[JerryM]

Awhile back I asked if you had only ONE cd to pick out what would that be??
Many of you have not replied??
I think so far we have:

Steely dan - Aja
Nil Lofgren - Acoustic Live

All the Best
Alex.....

Another CD to try is Kirk Whalum - For You. It would appear that Mr. Whalum is an audiophile.

This is smooth jazz sax. Incredibly recorded and mastered. The sound stage is crazy deep, and far wider than the speakers. Tonal balance, proper space, and well defined complexity are all-stars on this release.

Make no mistake about it - this album is best served immediately upon opening the second bottle of fine wine with your favorite lady-friend. 

But, if you want to solo a laid back chill session, this recording has a lot to offer.

JMHO, YMMV, etc.

Have fun,
Jerry
 

[lonewolfny42]

Thanks Alex for your reply.

I'll see if I can gather a few more things for you....to expand your horizon....and save you some $.

The problem with finding that "Outstanding Demo Cd" is that many times too few tunes are really outstanding...you get a few on each Cd...then the rest are filler.

Sometimes its better to make up your own "Outstanding Demo Cd"...then your sure they are truly worth listening too....

Something like the Rave Cd's....

                 Chris



Marty....

Nice speakers there Chris.

They are....

[ctouhey]

Regarding Kirk Whalum ...

I saw him many times in the 80s at Cody's before Scott Gertner purchased the club.  Phenomenal!

I have to get some of his recordings and see if they live up to the live performances.  Thanks for the reminder.  I forgot about him once he relocated to L.A.

Chris

[adydula]

I cant agree with you more on that one Chris...there really isnt a lot of cds of demo quality where all the material is up to snuff....

I started out with the 60's groups and as we grew older, jazz really took my attention and I really like not the hard core fusion stuff, but the more middle of the road jazz....I salivated over Spyrogyra for years as well.
Lately I am looking for material thats really outstanding all around regardless of my personal tastes, but again when you find something well done and you like the artist and/or material this is just great!! aa


The RAVE cds are a really great thing....you get to hear new and different stuff on each track that is demo quality.

I guess one of these days I will go the FLAC route and then mark the cuts I think are demo quality...this is one thing that digitial technology is great with.

jerryyM, thanks for the Kirk Whalum recommendation, I do like him and have a cd in my collection but have not gotten around to listening to it!!  It may be the one you cited.

Later
Alex

[adydula]

Hello,

I re-listened to Adele 19, which the limited edition has 2 cds. One is done in a studio with the ususal backround musicians, drums etc...and the other is 5 tracks recorded in a live setting in a hotel somewhere...

The neat thing here is this is a great example on how the same song done in a studio compared to the same son recorded live can differ so much.

The live recording is excellent, the quality of the sound is close to perfect. The same song on the studio cd is great but it has that studio, slightly veiled sound to it.

The musical content on the studio cd is better to me, but the clarity of the live recording is simply much better.

The live cd is missing the drums and bass etc...but man how nice it is to hear what can be done if its done 'right'. The guitar strings 'sound' in the live tracks are just so sonically sweet its not funny!!!  aa
quality

This is the sound or clarity I look for in a demo quality cd.

All the best!
Alex

[adydula]

Recommendation Demo Quality:

http://www.amazon.com/Sticks-Stones-Dave-Grusin/dp/B000008B3Z/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1253310286&sr=8-1

1988 Dave and Don Grusin's Sticks and Stones.

Seldom is there a cd that is demo quality and all the tracks on it are up to this high quality.

I have had this cd since 1988 and its a 10 of a 10. Its that good.
It can be had really on the cheap and its worth it.

Trust me if this cd does not make you smile and say WOW then you must not be breathing!! 

If you want to see how low and how well your SongTowers will go and perform start with track 8 "This little pig's got the blues" and hang on for the ride.

Go get this now!!!

All the best
Alex
 aa

[adydula]

Recommendation Demo Quality:

http://www.amazon.com/Sticks-Stones-Dave-Grusin/dp/B000008B3Z/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1253310286&sr=8-1

1988 Dave and Don Grusin's Sticks and Stones.

Seldom is there a cd that is demo quality and all the tracks on it are up to this high quality.

I have had this cd since 1988 and its a 10 of a 10. Its that good.
It can be had really on the cheap and its worth it.

Trust me if this cd does not make you smile and say WOW then you must not be breathing!! 

If you want to see how low and how well your SongTowers will go and perform start with track 8 "This little pig's got the blues" and hang on for the ride.

Go get this now!!!

All the best
Alex
 aa

Oh and play it loud!! 

[16hz lover]

For something very different, track down Frank Zappa's "The Yellow Shark". It's an extremely well recorded chamber-orchestra arrangement of a collection of Zappa complex compositions performed by Germany's Ensemble Modern. The intricacies of this recording will test out your system and speakers - it's full of audio surprises. Sounds great on our HT2 TL's 

Here is a Stereophile review: http://www.stereophile.com/recordingofthemonth/918/

Wow......talk about " different "    I couldn't make it through the 4th song....that's the weirdest stuff I've heard in a long time.  Know of anybody who wants my CD?

[adydula]

16hz lover,

This was one I stayed away from, only because Zappa is not my cup of tea!!

There was a OK Computer recommendation awhile back and I feel the same way you do about this cd as your input on Yellow Shark.

Sorry about that one...its was not my recommendation..unless you know an artist or like the stuff he or she produces I usually listen to samples or wait for a second confirmation before I spring for the cd....

Oh well based on all the really good recommendations it kind of averages out!! (ouch)..

Alex

 

[mathgeek97]

This was one I stayed away from, only because Zappa is not my cup of tea!!

I wouldn't give up on Zappa.  Grab a copy of Hot Rats (1969), his first solo album.  A lot of great guitar and is a great early example of rock-jazz fusion.  All but one song are instrumental, so not too much to offend or weird you out.

[Bob in St. Louis]

Recommendation Demo Quality:

http://www.amazon.com/Sticks-Stones-Dave-Grusin/dp/B000008B3Z/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1253310286&sr=8-1

1988 Dave and Don Grusin's Sticks and Stones.

It's funny you mentioned Dave Grusin.
I haven't played him in quite some time, but this morning I "found" him in my collection and decided to fire up everything I had of his (before I noticed this thread). Although I don't have Sticks and Stones, I do have:
- The Gershwin Collection 1991
- Out of the Shadows 1987
- Night Lines 1984
- The Orchestral Album 1994
- Discovered Again 1976
- Migration 1989

They all have better sound quality than your "average" cd, but I'd give my tip-o-the-hat to Migration and The Gershwin Collection for overall superior sound quality.

Bob

[TJC712]

Recommendation Demo Quality:

http://www.amazon.com/Sticks-Stones-Dave-Grusin/dp/B000008B3Z/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1253310286&sr=8-1

1988 Dave and Don Grusin's Sticks and Stones.

It's funny you mentioned Dave Grusin.
I haven't played him in quite some time, but this morning I "found" him in my collection and decided to fire up everything I had of his (before I noticed this thread). Although I don't have Sticks and Stones, I do have:
- The Gershwin Collection 1991
- Out of the Shadows 1987
- Night Lines 1984
- The Orchestral Album 1994
- Discovered Again 1976
- Migration 1989

They all have better sound quality than your "average" cd, but I'd give my tip-o-the-hat to Migration and The Gershwin Collection for overall superior sound quality.

Bob

Give a listen to Satin Doll on Grusin's Homage to Duke CD... Great sound!

[adydula]

Cool,
I have Migration and Sticks and Stones is as good as if not better..both at nice.

I do not have the the Gershwin one but I will soon!

 aa

Alex

[Rocket]

Hi,

I went to my local hifi store and heard a cd by Emiliana Torrini 'Me and Armini'.  I liked it that much on the way  home I bought it from a local cd store.  It was in the alternative section but I wouldn't describe the sound of this cd as that.

'Me And Armini' is a hugely ambitious and aspirational pop record with Emil?ana's soaring voice centre stage, bolstered by a rich gamut of musical styles. From the summery skank of the title track to the surging, breathless 'Jungle Drum' (released 29th September), the spine-tingling 'Big Jumps' and the cave singing of 'Gun' this is a truly fantastic album.

This cd is very well recorded and it passed the Salk Sound test i.e. quality sound in and great sound from the system.

Regards

Rod

[Bob in St. Louis]

I've been listening to "The Best of Basia" the past couple days.
Sounds like a good candidate for this thread to me, however I've been sick this week and not ready to trust my ears to use as a tool to spend someone else's money just yet. 

Can anyone confirm?

Bob

[adydula]

TJC712.

Steely Dan, Two Against Nature....very nice, very well done, this is really an awesome cd....

I guess I need to get the AJA cd.....tell me there is the original, a remastered version and dvd audio etc...which one?

Thanks much for this one...its that good!

Alex
 aa

[TJC712]

I've been listening to "The Best of Basia" the past couple days.
Sounds like a good candidate for this thread to me, however I've been sick this week and not ready to trust my ears to use as a tool to spend someone else's money just yet. 

Can anyone confirm?

Bob

I don't have the "Best Of",  but her "Time and Tide" as well as "London, Warsaw & NY" CD's sound great on my system and are worthy of consideration.  I remember when she first appeared back in the late 80's and I thought that she was a great vocalist back then.

[adydula]

Sonic Heaven....

Oh my, I just had a really great time listening to 2 very different cd's that have been recommended. One was the Kirk Whalum - For You...this is a real treat, absolutley well balanced and mixed so, so well. This is a sensual cd that sounds great and is definitely demo quality. It has a few cuts that make the SongTowers really 'growl'....dang this cd is good. Get and enjoy the ride!!

The other cd was really different and I honestly had a hard time enjoying some of the tracks but the really different mix of sounds, instruments, bass and imaging overrode this and I hung in there and was pleasantly surprised.

It was Laurie Andersons - Life on A String. Wow is this a different cd. Its more like spoken words at times or melodic prose...but the imaging and clarity is wonderful.

This cd has some of the lowest and deepest bass I have ever heard my SongTowers reproduce, I was very much surprised to hear this low stuff...I thought that the prior cd has some really good low end stuff but this strange but wonderful cd blows that away...dang it was really great. I think track 5 Slip Away, is nothing but strings and it so different from all the rest of the tracks and its so really warm and the strings sound so much like well...REAL strings it changed my mood and its just so good...

I much preferred the Whalum cd as the type of music I really, really like in the jazz format...its so warm sensual and the sax sounds so much like a sax...go Kirk go!

Most will prefer Whalum the more grounded cd..but if you want good but different try Laurie Anderson...but dont say I didnt warn you!!

All the best
Alex

[16hz lover]

Recommendation Demo Quality:

http://www.amazon.com/Sticks-Stones-Dave-Grusin/dp/B000008B3Z/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1253310286&sr=8-1

1988 Dave and Don Grusin's Sticks and Stones.

Seldom is there a cd that is demo quality and all the tracks on it are up to this high quality.

I have had this cd since 1988 and its a 10 of a 10. Its that good.
It can be had really on the cheap and its worth it.

Trust me if this cd does not make you smile and say WOW then you must not be breathing!! 

If you want to see how low and how well your SongTowers will go and perform start with track 8 "This little pig's got the blues" and hang on for the ride.

Go get this now!!!

All the best


Alex
 aa

Ordered this, got it in, it's fabulous, gave it to my son who has a killer stereo in his car....got a text " you're not getting this back "

[16hz lover]

Did anyone mention Bella Sonus?  the CD is called "Enamoured"   bass extends down into the low 20's. ....nice flamenco guitar too....just a great recording all around.

A subwoofer workout for sure.