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
WAV stream. My favourite JA. Nicely recorded too.
G
Jefferson Airplane/Jefferson Starship/Starship Collection. On CD from 2000. Arranged in chronological order of release, this compilation starts out strong with the Airplane, heads quickly south with the Jefferson Starship, and turns into utter shit with the Starship.
Robert Cray. Strong Persuader. On CD from 1986. One of my earliest CD purchases and proof positive that excellent SQ can be had on Redbook CD. Mastered by Bernie Grundman.
Enjoyable on first listen...
Moravec's Chopin Nocturne Op.55 are low energy conventional.
This is a polar opposite approach from Pogorelich. Ellegant and flowing No.2 albeit it gets monotonous in the middle section. I'd put this one in a *generic Chopin* category.
Zac Brown Band. Jekyll + Hyde. On CD from 2015. A gift from my daughter who is a big fan. She bought tickets to his concert and also received a 'free' CD with the tickets. I think he is a talented artist in his genre and can appreciate his success, I'm just not a country music fan. This CD will likely gather dust on the shelf for me.
Pogorelich's Nocturne Op.55 No.2. '81 recording.
Beautifully delineated and surprisingly retrospective for his age. ( he was 24 year old when this recording was made )
Surprising choice by the pianist as I think this isn't very strong Chopin piece. It is not a romantic rendering and can be a tad brittle in a few spots but showing the feeling of solitary moment well.
Contrasting to Pogo's rendition above, Lang Lang's Nocturne Op.55 No.2 ( 2012 recording)
opens with a whisper level piano in a relaxed expected approach. I still can't get on with his idea of elegance as his playing sounds trite. As if he's trying so hard to emote and be *sensitive* but comes off rather insincere. This is a naive rendition of ‘flowery’ Chopin with no impact.
Streaming Wav Not played this in a while
A much underrated album IMHO. I'm running the lyrics through my head right now - really very good :-)
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. Long After Dark (1982). On HDCD from 2001. I seem to be romancing the digital tonight and so chose this on CD over the vinyl.
Finally I am getting somewhere with Francois' Nocturne Op.55 No.1.
Rather than making the tune overtly melancholic from the top ( most do this ), he creates an interesting contrast of one's inner feeling and outside appearance by starting off with not so gloomy depressing manner. As the tune progresses the inner anxiety inside starts to come out more and more. But he quickly picks up his composure and goes back to walking down the street in a slightly hopeful mood.
In this less than 5 min. tune, so far, he is the only pianist who can tell vividly draw a complex human feelings out of Chopin's Nocturne Op.55 NO.1. Now that's the Chopin music I found most fascinated by.
(2009)
My PT collection has been largely ignored for some time so starting to put that right...
For me their best album.
Deadwing by Porcupine Tree (2005)
(1993)
An earlier one for you Nick....
On VInyl:-
