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

Bert Schurink posted:

Normally David Bowie was not so my thing, but I have to say this album Blackstar is quite decent...

 

 Only 'quite decent'? I've only played it twice so far (streamed from Tidal) and already find I'm tending to agree more with Graham (Quad 33), above, when he describes it as a masterpiece. Quite some coda. 

Clive B posted:

Bert Schurink posted:

Normally David Bowie was not so my thing, but I have to say this album Blackstar is quite decent...

 

 

Same here a little, but I do find this album sombre and something I am listening to now, and appreciate the craft involved and the emotion attached but can't imagine coming back to much over time to be honest. 24/96 download version.

Original vinyl...

Dan43 posted:

Clive B posted:

Bert Schurink posted:

Normally David Bowie was not so my thing, but I have to say this album Blackstar is quite decent...

 

 

Same here a little, but I do find this album sombre and something I am listening to now, and appreciate the craft involved and the emotion attached but can't imagine coming back to much over time to be honest. 24/96 download version.

I think this is a remarkable piece of music making. I am listening to 24/96 download. 

Many composers have given of their best when they knew that their life on Earth was coming to a close. Blackstar is a great addition to that genre, to say the least.

Original vinyl...

Metallica $5.98 E.P. Garage Days Re-Revisited. My era and why not...

Just got home from a long day at work, and with an hour to kill until dinner, am continuing my trip down memory lane with...

This has been one of my favorite albums since 1977. I recall unwrapping the RCA vinyl and hearing the opening chords of "Speed of Life" fill my college dorm room, just like it was yesterday. My roomates and I were completely blown away, and happily, it still has that same effect on me today. Timeless, brilliant music!

Not in circulation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8VVcc2_cls

ewemon posted:

Not in circulation

Love it on CD. Hope it gets a new vinyl release.

David Gilmour. Rattle That Lock. On vinyl from a few months ago. Something about the Tedeschi Trucks album cover above prompted me to want to hear this.

....enjoying disc no.1 from the fantastic 15xCD boxset : )

Fantasia in C minor

Two-Part Inventions 

Three-Part Inventions

Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue 

Recorded in the Beethovensaal, Hanover, January 1994

Borders Nick posted:

joerand posted:

The Black Crowes. Greatest Hits 1990-1999. On CD from 2000. Several tracks are familiar and I'm not sure why this is my first BC's disc as their sound is very much in my wheelhouse. This CD is obviously loudness mastered though the DR database shows their vinyl and earlier CDs not so compressed. Any suggestions on an album to look for?

I have these on CD which sound pretty good (don't know what compression is tho)

All available for a spin on Tidal.

Nick,

Thanks for the suggestions! I don't do Tidal but its easy enough for me to sample these online. Actually, for the cost of a used CD these days I'll probably just grab any Black Crowes I come across.  Cheers!

Jimi Hendrix. People, Hell and Angles. On 2LP from 2013. A freakin' smokin' album!

Schwartzkopf/Szell: Strauss Four Last Songs  1965 Recording

Very different vocal tone from her earlier ‘52 recording with a simple piano of Edwin Fischer. Schwartzkopf's voice here is now Flatter and drier. She has lost a bit of round soft tone especially in lower midrange where her voice loses luminosity and transparency. Not much drama from Szell’s orchestration and feels a bit cold rather than empathetic.

Te Kanawa/Davis/LSO: Strauss Four Last Songs  1977 Recording

Holographic bell like tone, natural and mellow. Pure and transparent. Tonal balance stays the same through the frequency range. Ochestra is sympatheic and mournful yet not over the top servicing the voice well. Beautiful and emotion filled Im Abendrot. Kanawa’s voice soundsl like extending to eternity iwthout ta hint of stress or distortion. 

So what's missing?

She does not have the same intimacy and frankness of Schwartzkopf on some tunes. she's in a technical advantage ( much younger ) but Schwartzkopf does well on emoting and dramatic phrasing.

Funky mood since temperatures are about to rise above the freezing mark.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cklbhkm1HrE

This was my last one yesterday evening. I am very happy to have these just released recordings in this quality level.

kuma posted:

Schwartzkopf/Szell: Strauss Four Last Songs  1965 Recording

Very different vocal tone from her earlier ‘52 recording with a simple piano of Edwin Fischer. Schwartzkopf's voice here is now Flatter and drier. She has lost a bit of round soft tone especially in lower midrange where her voice loses luminosity and transparency. Not much drama from Szell’s orchestration and feels a bit cold rather than empathetic.

Te Kanawa/Davis/LSO: Strauss Four Last Songs  1977 Recording

Holographic bell like tone, natural and mellow. Pure and transparent. Tonal balance stays the same through the frequency range. Ochestra is sympatheic and mournful yet not over the top servicing the voice well. Beautiful and emotion filled Im Abendrot. Kanawa’s voice soundsl like extending to eternity iwthout ta hint of stress or distortion. 

So what's missing?

She does not have the same intimacy and frankness of Schwartzkopf on some tunes. she's in a technical advantage ( much younger ) but Schwartzkopf does well on emoting and dramatic phrasing.

There is still the one which for me tops it in emotion, Jessye Norman....

Marshall Crenshaw. Eponymous debut on original vinyl from 1982. Inspired by Kuma's post of Beatles cover bands on another thread. I saw Marshall perform as John Lennon in the "Beatlemania" stage show circa 1980. A decent album, the SQ is superb - fast, punctual, and tight with well-controlled bass and it fits Crenshaw's guitar stylings well. The music lies somewhere between Buddy Holly and Elvis Costello.

The Rolling Stones. Lady Jane. A DMM on Russian vinyl from 1988. A nice collection of songs, I have to assume the original tapes were not available for mastering.

Bert Schurink posted:

There is still the one which for me tops it in emotion, Jessye Norman....

Thanks Bert. I will check it out.

I need to get a hold of Flagstadt/Furtwangler's last tune which I suspect more to my liking.

Had a listen to this based on the earlier tip in the forum, indeed enjoyable while I couldn't get through the whole album...