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

Helmut Walcha: Bach Goldberg Variations  1961 Recording

Excellent clarity of notes and upfront disposition makes this set direct and immediate. Interestingly, his playing is somewhat similar to ‘55 Gould in a sense that it’s full of life and energy the music sounds so fresh and spontenious. As his organ work, the clarity of left and right hand gives the tune a solid structural ground. Rhythmically alive this is as groovy as Gould's '55 but the tunes do not get frantic as he maintains a moderate tempo. 

Neil Young. Living With War. On HDCD from 2006. A protest album with a strong political message. I was inspired to revisit this given the events in Paris.

ben howard i forget where we were

Was very disappointed then I heard it the fist and 2nd time. 

Didn't here it until now.

Now I have discover it. A great recording. Fine lyrics, great sound and arrangement's.

Streaming | WAV 24/44.1

John Lennon. Imagine:; Music From The Original Motion Picture. On CD from 1988. A gift from my wife back in the day, never saw the film.

Absolute recommendation, for who likes solo piano....

Fantastic album - one of her best, play this a lot.

Ouch... have never heard their Schubert, but I love the Italians' Mozart and Beethoven records. As far as characterisation is concerned - monotone is not a word that comes to mind. Instead, I find their dynamics and attack are exemplary, before their time and very different from their generally comfy-sounding peers. And their sound remains unique.

EJ

After some Quartetto Italiano, a more recent take on three of Mozart's 'Haydn' quartets. The Casals' approach is thoroughly modern, with a much bigger place for technicalities. They can sound a bit studied, here and there, but I infinitely prefer that to the schmalz most groups bring to KV 387.

EJ

On Tidal.

Streaming | Deezer Elite

(2011)

"Recorded on January 30 2011 during the Missa Atropos tour of this wonderful Norwegian band in the Dingwalls in Camden Town, London. Contains songs from their 2010 Missa Atropos album, as from 2 previous fantastic albums Tick Tock (2009) and Night (2007). Superb nearly 2 hours of haunting and atmospheric Prog music over 2 CD's. With an audience of less than 500 (capacity of the Dingwalls), this is a very intimate and warm recording.

A small booklet that accompanies the discs contains some amusing info about the night of the show, from which we can learn the following from the band about how this album came to be created:

"When we arrived at the venue, one of the local sound guys asked us if we wanted a recording of the gig. For a small fee he would hook up a hard-disk to the main mixing desk and tap the gig directly onto the disk which we could take with us after the show. We couldn't see how that could hurt so we agreed and the show was recorded.... As summer of 2011 was approaching someone suddenly had a moment of clarity and remembered the disk. Miraculously we managed to find it! After listening to it a couple of times we realised that this was definitely something that all those people who came to the Missa tour might like to have as a memory of those shows, so we decided to release the show as it was, warts and all ...."

So, thank you local sound guy - a welcome initiative and great job." ~ An Amazonian

From Tidal:-

AC/DC - Rock Or Bust

Let's give this one a try and see what all the fuss is about, via Tidal:-

Gazpacho - Molok

From Naim rip.

Streaming | Deezer Elite

(2010)

Canadian prog rock featuring the singer who would later take over from Jon Anderson in Yes, Benoit David.

"The music is very polished and exquisitely played throughout. Most reading this will probably know that the singer - Benoit David - is also currently singing with Yes and his vocals here are astonishing. Coupled with the extraordinary talents of writer/guitarist/producer Michel St-Pere (who is so good he has instantly become one of my favourite guitarists) and the other musicians featured here the end result is simply mind-blowing. Melodic but quite heavy in places, some pieces are delicate and beautiful while others will test your speakers, particularly the bass as Taurus pedals are featured extensively. There are hints of Rush and Yes in places, Steve Hackett and IQ in others with an overall sound that transcends everything."  ~ S.Roberts' Amazon Comment

On Naim rip.

I love this recording. Nobody apart from a few insiders had heard of Cheryl Studer until she signed with DG and gave this spectacular performance as the princess who takes after her mother. Also one of Bryn Terfel's first recordings (if not the first). He was taped separately from the main cast, which explains the slightly odd acoustics. But that's only a small matter. Sinopoli was at his best in Strauss.

EJ

Claire Martin  - Too Much In Love to Care  lovely SACD. Kenny Barron on piano

Thank you for the insight, EJ. Stunning voice even to my untrained ears and limited operatic knowledge. 

On CD:-

This fantastic early winter solstice album 

Double Vinyl.

Streaming | 16/44.1 WAV Download | Bandcamp

(2014)

The rather wonderful Goat on their latest album Commune. 

The latest offering from this cosmic Swedish group has plenty of wah wah guitars, hypnotic drum beats and late 60s/early 70s influenced psychedelic rock music to take you on a trip far out. It's heavier than the last album, and better too.