What are you listening to and WHY might anyone be interested? (Vol. XII)
Posted by: Richard Dane on 01 January 2016
2016 has arrived today, so time to start this thread afresh.
Last year's thread (and links to previous years) can be found here;
Because it is flippin' brilliant.
This is good too.
TOBYJUG posted:Brilliant songs matched with brilliant production..
my toes are tapping as much as my trousers are flapping at 11 o'clock .
Bought 24/96 version, found it all a bit depressing sounding, sounds obvious I know, but I admire the work but I can't see myself going back to this one very often. Just too dour, and yes brilliantly influenced by his own personal battles/experiences, sorry Bowie fans just an oddity, great quality and musicianship but not, for me, a good listen overall, :-(
On CD:-
Started the evening with some string quartet music, delicious..
Now switched to the hard rock within jazz...
Streaming | WAV
(2006)
One of my favourite bands who play modern era electronic music.
"Drawing on elements of the old and new to create a 'hybrid' of all sorts, Breakbeat, progressive house, soft acoustic rock, middle eastern, film score, downtempo and everything in between. Featuring brilliant collaboration with accalimed film composer Harry Gregson Williams who brings his trademark sweeping emotion style of his orchestrations with the Seattle Session Orchestra, who feature on many major Hollywood pictures. This is a very special album, also alongside a list of brilliant vocalists in Judy Tzuke, John Graham (Quiver), Kirsty Hawkshaw (The only vocalist from a previous Hybrid record to appear) and Perry barrel." An Amazonian
dav301 posted:On CD:-
Dave, do try The Friends of Mr Cairo (by them) if you haven't already.
Tear the roof off the sucker!
John Mellencamp. Human Wheels (1993). On remastered CD from 2005. A good album I thought would be nice to hear on vinyl. Found out it never had an LP release.
The Best Of Jackson Browne. On CD from 1997. A good one both for SQ and the selection of songs.
On vinyl.
The Band. The Band (1969). An early pressing on the Capitol lime green label, a Bob Ludwig mastering. I've only recently become a fan of this album. Very nice.
The Cars. Eponymous debut on original vinyl from 1978. One of my favorite albums back in the day, I played the hell out of this my sophomore year of high school.
Couldn't upload yesterday evening. I continued my The Bad Plus, while this album is less accessible then the other I listened earlier in the evening...
A decent and enjoyable one from Bandcamp...
Karajan/Philharmonia: Sibelius Symphony No.5 & Finlandia 1959-1960 recording
He takes time to elaborate and somewhat slow going. Expansive and elegant as usual Karajan but compared to Ormandy/Philly, as if he took the human elements out of the score. Somehow, legato Sibelius isn't my ideal.
3rd movement appears as a sheer confusion except for the last 6 exclamation marks.
Barbirolli/Halle Orchestra: Finlandia 1966 recording
Grandeur and stately but I can feel the strength and solidity than *pretty* Karajan or weak Levi set. Slow start but JB builds up the excitement nicely. Much better tension management. It’s a bit swash buckling but given its nationalistic undertone, it’s ok. This is a straight forward but strong honest rendition. Even the hymn does not get too sentimental keeping a stoic attitude to the finale.
Paul McCartney. Memory Almost Full (2007). CD/DVD. Been a while since I've played this. Some fluff but numerous solid tracks. The three bonus tracks on this expanded edition are worthy, like the short instrumental below:
French musicians playing chamber music from Gabriel Fauré, carrying the tradition as the booklet says. Lots of talent and inspiration, while avoiding the sentimentality trap.
Allows me to discover Fauré's music other than the Requiem. Plus the SQ is excellent. A gem.