) Mostly Baroque or Tudor and mostly vocal (The Sixteen and the Tallis Scholars) and also tend towards Handel, Vivaldi, Bach, Mozart (Motets especially).

Having said all that, my first love is drama and documentary/spoken word on radio. (Especially history) and this kind of radio (BBC R4, R7, World Service especially) takes up most of my system's playing time.

Drama/Docu CDs now account for about 50 percent of my CD collection and about 80 percent of my iTunes.

I could not buy a CD/download just because it had an exemplary recording. I don't know how that works. (In this I agree with the Uber-Fahnsen.)

However, I really don't care what other people choose to enjoy (or not) or how it was recorded, or whether they are playing it for 'audiophile' reasons or simply to enjoy a bit of a boogey with the missus, solo air guitar thrash session, or a 'Stars In their eyes' wannabe mime in front of the mirror with a hairbrush 'mike'

Well that's enough from me. I am off to mime to The Singing Nun and leap around a bit to 'I love to Boogie' and go bomb an airfield with Blur in my Tornado. WoooHooo!! (Possibly the best opening line in a single ever.)

 

[matthewpiano]

I like the Eagles, Fleetwood Mac AND Pink Floyd and it is purely down to their musical excellence and absolutely nothing to do with the recording quality.

I've seen Eagles and Fleetwood Mac live and both put in stunning performances with the highest levels of musicianship. A brilliant back catalogue of songs, played by people who are consummate musicians.

What a good system does show is that 'Rumours' is much more subtle than just being a soft-rock mega-seller. The Eagles' 'Desperado' album, which I consider to be incredible, also reveals far more layers and interplay on a decent system. Consequently the music can benefit greatly from good sound.

As for Pink Floyd, everyone seems to judeg them on 'Dark Side...' which isn't even their best album (though I do love it). 'Animals' shows exactly what a great band they were.

 

[Anonymous]

Do not Believe Pink Floyd are a HIFI spectacle only I First listened to them on a mini system and immeditely liked the music then if you have a pair of good headphones or a good sound system it is just better, obviously.

 

[floyd droid]

matthewpiano:

As for Pink Floyd, everyone seems to judeg them on 'Dark Side...' which isn't even their best album (though I do love it). 'Animals' shows exactly what a great band they were.

Shall we zig zag our way through the boredom and pain Matthew.

 

[the record spot]

Black Face (i.e. black CD label) copy of Meddle, made in Japan for the UK market. Sounds amazing; oh, it's Pink Floyd. Obviously nothing at all to do with me liking them for longer than I've owned a good quality stereo either.

 

[Anonymous]

Pink Floys Sold Over 200 Million not just because of good revordings, They inspired people with the concepts of their music, where great musicmen especially Gilmour and Mason (IMHO), Eagles are great Musicians and have great songs too and both bands are incredibly good live, About fleetwood mac I am not a Fan but you don't sell 30million cpies of an album with just good recording, just to quote a few Stats.

Animals is a great album and so are Wish you were here and The Wall and Meddle too

 

[floyd droid]

Final Cut, without a doubt the best produced of the lot. Hardly gets a mention. Heyho.

 

[Anonymous]

Saw the Eagles live (though you'd be struggling to believe it given the wooden nature of their performance) once. They were singing about the 'otel California - you can't get more pretentious than that. If you're going to do country, then do it properly a la Johnny Cash and Hank Williams.

As to Pink Floyd, they're not what I understand as rock. Certainly decent musicians, but, if I can paraphrase Geldof (whose own band remains sadly underrated), they made a virtue of their own inhibitions and their music pays the price. As Chebby says, they're not really the band to get your feet tapping.

Forgot about the early Fleetwood Mac, though. Saw a doco on them a while ago - they were a decent band until the acid unravelled them and particularly their lead guitarist. There's little excuse for Stevie Nicks, though. Only the x-million bicycles in Beijing singer is worse. Good thing I'm not opinionated when it comes to music and HiFi.

 

[Anonymous]

couldnt comment on the quality of their recordings , but i think u2 are a great rock band ..

 

[the record spot]

Very good; some of the first editions are excellent discs (prefixed "CID nnnn") - Zooropa is a favourite, but the earlier ones are good too.

 

[matthewpiano]

'Achtung Baby' is U2's finest hour IMO, both in terms of the music and the recording. Absolutely superb.

 

[Anonymous]

what about a shout for an emotional fish ?? for the music , not sure about recording quality..

 

[jc.com]

Fahnsen:That's my point exactly. But reading hi-fi discussion groups, as well as knowing many 'audiophiles', gives me a strong impression that many people are more interested in their equipment, than in the music it's made to reproduce.

Why do you "care" (and I use the term loosely) - if they get pleasure from it and they're not hurting anyone then good luck to them.

Fahnsen:I listen to a very broad range of music, from punk rock to medieval music. It's easier to tell what I normally don't listen to, than to list my favourites.

Let's have some examples! How can you resist an opportunity to educate us?

Fahnsen:Anyway, rock isn't about smooth sound. Link Wray penetrated his speaker cones to make his guitar sound the way he wanted. Later guitarists added electronic distortion to achieve similar effects. Veteran rock musicians have lamented the development in studio technology. Many of the best rock albums have lousy sound, and were meant to be like that. Some of my favourites rock recordings are made on portable cassette players...

So what I meant to say, could perhaps be expressed like this:

'Best sounding' and 'rock album' is very much a contradiction in terms. Demanding 'sound quality' on a rock album, is something like demanding basement-rocking synth bass on a medieval ballad recording.
The OP didn't say the smoothest sound. He said the best sound. And demanding 'sound quality' on a rock album is NOT like demanding basement-rocking synth bass on a medieval ballad recording. Sound quality is about the reproduction, not about adding an instrument that was invented 5 centuries later, (Though I do enjoy Walter/Wendy Carlos' "Switched-On Bach" now and again) and although we'll mostly never know what the original was meant to sound like, it's usually blindingly apparent when something has had the life crushed out of it by a ham-fisted production.

 

[gbhsi1]

Charlie Jefferson:What do people think?

This thought is prompted by listening at full-fat volume to Who's Next. (Triple vinyl version). My other current candidate is Led Zep II.

* As in, you can actually hear a rock band in action - all the elements. No mush or compression. Chunky bass, fulsome drums, layers of guitar and full tilt vocals at one and the same time.I've got who's next on audiophile classic 200gm vinyl- it's a brilliant album! I am determined to get all of 'the who' albums

 

[matthewpiano]

Agreed. 'Who's Next' is a masterpiece from start to finish.

 

[millerman]

I have to agree with Fahnsen ( at least the second attempt at articulating his point) everyones taste in music is a personal choice and should be respected for that

I play in a rock band and love the stuff but rarely do I get the sound I think the music deserves. I have checked out some of the albums here on spotify and Nirvana comes out very well. many of the others dont, instead they are flat and dull. it doesnt stop me enjoying the music though but thats not why I have spent a small fortune on kit.

I also have a number of The Who's albums they are shockingly bad. So if someone can point me in the direction of where to get remixed version then I would appreciate that.

long live diversity

 

[Anonymous]

floyd droid:Final Cut, without a doubt the best produced of the lot. Hardly gets a mention. Heyho.

I think so too, along with The Wall and Roger's Hitchhiking and Radio KAOS (and aforementioned 'Amsued....').

 

[the record spot]

millerman:
I have to agree with Fahnsen ( at least the second attempt at articulating his point) everyones taste in music is a personal choice and should be respected for that

I play in a rock band and love the stuff but rarely do I get the sound I think the music deserves. I have checked out some of the albums here on spotify and Nirvana comes out very well. many of the others dont, instead they are flat and dull. it doesnt stop me enjoying the music though but thats not why I have spent a small fortune on kit.

I also have a number of The Who's albums they are shockingly bad. So if someone can point me in the direction of where to get remixed version then I would appreciate that.

long live diversity

I think it's the remixed / remastered issues which are at issue here. Think it was either Daltrey's or Townshend's brother-in-law who organised the remaster and mixed up the channels (or some suchlike error) thus goofing the project. Some of the earlier releases are recommended pre-remaster, although the deluxe editions of Who's Next and Tommy (the latter on SACD) are very good.

I have an original Tommy on the red Polydor CD label, 2CD fatbox, which is also worth listening to. There's two versions, depending on which mastering you get.

EDIT: Come to think of it, I kind of disagree with Fahnsen's point re: rock recordings. There's some terrific stuff out there, you just need to get clued up as to where to get it and more importantly, who was responsible for it.

Hence, once you get to know who some of the mastering engineers are, or find out which CD/LP pressings are worth catching (I hear great things of Stan Ricker's version of ELO's Out of the Blue LP, though this might just be USA releases only) yoru listening experience soars.

 

[Anonymous]

Dream Theater: Metropolis part 2 is a great sounding album, just listening to it has great flowing sound solid bass and sweet trebble and midrange, lyrically and musically it is great. Not as heavy as I thought it might have been though...........

 

[Anonymous]

I have 'The Who - Live at Leeds' ... 2cd's - Deluxe edition ....

soundstage is huge on my system and I would say that it has been recorded pretty well

 

[Anonymous]

Charlie Jefferson: As in, you can actually hear a rock band in action - all the elements. No mush or compression. Chunky bass, fulsome drums, layers of guitar and full tilt vocals at one and the same time.

Well, to throw a bit of a curve ball in to the discussion, I love Steve Albini's production work on albums like on the Pixies' Surfer Rosa, Breeders' Pod or Nirvana's In Utero... And I think it fits very well in to those categories, pure and simple recording and mixing, making a stripped back raw sound.