Sick of boring music used to demo HiFi?

[11thNAMR]

Bored with going to a HiFi shop or to a HiFi enthusiasts home & hearing the 'same old same old' music used to demo their systems?-you know what I mean: endless Nora Jones, Jack Johnson & The Eagles. Disc's that the salesman are sick of hearing day after day & are so over familiar that they fail to get you excited about the system or component your auditioning- no matter how good it sounds?

 

Do you have friends that have spent tens of thousands of dollars on high end rigs and yet own 15 'audiophile approved' discs that they play over & over again?

 

Have you ever wished you had brought pins to stick into your eyes to keep you awake as your dinner host spins another over-rated, over-exposed multi-millionaire 'artist' that was thrashed on the radio years ago but hasn't had anything decent to sing about in years (U2, REM, Sting, Paul McCartney, Rolling Stones et al) or be forced to listen to an 'artist' who's music is so badly dated now (Phil Collins, David Bowie, most 80's new romantic bands) that all you can think about are the bad fashions of that decade and how much you want to hide the photos Mum took of you as you went off for a hot night at 'Your Fathers Moustache' nightclub all those years ago, instead of marvelling at the soundstage, Pace Rhythm & timing of the system your listening to?

 

Fear not!!!

 

Here's 5 albums that are guaranteed to light a fire under the system/component you're auditioning and get you & your friends tapping your toes, or god forbid, dancing in the show room!! (Ill ad more as I get time).

If you haven't heard them- get out and buy them- you won't be disappointed. (Album notes are a mixture of my musings & from www.allmusic.com-in italics)

 

Feel free to comment on my selections, including negative statements (I'm a big boy- I can take it), BUT PLEASE- add your selections to the list so we can discover new artists with talent & have something to say.

 

1. Lee 'Scratch' Perry : From The Secret Laboratory. (Mango 1990 ) nb: My copy is on vinyl- haven't heard the CD version which has 2 extra tracks.

Is he mad or a genius? You decide, the lyrics are crazy, the tunes divine. This is the second collaboration between Lee "Scratch" Perry and his acolyte, Adrian Sherwood, is a perfect mixture of Perry's manic toasting and singing and the sinuous beat supplied by the Sherwood-led Dub Syndicate and the Roots Radics. The recording, while not top flight (top end can be a little bright on systems tending on the detailed side of the sound continuum), has plenty of bottom end and a deep, wide sound stage. Stand out tracks are ' Inspector Gadget' (if this song doesn't quicken your pulse, you're already dead & they playing Nora Jones at your funeral) 'Push,Push' this track will test the imaging of your system, 'Seven Devils Dead' perhaps the maddest lyrics this side of bedlam (Lee seems to have a problem with Heathrow Airport), but a catchy chorus and dynamic bass lines that will give your sub-woofer a good work out.

 

2. The Clash : London Calling. (Epic 1979) nb: Buy the vinyl record-CD mastering is nowhere near as good.

I lined up in the rain outside 'The Record Warehouse' in Durham Lane at opening time to buy this album on release. I'm a long time Clash fan- while my friends were into Disco- it was punk for me (funny how my disco bunny friends LOVED Disco at the time, yet deny liking it now). Stand out tracks- 'Guns of Brixton'- the tightest bass you have ever heard & the best test track to check out the bass performance of any system. The CD mastering has messed-up the bass on the album and weakens the impact of this track badly. "Death or Glory" this glorious slab of cathartic rock & roll. The song's theme and central message is sounded with the first couplet: "Every cheap hood strikes a bargain with the world/and ends up making payments on a sofa or a girl." "Death or Glory" proceeds to tweak the previous generation of rock stars that had sworn to die before they got old. Thumping bass, drums well forward in the mix- flat sound stage, imaging is nonexistent, but this track has energy by the bucket load.

 

3. Guy Clark : Keepers (Sugar Hill 1997)

Recorded in 1996 in front of a small audience in an intimate venue (Daniel's Corner in Nash Vegas), it showcases Clark with a full band playing his best-loved songs. While that might seem like an easy way out for some, it's not for Clark, who pushes these songs — despite his easy, laid-back demeanour — to the breaking point in terms of meaning and emotional truth.

This is THE live album to own. Your speakers should disappear (if they don't, it's your system- not the recording) Whilst you have Guy his band on the stage in front of you (as you would expect) the shocking thing is that you seem to be sitting in the 'middle' of that small audience. Probably the most realistic live recording I've heard, you can hear every nuance of Guys singing. His guitar sounds powerful and real, you can clear hear his figures on the frets, yet the image is to scale and never bloated.

Great song writing, great singing- an album that will never bore you! Ill leave you with the final comment on this from the allmusic reviewer "it's a fine example of how live records should be made"

 

4. Patty Griffin: Children Running Through (Ato 2007)

Nora Jones is a Patty Griffin wannabe (but will never be). Patty, apart from possessing a killer voice, writes amazing songs. The recording is top class- if not the best I've ever heard. Patty's voice is powerful, dynamic, and crystal clear. The prominence of her voice in the mix is startling. She stands right out in front of her band and lets the raw soul just pour out of her mouth. This album is moving and uplifting and rewards repeated listening. Standout tracks- You'll remember, Heavenly Day, Up to the Mountain (MLK Song), but really, there isn't a weak track on this disc. I played this album in a HiFi store in Sydney and within minutes had all their customers listening to it.

 

5. Beethoven- Symphony No.9 in D Minor. Royal Philharmonic. (Cheskey)

What can you say- the anthem for the human race!! The recording as significant tap hiss, but the dynamics, sound staging, emotion & technical ability of the Royal Philharmonic are unbelievable! This recording leaves you breathless- even sounds great on poor systems.

 

More to come

[tanman_sg]

How dare you apply such a generalisation to Bowie!

 

 

I discovered Charlie Winston a short while ago and there is a song or two of his that sound a mess on my stereo... the lower end of the Piano being treated quite firmly, I guess some more bass control wouldn't be so bad, not that I mind anyway, I'm not one to sit in the 'sweet spot' or anything, let alone be in the room...

 

Is Radiohead a bit of a cliché now? Still, I'm a big fan of Kid A (never sure why everybody likes listening to Karma Police.. sounds good, just kind of feels like there's an emotional distance there, perhaps I just hear it on bad days).

 

It's always interesting to hear Crowded House, never gets old, always familiar, never paid attention to how it sounded but I like the emotional content.

 

:cool:

 

*Also, some good information here:

http://www.audioenz.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=6228

[ilikecrumpets]

Big ups on the Scratch Perry album, also try any Dub Syndicate from 1991's Stoned Immaculate onwards. Also engineered by Adrian Sherwood and full of awesomely deep bass transients and wild panning/effects. Likewise with Strange Parcels Disconnection album.

Funnily I went to the Wadia/Wilson Audio dem on the waterfront last year (?) and endured the usual Barbr Jungr/Rodrigo I Gabriela (like them tho) fest. I grabbed an album by ACDC, (the track was Thunderstruck) for shits 'n giggles and it was by far the best sound of the arvo - excellent detail combined with real 'in yer face' dynamics and excitement.

Who'd have thought eh?

[nixon76]

 

11thNAMR;94942 wrote:

 

4. Patty Griffin: Children Running Through (Ato 2007)

 

But she sounds country. COUNTRY! :eek:

 

It'll never happen, sorry.

 

Urm, the Clash: Londons Calling? Doesn't this fall into the 'been thrashed on the radio' bit? Annoys the heck outta me each time I hear it because of that.

 

Might look at the others - aren't familiar with them.

[Guest Guest]

 

nixon76;94951 wrote:

Urm, the Clash: Londons Calling? Doesn't this fall into the 'been thrashed on the radio' bit? Annoys the heck outta me each time I hear it because of that.

 

The song 'Jimmy Jazz' off that album is GREAT.

[Pete]

you know what is suprisingly impressive? James Taylor! Yes i know i know its country but he uses some mega deep synth in some tracks, good guitarwork, and vocals are clean and imaging fantastic...

 

Nils Lofgrens "Acoustic Live" is of course stunning, but then thats a well known audiophile album and im sure some hifi shops will have thrashed it by now...

[11thNAMR]

 

nixon76;94951 wrote:

But she sounds

country

.

COUNTRY

! :eek:

 

 

 

It'll never happen, sorry.

 

 

 

Urm, the Clash: Londons Calling? Doesn't this fall into the 'been thrashed on the radio' bit? Annoys the heck outta me each time I hear it because of that.

 

 

 

Might look at the others - aren't familiar with them.

 

 

Patty Griffin country?? depends what you define as country. I dont think she is a country artist like Patsy Cline,Tammy or Dolly- sure the underlying phrasing called be called 'country' but its a stretch- listen to the album & see what you think.

 

As for London's Calling- 1 track was thrashed on the radio (Train in Vain) which wasn't even put onto the album until the last minute as the band thought , rightly, that it was too commercial. Never once heard Death or Glory (you will be unlikely to EVER hear it on the radio due to the lyric about Nuns) on the radio, nor has it appaered on any 'hits' collection that I know of.

[nixon76]

 

11thNAMR;94958 wrote:

Patty Griffin country?? depends what you define as country. I dont think she is a country artist like Patsy Cline,Tammy or Dolly- sure the underlying phrasing called be called 'country' but its a stretch- listen to the album & see what you think.

 

 

I listened on iTunes to all the tracks (well 30sec of each). There's something country going on in her voice/phrasing. I'm tolerant of most things, but country is not one of them

[Cooksferry]

 

nixon76;94960 wrote:

I listened on iTunes to all the tracks (well 30sec of each). There's something country going on in her voice/phrasing. I'm tolerant of most things, but country is not one of them

 

[craig f]

I think the best demo music is whatever you've been listening to in the weeks before you demo a new piece of equipment.

 

Cheers,

 

Craig.

[got tinnitus]

I too have Lee 'Scratch' Perry : From The Secret Laboratory (on the black stuff).

 

And as mentioned earlier, any Dub Syndicate LP, Barmy Army, African Head Charge, Gary Clail etc etc gives a Hi-Fi a pounding.... And Tackhead on 12"'s are off the scale.

I think mainly because the 'classic' On-U stuff was pretty much all analogue in the recording.

 

World Domination Enterprises (on vinyl). Their only Long Player is my reference LP. Such a good pressing.

 

And Sonic Youth, Cool Thing 12"; sounds huge.

 

All of the above are good showcase material.

 

On CD for gear evaluation, I go-to Paul Anka, Rock Swings.

So much going on in that CD it's real system tester for clarity and purity.

[11thNAMR]

 

nixon76;94960 wrote:

I listened on iTunes to all the tracks (well 30sec of each). There's something country going on in her voice/phrasing. I'm tolerant of most things, but country is not one of them

 

No problem, I love country & you don't- no sweat.

 

As you know, I cannot stand Nora Jones-one mans meat is another mans poison.

 

I try to withhold judgment on an artist unknown to me until I have spun the album a few times. Many albums Ive disliked at first only for them to grow on me over time. Some artist & genre I can never warm to (although I may like some songs they perform)

 

Rap is one genre I have real problems with. I bought Eminems greatest hits album, but while I can see what he is getting at, lets be honest, its not music.

 

My dislike of David Bowie is not entirely due to his music. He was a client of a Law Firm I worked for in England & I had a fight with him on the phone over our fee structure. I didn't realize it was him at first as we used his real name (David Jones) . It wasn't until I start processing his royalty chqs did I make the connection. By that time is was so annoyed at him, knowing who he was just made me angrier. He had complained to my Boss & I got reprimanded, even though my Boss admitted that he was a difficult person to deal with & habitually complained about fees (I guess no-one likes the charges lawyers dish-out, even when they are mega rich) When I got back to NZ, the first thing I did was burn his albums that I owned (with great ceremony) in Dads incinerator. Probably a bit childish, but my wife informs me that men never grow-up anyway, and that sometimes Im the biggest baby of all- hard to argue with the truth!

[11thNAMR]

 

got tinnitus;94965 wrote:

I too have Lee 'Scratch' Perry : From The Secret Laboratory (on the black stuff).

 

 

 

And as mentioned earlier, any Dub Syndicate LP, Barmy Army, African Head Charge, Gary Clail etc etc gives a Hi-Fi a pounding.... And Tackhead on 12"'s are off the scale.

 

I think mainly because the 'classic' On-U stuff was pretty much all analogue in the recording.

 

 

 

World Domination Enterprises (on vinyl). Their only Long Player is my reference LP. Such a good pressing.

 

 

 

And Sonic Youth, Cool Thing 12"; sounds huge.

 

 

 

All of the above are good showcase material.

 

 

 

On CD for gear evaluation, I go-to Paul Anka, Rock Swings.

 

So much going on in that CD it's real system tester for clarity and purity.

 

Thanks for the picks- have lots of Dub Syndicate & African Head Charge in my collection, but none of the others- I see a spending trip to Real Groovy coming- hope they have these albums on vinyl!

[craig f]

 

11thNAMR;94958 wrote:

Patty Griffin country?? depends what you define as country. I dont think she is a country artist like Patsy Cline,Tammy or Dolly- sure the underlying phrasing called be called 'country' but its a stretch- listen to the album & see what you think.

 

Oh please - if you like the album fine, but don't try to dodge the fact that you enjoy some country tinged music now and then, nobody will think less of you. Country is a big church and the reaction that you show to it is why so much of the genre has been renamed (Americana, contemporary folk etc) so folks can buy it without having to admit they're listening to country.

 

Cheers,

 

Craig.

[nixon76]

 

Craig F;94969 wrote:

Oh please - if you like the album fine, but don't try to dodge the fact that you enjoy some country tinged music now and then, nobody will think less of you. Country is a big church and the reaction that you show to it is why so much of the genre has been renamed (Americana, contemporary folk etc) so folks can buy it without having to admit they're listening to country.

 

 

 

Cheers,

 

 

 

Craig.

 

Urr, did you see his further statement?

 

No problem, I love country & you don't- no sweat.

[craig f]

 

nixon76;94970 wrote:

Urr, did you see his further statement?

 

 

 

No problem, I love country & you don't- no sweat.

 

That must have been posted while I was writing mine. I thought from the earlier post he was hiding his love of country under a bushel, but now it's out there hopefully he can claim the country roots of Patty Griffin and be proud.

 

By the way, I enjoy country too so I'm not having a go at the genre.

 

Cheers,

 

Craig.

[aarond1553552714]

One man's Norah Jones is another man's ABBA.

 

I feel for the EHF guys, each time I went in there I heard Chris Isaak's 'Wicked Game'. No wonder Neil is not quite right upstairs, maybe he will recover one day soon.

[11thNAMR]

 

Craig F;94969 wrote:

Oh please - if you like the album fine, but don't try to dodge the fact that you enjoy some country tinged music now and then, nobody will think less of you. Country is a big church and the reaction that you show to it is why so much of the genre has been renamed (Americana, contemporary folk etc) so folks can buy it without having to admit they're listening to country.

 

 

 

Cheers,

 

 

 

Craig.

 

Over 40% (probably closer to 50%)of my music collection is country! Last count over 500 CD's & 3000 records (not including 45's). I admit, when I was at school I got badly ribbed about my almost hero worship of Johnny Cash & school mates (and bullies) couldnt work out how I could love country alongside punk & reggae! As I said, Im a big boy, I can take it.

 

The next 'demo recommended albums' I will list in future include efforts by Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Steve Earle (is he a country artist?), & Emmylu Harris.

 

I can just see half of the forum snorting in their whiskey, but modern music is heavily influenced by country- and in my humble opinion, not liking country but liking any modern music is like disliking grapes but loving wine!

 

My comment regarding Patty Griffin was a bit vague- the album I recommend isn't 'country; in my opinion, although her earlier albums are- I regard her latest album as more than a cross-over effort, taking-in large elements of jazz, folk and blues. The country element is there, but compared to her earlier work, is only a small part of the whole.

[Citroen]

The emotion and effortless poise of Patty G is something to behold on a worthwhile system. The way her voice can be made to sound heavenly, even on a poor system says something for the genius of her vocal instrument. The depth and layering of her timbre brings more emotion and elegance than I have ever heard before from a female vocalist.

 

THAT SAID, I can't stand country music, so she's a gonna as far as demo discs are concerned!!!

[NeilNZ]

Hahaha, well funnily enough I was allowed to de-lobotomise myself when I left EHF.....

 

 

 

aarond;94972 wrote:

One man's Norah Jones is another man's ABBA.

 

 

 

I feel for the EHF guys, each time I went in there I heard Chris Isaak's 'Wicked Game'. No wonder Neil is not quite right upstairs, maybe he will recover one day soon.

 

[got tinnitus]

I feel for the EHF guys, each time I went in there I heard Chris Isaak's 'Wicked Game'. No wonder Neil is not quite right upstairs, maybe he will recover one day soon.

 

Reminds of the Curb Your Enthusiasim episode where the Nanny From Hell was sent loopy after working for 15 years at Disney Land and having to listen to the the Looney Tunes theme all day.

[mondie]

 

11thNAMR;94942 wrote:

Stand out tracks- 'Guns of Brixton'- the tightest bass you have ever heard & the best test track to check out the bass performance of any system.

 

That is a cool song, not heard it before

 

 

 

Thanks for the thread, l enjoyed your perspective

 

Cheers,

mondie

[Guest]

Cool it is but hardly "the tightest bass you have ever heard".

 

Try some of the tracks off Sandinista if you want a real bassfest.

 

Great music but none of the Clash's albums are audiophile demo quality.

[Si B]

Nina Hagen Band, the album Unbehagen for a stereo workout.

[chopper30]

I like a bit of Tool (1st 3 albums) or Massive Attack. Mezzanine has few tracks with pretty heavy bass. Good workout but don't know if its all that controlled though.

They kinda cover both ends of the spectrum for me as far as my listening tastes are concerned