audiophile quality rock

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milford3

Re: audiophile quality rock
« Reply #20 on: 15 Jan 2013, 08:35 pm »
One of the best albums ever.  Joe has been through a lot but keeps on going!




thunderbrick

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Re: audiophile quality rock
« Reply #21 on: 15 Jan 2013, 09:00 pm »
Since you mentioned Folksy stuff, I can recommend any reissue by Sandy Denny, Steeleye Span, Pentangle (especially "The Time Has Come"), and Fairport Convention.
Doc

+1! on those folksy tunes.  Had a jazz-loving friend (EE professor) over last night and played Pentangle's self-titled LP.  He was stunned at the SQ!  Steeleye Span, Fairport Convention, Renaissance, etc., all great folk-rock.

Tanglefoot, a Canadian folk/celtic/acapella/French Canadian/rock group has an amazing range of music, all well-recorded, covering a wide range of themes.

Diamond Dog

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Re: audiophile quality rock
« Reply #22 on: 16 Jan 2013, 01:18 am »
Nah, I completely understand where he's coming from.  I've heard bands live that I loved, and then bought a CD that sounded completely crappy.  No matter how much I liked the music live, if the recording grates on my ears every time a play it, it doesn't get played much.

Hi: I understand that POV completely. I'm not being derogatory to anyone, just saying that if someone is going to avoid listening to modern pop/rock music that is less than optimal in terms of sound quality, you're gonna miss out on some of the finest music the genre has to offer. Take Exile On Main Street  , for example. I've heard the vinyl, the original CD, the remaster(s), and the SHM-SACD and none of those are exactly an audiophile's delight. It's a sketchy recording done in a sketchy way and it does not show off the best attributes of a quality system. But to my mind, more importantly it is one of the all-time great rock albums. Should it be ignored because it sounds so-so?  Start doing that too often and you're going to be listening to a lot of Tool, Pink Floyd and Porcupine Tree ( not that there's anything wrong with that ) and not much else. How many times have you heard people here and on other audiophile sites diss the entire Led Zeppelin catalogue as sounding nasty? Do they go over the side, too?  The OP mentioned The Drive-By Truckers. I own every album they've made and not every one sounds great by any stretch. I still play 'em and still enjoy 'em.

Truth be told, some of my favorite bands make crappy-sounding records. In some cases, just awful. But whaddaya gonna do?
Funny how we all strive and struggle to build these world-beater systems and, once having made our hi-fidelity dreams come true, we find that we can't bear listening to music on them unless it pays tribute to the system we built as an homage to the music we say we love so dearly. One of those things that makes you go " Hmmmmm....", I guess. :scratch:

Oh well...there's always Dire Straits !  :wink:

D.D.

Chromisdesigns

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Re: audiophile quality rock
« Reply #23 on: 16 Jan 2013, 01:38 am »
@DD --

You've got a point, of course.  But I do find myself listening more to music from artists I like AND that is well recorded, or at least not offensively bad.

Not so much because it "doesn't show up the qualities of my music system", more like "Well, I can listen to music I like and sounds good" vs. "Oh, I guess I'll put on that horrible, thin, compressed up mangle of an album, just so I can get annoyed at it all over again!"...

I will do that from time to time, especially if it's the only thing I have from a given artist, but not often.

Rclark

Re: audiophile quality rock
« Reply #24 on: 16 Jan 2013, 01:44 am »
I just listen to the music I like. If it's well recorded, hey, bonus!

I'm not going to use a poorly recorded album to demonstrate my system (unless I want to demonstrate how revealing a system can be :wink:). But if a song is awesome and I want to hear it, I'm cranking that sucker up. In fact, a lot of great music was meant to sound poorly recorded.

I don't ever find myself gravitating towards the best recorded, I gravitate to what my mood calls for.


jimdgoulding

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« Reply #25 on: 16 Jan 2013, 03:31 am »
Wasn't Steve Albini the bloke that recorded early PJ Harvey?  You might like Ani DiFranco's Up,up,up,up,up,up both for her originality and garage- clear as a bell- sound on this one. 

Wanna hear some finely crafted and soulful music played by advanced humans in a fabulous live recording?  Good.  Seek out "Live at Montreux"- Darol Anger/Barbara Higbie Quintet (Windham Hill).  Five stars?  Fooey!  A million.

skepticalfriend

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Re: audiophile quality rock
« Reply #26 on: 16 Jan 2013, 05:14 pm »
Sorry, you lost me...you were excited about this band but don't want to listen to them because their recording didn't sound good to you on your system. Sounds like you were more excited about your system than about that band...

I think that people who won't listen to contemporary music because of sound quality deficiencies aren't going to be listening to a whole lot of contemporary music. I also think that for all the kvetching and complaining about compression and bad mastering and anti-brickwalling petitions started and signed by the small band of folks nutty enough to get into this hobby, the recording industry just isn't that into us...And so it becomes a matter of prioritization for us.

If you are all about the pristine clarity and the depth of soundstage and the - insert favoured audiophile terms here and here -  there's nothing wrong with that. But you might want to consider getting a good SACD player and exploring the wonderful world of classical music. Many sterling recordings to enjoy from a sound-quality point of view...your system will sound terrific! With many rock recordings, perhaps not so much.
 
Otherwise, strap yourself in because a lot of contemporary music will not meet your standards from a hi-fi point of view so the ride's gonna be rough. And while venting on audio hobbyist boards about the sound quality of modern rock recordings might make you feel better and get a ( small ) bunch of audiophiles all stirred up and shouty alongside you, it does not appear that a change is gonna come... In fact it may get worse.

If this is " The Music Circle", then let's talk about music here. Not sound quality. Music. And with that, I'm going to check out this band Metz because it looks like you and I have some mutual favorites based of your post, skepticalfriend. Thanks for the tip !

D.D.

Others have responded to your post but I will chime in anyway . . .

I'll be the first to admit that a quality recording and system are important to me.  Turning off the lights and closing your eyes and getting transported into that cavernesque space the speakers create (that's bigger than the room I'm in) is a wonderful experience.  I love it.  But it has to be good music too - that's a given.  I couldn't do it with a Justin Timberlake album or something (no offense to his fans, if any are lurking here!). 

So when my hopes that the music I'm into might be at least a decent recording are dashed, I'm bummed.  I'm still really enjoying this band Metz, but I will only be enjoying them in my car or when I'm not listening seriously. 

And I'm well aware of all the trouble with contemporary recordings and compression and so on, I was just hoping this group might know about more of the rare gems (good contemporary music that's well-recorded) than I do.  I always go through the Absolute Sounds' lists, but I often find their taste in rock to be different than mine. 

Anyway - thanks for the response. 

SF

skepticalfriend

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Re: iuintet (Windam Hill). ub
« Reply #27 on: 16 Jan 2013, 05:22 pm »
Wasn't Steve Albini the bloke that recorded early PJ Harvey?  You might like Ani DiFranco's Up,up,up,up,up,up both for her originality and garage- clear as a bell- sound on this one. 

Wanna hear some finely crafted and soulful music played by advanced humans in a fabulous live recording?  Good.  Seek out "Live at Montreux"- Darol Anger/Barbara Higbie Quintet (Windham Hill).  Five stars?  Fooey!  A million.

Yes - that's him.  Luckily for me, I really truly enjoy many of the bands he records.  Musically PJ Harvey's Rid of Me is incredible to me AND it's a superb recording. 

I actually have that Ani Difranco album but haven't listened to it in a long time (not since I upgraded my system) so I will for sure get it out this weekend.  Thanks and thanks for the Live at Montreux recommendation.

In fact, thanks to everyone for their suggestions and comments - I've got work to do now.  I really very much appreciate it - as I said in my last post, I was hoping you all could recommend some of the rare gems not on my radar, and I think that's just what I've gotten.

I was thinking of a couple other things I've listened to recently that I enjoyed - musically and for the recording: Modest Mouse's The Moon and Antarctica and Wilco's live Kicking Television weren't so bad.  As I think of other stuff I will post.

For those of you that like heavier stuff, Albini recorded everything (I think) that the Jesus Lizard did and it's really fantastic music. 

SF

Diamond Dog

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Re: audiophile quality rock
« Reply #28 on: 17 Jan 2013, 03:49 am »
  But I do find myself listening more to music from artists I like AND that is well recorded, or at least not offensively bad.

It's a beautiful thing when those two things coincide. Wish it happened more often, sir. As I mentioned earlier, some of my favorite bands make awful-sounding records. Sigh... :green:

D.D.

I'll be the first to admit that a quality recording and system are important to me.  Turning off the lights and closing your eyes and getting transported into that cavernesque space the speakers create (that's bigger than the room I'm in) is a wonderful experience.  I love it.  But it has to be good music too - that's a given.  I couldn't do it with a Justin Timberlake album or something (no offense to his fans, if any are lurking here!). 

So when my hopes that the music I'm into might be at least a decent recording are dashed, I'm bummed.  I'm still really enjoying this band Metz, but I will only be enjoying them in my car or when I'm not listening seriously. 

And I'm well aware of all the trouble with contemporary recordings and compression and so on, I was just hoping this group might know about more of the rare gems (good contemporary music that's well-recorded) than I do.  I always go through the Absolute Sounds' lists, but I often find their taste in rock to be different than mine. 

Anyway - thanks for the response. 

SF


I don't disagree with you - I love the sound of a really good album and the experience of being transported like you've described. God knows that I've sunk enough time and dough into my system etc. to show that I'm not indifferent to sound quality. I guess for me it's Nirvana to hear music I really like that sounds great, but I'm willing to put up with stuff I like that's poorly recorded/mastered etc. while my system is making it sound as good as it can.

Thanks for starting what's become a thought-provoking thread. I'd sure rather see what AC'ers have to say about this topic than suffer through the usual suspects saying the SOS about cables and such over and over and over and...
But that's just my opinion...and I could be wrong.  :wink:
D.D.   

kevin360

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Re: audiophile quality rock
« Reply #29 on: 17 Jan 2013, 04:13 am »
It's a beautiful thing when those two things coincide.

I'd sure rather see what AC'ers have to say about this topic than suffer through the usual suspects saying the SOS about cables and such over and over and over and...

Indeed, it is a beautiful thing when great music is superbly engineered. I'd rather listen to great music via a Bose Wave radio than the best recordings of (to me) boring, uninspired music on 'the big rig'. Likewise, I'll forgive the (audiophile) warts for a brilliant performance of music 'that moves me'.

In other words, I (as I suspect many others do) feel exactly as you do about this issue. I buy music for the music, although I do appreciate it when that music also sounds fantastic. 

Crimson

Re: audiophile quality rock
« Reply #30 on: 17 Jan 2013, 04:48 am »
Re: audiophile quality rock

An oxymoron if I've ever heard one. This isn't a knock. I'm a hard core rocker. I love rock.

I. Love. Rock.

Rock is for the heart. Not the mind.

When that famous person said, "I listen to music with my heart, not my mind", he was talking about rock.

JMHO.

wushuliu

Re: audiophile quality rock
« Reply #31 on: 17 Jan 2013, 05:21 am »
phish. Including the shows you get off their site, straight off the soundboard.

jarcher

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Re: audiophile quality rock
« Reply #32 on: 17 Jan 2013, 06:41 am »
A bit off topic, but speaking of Steve Albini, I first became of aware of him in the early 90's through his early bands Big Black, Rapeman, etc - and as an engineer / producer early in that career w/ the metal band Helmet, which is one of my long time favorites.  You can tell if you're familiar with just the before mentioned that early on he favored a "sparse" style.

lokie

Re: audiophile quality rock
« Reply #33 on: 17 Jan 2013, 01:15 pm »
There is a TON of legal live downloads available. Some free, some for pay.

Audience recordings SQ are here and there but some are really great. Most bands these days are soundboard recording everything and archiving and putting them out to the public. My experience is most soundboards sound pretty good and some are spectacular, depending on the room among other things.

Start with the bands website (Allman Brothers http://www.hittinthenote.com comes to mind... find the set w Eric Clapton at the Beacon.

And then just google a song or band with the word "live" or "concert" in it.  If you tell me which bands your interested in, I might be able to  reply with personal experience from my library. I trend towards Jam and Americana. And if you like Bluegrass/Acoustic... all I can say is, Oh my, you are in for a treat!

Spend a weekend at this site and you'll have more music can you listen to in a month.  http://archive.org

I'm assuming you have a computer/DAC  for a source of course.

 

SteveRB

Re: audiophile quality rock
« Reply #34 on: 17 Jan 2013, 08:04 pm »
Hi all -

Help.  Everything I buy sounds like garbage.  For example, I was excited about this band Metz, but I get it home into my system only to discover that the recording is just so awful, so muddy and harsh, that I can't even listen to it for one full song.  This happens all the time.  The only worthwhile stuff I find is recorded by Steve Albini . . . I listened to the Jesus Lizard (Liar) after Metz this evening and the contrast was in-freaking-credible.  Obviously bands like Metz may be going for a certain sound, but I certainly can't dig it (except in my car or through my computer speakers!).  Anyway, there's only so much Steve Albini can record so I'd love to hear recommendations.  My taste is eclectic - from heavy stuff like the Jesus Lizard to alt country like Drive By Truckers or Son Volt to folksy stuff even like Palace Music, Avett Brothers, etc.

I am new to Audiocircle so forgive me if this is a common thread - I did some poking around and only found one discussion from back in 2006.

Thanks folks.

Interesting how far off topic these threads can get...

Coincidently, some friends of mine were discussing the Metz record two nights ago. the general consensus was supreme disappointment on the audio quality. Further coincidence, they all generally regarded The Lamps record I recommended on page one of this post as a perfect example of modern rock recorded extremely well (tears your head off). Bonus: great cover art.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqbz4pq8QPA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwOy5tkmlLs


SteveFord

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Re: audiophile quality rock
« Reply #35 on: 18 Jan 2013, 12:27 am »
Pick up a copy of PJ Harvey: The Peel Sessions on vinyl while you can.
I've got that on right now.  The CD versions of the songs are a very pale imitation of the real thing.

All of the 180gm PJ Harvey albums are really good.
Avoid the new Island reissues; I've had two copies of From the City, From The Sea and they screwed up the pressing horribly.

stereocilia

Re: audiophile quality rock
« Reply #36 on: 18 Jan 2013, 01:54 am »
The two Metz mp3s on the sub pop site http://www.subpop.com/artists/metz doesn't sound great but I don't think it's unlistenable.  It sounds brutally overdriven, but that's kind of what I would expect.  Maybe switch it up and listen to some Clem Snide.

vortrex

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Re: audiophile quality rock
« Reply #37 on: 18 Jan 2013, 02:01 am »
the new tenacious d sounds amazing on vinyl.

all 3 of the evens albums sound fanastic.  might be up your alley.

Tyson

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Re: audiophile quality rock
« Reply #38 on: 18 Jan 2013, 02:27 am »
Metallica's Black album sounds very good at 24-96 from HD tracks.  I'm listening to it right now, in fact.  But what an incredibly unvaried approach.  Ba-ba-baaaaaaa.  Ba-ba-baaaaaa!

kevin360

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Re: audiophile quality rock
« Reply #39 on: 18 Jan 2013, 02:33 am »
Metallica's Black album sounds very good at 24-96 from HD tracks.  I'm listening to it right now, in fact.  But what an incredibly unvaried approach.  Ba-ba-baaaaaaa.  Ba-ba-baaaaaa!

Ah, Metallica. They have some 'competition', ya know... :lol:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98xNx87hRbU