Tunesday (Aug 31) Musical Confessions of the Week

[Davey]

Or maybe that should read "Musical Confessions of the Weak".



Don't be shy. Step right up and tell us what music you've been enjoying the last week or so. Or what's next on your list to buy. Or what you'd like to buy if you could find it for a reasonable price. Or something you heard that really stunk. Or something you've picked up and really like (or hate ) based on a post at Rave Recs. Or whatever..........

[BillB]

Mooney Suzuki - Alive & Amplified
West Indian Girl - Self Titled
The Shins - Oh, Inverted World
Modest Mouse - Good News For People That Love Bad News
Wilco - A Ghost Is Born
The Beatles - BeatOuts Vol. 9
John Lennon - Plastic Ono Band (MFSL Remaster)
Death Cab For Cutie - Transatlanticism (SACD)

[nobody]

Still grooving to the reggae...

Favorite of the week would have to be the Mighty Diamonds: Right Time, just a fine, fine record with great rythms and some of the sweetest vocals you'll ever hear.

Also doing a bit of hip-hop...

Favorite of the week there would be OutKast: ATLiens, a really cohesive record with some great, languid funk beats in the background. It's more traditional than some of their more recent stuff, but still stands out from the pack.

Grabbed a couple punk records...

Favorite here is Black Flag: Damaged. I hadn't listened to this one in a while and had almost forgotten how brutal and wonderful it is. It took about 2 seconds of the opening track, Rise Above, for me to remember.

Some electronic stuff as well...

Mostly, the recent Daedelus: Of Snowdonia, a mellow yet interesting affair with liots of old scratchy samples contrasted with bright electronics. Very nice.

And, don't forget the oldies...

Played Gene Vincent: Blue Jean Bop & Gene Vincent and the Blue Notes. Fantastic old time rockabilly. If you think Be Bop A Lula was all this guy did worth hearing, think again. And, vinyl fans, Norton has released his first four records with original artwork and such for around 10 bucks a pop.

Lots more, but I figured I'd just list some highlights for now.

[Dave_G]

Visage

A Flock of Seagulls - Light at the end of the Tunnel

New Order - BBC live

Aerosmith - Aerosmith

Uriah Heep - Live in Europe 1979

Dave

[tentoze]

Born Heller, S/T- this one has gotten some buzz in the experimental/psych-folk world since its release a few months ago. I had my eye out for it locally, but never ran across it. The copy I snagged last week was courtesy of Unklebob. Not too sure about this one- it's almost too medieval sounding for even me. Mebbe it will be a grower, mebbe not.

Stan Ridgway, Snakebite: Blacktop Ballads & Fugitive Songs- amazing as it is, this is the first full Ridgway disk I've ever bought or heard all the way through. Damn fine songs. And a coupla photos by some dood named Troy.........

Unbunny, Snow Tires- goofy name for a band. Nice tunes in the vein of Vetiver and Iron & Wine.

The Walkmen, Everyone Who Pretended To Like Me Is Gone- I have no idea why I bought this. I played about the 1st 3 cuts and took it off. I'll try it again when I'm in a different mood, maybe, before I toss it.

subdudes in concert on Saturday were EXCELLENTO. Swampy blues and R&B-based tunes with some great harmonizing by Malone and Magnie.
-

[Davey]

Unbunny, Snow Tires- goofy name for a band. Nice tunes in the vein of Vetiver and Iron & Wine.

Funny coincidence as I've been listening to a stream of that album this morning. Read a rave at the americana-uk site just recently so wanted to give it a listen and found that you can hear the whole thing at http://www.parasol.com/labels/hiddenagenda/aha067.asp. Lots to like but it does move at a pretty slow pace, kind of like the last Sparklehorse album. But sounding a little more like Grandaddy I guess. Have you listened to it much and what's your take? The stream is only about 28 minutes...is the CD that short too? That "Pink Lemonade" song sounds like vintage Neil Young fronting The Band in their cover of Dylan's "I Shall Be Released". Very nice. That whole middle section is stellar. Short, short, short, though.

[tentoze]

Funny coincidence as I've been listening to a stream of that album this morning. Read a rave at the americana-uk site just recently so wanted to give it a listen and found that you can hear the whole thing at http://www.parasol.com/labels/hiddenagenda/aha067.asp. Lots to like but it does move at a pretty slow pace, kind of like the last Sparklehorse album. But sounding a little more like Grandaddy I guess. Have you listened to it much and what's your take? The stream is only about 28 minutes...is the CD that short too? That "Pink Lemonade" song sounds like vintage Neil Young fronting The Band in their cover of Dylan's "I Shall Be Released". Very nice. That whole middle section is stellar. Short, short, short, though.

It's actually a little shy of 28 minutes! After I noted that, was glad it was only $10, and not $16 or something. Only spun it twice so far, once in the car on Sunday, and once last nite, so I can't really speak very knowledgeably about it yet, but I do like what I'm hearing. You are correct about the slow pace, but the songs are all very pretty. If you think Unbunny's pace is slow, you'd be going in reverse listening to Born Heller.

[DarrenH]

The Mooney Suzuki - Alive & Amplified. Really, really enjoying this. I'm gonna place this in my top five for the year so far.
The Flower Kings - Adam & Eve. I don't know. Can't make up my mind whether this is good, well crafted music or just some long winded drivel. Maybe I'm getting burnt out on prog. I'll give it more time.
The Polyphonic Spree - Together We're Heavy. If you liked the first release this one is more of the same. Beatlesque choir practice. I like it. Included a concert DVD of sorts which I haven't viewed yet.
Al DiMeola - Casino and Splendido Hotel. I really dig DiMeola's music and his guitar playing. Splendido Hotel has more of a Spanish flair to it. It's all very good jazz fusion if you're into that sort of thing.
DiMeola-McLaughlin-DeLucia - Friday Night In San Francisco Recorded in 1980 this is an all acoustic guitar showdown between three of best guitar players of the time. Phenomenal jazz guitar playing. The opening track, "Mediterranean Sundance", was just amazing.
Billy Cobham - Crosswinds. Not nearly as good as Spectrum but enjoyable enough. Spectrum had Tommy Bolin wailing on his guitar and was more rock influenced obviously. Crosswinds was much more laid back and more in keeping with traditional jazz styles. Still a classic fusion album.
John Mclaughlin - Devotion. Recorded just after he left Miles Davis' group and just before he formed The Mahivishnu Orchestra. Lots of thick sounding, fuzzy guitar. Buddy Miles on drums. Billy Rich on bass. Larry Young on organ. Jimi Hendrix's influences are all over this. A classic.
Frank Zappa - The Grand Wazoo. Another very good jazzy type outing from the late Mr. Zappa. I really like Frank's music that featured this style of playing. While Hot Rats is still the best of the trilogy in my opinion (Hot Rats-Waka Jawaka-Grand Wazoo) this was very enjoyable.
Ozric Tentacles - Waterfall Cities. Been listening to a bunch of Ozric CD's lately. Great, great music. I haven't heard a bad album yet.
Mike Oldfield - Hergest Ridge. Tubular Bells will always be his masterpiece but this wasn't bad. More of the same production. Mike plays all the instruments. I do prefer Ommadawn over Hergest Ridge though. And when are they gonna remaster Tubular Bells?
Bob Marley and the Wailers - Burnin'. I'm starting to really like reggae. Went out and bought Peter Tosh's Legalize It as well. How come these guys died so young? Too much ganja?
Miles Davis - Dark Magus. Another smokin' 2 CD live concert recorded at Carnegie Hall in 1974.

Darren

Edit: Added another to the list.

[Stoiven]

I am probably in the wrong place to be even mentioning things like this...but I love heavy metal..and here is what I have been enjoying:

Tool - Lateralus
Mercyful Fate - Dangerous Meeting
Sonata Arctica - Winterhearts Guild
Limbomaniacs - Stinky Grooves
Iced Earth - Lots of different ones(Days of Purgatory Nearly knocked my head off on my car stereo with the Bass drum kicking my two 12" woofs)

[Stone]

I am probably in the wrong place to be even mentioning things like this...but I love heavy metal..

No, not necessarily. There are a few metal lovers around this place. I'm not a huge fan but I did listen to Old Man Gloom - Christmas this past week, and I'll be buying the new Mastodon.

Other listens:

Fiery Furnaces - Blueberry Boat

Razorlight - Up All Night
I really like this. Nothing groundbreaking and often times reminds me of the Strokes, but very enjoyable.

Beatles - Please Please Me

Elliott Smith - XO

Boyracer - Absence Makes the Heart Grow Harder EP

Dead Kennedys - Life at the Deaf Club

Bill Withers - Still Bill

Beep Beep - Business Casual

Spiritualized - Lazer Guided Melodies
Not my cup of tea. The songs are too long and spacy for me to really care much at all about it.

Destroyer - Your Blues
One of my favorites of the year. Mr. Bejar relies on synths on this one, and it works. His play with lyrics from other songs is fun too.


That's all I can remember now, but I'm sure there was more.

[Davey]

So what album is this latest avatar from? Story behind it? Most likely something I'll lose IndieHipsterElitistSnob cred for not recognizing, huh? Massive Attack used that flame logo on their early albums.



Have you heard any other Spiritualized albums? I like that one but can understand how it would tax a non-proglodyte like you. Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space has a more customary pop song structure and is my favorite, although the closing feedback drenched "Cop Shoot Cop" with Dr. John is very long. Love it

[Stone]

So what album is this latest avatar from? Story behind it? Most likely something I'll lose IndieHipsterElitistSnob cred for not recognizing, huh?

Have you heard any other Spiritualized albums? I like that one but can understand how it would tax a non-proglodyte like you. Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space has a more customary pop song structure and is my favorite, although the closing feedback drenched "Cop Shoot Cop" with Dr. John is very long. Love it

The avatar is from Stiff Little Fingers' Inflammable Material. Yup, your IHES cred just went down the toilet. I just wanted one flame from it and wanted it to basically be the size of the full avatar, but obviously it didn't come out that way and I haven't had time to try to fix it.

As far as Spiritualized goes, I do have Ladies and Gentlemen . . ., but that's the only other one. I like it, but it's not knock-me-down-great to me. One of my clients is trying to push Spiritualized on me, and told me that Ladies and Gentlemen . . . is more enjoyable when listened to if viewed as a concept album. I have no real idea what that's about and haven't pulled it out yet to give it another listen.

[Davey]

And here's a few things that made the rounds with me...

Felt the urge for a taste of Bjork with all the talk going around about her new album, but unfortunately don't have any with me right now in my travelling case so pulled out the Hector Zazou Songs from the Cold Seas, which does feature Bjork singing in Icelandic on the beautiful "Visur Vatnsenda-Rosu", and Varttina and Suzanne Vega and Jane Siberry and Siouxie and Vimme Saari and a bunch of other mainly female vocals on the other songs. An old favorite from 1994 that I never tire of. Also inspired me to pull out the excellent Sahara Blue disc from 1992 and featuring just as, if not moreso of, an eclectic cast of performers.

And as last week, the new one from the Court & Spark is sounding very good. Titled Witch Season and sporting one of my favorite album covers of the year to go with the cool, twangy, atmospheric, haunting and moody music. Nice warm analog sound recorded on fat 2" tape in a bunch of real studios. Blue Rodeo fans out there might wanna check it out as it does have that same lush alt-country sound as those Canadian favorites, but maybe just a tad bit more eclectic. Very good singer too, kind of like a mix of Richard Buckner and maybe someone like Jerry Garcia, but the star attraction is really the instrumental interplay from what is billed in the liner notes as the Witch Season Players, a group of 20 musicians used to augment the 5 core band members. The great opening track is available for download from the Absolutely Kosher site here, although some of that really nice sound that adds to its charm is lost when compressed to mp3. Definitely one of my favorite Americana type albums of the year. A little on the slow side of the tracks but you definitely won't hear anything as interesting as this on your local country station.

Also playing the new Old Canes album a lot. One of my recent favorites from Chris Crisci of Appleseed Cast "fame". As I mentioned last week (and at the risk of sounding shill-like ), you can listen to a stream of the whole album at http://www.earlymorninghymns.com/. I don't know about you guys, but I think it's great to be able to stream an album before buying, or at least a few of the songs, and a lot of the lo-fi albums I listen to don't suffer severely from the heavy data compression used

Listened a couple times to the Honeydogs 10,000 Years last week. Continues to be one of my top albums of the year. Really seems like an epic work that should be recognized for years to come, except that it's hardly even recognized now. Too bad. I've tried to do my part and have definitely turned a few people on to it but maybe it's just a case of the right album at the wrong time? I'd recommend it to all music fans since it really doesn't occupy any specific genre. Maybe that's the problem? But that's one of the things that I like so much about it too. It brings to mind Beatles and Wilco and Aimee Mann and Ry Cooder and Harry Nilsson and many other types of music. I've seen a few good ones, but one of the nicest writeups is at Paste Magazine in case you missed one of my previous propaganda posts. They also had a slobberfest over it at Nude As The News last year, which I think is where I first heard about it. But that's all I'm gonna say - I'm done talking about it until the end of the year

Laika - Silver Apples of the Moon
The Fiery Furnaces - Blueberry Boat
Arto Lindsay - Noon Chill

[Jim Clark]

Haven't spent much time to listening to music the past couple of weeks. As I noted the Olympics took up a great deal of my leisure time but that's all done now. In the car I've spent a lot of time listening to the AM all comedy radio station. Been getting a kick out of that.

Recently however I've been getting back into the swing of things with some new purchases, which is really tough to do in KC. Finally found a local copy of that Ridgway album only to show up to Borders and discover it somewhere in the store but nobody has any idea where. Time for an online order I guess.

Anyway I picked up the new Trashcan Sinatras release-Weightlifting. Listened to it just once, at the gym no less. I really like the really jangly up tempo tracks but they seem to be fairly scarce. I enjoyed my first listen although at times it seems almost a bit alt. country. Includes a DVD and the first 5000 copies have a signed lyric sheet. Those 4999 copies may still be available based on how hard it was for me to find a local copy today. None at BB, CC, Borders, Barnes & Noble or at my trusty local used store which is generally pretty good at ordering in new releases too.

Gambled and bought the Headset release titled Spacesettings which is a side project for Jimmy Tamborello( Dntel, Postal Service) and Thomas Fehlmann (The Orb) and a slew of others for what was described to me as "a seriously freaky mind bending album-a classic in the making". Uh, I doubt it. Cool electronics as could be expected but it's basically a hip hop album, and a weak one at that. One major exception is the contribution of Lady Dragon, a Japanese rapper who's track I really enjoyed. Reminds me of the Japanese garage band singers from the Blade movie. Very cool. Sadly, there's the rest of the album.

Also got The Mooney Suzuki based on J's rec. Haven't listened to all of it yet so it's unfair to part with my initial reaction. I'll just say that I hope it sounds better on my stereo than the car and that it grows on me quickly. You just never know.

The oddessey continues...

jc

[Dusty Chalk]

I am probably in the wrong place to be even mentioning things like this...but I love heavy metal..

Not at all. As a matter of fact...

Sonata Arctica - Winterhearts Guild

...could you expound a little bit more on this one? I have to admit to being intrigued by the information on the sticker, but I've been burned before by that, so wanted to learn more before I pursued them further.

PS Just got the new Lamb Of God today. Would have gotten The Crown, but they didn't have it.

[Troy]

Barry L came back to SF last Thursday and I ran into town to meet him and his wife at the gigantic Amoeba records store int he Haight. He loooooved it. Spent 2 hours wandering around and he almost filled a shopping cart. Too bad he put some back. His wife has the patience of a saint, I tell ya. We wandered across the street for some Thai food and a beer afterwards. Great people, great time.

Anyway, I bought some stuff too:

Flower Kings- "Adam and Eve"
I think it's boring too. It seems that Stolt has lost his ability to write a catchy hook or melody. Impeccable production and sound, but there'sd just not much there to latch on to.

Marillion- "Marbles"
Only one spin so far, but this is pretty dull like the Flower Kings disc. Nothing grabbed me at all.

Broadcast "Haha Sound"
A few interesting moments, but some outright rubbish too. How any band could release a song like "Black Umbrellas" is beyond me. They should be ashamed of themselves.

Air- "10,0000 Hz Legend"
Only one spin and I get the impression that it's not as good as "Talkie Walkie". Still, fantastic spacerock / electronc soundscapes. I may come around to this one

Steely Dan- "Countdown to Ecstasy"
I'm kind embarassed to admit I've never owned this and for $5, why not. Jeez, it almost plays like a greatest hits album, eh? Some great old classics and a few new surprises, Great stuff. I guess I need to buy Pretzle Logic too . . .

:: best buy of the week ::
Mike Keneally + Metropole- "The Universe Will Provide".
After being disappointed by the last Mike Keneally album "Dog", I kinda decided not to jump on this when it came out at just around the same time (now THAT'S planning). When it turned up in the used Zappa section I just had to snarf it up.

I'm really glad I did. THIS is the MK I wanna buy albums from. It's MK on guitars and pianos recorded with an avant garde Dutch orchestra and some of it is blindingly dissonant and metallic, other parts have a mysterious, but pastoral quality and other parts are pure Zappa style orchestral rock. The 12 minute "Four Slices of Toast" covers all those bases. the album uses a full time fast-footed (but uncredited) rock drummer which carries the day for me. Really dynamite percussion throughout. The vibes / banjo interplay in "Worrywart Spoonguy" is worth the price of the album.

I expected a staid all orchestral album and what I got was a playful all-instrumental rock album with cinematic and very adventurous orchestrations by a real orchestra. It sounds fantastic.

If you are a fan of Isildurs Bane or the original Group 87 or orchestral style Zappa, check this out.

J sent me a Danny Luppi disc too. Thanks holmes, I love it. Yeah, it's kinda spag western (especially the whistling) crossed with 60s loungecore and Booker T and the MGs. You like this disc J? You gotts getcha some "Stereophonic Space Sound Unlimited" for sure.

I listened to some other old stuff like:

Randdom Hold
Porcupine Tree
Gary Numan

too

[Javier]

Opeth blackwaterpark after being put off by the first track ( that ugly monster voice and feroucios metal attack and so much that give the album away to a friend) read a review and decided to give another listen so took it back and glad that i did it amazing stuff in there, so much that i have already ordered damnation and their latest effort.
Mary Fhal easy listening stuff but grat singing.
Alison krause and the union station live just being curious about bluegrass.

[audiobill]

I've trie to listen to tons more drum'n'bass, since getting back. A footnote I made to myself this summer.

Old School vs. New School
Bass Headz
Dj Dan -- Beats 4 Freaks
Ultar-obscene
And various Euro-mixes I picked up in Zurich.

Also,
Davey's "Half-gone 2004" -- thanks-a-ton dave. Highlights for me are Blonde Redhead, Modest Mouse, Lali Puna and Devendra Banhard. Elecrelane and Animal Collective did not strike a chord with me. Nevertheless, I have a growing list of music I'd like to get:

The Fiery Furnaces, Of Montreal, Modest Mouse, The Golden Dogs, Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter, Mooney Suzuki, Bjork and Comets on Fire (all recent releases).

[-Jar-]

Mainly FREE MARS by the one-off indie supa-group Lusk. I thought the cd lost, for at least 2 years now.. so I go through my cds looking for other lost thingies (I swear our house is the Bermuda Triangle).. and lo and behold inside Pat Metheney's FIRST CIRCLE case resides FREE MARS. I'm thinking, It hasn't been that long since I listened to FIRST CIRCLE, then I remember that I had FIRST CIRCLE ridin' free in my cd holder-magazine for a long time.. so it was probably then that things got all mixed up.. actually I found FIRST CIRCLE inside Medeski Martin & Wood's SHACK MAN. Go figure!

Anyway, it's been fun listening to FREE MARS again. You got Paul D'Amour, who was a former Tool bassist, and Chris Pitman mainly.. then there's Greg Edwards (Ken Andrew's other half in Failure) and Brad Laner (main man of Medicine, Electric Company and other bands..) adding their stuff. Lots of cool sounds here.. guitars of various sorts, horns, harps, keys.. they evoke a weird mix of 70's pop-psychedelia crossed with the big wall-of-distortion sound of the early 90's shoegazers. Always been one of my favorite albums of the 90's (1997 to be exact). They were supposedly working on a 2nd album but it never came together. *shrug* it's fun to find lost treasure. Now, I'm also missing two of my recent comps that I deleted off my hard drive. THAT pisses me off.
(Slosh.. you may be getting an email from me soon regarding this situation )

Also been listening to my special edition version of Mercury Rev's DESERTER'S SONGS (comes in a cool cardboard envelope kind of thing (postmarked even) with 2 Mercury Rev post cards inside) No. 1488.... ooooooooo!

-jar

[Pat D]

Or maybe that should read "Musical Confessions of the Weak".



Don't be shy. Step right up and tell us what music you've been enjoying the last week or so. Or what's next on your list to buy. Or what you'd like to buy if you could find it for a reasonable price. Or something you heard that really stunk. Or something you've picked up and really like (or hate ) based on a post at Rave Recs. Or whatever..........

Schumann, Manfred. Text by Lord Byron. Sir Thomas Beecham, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and BBC Chorus. 2 LP set. Columbia M2L-245. This includes spoken voices, singers, chorus, and orchestra. Hah! How many of you have ever heard this one! I'm not sure what I think of it. Byron's poetry is very highly charged with existential Angst and Romanticism. I'm not sure yet quite what I think of it.

Mozart, Les petits riens, German Dances, Marches, Minuets. Georg Tintner, Symphony Nova Scotia. Tintner Memorial Edition Vol. 11. Naxos 8.557243. Really delightful little works and an excellent recording.

Delius, Orchestral Works. David Lloyd-Jones, English Northern Philharmonia. Naxos 8.553535.

Sir Arthur Sullivan, The Gilbert and Sullivan Overtures. Andrew Penny, Royal Ballet Sinfonia. Naxos 8.554165.
Mozart, Les petits riens, German Dances, Marches, Minuets. Georg Tintner, Symphony Nova Scotia. Tintner Memorial Edition Vol. 11. Naxos 8.557243. Really delightful little works and an excellent recording.

Beethoven, Violin Sonatas Nos. 5 (Spring) and 9 (Kreutzer). Takako Nishizaki, violin; Jeno Jando, piano. Naxos 8.550283.

Syncopated Clock and other favorites by Leroy Anderson. Erich Kunzel, Rochester Pops. Pro Arte CD 264.

I got out some LPs of operatic selections by two bassos, Ezio Pinza, a basso profondo, and Cesare Siepi, a basso cantante (not as low a voice), mostly with Mozart arias. Two wonderful artists with fabulous techniques and great interpretative skills.

[audiobill]

Schumann, Manfred. Text by Lord Byron. Sir Thomas Beecham, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and BBC Chorus. 2 LP set. Columbia M2L-245. This includes spoken voices, singers, chorus, and orchestra. Hah! How many of you have ever heard this one! I'm not sure what I think of it. Byron's poetry is very highly charged with existential Angst and Romanticism. I'm not sure yet quite what I think of it.

Mozart, Les petits riens, German Dances, Marches, Minuets. Georg Tintner, Symphony Nova Scotia. Tintner Memorial Edition Vol. 11. Naxos 8.557243. Really delightful little works and an excellent recording.

Delius, Orchestral Works. David Lloyd-Jones, English Northern Philharmonia. Naxos 8.553535.

Sir Arthur Sullivan, The Gilbert and Sullivan Overtures. Andrew Penny, Royal Ballet Sinfonia. Naxos 8.554165.
Mozart, Les petits riens, German Dances, Marches, Minuets. Georg Tintner, Symphony Nova Scotia. Tintner Memorial Edition Vol. 11. Naxos 8.557243. Really delightful little works and an excellent recording.

Beethoven, Violin Sonatas Nos. 5 (Spring) and 9 (Kreutzer). Takako Nishizaki, violin; Jeno Jando, piano. Naxos 8.550283.

Syncopated Clock and other favorites by Leroy Anderson. Erich Kunzel, Rochester Pops. Pro Arte CD 264.

I got out some LPs of operatic selections by two bassos, Ezio Pinza, a basso profondo, and Cesare Siepi, a basso cantante (not as low a voice), mostly with Mozart arias. Two wonderful artists with fabulous techniques and great interpretative skills.

Hey, Pat. Thanks to you, my classical music collection is getting larger and larger.
Do you have 2 or 3 other "basso" or "very low male" voices singing opera that you would highly recd.. I'm very picky about "clean" recordings, when it comes to voices.

Any suggestions, are greatly appreciated.
Cheers,
Bill

[Pat D]

Hey, Pat. Thanks to you, my classical music collection is getting larger and larger.
Do you have 2 or 3 other "basso" or "very low male" voices singing opera that you would highly recd.. I'm very picky about "clean" recordings, when it comes to voices.

Any suggestions, are greatly appreciated.
Cheers,
Bill

You're welcome! It's always nice to share good music. I am not an opera expert by any means but I can suggest some names. Older recordings often are fairly clear for voices, even though not hi-fi, and I am not so particular about the sound. Old Gigli is one of favorite tenors and most of his recordings are monos.

Most Ezio Pinza recordings are pretty old--he died in 1957, while Cesare Siepi was about 30 years younger (born 1923) and may well still be alive as far as I know. Most Pinza recordings are quite old, but I know Siepi made some in the stereo age.

George London (1920-1985) was a great bass baritone, and he did Wotan in Solti's recording of Wagner's "Das Rheingold" in his Ring Cycle. Unfortunately, he suffered paralysis of his vocal chords and stopped performing in 1965.

Jerome Hines was a wonderful basso. The only recording of his I have is Handel's Messiah with Klemperer. Others that come to mind are Nikolai Ghiaurov, Boris Christoff, Theo Adam, and Donald McIntyre.

[audiobill]

You're welcome! It's always nice to share good music. I am not an opera expert by any means but I can suggest some names. Older recordings often are fairly clear for voices, even though not hi-fi, and I am not so particular about the sound. Old Gigli is one of favorite tenors and most of his recordings are monos.

Most Ezio Pinza recordings are pretty old--he died in 1957, while Cesare Siepi was about 30 years younger (born 1923) and may well still be alive as far as I know. Most Pinza recordings are quite old, but I know Siepi made some in the stereo age.

George London (1920-1985) was a great bass baritone, and he did Wotan in Solti's recording of Wagner's "Das Rheingold" in his Ring Cycle. Unfortunately, he suffered paralysis of his vocal chords and stopped performing in 1965.

Jerome Hines was a wonderful basso. The only recording of his I have is Handel's Messiah with Klemperer. Others that come to mind are Nikolai Ghiaurov, Boris Christoff, Theo Adam, and Donald McIntyre.

I'll have to check some of these out. It's very interesting what you say about older recordings i.e., that they have clearer voices. Pinza and Siepi look like starting points for me.

Cheers,
audiobill

[Dusty Chalk]

Do you have 2 or 3 other "basso" or "very low male" voices singing opera that you would highly recd.. I'm very picky about "clean" recordings, when it comes to voices.

Any suggestions, are greatly appreciated.

I know I'm not Pat, but I have to chime in: get the Jungle Book soundtrack. Sher-Khan (?sp) has the greatest voice ever.

Shere Khan -- okay, apparently it's George Sanders. He's done a lot of narration work...he's been in A Shot in the Dark...he was in the 1947 version of The Ghost and Mrs. Muir...oooh, he played Simon Templar aka The Saint in the 30's and 40's...okay, not that you care about any of that...

[Dusty Chalk]

Einstürzende Neubauten, Silence is Sexy -- don't ask, the answer is 'yes'. I really need to find my copy of Ende Neu.

Some Middle Pillar stuff -- Hexentanz, Mephisto Waltz (sounds delightfully like Curve) -- GitS:SAC soundtrack, Bark Psychosis...alright, get this, the correct name of this album is ///Codename: Dustsucker. It's weird -- there's femme vox all over it. It caught me off guard, but I'm okay now. It's a "deep" record (going to take a few listens to "get"), and that's a good thing.

Oh, and Natalie MacMaster (mentioned in another thread, "...new crush").

Oh, and Soul Whirling Somewhere. Do you remember me reviewing that 2CD set as LOTW a couple of years ago, the one that was so ultimately depressing (the guy was obviously not getting over a chick very well)? Well, he re-released that as a single CD. Didn't know that when I bought it, but it does have one new track on it. He also made my favourite track on it the opener, "The Last Time I Left". Excellent choice, if I may say so, but I think it would also make an awesome closer. It works quite well as a single CD, too. And I think he remixed it, too.

One more: Fish, Field of Crows -- not his best, yeah, but tolerable. I thought Raingods With Zippos™ was much better.