What are you listening to and WHY might anyone be interested? (Vol. XI)
Posted by: Richard Dane on 31 December 2014
On the cusp of 2015, we start a new thread...
Anyway, links:
Volume X: https://forums.naimaudio.com/to...-be-interested-vol-x
Volume IX: https://forums.naimaudio.com/to...16#22826037054683416
Volume VIII: https://forums.naimaudio.com/di...nt/12970396056050819
Volume VII: https://forums.naimaudio.com/di...6878604287751/page/1
Volume VI: https://forums.naimaudio.com/di...ent/1566878604097229
Volume V: https://forums.naimaudio.com/di...ent/1566878605140495
Volume IV: https://forums.naimaudio.com/di...ent/1566878605795042
Volume III: https://forums.naimaudio.com/di...ent/1566878607309474
Volume II: https://forums.naimaudio.com/di...ent/1566878606245043
Volume I: https://forums.naimaudio.com/di...ent/1566878607464290
A very special album, a bit depressing though...
Courtney Barnett - The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas
(2013) CD
New album 'Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit' will be released in US on March 24, 2015
Don Byron: Romance with the Unseen. A 1999 Blue Note recording.
One from the distant past, but still worth a listen.
One of my favorite albums....
And ending the evening with....
Jonny Lang "Lie to me" .. makes the Totem Hawks sing ..
On original vinyl 
Not played this for sometime
Michel Block: Piano Works
J.S. Bach | Godowsky:
Andante In C Major. Aria From Sonata No. 2 In A Minor For Solo Violin, BWV1003
From Bach to Scriabin - it is all the same to me - some of the finest music ever written. This disc represents such a small percent of the total possible and it is such a fine album. Sometimes the greatest musicians are the ones you would never hear about and the masses have no interest in.
If I had 200 Sviatislav Richter discs to choose from alongside this recording, I wouldn't hesitate a millisecond before choosing a disc like this first. Thanks Haim.
Doug,
Somehow I came across a review of Michel Block's disc while hunting for Cynthia Raim's Brahms recording (which I still can't find) and decided to try him. I never heard of him before:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Block
...from the Wikipedia link:
His playing was characterized by a rich singing tone, lyrical phrasing, transparent voicing, and wonderful dynamic control. Now widely considered to be one of the great pianists of the 20th century, and a favorite among cognoscenti, his peers and the public alike continue to regard him as a pianist's pianist. In 1997, Block retired from teaching and lived a quiet, uneventful, and happy life.
This first sentence confirms and says my exact impression. These attributes represent so much of who I am and what I hold dear in music. This is why I am without question so attracted to this. I didn't need the words - only my ears - to realize something special here (for me, anyway).
Nothing wrong with Richter. I like him too but this is just miles closer to my own musical aspirations.
By the way, the Cynthia Raim Brahms is available from Arkiv Music but it is currently on backorder. I will order this at some point but am waiting for the next recession so that our dollars return to par first 
Block playing Scriabin's Sonatas No 2 in G sharp minor Op. 19 "Sonata Fantasy":
Streaming | CD FLAC rip
Electric Light Orchestra ~ All Over The World (2005)
This always brings a smile.
On vinyl.
A Classics For Pleasure recording
produced at Henry Wood Hall, London, May 1983.
The stereo distracts with some occasional odd separation,
maybe would have been better mono.
But nice easy on the ear flow and consistency : )
Debs
Noisy stereo back up copy. But just as enjoyable.
Roberta Flack's 2nd album released in 1970.
A dear friend gave me her copy. She bought it when it came out.
I didn't realise that her association with Donny Hathaway went this further back. He's credited as an arranger and piano as well as Roberta sings one of his tune in this album.
This Atlantic Label first pressing vinyl sounds sublime.
Roberta flack's mega hit Grammy winning Killing Me Softly.
Definitely more commercial.
I don't care for all of the songs in this album, but natural instrument colours in this recording is quite enjoyable.
Roberta & Donny's first duet album release in 1972.
Contains another big hit 'Where is the Love' .
Interesting album concept where each song has very different moods. Not as commerical as her next album 'Killing Me Softly'.
Generally this album has a solmen undertone, where it starts with a tune called '"I (Who Have Nothing)" and the last tune is a reflective elegiac solo piano called 'Mood' with no singing at all and she leaves us hanging with a whispering unfinished last note.
Not their best album, during workout
A bit of rock with a kind of Zappa touch...
On CD:-
