Album of the Evening

[Paul R]

Hi Doc -

 

Yeah, it is just way more trouble to use, as I almost always use an iPad or iPhone to select the music.

If they ever get gapless working, it be expensive for me, as I will have to replace the remote units (SBTs and AEs) with Mac Minis and Amarra licenses. I can give up synchronized playback for that quality.

 

I am hoping Scott can corner them about this subject out at The Show this week.

[Paul R]

Odd night tonight.

Respighi - The Pines of Rome / The Fountains of Rome

Reiner / Chicago Symphony Orchestra

 

 

This is just beautiful almost beyond description. Playing it tonight with Audirvana+, and it certainly sounds gorgeous. Played part of it earlier with Fidelia, and was surprised how really really good it sounded. The new version of Fidelia sounds fantastic, but has too many user interface issues for this old fart.

 

Barry Miles - Fusion Is...Barry Miles

 

 

THis is without a dount my favorite Jazz album of all time, it's a "needle drop" recorded at 24/96 and despite a couple or three pops and crackles, it is glorious. I don't think it ever made it to CD, so pick up a Vinyl copy if you can find it.

 

-Paul

[Paul R]

Been under the weather today, and went outside my normal listening habits...

 

George Straight - Blue Clear Sky

 

 

Ken Burns - The Civil War

 

 

Boston - Don't Look Back

 

 

Sountrack - The Fantastic Mr. Fox

 

[Paul R]

Heaven is sitting with my wife and daughter, and enjoying a great performance.

 

Remains of the Day - Soundtrack/Various Artists[/b]

 

Don't miss "Blue Moon" on this one. The horns are transcendent.

 

 

Biggles Adventures In Time - Soundtrack

 

This is one of those guilty pleasures that only those folks who really liked the film might find interesting. Or maybe not - Jon Anderson is featured heavily on this, and it also has the only non-Queen track by John Deacon playing with The Immortals. The track is No Turning Back.

 

Really, if you haven't the seen the movie, it's pretty good fun for the the mid 1980s, and holds up well for the most part. The flying scenes are amazingly fun, and the soundtrack is a wonderful fit. The soundtrack quality leaves a bit to be desired, but it came out in the early days of CDs, and suffers from the state of the art in 1984.

 

[Paul R]

... in the middle of a field on a steamy summer night in New Hope, PA.

 

Ah- lovely New Hope, PA. We spent out first anniversary there, in a little French place on the canal. The music, then still fairly new, that was playing was this, which I just listened to yet again.

 

 

Fond memories indeed, thank you for the reminder.

-Paul

[Paul R]

Rick Wakeman - Journey to the Center of the Earth

 

 

This is pretty darn cool- and recorded live. It's definitely a performance!

-Paul

[Paul R]

Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade

Andre Previn & The Wiener Philharmoniker

 

Exciting and thrilling, and a very good recording!

 

[Paul R]

Al Stewart - Last Days of the Century

 

What can I say, I am an Al Stewart fan.

 

If you listen to this, check out the tracks Anarctica, Ghostly Horses of the Plain, and Helen and Cassandra.

 

I suppose it helps if you are history buff like we are, but even if you don't have a clue who Homer is (and why the whole Trojan Horse thing may have been nothing more than a whisper in his ear...) this album is a treat for the ear and mind.

 

Highly recommended for the music. The SQ is a tad spotty in places, but worth enduring for the music.

 

[Paul R]

Ken Burns -

 

The Civil War - Traditional American Songs And Instrumental Music Featured In The Film By Ken Burns: Original Soundtrack Recording [soundtrack]

 

Jay Ungar (Composer), New American Brass Band (Orchestra), Old Bethpage Brass Band (Orchestra), Abyssinian Baptist Church SanctuaryChoir (Orchestra), Jacqueline Schwab (Performer), Matt Glaser (Performer), Molly Mason (Performer), Bernice Johnson Reagon (Performer), Jesse Carr (Performer), Russ Barenburg (Performer)*|*Format:*Audio CD

[Paul R]

The Moody Blues - Strange Times

 

 

This is the 16_th album released in 1999 I think. It fits me like a comfortable old shirt. Except for the first track (English Sunset) this album is less frenetic, more relaxed, and has a lot more acoustic instrument work in it than the highly processed sound of earlier albums.

 

Every track on this album is fun, and the lyrics, which still having the poignant bittersweet themes of youth, are more mature. A great deal of the English folk genesis of the band comes through on this album.

 

One thing is clear, the musicians are all comfortable with each other on this album, and are playing to each other's strengths. It's a fine ride.

 

I like the way it was recorded as well, though the recording is without question better on some tracks than others. Each track sonically is very distinct to me.

 

-Paul

 

It was beautiful, glorious, we were riding on a wave,

With foolish hearts, with foolish love, we would give ourselves away.

Remember how we cried out loud, heard angry voices shout,

I love as you I loved you then, no danger, no doubt...

 

- Foolish Love - Justin Hayward.

[Paul R]

Alllright- this is weird, but I actually just listened to it with my daughter - darned if it wasn't a bunch of fun!

-Paul

 

[Paul R]

 

One of my favorite go-to albums. Highly recommended if one is a bit stressed out...

[Paul R]

OST Chocolat - Rachel Portman

 

 

A playful album, one that amuses and leads down some odd musical paths. It's a tapestry of sound that delights with simple inter-weavings of melody and harmony that combine to form a satisfyingly complex listening experience.

 

-Paul

[Paul R]

Remember Saturday afternoons and Hee Haw followed up by The Grand Ole Oprey? I do, and this albums takes me back to there. Only thing missing is Minnie Pearl...

 

Buckaroo Blue Grass (2009) - Michael Martin Murphey

 

[Paul R]

Pink Floyd - Obscured by the Clouds tonight. Both a soundtrack and a great standalone album.

 

[Paul R]

Album

[Paul R]

Bill Evans -An Alternative Man

 

 

Early Blue Note album. Great sound, great music. Addictive.

[Paul R]

Hi Bill - it is perhaps a little avante-garde for some tastes, and remember, it is an early 80's performance. I love the album though, as I think the performace is a bit edgy.

 

-Paul

 

I have by-passed this LP version many times when often it has appeared while I was searching the used bins for one Bill Evans of a different mother........

 

Curiosity peaked.....

 

I will bring it home next time it introduces itself.

[Paul R]

 

Ah- this album is pretty unique. It was the first A&M Album recorded completely digitally on a 3M 32track digital recorder. Interestingly enough, they converted all the tracks to analog to edit them. Ah- 1979 was a very good year indeed!

 

Rise is of course, the most familiar track to most people on this album, but 1980 will be instantly familiar to most Olympic fans too. The first side of this album is all original compositions from Alpert. The second side are all covers. The last track - Aranjuez - is a frustrating, dated, delight. Disco lives with this cover of a rather well known classical composition*. One second it's Disco, the next you are in the middle east, and then in a Jazz club, and then back to Disco. It's a little weird, but a lot of fun. This album shows its age, yes, but a lot of fun indeed.

 

-Paul

 

*Joaquín Rodrigo Vidre, 1st Marquis of the Gardens of Aranjuez (November 22, 1901 – July 6, 1999) - Concierto de Aranjuez.

[Paul R]

Henry Mancini - The Best of Henry Mancini Vol 3.

 

 

Loved those old TV Themes - and who can resist the original theme from Charlie's Angels, The Mystery Movie Theme, or Henry stroking the keys through his rendition of Moonlight Sonata?

 

-Paul

[Paul R]

Beverly Sills Sings Mozart and Strauss

 

(24/192 Needledrop from the Angel Records LP.)

 

1. Mozart: 'Vorrei spiegarvi, oh Dio" K. 418

2. Mozart: Die Entführung aud dem Serail: "Martern aller Arten"

3. Mozart: Zaïde: "Ruhe sanft, mein holdes Leben"

4. R. Strauss: " Amor" op. 68, no. 5

5. R. Strauss: "Breit über mein Haupt" op. 19, no. 2

6. R. Strauss: Daphne: "Was blendet so?"(Final scene)

 

Conductor: Aldo Ceccato, London Philharmonic Orchestra

Date & Location: January & August, 1970, EMI Studios, London

CD CDC-7 47523 2

lP AV-34014 Angel Records

[Paul R]

Sarah Brightman: Harem

 

 

This is perhaps an acquired taste, but I absolutely love the track _War is Over_ on this disk.

Sonics on this album are perhaps 3 out of 5, but the performance is a 4.4 at least.

 

-Paul

[Paul R]

Saturday night is traditionally the night my family watches dumb Sci-Fi B movies, but Netflix is running low on candidates. (_Nazis on the Moon_ was a bit too dumb even for me...)

 

So tonight we choose to listen to Return to Forever's Romantic Warrior.

Only have that on vinyl right now, but it is a perfect Sci-Fi themed disk.

 

Also enjoyed Camels MoonMadness. This is not the remastered CD but the March 1976 release version.

 

[Paul R]

Steve Winwood: Arc of Diver (1980)

 

Second solo album, with WinWood playing everything on the album. A bit electronic, and as usual, the lyrics are a bit dense and difficult to decipher.

 

I was playing this album when my then girlfriend called me to discuss when the hell were we going to get married. This same physical album in fact...

 

 

Sundown coming down too soon, no time to be alone

So I'll take a glass of memories and understand the blues

Oh they're the last thing you lose

Slowdown sundown, all I really need is time

For faded love songs and feelings in the wine

Let them take me down the line...

 

[Paul R]

Steve Martin & The Steep

Canyon Rangers - Rare Bird Alert

 

A very rare bird indeed! The only disappointment on it was the bluegrass version of King Tut - seemed like they were only doing it out of a sense of duty or something. They didn't sound like they were having a lot of fun with it, unlike the original with the thinly disguised Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. (grin)

 

The rest of the album? Great. Good sonics too from the CD 44.1K RIP. The packaging is worth buying the CD for. Almost as entertaining as the album!

 

Steve Martin -

The Crow - New Songs for Five String Banjo

 

Better than Rare Bird Alert - Excellent Recording on the CD - 5 stars! Songs are great fun. We have listened to this three times in the past three days.

 

Supertramp - Breakfast in America (vinyl)

 

 

Oldie but goodie. For some reason, listening to this tonight, I realized how much falsetto is in the album. A lot. In counterpoint to the almost grungy sound of the Roger Hodgson's vocal on _The Logical Song_ and other. THe cover is of course, super cool to this day. That's Kate Murtagh on there, who I remember from Daniel Boone - and of course, the city behind her is a master class in McGuyvering something together.

 

-Paul