What are you listening to and WHY might anyone be interested? (Vol. X)

Sturgill Simpson

"Metamodern Sounds In Country Music"     (2014)     mp3

CD - dagamba100 © 2012 : )

Partia 3za in E major (D major) BWV 1006

[ 7-string bass viol by Bob Eyland after M.Colichon - standard tuning]

Sonata 2da in A minor BWV 1003

Partia 2da in D minor BWV 1004

[ 6-string bass viol by Merion Attwood, copy of anonymous 17th Century instrument - custom tuning. Pitch A = 415 Hz ]

Recorded 10 - 13 April 2012 in St Andrews Church, 

Toddington, Gloucestershire, England 

~<>~

imho the 6 string has the sweeter sound, smoother, and more calmly expressive, but i don't know if this is really the change of instrument, or change of music key, or the custom tuning. Perhaps a mix of all three.

An excellent recording considering this was performed in a Church, i wonder if they had a clever sound engineer enhance the acoustics...?

A super performance by Susanne Heinrich, and a perfect accompaniment to sounds of afternoon rain splashing on my patio window.

Debs 

Superchunk - Majesty Shredding

(2010)

AIFF

Sharon Van Etten

"Are We There"     (2014)     mp3

Radiohead - In Rainbows (2007)

Vinyl

Released towards the end of 2013 but in constant rotation at Chez Voltaire in 2014.

Portishead - Portishead (1997)

Original 2 LP vinyl

Another Xmas gift. Strange Little Girls by Tori Amos.  A different style to some of her other albums.  First impressions are favourable.

What's the reproduction quality like of this one, ewemon?  Have been thinking about exploring a hi-res download (a rare excursion for me) but would be interested in a high quality CD version. 

And as dessert

FRANK ZAPPA  - YOU CAN'T DO THAT ON STAGE ANYMORE  VOL 2 - c.d.

With this brand new release, Bis has now recorded all three of Medtner's concertos with Yevgeny Sudbin as soloist. Glowing performances and interesting couplings (Tchaikovsky's famous first, Rach's less famous fourth (original version) and now Scriabin's piano concerto) make this a very nice mini series.

EJ

Funnily enough I was playing this tonight at home.

I am in the process of comparing it to the 2014 deluxe set. Haven't heard the Hi Res.

At the moment I am edging towards the 2014 deluxe but a friend disagrees with me on my choice. He prefers the MFSL.

If you want a copy of the MFSL it ain't going to be cheap. I have 2 copies as it is one of my all time favs.

I will post my thoughts shortly when I have completed my comparisons.

Ken Scott has always maintained that the original UK Sony Classical division pressed vinyl is the way to go. However the same guy that mastered the vinyl Ray Staff has done the 2014 set. Ken mixed the live set.

Great album.

Will look forward to your thoughts, ewemon. Certainly the 2014 deluxe version is easier to find.

Loved Last Dance and many others featuring Charlie that I discovered through the year. So sad that it took his death to prompt me to get really interested in his work.

FIRST MEETING, my latest Haden acquisition, released originally in 1986 as an LP.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckoe0CxhzLc

Downtown Flyers the first album by Streetwalker on Vertigo vinyl. 

Good old blues, an acoustic guitar and Johns singing 

A good news is his obscenely costly JVC XRCD 24 disc is worth every penny. ( sometimes a bet pays off )

A bad news is I probably have to get the rest of Toscanini releases. :/

High tape hiss/white noise in the background so a clarity isn’t the same level as today’s recording but the music is much more immediate and natural and warmer. A lower noise floor ( my original copy has a high self noise ) can delineate individual  instrument much better.  Harmonic overtone and layering of instruments are improved from the vinyl mastering. Low frequency informations are restored with weight and solidity much needed to make the tune justice. Cymbal crushes still does not have a kind of note decays you hear from highly polished today's studio recordings but less distortion than the vinyl.

With this new mastering ( JVC engineer claims that the condition of original master tape was excellent and they matched the way they sound rather than following RCAs original various EQs for numerous vinyl pressings adjusted for less capable domestic hifi equipment of half a century ago )

According to the original production note, a single microphone was hanged about 5 m above Toscanini. I I would imagine that this is pretty close to what he was hearing out of the orchestra. It is astonishing that one mic. can capture this much details, wide dynamic range and scale of a live orchestra.

This was recorded at Carnegie Hall and the performance was specifically arranged for the RCA recording with top engineer ( Lewis Layton ) and recording equipment rather than his weekly NBC radio broadcast from Studio 8H.

Toscanini's Enigma Variations are very different from British conductors but I think it is equally communicative.

Good foot taping Texas blues