5 Records to Die For
Posted by: Camlan on 13 March 2004
With apologies to Stereophile Magazine. My current top 5 buys for criticism/discussion.
Bob Dylan - Blood on the Tracks - Hybrid SACD. Don't know what the SACD sounds like but this is a stageering remastering of a classic album. A must have.
Mark Knopfler - Sailing to Philadelphia - I have always felt that Mark Knopfler was somewhat underrated. Great songs, brilliantly arranged and well recorded. The title track is a standout.
Ella Fitzgerald - Sings the Cole Porter Songbook. Possibly the greatest female jazz vocalist meets one of the 20th centurys outstanding song writers. There has been some criticism of the remastering but it works for me. Particularly good value on Amazon at present.
Joni Mitchell - Travelogue. If this is indeed Joni Mitchell's final offering. It is an appropriate finale to an outstanding career. Forget the disappointing Both Sides Now orchestration attempt - this is much much better.
The Lindsays - The Complete Beethoven String Quartets. Superb music payed with professionalism and panache and only £29.99 for an 8 CD boxed set on Amaxon at present. This has to be the bargain of the year so far.
Certainly not obscure and rather conservative I guess but hours of sublime listening pleasure for less than a meal out these days.
Comments or alternatives?
Posted on: 14 March 2004 by Jez Quigley
The Bob Dylan Nashville Skyline hybrid remaster is also staggering. Don't delay buy now!
There are quite a few of these Dylan hybrid remasters. Anyone know if the sound quality is as good as NS/BOTT? I don't want to buy replacements for my Dylan CDs, but if the others are as good as the astonishing NS I'll buy the lot!
Has Sony acheived this level of playback quality with any other artist's back catalog?
[This message was edited by Jez Quigley on Sun 14 March 2004 at 10:20.]
[This message was edited by Jez Quigley on Sun 14 March 2004 at 10:21.]
Posted on: 14 March 2004 by Camlan
Jez
Agree on Nashville Skyline, John Wesley Harding is also in the same league. Disappointment to me (relatively) is Blonde on Blonde - not the same level of improvement in my view.
Posted on: 14 March 2004 by Rasher
I played Blonde on Blonde last night in another desperate attempt to try to like Dylan. I am still failing. I WISH I got it, I really do.
Posted on: 14 March 2004 by Jez Quigley
Camlan, thanks for the tip on BonB - that was on my list of posible 'upgrades'.
Rasher, dunno how old you are, but Dylan's stuff was often 'of it's time'. In the same way that the moon landing to me was probably the outstanding achievement of mankind during my lifetime, but to my son (19) it's a case of 'so what?'. Even so have you tried Blood on the Tracks? Maybe that will float your Dylan boat.
Posted on: 14 March 2004 by fred simon
quote:
Originally posted by Camlan:
Joni Mitchell - Travelogue. If this is indeed Joni Mitchell's final offering. It is an appropriate finale to an outstanding career. Forget the disappointing Both Sides Now orchestration attempt - this is much much better.
... Comments or alternatives?
A few thoughts ... I wasn't disappointed with
Both Sides Now at all; I really dug Vince Mendoza's arrangements and orchestrations, and Joni sounded great singing standards. But what moved me most on that album were the two versions of her own chestnuts:
A Case Of You and
Both Sides Now, which were luminous.
So I had great anticipation for
Travelogue, with arrangements again by Vince Mendoza but all Joni's songs this time. For me, the results are mixed ... some songs again are luminous, others are heavy-handed and stilted.
Ultimately, though, for Joni's best I would turn to her first eight studio albums, especially the first,
Song To A Seagull, and then the remarkable streak of fourth through eighth:
Blue,
For the Roses,
Court and Spark,
The Hissing of Summer Lawns, and
Hejira ... stone masterpieces all.
Posted on: 14 March 2004 by redeye
Agree with Fred about Joni's back catalogue. I'd also add Night Ride Home from late 80s/early 90s. Worth buying for Slouching toward Bethlehem alone..
Surely the only lyricist to truly rival Dylan?
red
ps..surely 5 to Live for would be a better title? Or maybe..5 worth killing for
Posted on: 14 March 2004 by fred simon
quote:
Originally posted by redeye:
Agree with Fred about Joni's back catalogue ... Surely the only lyricist to truly rival Dylan?
I usually don't make it a practice to disagree with someone who agrees with me
but in this case I have to pipe up and say that I'd rank Leonard Cohen's lyrics with Dylan's and Joni's.
Posted on: 14 March 2004 by Paul Stephenson
Camlan, Take the old original cd copy turn the volume up about 10% this will now be about the same level as the new sacd version and re-listen, I found the older version so much more natural. Same goes for Planet Waves and Another side of. Still good to be re-visting some early though!
Posted on: 14 March 2004 by Minky
quote:
Originally posted by Camlan:
Mark Knopfler - Sailing to Philadelphia - I have always felt that Mark Knopfler was somewhat underrated. Great songs, brilliantly arranged and well recorded. The title track is a standout.
Comments or alternatives?
Highly personal and all but (personally) I reckon "Ragpickers dream" gets in a lot deeper than STP and stays there a lot longer. Start at "Hill farmer's blues" by marvelling at how MK got THAT song from THOSE lyrics and work your way outwards.
Posted on: 15 March 2004 by Camlan
Fred
Not saying that Both Sides Now is a poor album, just not convinced that some of the tracks chosen are right for JM's voice. I feel that she is best with her own songs. I note that your 2 favourites on the album (as are mine) are her own compositions. Agree with your comments re other albums particularly Hejira.
Redeye
If you like Slouching towards Bethlehem on Night Ride Home listen to the same on Travelogue. I am sure you will be impressed.
Paul
Thanks. original now in France but will repatriate and try.
Minky
Good point. Have that as well but not had the same impact as yet. Will try harder as you suggest!
Posted on: 15 March 2004 by greeny
quote:
I played Blonde on Blonde last night in another desperate attempt to try to like Dylan. I am still failing. I WISH I got it, I really do.
Rasher, is this the only Dylan album you have?
If so, people often find Blood on the Tracks an easier album to like initially. If you haven't got this I would recommend you try to borrow it just to see (or buy for £4.99 in many places).
That's not to say BoB isn't superb, IMO it's up with the best 3-4 Dylan albums, But BOTT certainly has a different feel.
Posted on: 15 March 2004 by Chris Metcalfe
On the subject of the Joni M CDs, it really helps (if you have a Naim CD player) to have the US HDCD remasters. I made it a priority on a recent trip to the States to buy 4 of them, as they are difficult to find all of in the UK.
A record to die for will be the hopefully-forthcoming new studio recording of Brian Wilson's now-accepted masterpiece, Smile...
Posted on: 15 March 2004 by Martin D
Chris
I got mine from amazon.com to get the HDCD versions - they are very good. I cant see why they are hard to find in the UK though, seems a bit odd, the "ordinary" re-issues are very poor IMO. Check out Don Juans Reckless Daughter if you can.
Martin
Posted on: 15 March 2004 by Camlan
I have the Geffen box set remasters and they are not HDCD unfortunately. Will try Amazon.com - thanks Martin. Agree the standard Hejira CD is poor.
BTW Sailing to Philadelphia is HDCD - at least my copy is.
Posted on: 15 March 2004 by Dave J
More on Joni...
Fred,
I know its heresy but I just do not like Blue. Of all her albums it's the one that leaves me cold. The rest I love, particularly Hejira. Strange.
Dave
Posted on: 15 March 2004 by Rasher
Blood on the Tracks was the first Dylan album I bought way back in the mid 70's, and I didn't really like it then. I think it's OK now - well, better than OK, but I have about 5-6 albums in total.
I'm still trying, and Sean - I envy you. I want so much to click in.
Posted on: 15 March 2004 by bdnyc
Joni on CD-
I believe it is only her Warner Brothers material that has been remastered using the HDCD process. The Geffen Box set, which covers four of her records from the 80's to the early 90's is remastered using a 24/96 process. I just bought it as I wanted these recordings on CD to go alongside my LP copies of all of them. It is an excellent box set, although it does not have much in the way of new material, just a few demos of songs that were on the albums, and a cover of Dylan's "Baby Blue".
If you don't have these albums, I would recomend it, although it is probably not her finest material. I love the interplay between her unique approach to guitar, her then husband Larry Klein's bass playing, and the many spots where the great Wayne Shorter is featured. Add to that her brilliant songwriting, and I for one would say "Just buy them all"...
Good listening!
Posted on: 15 March 2004 by Rasher
Here are 5 records to die from:
Bonnie Tyler - I need a hero
Jennifer Rush - The Power of Love
Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody
Dire Straits - Dreadful "New Colour TV" song thingumy
Everly Brothers - Unchained Melody
Play those at my funeral and I'll be glad that I'm dead.
Hey....that's given me an idea....
Posted on: 15 March 2004 by Minky
Rasher, I think you forgot to mention that "bye bye miss American pie" jobbie. Darn, I said it and now the voices have started. Make them stop.
Posted on: 15 March 2004 by fred simon
quote:
Originally posted by greeny:
That's not to say BoB isn't superb, IMO it's up with the best 3-4 Dylan albums, But BOTT certainly has a different feel.
Yes, but have you heard
Blood On Blood or
Blonde On the Tracks? Especially the latter, which features special guest Snidely Whiplash. Talk about a record to die for!
Posted on: 15 March 2004 by Jez Quigley
quote:
Blood On Blood or Blonde On the Tracks
Paul Simon has admitted 'borrowing' Scarboro Fair from a UK folkster, but I never received a penny for my composition 'Trouble over Bridgewater'...
Posted on: 15 March 2004 by willem
Posted on: 16 March 2004 by Rasher
Mellon Collie & the Infinite Sadness - Smashing Pumpkins
Heartbreaker - Free
The Complete boxed set digital remasters - Led Zeppelin (is that cheating?)
Revolver - Beatles
Apollo - Brian Eno
If there was a fire and I had to save some CD's, I would have to get those - but I would need to grab my Smashing Pumpkins Aeroplane Flies High boxed set too. My missus searched NY for 3 days to find it for me. Good girl my missus.
Oh...and I would have to get Mezcalhead by Swervedriver too, so if I'm not allowed the Zep box, then I'll have that instead.
Posted on: 16 March 2004 by bdnyc
This sort of list always is totally random, and would change next week, but here is the current list for me:
1) Bob Dylan- John Wesley Harding
2) Steely Dan- Pretzel Logic
3) Emmylou Harris- Wrecking Ball
4) Rosanne Cash- Interiors
5) Grateful Dead- Dick's Picks Volumes 1- 31...and counting. (OK I tried to be good)
Posted on: 16 March 2004 by Gary H
quote:
Paul Simon has admitted 'borrowing' Scarboro Fair from a UK folkster, but I never received a penny for my composition 'Trouble over Bridgewater'...
Could that be due to the extra 'e' in Bridgwater?
