What are you favorite artists and songs to listen to on your system?
Way too many to list, but I'll mention that within the classical genre a couple of works that IMO are impossible to dislike are Prokofiev's Symphony No. 1 (the "Classical Symphony"), and Dvorak's Symphony No. 9 (the "New World Symphony"). Also, Chopin's Piano Sonata No. 3, Opus 58, which is incredibly beautiful IMO. Here is a nice video of a performance of the Prokofiev. Regards, -- Al |
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Its mostly Classical; Bruckner Symphony Nos. 4, 5, 8. Schubert Symphony Nos. 8, 9, quartets, String Quintet in C. Boccherini String Trios. Haydn, symphonies and string quartets. A must for Classical fans is Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2WEA7CzYJM Rock is Jeff Beck, Jimi, Kate Bush, Led Zepplin, King Crimson, Siouxsie and the Banshees. |
I used to listen to mostly classical and occasional classic rock. Still listen to a lot of Bach, but recently have been listening to more and more jazz. (I can recommend almost anything by the Tord Gustavsen Quartet or the Helge Lien Trio or the Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio.) Two relatively obscure labels produce music that is always worthwhile: AliaVox and Alpha. |
lowrider57, I'm a fan of that Sinfonia Concertante. I'd give high marks to Stern/Trampler, Perlman/Zukermann, and I. Oistrakh/D. Oistrakh versions. I listen to classical (especially string quartets, especially played by Guarneri), jazz (a lot of Miles Davis 50's and 60's), rock (50s' through Nirvana, some newer) and assorted folk styles (blues, Irish, bluegrass, American...) Some recommendations (avoiding the obvious Beatles, Stevie Wonder, Pink Floyd, etc.): Judy Collins: Who Knows Where the TIme Goes (great songs, great sidemen The Band: Music From Big Pink, The Band (2nd LP) Mahavishnu Orch.: The Inner Mounting Flame, Birds of Fire Lyle Lovett: Lyle Lovett and His Large Band Los Lobos: lots of things, but start with Just Another Band from East L.A. (20 year 2-CD anthology) Guarneri Quartet: Ravel (LP only) Beethoven (3 sets: early, middle, late) Juilliard Quartet: Bartok set (mid-60's stereo, RCA) Alfred Brendel: complete Beethoven sonatas for piano (Phillips) Glenn Gould: Bach Goldberg variations (2nd recording) Paul Simon: Graceland (maybe obvious but seldom mentioned) Taj Mahal: Phantom Blues (4th track, Here in the Dark, has a blistering, searing solo by Eric Clapton, his best pure blues work since Mayall) Talking Heads: Stop Making Sense (great concert tracks) |
Of currently working artists, Iris Dement is at the top of my list. Long-time favorites also include (amongst many others) Brian Wilson (song writer par excellence), Dave Edmunds (Rock n’ Roll master), Hank Williams (Hillbilly genius), The Everly Brothers (the most exquisite two-part harmony of all-time), Buddy Miller (the best producer working today, and a great singer/guitarist/arranger as well), and of course Dylan (THE artist of our time, imo). In Classical, most of the Baroque composers (J.S. Bach above all others, of course); I love the chords, their sequence and structure , the melody, harmony, and counterpoint, and brisk pace of Baroque. Plus almost all Bluegrass, the Baroque of Pop! |
It's a strange combination of factors, but my time in front of my main system has shrunk a lot. A fair bit has been converted to practice time (mostly guitar, but a little piano, too). Another factor is increased driving time with a split of rock n roll, news, and comedy comprising listening content on that front. Also, more music is being consumed these days via the distributed system in my home to allow multi-tasking. So, during the restricted time I have with the main system, it's been mostly jazz. Lots of Duke Ellington, Miles, Coltrane, Coleman Hawkins, and other long term faves, but also more John Scofield, Grant Green, Bill Frissel, Bill Connors, etc for guitar inspiration. I'd guess that the content of those sessions will continue to evolve going forward. |
Way too many to list them all. On the classical side, two pieces I really enjoy are Mozart's Violin Concerto #3 and Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. The various interpretations and my sense about them: Mozart's Violin Concerto #3: Perlman-like B.B. King playing a Gibson ES335 Zuckerman-like George Harrison playing a Rickenbaker 235 Rachael Barton Pine-like Eric Clapton playing a Gibson Les Paul Anne-Sophie Mutter-like Jimi Hendrix playing a Fender Strat (my favorite, tossup between Rachael & Anne-Sophie) Beethoven Symphonies: Ricardo Chailly (excellent modern digital recording, conductor has himself and the orchestra in control) Herbert Von Karajan (incredible recording of a 1963 performance, conductor seems to push himself and the orchestra, very dynamic) Leonard Bernstein (best of both worlds, several recordings with different orchestras, like the DG recordings the best) |
I've posted my favorite Danny Gatton story here before, but for your benefit: Many years ago, Danny was playing at Fat Tuesday, an old NYC night club. I went with a friend. It's a small place and not many people showed up, so Danny chatted with folks in the audience throughout the show. At one point, as he was strapping on his double neck, he started to tune the guitar while staring at the ceiling. My friend asked him what he was looking at. Danny replied that he was tuning the instrument against the 60hz hum from the light transformers in the ceiling. Just a different kind of guy. |
So to throw a curveball at you guys a band that many music-philes and critics turn their noses up at Phish. These guys are playing the best music of their careers right now, I'm talking live shows, and the recording quality of their shows has become really topnotch. Every show they play is available for download on livephish.com and I especially recommend their Halloween show from 2 years ago, 10/31/14, a monumental show that garnered critical acclaim from even the mainstream media. And yes I admit I am a die-hard fan 71 shows and counting but I genuinely feel I can pretty objectively understand what's good music and good sound. |
Wesla Whitfield is a cabaret singer who does more than sing a song. She tells a story. A lot of that comes from the fact that her own story is something worth being told. I don't think there is a better interpreter of the Great American Song alive. Period. http://articles.latimes.com/1999/apr/18/news/mn-28533 |
Peter Gabriel - Solsbury Hill https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/7702117/peter-gabriel-solsbury-hill-anniversary-grea... |
