CDs to make your system sing!

[nopiano]

Five from the classical world:

Greig Songs - Anne Sofie Von Otter / Bengt Forsberg - A Gramophone record of the year it is simply beautiful; one of the greatest recordings of solo singing ever made.

Tallis - Spem In Alium - There are lots of excellent versions but the Naxos version is cheap and good!

Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture - Mercury Living Presence (Recorded in 1958 it's still going strong - the live cannon are dramatic)

Dowland Lute Music - Nigel North on Naxos (any of the 4 volumes) - A real test for a hifi because it is so spare. Just a lute player in a room, the notes should be pure and emerge against silence (except for hearing the player's fingers moving on the strings).

Saint-Saens Organ Symphony (No 3) - Barenboim, Chicago SO - Lovely tunes and very exciting when the organ joins the ochestra. (I play it when my neighbours are out so that I can have it loud.)

Chris

great selection, Chris. The Grieg songs were one of my cd choices when I selected my Krell and Sonus faber system. My cousin wrote the translations!

Also, I favour the Tallis Scholars in Spem as I went to school with their engineer!

 

[BigH]

Just been listening to Jeff Talmadge - Gravity, Grace and the Moon on spotify, seems a very good recording, very clear and plenty of dynamic range.

Also try Steve Hoyem - Prisoner of the road, amazing voice.

Oh and try the Cowboy Junkies - The Trinity Sessions.

 

[k77stan]

you might wanna find out how it behaves with heavy riffing guitars as i found out plenty of amps 'prefer' piano or acoustic,dance..no wonder with such music they all get good vibes.. :shame:

 

[relocated]

I always recommend Deep Forest by Deep Forest for the surround sound you get from stereo speakers.

Another in this vein is Goodbye Country Hello Nightclub by Groove Armada.

Other good listens, Who - Live at Leeds and the Beatles re-releases of a couple of years back. The Mono collection is supposed to be the best for production [original] values but they are at least an arm and half a leg.

Happy listening.

:cheer:

 

[Pete68]

Take the MUSIC YOU LOVE. Surely you buy a HiFi to listen to that.

 

[strapped for cash]

Thanks again for the all suggestions.

I think there are now more artists/albums listed than I can possibly work through. Some relatively arbitrary googling of names to follow...

Just to reiterate, I'm not taking music anywhere. My new CDP is being delivered tomorrow and I thought I'd compile a list of potential purchases that would sound great. I agree entirely that it's essential to listen to music you know when auditioning. There's no clear point of reference otherwise.

 

[lindsayt]

Yes, but it's easier to love music that's well recorded.

And for someone that really loves music to the extent that they love lots of different types of music a well recorded album from almost anyone is more enjoyable as an event than a poorly recorded album from their favourite artiste.

 

[Charlie Jefferson]

Bartok's Concerto For Orchestra - Solti/Chicago SO

Clear Spot - Captain Beefheart & Magic Band

Prairie Wind - Neil Young

West Side Story - Andre Previn

Surf's Up - David Thomas & Two Pale Boys

Remain In Light - Talking Heads

Tusk - Camper Van Beethoven

Hot Shots II - The Beta Band

Luna - The Aliens

Scratch My Back - Peter Gabriel

Elysium - Pet Shop Boys

Gaucho - Steely Dan

Paul's Boutique - Beastie Boys

To name but thirteen.

It never occured to me that David Thomas did stuff outside of Pere Ubu - a big thanks!

To the OP - stuff other people's suggestions & take music you know well, both well-recordered & poor.

I don't know if you've checked out the David Thomas LP yet, but it's brilliant to my ears. I'm a huge fan of the title track in all it's Beach Boys & Brian Wilson versions and yet the DT incarnation adds something very special to an already otherworldly song.

 

[busb]

Bartok's Concerto For Orchestra - Solti/Chicago SO

Clear Spot - Captain Beefheart & Magic Band

Prairie Wind - Neil Young

West Side Story - Andre Previn

Surf's Up - David Thomas & Two Pale Boys

Remain In Light - Talking Heads

Tusk - Camper Van Beethoven

Hot Shots II - The Beta Band

Luna - The Aliens

Scratch My Back - Peter Gabriel

Elysium - Pet Shop Boys

Gaucho - Steely Dan

Paul's Boutique - Beastie Boys

To name but thirteen.

It never occured to me that David Thomas did stuff outside of Pere Ubu - a big thanks!

To the OP - stuff other people's suggestions & take music you know well, both well-recordered & poor.

I don't know if you've checked out the David Thomas LP yet, but it's brilliant to my ears. I'm a huge fan of the title track in all it's Beach Boys & Brian Wilson versions and yet the DT incarnation adds something very special to an already otherworldly song.

I saw DT at South Hill Park, Bracknell probably nearly 20yrs ago. It wasn't a good gig & running down his guitarist on stage was rather unprofessional. However, he has one of the best voices I know, He worth watching on YouTube.

 

[Vizzage]

I think you should go all out and get the most beautifully recorded, most flawless, most pounding, and to my mind, most expressive version of Rachmaninov's 3rd piano concerto there is - one of the most anticipated classical albums of 2000 - Volodos with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra. It's stunning; i'd LOVE to hear it through an amazing system.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rachmaninoff-Piano-Concerto-No-3-Volodos/dp/B00004T2EA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1359410478&sr=8-2

Good luck! It's a hell of a ride

 

[Vizzage]

I think you should go all out and get the most beautifully recorded, most flawless, most pounding, and to my mind, most expressive version of Rachmaninov's 3rd piano concerto there is - one of the most anticipated classical albums of 2000 - Volodos with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra. It's stunning; i'd LOVE to hear it through an amazing system.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rachmaninoff-Piano-Concerto-No-3-Volodos/dp/B00004T2EA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1359410478&sr=8-2

Good luck! It's a hell of a ride

 

[busb]

Take the MUSIC YOU LOVE. Surely you buy a HiFi to listen to that.

Not necessarily. I've met people whose main interest is the means & not the end. I knew someone who'd change his system constantly & I mean on a monthly basis! Other people spend £1000s & have a tiny collection of music to play. I used to snort at such folk but realised that if people want to spend large sums & are cloth-eared - it was their affair & not mine!

I've heard some amusing arguements that many "audiophiles" spend most of their time obsessing over cables to ever actually listen & enjoy music. A few people even admit that their equipment is more important - rare honesty that deserves respect. One friend opined that any real music lover doesn't need expensive gear to access the soul of music & that people like me were missing the whole point of music! It's when someone says "Of course I love music!" I think: of course you do.

 

[CnoEvil]

I think you should go all out and get the most beautifully recorded, most flawless, most pounding, and to my mind, most expressive version of Rachmaninov's 3rd piano concerto there is - one of the most anticipated classical albums of 2000 - Volodos with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra. It's stunning; i'd LOVE to hear it through an amazing system.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rachmaninoff-Piano-Concerto-No-3-Volodos/dp/B00004T2EA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1359410478&sr=8-2

Good luck! It's a hell of a ride

Very nice. I have this version of "Rach 3": http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rachmaninoff-Piano-Concertos-Classical-Masters/dp/B003P93HEE/ref=sr_1_15?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1359411193&sr=1-15

 

[Vizzage]

So do I it's good isn't it! (er I have rather a lot of versions of Rach 3, like about 32 I think). Kissin/boston & volodos/berlin are my faves

 

[Singslinger]

For 1960s/early 70s folk, I'd recommend "Light Flight" by Pentangle, a compilation of the band's best tracks. Nicely remastered sound but not too exaggerated.

For contemporary folk music, perhaps something from Blackmore's Night like "Fires at Midnight". Also decently recorded and mastered but again, not too in-your-face.

Sorry, I don't listen to dance music, though I grew up listening to early Tangerine Dream.

Good luck!

 

[CnoEvil]

So do I it's good isn't it! (er I have rather a lot of versions of Rach 3, like about 32 I think). Kissin/boston & volodos/berlin are my faves

Brilliant.

There is a lot of great knowledge on this forum, that doesn't surface half enough.

 

[BigH]

Well recorded and produced albums are all very well but surely it is the music and performance that matters most, OK the lesser quality of the reording can get in the way and be distracting. Some of the best recorded albums for me are rather boring. The other problem is cds do vary quite a bit even the same album, you may find say the USA 1984 issue is so much better than say the Europe 1990 one, generally the Japan issues are higher quality. You can look on sites like Dynamic Range Database which will give you an idea of the quality. Generally in the last 10 years record companies have gone for loudness over DR, because they think they sell more.