What are you listening to right now?

[tmazz]

The Very Best of Dusty Springfield

Mercury CD



A little trip down the 1960s memory lane.

[tmazz]

Tom Paxton: Looking at the Moon

Appleseed CD

Earlier this week I went to the 9/11 museum for the first time. (FYI, it is very well done) and being there made me think of this album which contains a song called "The Bravest" which is the story of that day told from the perspective of a survivor  who keeps talking about how all the firemen were going up the stairs while he was leaving the building.  The song really strikes a cord with me as I watched north tower fall from my office window with a co-worker whose son worked in that building, luckily he got out unharmed, but we did not know that at the time.  (Although I was in mid town several miles away I had a south facing window and direct line of sight of the twin towers looking down 6th Ave.)

[etcarroll]

Beethoven: Piano Concerto Nos 2 & 5 Emperor

Not a $1 find, but nice at $2.99 from PREX.

[tmazz]

Gene,

If you like the Emperor keep an eye out for the PopeMusic recording of it. Great sound and a great performance. One of my go to discs. And if you didn't know what it was you would probably look right past it in a shop.



It is out of print, but you still see copies kicking around on some of the major music sites (Music Direct et al) at clearance prices. It was produced in both aluminum (PM 1004-2) and gold  (PM 2004-2) pressings and the cover is the same so the only way to tell them apart if the disc is sealed is by the stock numbers.

[pumpkinman]

Canned Heat ~ Hallelujah

[etcarroll]

TMAZZ - thanks for the tip, got about 5 or 6 different copies of the Emperor, but can always squeeze in another.

[etcarroll]

The Who ‎– Quadrophenia

VG+ version I picked up for $10 at Plan 9 in Richmond.

[tmazz]

The Fresh Aire Music of Mannheim Steamroller

American Gramaphone 2 CD set

I saw this in the library and picked it up for twp reasons. 1) It was a nice way to reconnect with some long time "audio friends" as I have been listening to the Fresh Aire series since it was first released in the early 80s and have not really done so in quite some time. and 2) I have the whole series on CD (and yes vinyl as well), but all of the CDs are the first pressings. This set was mastered using the HDCD system and I was curious about how different the sound would be. Well I guess it cannot be considered a conclusive test because we have no way of knowing if the mastering EQ setting were different for the two releases, but I have to say that when playing several cuts from the original CDs and comparing them to the same cuts  on the HDCD encoded collect I found that the HDCD had noticeably better SQ across the board.

[tmazz]

TMAZZ - thanks for the tip, got about 5 or 6 different copies of the Emperor, but can always squeeze in another.

Way back when a bunch of us from the AudioSyndrome had the opportunity to visit the home of Gene Pope, the owner of PopeMusic and he played the original master tape of this album on the same Nagra tape deck and external clock unit that was used to do the recording (the rest of the system was 100% Cello electronics and speakers. The SQ was absolutely breathtaking. At one point he put his hand behind the Nagra and flipped a switch to change the Nagra from using the external timing unit to using its own internal clock. The whole sound stage collapsed and much detail was lost. That certainly sold me on the importance of timing integrity and jitter reduction.

[tmazz]

Jack Johnson: On and On

The Moonshine Conspiracy CD

Brand new and sealed for $1.12 at Crack House. 

[tmazz]

Fiedler-Greatest Hits

RCA Victor CD

[tmazz]

Robin Bullock - Majesty and Magic

Dancing Wolf CD

I got this CD at the Tom Paxton/Janis Ian show I saw last weekend. Robin played back-up for them along with a few solos  and I was very impressed with his  playing, thus the purchase in the lobby on the way out.

Very nice CD from both the SQ and the musical perspective.

From his own web site:
"On his ninth solo CD, internationally acclaimed guitarist Robin Bullock explores the music of three great composers: the legendary blind Irish bard Turlough O'Carolan (1670-1738), the premier lute virtuoso of Renaissance England, John Dowland (1563-1630), and the master himself, Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750). Robin's exquisite solo interpretations of the timeless works of Bach, Dowland and Carolan carry the steel-string guitar to new, otherworldly heights."

Link with samples:

http://www.robinbullock.com/Majesty_and_Magic.htm

[tmazz]

..... and I found this one on my own.

Robin Bullock: Midnight Howl

Maggies Music Cd

A celebration of Celtic roots and the wild American spirit, featuring Robin on nine different instruments, with guest appearances by Scottish harp champion Sue Richards, Helicon's wooden flute innovator Chris Norman, and percussionists Steve Bloom and Myron Bretholz.

I guess I am getting an early start on St. Patrick's Day. 

Link with samples:

http://www.robinbullock.com/midnight_howl.htm

[tmazz]

Charlie Byrd, Barney Kessel & Herb Ellis: Great Guitars at the Winery

Concord CD

[pumpkinman]

Mars Bonfire ~ Faster Than The Speed Of Life.....1969

Songs by Mars Bonfire recorded by Steppenwolf include:

"Born to Be Wild" (Steppenwolf, 1968)
"Faster Than The Speed of Life" (The Second, 1968)
"Ride with Me" (For Ladies Only, 1971)
"Tenderness" (For Ladies Only, 1971)
"The Night Time's for You" (co-write w/Morgan Cavett, For Ladies Only, 1971)
"Caroline (Are You Ready for the Outlaw World)" (Hour of the Wolf, 1975)
Albums:

Mars Bonfire (1968)
Faster Than the Speed of Life (1969)