ÂGeri Allen - Life of a Song: Geri has fabulous touch, and this is the first digital recording that captures the tiny dynamic shifts that are inherent to this level of piano playing. This also captures Jack DeJohnette's brushwork just right. The presentation is a little more tonally diffuse than the best LPs but there is NONE of the edge that gives almost all digital recordings their "digital" signature. BTW, the music on this disc is beautiful and would justify its purchase even if it sounded like plop.
ÂSam Cooke - Ain't that Good News: Flat out the most icredibly real sounding vocal presentation I've ever heard from recorded music. However, the instrumental accompaniment is much less well served, sounding canned. Fabulous, timeless music. This one really turned the corner for me with digital recording.
ÂMahler's First Symphony, SFPO, Tilson-Thomas cond.: Call me a Luddite but I have always thought that digital mangles classical music more than anything else. It's always destroyed the timbers of high strings and woodwinds, made tymps and snares sound unnaturally peaky, and we won't even talk about cymbals and other high percussion. These are things that good LP playback never does, and is infinitely more enjoyable because of it. This SACD is the first classical digital recording I've heard that is not offputting in the way described above. I have LPs of Mahler's 1st that are more sonically pleasing to me, but this is very nice, with string tone being particularly impressive. This is one of my favorite works of the Late Romantic era and a very enjoyable rendition.
ÂSam Cooke - Ain't that Good News: Flat out the most icredibly real sounding vocal presentation I've ever heard from recorded music. However, the instrumental accompaniment is much less well served, sounding canned. Fabulous, timeless music. This one really turned the corner for me with digital recording.
ÂMahler's First Symphony, SFPO, Tilson-Thomas cond.: Call me a Luddite but I have always thought that digital mangles classical music more than anything else. It's always destroyed the timbers of high strings and woodwinds, made tymps and snares sound unnaturally peaky, and we won't even talk about cymbals and other high percussion. These are things that good LP playback never does, and is infinitely more enjoyable because of it. This SACD is the first classical digital recording I've heard that is not offputting in the way described above. I have LPs of Mahler's 1st that are more sonically pleasing to me, but this is very nice, with string tone being particularly impressive. This is one of my favorite works of the Late Romantic era and a very enjoyable rendition.