The Now Spinning/Recent Purchases Thread

Busy ripping my SACDs to ISO files, I've been replaying a few tracks from some of them. So it's been a mixed bag today. The Animals Retrospective, Peter Gabriel's Up, Harry Connick Jr.'s We Are In Love, Elton John's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Earth Wind & Fire's Gratitude, and a dozen or so others.

Played this one. One from the "new romantic" era that I've been listening to a bit lately. Music On Vinyl reissued this last year, I think, and I may pick up a copy of it:

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J J Cale. Listening while driving back from a birthday party on a riverboat. It's all fun and games until a barge goes by.:laugh:
 
I've started playing CDs in the car again when I get sick of Talk Radio or tired of the repetition on the Contemporary Christian stations I've recently gotten into. This week it has been the limited edition IRS Records 25th Anniversary boxed set (mainly disc 1). By limited I mean it was numbered 1 to 200 and given out at that anniversary party I was lucky enough to have been invited to back in 2004.

--Mr. Bill
 
I'm in the middle of extracting and tagging the DSD files from SACD ISO disc images. Working through the Genesis SACDs this evening and I've been selecting a few tracks. The sound is OK, but the big problem I have here is that these are remixes and not the original versions. I am split on this. The earliest albums from the Peter Gabriel era in my opinion sound better--they weren't originally mixed all that carefully, often rushed. The remixes sound cleaner, a bit more precise, easier to hear the parts. (I'm betting Peter Gabriel had a hand in the mixes here.)

It's the Phil Collins era where things fall apart. The new mixes tend to put everything right in your face. Some parts in the background (I'd say embellishments) are pushed way too far forward. It's almost like the engineer was trying to make all of these little things very obvious. On the first two Phil albums, in fact, his voice was pushed a bit into the distance and there was deeper reverb. Some parts (like Tony's synths and Rutherford's guitar) were IMHO meant to meld together into a single sound with a lot of texture; here they are separated and too sharp. Compression? Sure sounds like it, with all these parts being pushed hard at the listener.

The one album that actually benefits slightly from the remix is the final Genesis album, Calling All Stations. The original was a bit heavy at times, and the delineated parts here help sort the sound somewhat, and Ray Wilson's voice is easier to hear now. Still tiring like the other remixes, but strangely a little clearer.

Glad I borrowed these and didn't pay the king's ransom to bring these over from the EU. They're interesting, but the originals are still the definitive versions. Yet from what I understand, all future releases will be the new mixes. Hang onto those old LPs and CDs...
 
Mancini's The Music from Peter Gunn arrived this weekend, in the form of the two-LP 45RPM set from Analogue Productions. I won't get into too much detail for now except to say that I've probably listened to this album well over 100 times if not more, starting with a hand-me-down mono copy while growing up, then a stereo copy or two, then the original CD followed by a reissue. Can't say the CD versions were any good--one is brighter but grating (yay early digital :rolleyes: ), the later one a bit less grating but also dull, like a damp rag. All of the stereo versions, in fact, have sounded like they were filtered through a thin gauze, the added reverb in stereo (this was recorded in 1958, the era of "reverb all the things in stereo") not helping.

This new one finally does the recording justice. To say I'm hearing new things in the music is an understatement--the clarity of all of the instruments is much improved over the original, especially on the quieter tracks. The reverb is still there but it does not get in the way like it used to on the prior releases.

This version may already be sold out, as a lot of sellers have jacked up the price and a couple of sellers no longer have it in stock. The Pink Panther soundtrack was reissued alongside this one by AP, so that one is still on my radar. The SACDs of both (also from AP) are likely still available. AP also reissued the Hatari! soundtrack but only at 33-1/3 RPM.
 
Just last night: the 1968 Rascals' "TIME PEACE" greatest hits comp. -- on the pre-recorded Atlantic/Ampex open reel(!) #ALC 8190 at, surprisingly, for a pre-'70s rock tape; issued at: (what was) the fastest consumer playback speed of 7 1/2 inches-per-second.
Atlantic had the famous Tom Dowd as their head engineer...whom, in addition to having had the first 8-channel recorder by 1966 (custom built for him by Ampex); he was also known for recording "hot" to the point of *over* "saturation", and -- MAN(!) are the cuts on this album LOUD!
Wonky stereo mixes aside, this was one of the earliest "greatest hits" comps done by a band WHILE the band were in their prime/STILL *together* (the Stones' 1966 comp. "HIGH TIDE", I believe, is the first such case...the Beatles' "HEY JUDE" comp came out *after* they'd, technically, broken up).
Anyhow, all the heady excitement of Felix Cavaliere and the boys (I would put Dino Danelli on-par with Nick C.) is depicted here in its raw, sonic glory.
 
The Rascals! :thumbsup: Classic stuff.

Speaking of oversaturation, the Wilson Pickett hit "Land of 1000 Dances" appeals to me partly due to that pumped-up, oversaturated sound. Packs a lot of clout! It was a trick some engineers used to make the recording sound louder than it actually was. In fact, Burt Bacharach's Kapp album Hit Maker recorded in London makes use of that also (and the A&M box set points that out, in case buyers were concerned about the "distortion" on those tracks).

Digital is good for some things but to me, it can also sound very clinical and lifeless. Steely Dan recorded their last album, Everything Must Go, to analog multitrack since it sounded so good. Digital does have some faint background noise (in the form of dither), but it's not the same as the sonics that come from good ol' analog tape.
 
It's been a mixed bag today.

Currently spinning Harold Melvyn & The Blue Notes. I actually prefer Teddy Pendergrass on these uptempo songs, as opposed to some of the slower grooves he used to record solo. Favorite track here is "Wake Up Everybody." I don't typically care for "message" songs but this one, I do.

Borrowed the SACD of Marvin Gaye's Midnight Love and have to say it's a dud. Very dated and formulaic sounding; disappointing to say the least. And "Sexual Healing" is one of those that I've totally burned out on since it was so overplayed back in the 80s. Not a Marvin Gaye fan either, but even so I'd say What's Going On was his high water mark, and I like giving that one a spin every so often.

Boz Scaggs. I have a Japan version of his Hits! album that swaps out a few of the tracks for others (that IMHO aren't very good...someone over there had poor taste in Boz :laugh: ) and what makes it worse is that since it's on the music server, it plays back without the de-emphasis circuitry and is too bright. But still, I'd have to say "Lowdown," "Miss Sun" and "Jojo" are the highlights for me, and he has plenty of good ones beside those. "Lido Shuffle" isn't bad but it has been overplayed.

Spandau Ballet's True arrived on vinyl today (from the Music On Vinyl label), so I'll be spinning that shortly. It's not the limited edition gold vinyl, but that's fine.

Finally the TJB/Alpert vinyl arrived yesterday. Needs a trip through the ultrasonic and vacuum first, but they'll clean up nicely. Spot checking a few tracks, I have to say Bernie has once again done some stellar work on mastering these to vinyl. Guessing he probably used his tube-driven lathe for these.
 
Sounds like a Great Variety you have there Rudy.
Ive been digging on my new Herb Reissue cds and they sound Excellent. I have been mostly working on sections of my windows media playlist where i ripped some standout songs from my CDs and CD-r s While the regular cds had song and artist data most of my CD Rs didnt so i went through the lists and typed in the info myself i have aproximatley 10.970 songs in there in the process i ran into some repeats of some songs so i deleted them extra copies are good for CDs but not in a computer playlist.
 
A friend was going to toss a whole bunch of CDs and asked if I'd be interested in any of them... out of about 100 items, there was only one album I've kinda always wanted but never really felt compelled to buy: Carole King's Tapestry. So it's currently in the player. I was late to the Carole King bandwagon... I liked the hit songs like "It's Too Late" and "I Feel the Earth Move" and so on, but they got played to death on the radio. I got further into her music for a while when Wrap Around Joy and Fantasy came out, but by the time Thoroughbred was released she kind of lost my interest. "Jazzman," "Corazon," "Believe in Humanity," and "Nightingale" in particular are still my favorites, along with some of the huge hits from Tapestry. There's a song called "Sweet Season" from a different album that I like quite a lot as well. She'll never be in my top five favorites but it's nice to have that "true classic" album in my collection, for free!
 
A friend was going to toss a whole bunch of CDs and asked if I'd be interested in any of them... out of about 100 items, there was only one album I've kinda always wanted but never really felt compelled to buy: Carole King's Tapestry. So it's currently in the player. I was late to the Carole King bandwagon... I liked the hit songs like "It's Too Late" and "I Feel the Earth Move" and so on, but they got played to death on the radio. I got further into her music for a while when Wrap Around Joy and Fantasy came out, but by the time Thoroughbred was released she kind of lost my interest. "Jazzman," "Corazon," "Believe in Humanity," and "Nightingale" in particular are still my favorites, along with some of the huge hits from Tapestry. There's a song called "Sweet Season" from a different album that I like quite a lot as well. She'll never be in my top five favorites but it's nice to have that "true classic" album in my collection, for free!
 
"Weirdest" song Carole King ever collaborated on...but cool: Monkees "SWEET YOUNG THING". I'm a Mike Nesmith fan and, that song is a strange attempt at a kind of "electric Cajun"; where, the drone of the 12-string almost sounds like a sitar.
 
A friend was going to toss a whole bunch of CDs and asked if I'd be interested in any of them... out of about 100 items, there was only one album I've kinda always wanted but never really felt compelled to buy: Carole King's Tapestry. So it's currently in the player. I was late to the Carole King bandwagon... I liked the hit songs like "It's Too Late" and "I Feel the Earth Move" and so on, but they got played to death on the radio. I got further into her music for a while when Wrap Around Joy and Fantasy came out, but by the time Thoroughbred was released she kind of lost my interest. "Jazzman," "Corazon," "Believe in Humanity," and "Nightingale" in particular are still my favorites, along with some of the huge hits from Tapestry. There's a song called "Sweet Season" from a different album that I like quite a lot as well. She'll never be in my top five favorites but it's nice to have that "true classic" album in my collection, for free!

That sounds a lot like my opinions on Carole King, except I bought TAPESTRY when it was current and all over the radio. I continued buying Carole King albums up through about THOROUGHBRED and then kind of lost interest. I also liked seeing the A&M logo next to the ODE70 logos on those early albums. "Sweet Seasons" is from the MUSIC album.

In the digital age, I was fortunate enough to be passing by our promotions department and saw them mailing out a Carole King box set called A NATURAL WOMAN 1968-1976. It was just a 2-disc CD set that had all of the hits plus the entire TAPESTRY album included. It satisfies my Carole King needs.
 
That sounds a lot like my opinions on Carole King, except I bought TAPESTRY when it was current and all over the radio. I continued buying Carole King albums up through about THOROUGHBRED and then kind of lost interest. I also liked seeing the A&M logo next to the ODE70 logos on those early albums. "Sweet Seasons" is from the MUSIC album.

In the digital age, I was fortunate enough to be passing by our promotions department and saw them mailing out a Carole King box set called A NATURAL WOMAN 1968-1976. It was just a 2-disc CD set that had all of the hits plus the entire TAPESTRY album included. It satisfies my Carole King needs.
My Carole King interest was limited to just her hits so the "Greatest Hits Songs of Long Ago" Album plus a few other later songs such as Hard rock Cafe. One Fine Day and One To One were pretty much all i wanted and kept. And that's Plenty enough for me.
 
She never did much for me--I had the SACD and wasn't exactly enamored of it, and ended up selling it for a profit. (So in a way, she did do something for me. :laugh: ) Not that it's bad, but it's like anything--some music touches us, and some doesn't. I just found I never had an impulse to ever play it. And I don't think it helps when others out there rave at what a masterpiece Tapestry is and I only found it to be rather :shrug: .
 
Drivin' around with the windows open blastin' the countryside with SRO.

That takes me back. Used to do the same thing in the 60s with my dad. Of course back in the day we had a new Oldsmobile and an 8 track player. Now it's a 12 year old Saturn and a CD. :D
 
This one is spinning (Mobile Fidelity SACD):

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This one on vinyl (two LP, 45RPM Analogue Productions set):

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Caravanserai is one of my favorites, although I have to be in a special kinda mood to play it. But I always crank up "Just in Time To See The Sun" when it comes up on the shuffle.

One thing I like about some of the Santana albums is the cool segues between songs. One of the best is "Eternal Caravan of Reincarnation" > "Waves Within" on Caravanserai.... but my favorite of all is "Batuka" > "No One to Depend On," from "Santana III."
 
Caravanserai is one of my favorites, although I have to be in a special kinda mood to play it.
Same here (and also with anything Santana). Having a good sounding version helps too, as there is so much going on in the mix. The reissue CD on Legacy I bought about a dozen years ago is really good with nice in-house mastering. It does play nicely with the segues, coming across like a full body of work vs. being individual songs thrown together.
 
I've never really gotten into Santana except for a few cuts. But I now have the Peter Gunn theme stuck in my head. Thanks. :D
 
The Peter Gunn album was a trendsetter in its day. It ushered in the popular usage of jazz for detective/cop shows on television. Plus, Mancini never wanted to record it. Typically, Shorty Rogers was one at RCA who would embrace popular music and put his jazz spin on it. Back then, selling 50,000 copies of a jazz album was considered normal. Shorty convinced Hank to record the music himself, and thanks to the popular TV series, it sold over a million copies. Astonishing for a jazz record. In fact, they had such demand for a while that they had to print up some of RCA's generic album covers to sell them in. Many of the musicians were from Shorty Rogers' Giants...many familiar West coast jazz cats played on it.

I run hot and cold on Santana myself. I have to be in a certain mood before I'll play it. Those earliest Columbia albums are the best of the bunch. Although Carlos Santana is known more these days for his popular album Supernatural.
 
Agreed that "Lido Shuffle" is good but much too overplayed. For all the Top 40 hits Scaggs has had, it's a bit odd that the only ones you ever hear regularly on the radio anymore tend to be "Lido Shuffle" and "Lowdown." "Miss Sun" and "Jojo" are great, I'd agree - both very underrated singles. I also really like "Breakdown Dead Ahead" and "Heart of Mine."

Spandau Ballet's True is a wonderful disc. I have just about everything of theirs, but that one is probably their best album. (The follow-up album, Parade, didn't do nearly as well, but I listen to it nearly just as often.) The title cut is the most famous song, of course, but I've always thought that "Communication" and "Lifeline" both really should have been big hits over here. Underrated band. The combination of Gary Kemp's songwriting chops and Tony Hadley's vocal abilities is remarkable. I've always admired their versatility, too - their earliest records (i.e. "To Cut a Long Story Short," "Musclebound," "Chant No. 1," etc.) sound nothing like True and sound more like Duran Duran or late-'70s-era Roxy Music, but then they reinvent themselves and Normans swaps out his guitar for a saxophone, and voila - they become a convincing soul-pop outfit!

Also agree that Carole King was never quite the same after her stint on Ode/A&M. Most critics, of course, tend to largely write off everything she did post-Tapestry, but her singles, at least, remained really high-quality during the remainder of her stint with Ode, and I probably listen to "Jazzman" more often than I do any of the Tapestry tracks. "Nightingale," "Sweet Seasons," and "Only Love Is Real" are also really underrated singles. Her catalog definitely gets spottier after Thoroughbred, but I agree with Bobberman that "One to One" and "Hard Rock Café" are worthwhile singles. The one upside of her post-Ode material - even if the songwriting on those later albums is very hit-and-miss - is that most of it does "breathe" on a sonic level in ways that a lot of the early Ode material doesn't. It's a bit like Peter Frampton's Frampton album (the studio disc with "Show Me the Way" on it), where the songs are generally great and the performances are fine, but there's just something about the recording that makes it lack the warmth of his live album. Same thing with Carole King for me - I love the songs from Tapestry, but I find concert recordings of those songs easier to listen to than the studio recordings for some reason. I don't know if anyone else here has had that same reaction.
 
I also really like "Breakdown Dead Ahead" and "Heart of Mine."
"Heart of Mine" comes via tunesmith Bobby Caldwell, known more for the hits he wrote for others than his own hit "What You Won't Do For Love" (which was a hit on R&B stations here). "Next Time I Fall" (Peter Cetera) would probably be his best-known composition (and/or biggest hit), unless I'm missing something. I have a few of Caldwell's recordings and they're pretty good, with Stuck On You being a favorite. He later restyled himself into a Sinatra-esque balladeer and even performed in a stage production called "The Rat Pack Is Back" as Sinatra. I found a decent summary of his career here:

Going Frank’s Way: The Sound of Bobby Caldwell »

What's interesting is that the tune "Miss Sun" was David Paich's demo to get Toto signed to a record deal. Boz's rendition does not stray much at all from Paich's interpretation of his own song, just a bit more polished and a few updated lyrics. Definitely underrated. "Jojo" is a much more classy production yet it's no less of a tune. "Lowdown" I can still handle, as I like that "chugging" rhythm and that trademarked Paich arrangement behind it. Sadly, "Lido" is sort of a Boz cliche, if you know what I mean, having been played so much. I have to say though, that I prefer listening to a good compilation of Boz as opposed to an album, at least for now. I have Silk Degrees but I always find I want to hear those other two tracks whenever I play it. I guess I just got used to Hits! after hearing it for the past three decades.

Underrated band. The combination of Gary Kemp's songwriting chops and Tony Hadley's vocal abilities is remarkable.
Underrated, perhaps carelessly lumped in with everything else during that era and a bit overlooked beside the hit "True." It's a pleasant listen for sure. Aside from their hits collection (Gold?), which I have only played a couple of times, it's my first exposure to their catalog, and I find I'm liking the album more as I play it.
 
I prefer Boz Scaggs " Hits" album over everything else he has done ( except I like the songs Georgia from silk degrees and " You can have me anytime" from middle man) those are my definitive Boz Scaggs. Favorites
 
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