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;
A+ | Transcoded DSD
(2014)
Still in the mood for some gritty,swampy, electro this morning, so this EP is accompanying the sunrise.
John Mellencamp. Whenever We Wanted. On CD from 1992. A new addition to my Mellencamp holdings and his first album without the "Cougar" moniker. While good, still a mainstream Johnny Cougar album. I think his succeeding album "Human Wheels" saw him get more daring and begin to evolve, taking more artistic ventures with his musical abilities.
spurrier sucks posted:joerand posted:
Meat Puppets. Too High To Die. On CD from 1994. On one hand its upbeat alternative with a sprinkling of cowpunk, on the other hand it has a dark, swampy, bluesy bend. Makes for a fantastic album with a tight, accomplished sound and plenty of PRaT. Highly recommended if you enjoy getting your toe a tappin'.
Love that band. Check out some of the earlier work. Not as pop sounding. Crazy lyrics and talented guitarists. Not force drying but I like it.
SS - Thanks for the feedback. Definitely gonna keep an eye out for their earlier stuff during my CD pickings. Great band!
A+ | Tidal
(1992)
Prompted by its being played here a few days ago and following on nicely from the sounds of Dirtwire.
Simon-in-Suffolk posted:joerand posted:
Mark Knopfler. Sailing To Philadelphia. On HDCD from 2000. Earlier this year I fell in love with the Knopfler/Harris collaboration on "All The Roadrunning". Since then I've tried "Shangri-La", "Get Lucky" & "Kill To Get Crimson" but found those a bit too genteel for my rock taste. This one - STP - is quite enjoyable, even on first listen . Maybe more of that familiar Dire Straits sound, and you can't go wrong with contributions from JT and the Belfast Cowboy.
I agree All The Roadrunning is quite a special album, just let down in my humble opinion my mediocre recording and production .. The vocals and instrumentation are too compressed on severeal tracks, and Emmylou's vocals on severeal of the tracks are too low in the mix especially when singing together with Mark... Possibly down to the mix compressor... and for me that classic US country music duet style which really should work beautifully with Harris and Knopfler is missed more often than not on that album.
Half the reason I originally grabbed the CD was because I thought "what an interesting pairing". Emmylou with her pure, sweet, strong vocals and Knopfler with his gravelly and more subdued manner of singing. Yet, they made it work. I recall reading in the notes that the album was recorded at various times and locations over several years. I agree the sound is compressed, but I imagine there was some struggle for engineers to 'match' the differing vocal presentations and there is some magic to it.
Albums these days are synthesized from studios around the world. McCartney, for example, often records at Abbey Road studios and has orchestrations added from places like Los Angeles. Must be a real challenge for engineers to obtain a cohesive sound not just on a given track, but throughout the album. I think 'Graceland' was recorded in at least four different studios.
Rush. Test For Echo. On CD from 1996. First listen. I'm primarily a fan of Rush's earlier stuff up to "Power Windows" and maybe "Hold Your Fire". While okay, I found this album having a dark and congested sound overall. A bit of a struggle.
Exploring some old Robert Palmer albums this morning - starting with this...
Arrived and ripped yesterday - another find thanks to Guy Garvey on 6 Music. First play on my portable system and very enjoyable so far.
On CD:-
joerand posted:
Rush. Test For Echo. On CD from 1996. First listen. I'm primarily a fan of Rush's earlier stuff up to "Power Windows" and maybe "Hold Your Fire". While okay, I found this album having a dark and congested sound overall. A bit of a struggle.
Agreed, I very rarely play it. Don't mind Counterparts of the later albums and I like GUP but the best had been and gone by HYF for me. Despite the almost universal acclaim for Clockwork Angels I can't abide it. Ironic that after almost forty years of being obsessed with them when they become a bit trendy and finally enter the Rock and rock hall of fame I don't like the music that gets them there
Post lunch slump pick me up before the afternoon slog...
joerand posted:spurrier sucks posted:joerand posted:
Meat Puppets. Too High To Die. On CD from 1994. On one hand its upbeat alternative with a sprinkling of cowpunk, on the other hand it has a dark, swampy, bluesy bend. Makes for a fantastic album with a tight, accomplished sound and plenty of PRaT. Highly recommended if you enjoy getting your toe a tappin'.
Love that band. Check out some of the earlier work. Not as pop sounding. Crazy lyrics and talented guitarists. Not force drying but I like it.
SS - Thanks for the feedback. Definitely gonna keep an eye out for their earlier stuff during my CD pickings. Great band!
I'm sure you know the 2 songs Nirvana performed by them on their unplugged cd. That's what got me into them
An old fave and still (IMHO) one her best albums
Had this on before, good old quality - can always run in the background .....
Now listening to this through Tidal, very special I will definitely download it in high resolution audio...
German first vinyl pressing (manufactured by DG) from 1971. There's never a bad time to play stripped down funk from one of the best bands there's ever been, is there?
On Classic 200g vinyl. Loud. The neighbours are all out:
A very old favourite. Still reminds me of LP12's, CB Naim and The Flat Response magazine whenever i play it 
1979 - Original vinyl...
A helicopter just flew by my house. Taking about the power of sugestion...
Vinyl Double LP
I only meant to take a quick break but the music seems to have take over, so I've given up work for the day. I'll have to so some tomorrow instead. 
Back to the funk, and a double live album from '76, on a UK first press. Not the greatest recording ever made but the performances are great and the bass playing is phenomenal.
