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Best music recordings you've ever heard?


UstadKhanAli

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The Beatles had access to the most advanced recording technology in existence and an army of technicians in lab coats to maintain it.

 

 

And some inventive musicians and engineers to push that technology farther along.

 

I know what dparr is saying, though...to be able to do that with limited track capacity and other things that shortly after weren't so limiting is still a stunning achievement.

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should probably add Hendrix "Are You Experienced" to the list of big accomplishments with minimal tools. 4 track tape recorder. And recording 'And the Wind Cries Mary' in 20 minutes, from the time Hendrix started showing Mitch and Noel the song, until it was in the can. Simply amazing.

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And some inventive musicians and engineers to push that technology farther along.


I know what
dparr
is saying, though...to be able to do that with limited track capacity and other things that shortly after weren't so limiting is still a stunning achievement.

 

 

Yep, that's what I was saying. They did some really great recordings with only two tracks.

 

Thanks UstadKhanAli.

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Donald Fagan - all his solo albums and all the Steely Dan albums are top notch in clarity and fidelity.

 

Out of the Grey - the 'Gravity' album

 

These are the ones I listen to when mixing as a reference for what it should sound like.

 

Frank Zappa's 'Apostrophe' is also excellent in sound (and musical chops!), but capturing Frank & the band is a far different thing than capturing my music, so I don't use it for reference....

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I interpret this question to be about the song or album that sounds best, as opposed to what sounds like an accurate recording of a performance.

 

In that respect, if I had to choose one song that represents superb recording, mixing, and mastering, it would be The Who's "Who Are You". Its fat, wet, punchy, and wide, and it has DYNAMIC RANGE. Everything about it is just right.

 

If I had to pick an album, it would be "Dark Side of the Moon". Alan Parsons and Pink Floyd were geniuses.

 

Todd

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Count me another fan of DSOTM, especially the Mobile Fidelity Labs half-speed master.

David Grisman, Dawg Grass / Dawg Jazz. Unfortunately, no longer in print, as far as I can tell. I don't think it even appeared on CD.

Here are a few where the composition, arrangement, performance, engineering, and production all came together to produce my favorite examples of perfect pop songs:

Willin (from Sailing Shoes) - Little Feat
Help Me - Joni Mitchell
The Suit - Jerry Douglas (vocals by James Taylor)
Galileo - Indigo Girls

But there sure are a lot of great recordings out there, and some amazingly good examples in mono from back in the day (before my time, even).

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;)Yes "Fragile" is my all time favorite. Dynamic and imaginative music that was way ahead of it's time. I especially enjoy the dynamics and crescendo of "Heart Of The Sunrise". the 5.1 remix on DVD-A is sensational. I just watched a season 2 episode of Fringe that opens with Walter Bishop smoking weed in a bong to a vinyl record playing "Roundabout". Boy, did that bring back memories.:wave:

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It occurs to me that some of the stuff Ry Cooder has been involved with are stunning recordings.

 

Buena Vista Social Club, which I believe was produced by Ry Cooder and Nick Gold...hopefully I'm remembering that correctly.

Ali Farka Toure with Ry Cooder "Talking Timbuktu" produced by Ry Cooder

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It occurs to me that some of the stuff Ry Cooder has been involved with are stunning recordings.


Buena Vista Social Club, which I believe was produced by Ry Cooder and Nick Gold...hopefully I'm remembering that correctly.

Ali Farka Toure with Ry Cooder "Talking Timbuktu" produced by Ry Cooder

 

:thu:

 

I often use both of these as a reference to 'clean' my ears. That's some outstanding engineering, from start to finish.

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I've got a 1963 Lightnin' Hopkins album I recorded from vinyl that has the most natural sounding drums I've ever heard on a recording. I mean, if you put on headphones and shut your eyes, you'd swear you were 4 feet from a drum set. The whole album is just Lightnin on acoustic guitar and singing, plus this drummer, with a few tracks having a bass player.

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:thu:

I often use both of these as a reference to 'clean' my ears. That's some outstanding engineering, from start to finish.

 

I like the phrase "cleaning the ears"! The engineering is real smart...the sound is natural, full, and beautiful, with a physicality and sense of dimension that is so often missing in music recordings, and capturing the spark and creativity between the musicians. Fantastic.

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I've got a 1963 Lightnin' Hopkins album I recorded from vinyl that has the most natural sounding drums I've ever heard on a recording. I mean, if you put on headphones and shut your eyes, you'd swear you were 4 feet from a drum set. The whole album is just Lightnin on acoustic guitar and singing, plus this drummer, with a few tracks having a bass player.

 

 

If you ever find a clip of this, please please please post it, thanks!!! That sounds amazing!!

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I like the phrase "cleaning the ears"! The engineering is real smart...the sound is natural, full, and beautiful, with a physicality and sense of dimension that is so often missing in music recordings, and capturing the spark and creativity between the musicians. Fantastic.

 

 

The musicians are all maestros of their genres too, which helps. But ya, really great recordings. I've played BVSC on umpteen systems over the years, reference headphones etc., and can't hear a single thing that I'd grumble about.

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