My 20 best SOUNDING album's, (all formats)

A.S.

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May 27, 2013
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Well since this forum is about sound, I thought it a good idea to list some of my best sounding music in audiophile terms.
Unfortunately that means no Robert Johnson, Charlie Parker, Pablo Casals, Art Tatum, Heifetz...... since the recording quality of these albums is not outstanding but luckily I own a number of equally good but well recorded music in various formats.


attachment.php

1. Andre Heuvelman; After Silence.
2. Carmen Gomes; Thousand Shades of Blue.
3. Paul Berner Band; Road to Memphis.

After some consideration I decided to be bold and put three of my Sound Liaison Studio Master Downloads at the top of my list.
These 24/96 hi-res WAV files has a depth and natural decay combined with a warm wide sound stage which none of my other recordings can touch. Not bad for a small independent label.
Andre Heuvelman's After Silence is a stunning prove that he most be one of the worlds foremost trumpet players. I only have this download for a few days now but it is so convincingly recorded and produced that I had to put it on top.
Carmen Gomes knows how to move you without having to use any of the cheap effect's so many singers are constantly using putting them self's above the music, not here, this is straight from the heart.She turns Chris Isaac's ''Wicked Game'' into a hauntingly beautiful song of desperate love. True mastery.
Monty Alexander trio alumni, Paul Berner has made an achingly beautiful ''americana'' jazz album, with reed player Michael Moore in top form. The album with two guitars makes Bill Frisell come to mind.
The interplay between the guitars is incredible.

Sound Liaison; Music Store

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4. Dough McLeod; There's a Time
5. Minnesota Orchestra; Symphonic Dances
6. Albert Fuller; Bach & Rameau

Equally good are the Keith Johnson recordings from Reference Recordings. These were my top audiophile musics until Sound Liaison came along.
The Doug McLeod recording has a similar sound as the Carmen Gomes ''Thousand Shades of Blue'' album, deep, warm and very natural. If it wasn't for the fact that Doug's voice is moving a little bit from left to right in the stereo image, that album would have been at No 1 or 2 together with Carmen Gomes.
The Minnesota Orchestra's recording of the Symphonic Dances is simply the best recording of a symphony orchestra that I own.
Albert Fullers lovely interpretations of Bach and Rameau's Harpsichord music. If you think you don't like the sound of a harpsichord, check this one out you'll be surprised.Reference Recordings Complete Audiophile Classical Music Orchestra and Jazz HDCD Catalog

Doug-MacLeod-Theres-a-time.jpg
HD030911109622_185.jpg
RR2105CD.JPG


7. Keith Jarrett; at the Blue Note.
8. Bobo Stenson trio; Serenity.
9; Peter Erskine trio; As it is.
For piano trio recordings these 3 ECM albums are sublime.I know that a lot of people adore the the old Rudy van Gelder recordings but the sound of the piano he never got right. ECM does.
ECM Records - Home
dj.ccymdhky.170x170-75.jpg
mzi.kagzzzdq.100x100-75.jpg
E1594g.jpg


10. Joni Mitchell; Travelogue.
Joni looking back and rerecording her best songs, with gorgeous Vince Mendoza arrangements.
Her voice is deeper, more ''lived'' and her phrazing reveals her love of Billie Holiday. The recording is sublime with a BIG sound stage.

Now I will go back in time, analogue time, and the music from these L.P.'s will probably be known to most of you in one format or the other.


11.Miles Davis; Kind of Blue. this album needs no introduction. It has stood the test of time. The new remasters sounds even better. Manfred Eicher of ECM says that the sound of that album is what he is TRYING to achieve.
dennis-stockmagnum-photos-1958-miles-davisleft-cannonball-adderley-and-john-coltrane-right.jpg

12. Sonny Rollins;The Bridge. Sonny and Jim Hall brings Coltrane and Miles to mind in contrast but maybe with an even bigger empathy.''God Bless the Child'' breathtakingly well played and sounding.Very clear placement of the instruments.That is actually what Sound Liaison and Reference Recordings has reintroduced a good, and well defined sound stage. A sound stage where it feels as if you can point a finger at each instrument and say; there it is! see the bass at 10 o'clock!
attachment.php

13.Frank Sinatra; Only the Lonely.This must be the recording that inspired the engineers of the Travelogue recording and is in my opinion the best Frank Sinatra album.
14.George Shearing with Nancy Wilson;the Swinging is mutual!
Listen to track 2 side one '' All Night Long'' That track almost,but just almost, makes me believe that old thick LP's sounds better than modern Hi-Resolution Studio Master Wav files.
15.Monica Zetterlund with Bill Evans;Waltz for Debby.This sweet Sounding recording shows what a fantastic accompanist Bill Evans was. The Swedish engineers knew what they were doing too, a clearly defined sound stage.
mqdefault.jpg
115541722.jpg

16. Milt Jackson and Wes Montgomery; Bags Meet's Wes.
Pat Metheny's favorite Wes album.Again placement and every instrument recorded to it's full potential. The tape machine was not running completely steady so the sound is trembling ever so slightly.
17.John Coltrane; Crescent. So I guess that to keep the peace I better put in one Rudy van Gelder engineered album.Rudy did know how to record a saxophone and the drums sounds good too. Rudy's true strength though was balance.
John_Coltrane_-_Crescent.jpg

18.Bobby Timmons trio;In Person. I love Ron Carter, the bass player,and he is magnificently prominent here, talkin' 'bout DEEP BASS.
mENGjNuBZgsNgFeCqXGrA-w.jpg

19 Arthur Grumiaux, Bach Sonatas & Partitas. Somehow this recording tell's it like it is; this is the sound of the violin, this is how the Partita's sound. Just like with Carmen Gomes, MUSIC first!
20. Holy Cole;Temptation. This is an old favorite of mine, sound of the bass has not stood the test of time, but the production is incredible.
uNpddZ5p.jpg

21. Me'shell Ndegocéllo; Peace beyond Passion, again great production and.... placement.Unusual for a funk album from this period.
22. Dave Brubeck; Time out. almost forgot this one, that would have been unforgivable. Time Out is an audiophile classic.

oops... I see that I went past the limit of 20 and I did not even get to Mingus; Ah Um... Steely Dan... Ray Charles..........
 

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Well since this forum is about sound, I thought it a good idea to list some of my best sounding music in audiophile terms.
Unfortunately that means no Robert Johnson, Charlie Parker, Pablo Casals, Art Tatum, Heifetz...... since the recording quality of these albums is not outstanding but luckily I own a number of equally good but well recorded music in various formats.


Andre%20200%20met%20schaduw%20220_200%20v6.png

1. Andre Heuvelman; After Silence.
2. Carmen Gomes; Thousand Shades of Blue.
3. Paul Berner Band; Road to Memphis.

After some consideration I decided to be bold and put three of my Sound Liaison Studio Master Downloads at the top of my list.
These 24/96 hi-res WAV files has a depth and natural decay combined with a warm wide sound stage which none of my other recordings can touch. Not bad for a small independent label.
Andre Heuvelman's After Silence is a stunning prove that he most be one of the worlds foremost trumpet players. I only have this download for a few days now but it is so convincingly recorded and produced that I had to put it on top.
Carmen Gomes knows how to move you without having to use any of the cheap effect's so many singers are constantly using putting them self's above the music, not here, this is straight from the heart.She turns Chris Isaac's ''Wicked Game'' into a hauntingly beautiful song of desperate love. True mastery.
Monty Alexander trio alumni, Paul Berner has made an achingly beautiful ''americana'' jazz album, with reed player Michael Moore in top form. The album with two guitars makes Bill Frisell come to mind.
The interplay between the guitars is incredible.

Sound Liaison; Music Store

SSS1%20Milan%20200.png
Paul%20Band%20Milan%20200.png


4. Dough McLeod; There's a Time
5. Minnesota Orchestra; Symphonic Dances
6. Albert Fuller; Bach & Rameau

Equally good are the Keith Johnson recordings from Reference Recordings. These were my top audiophile musics until Sound Liaison came along.
The Doug McLeod recording has a similar sound as the Carmen Gomes ''Thousand Shades of Blue'' album, deep, warm and very natural. If it wasn't for the fact that Doug's voice is moving a little bit from left to right in the stereo image, that album would have been at No 1 or 2 together with Carmen Gomes.
The Minnesota Orchestra's recording of the Symphonic Dances is simply the best recording of a symphony orchestra that I own.
Albert Fullers lovely interpretations of Bach and Rameau's Harpsichord music. If you think you don't like the sound of a harpsichord, check this one out you'll be surprised.Reference Recordings Complete Audiophile Classical Music Orchestra and Jazz HDCD Catalog

Doug-MacLeod-Theres-a-time.jpg
HD030911109622_185.jpg
RR2105CD.JPG


7. Keith Jarrett; at the Blue Note.
8. Bobo Stenson trio; Serenity.
9; Peter Erskine trio; As it is.
For piano trio recordings these 3 ECM albums are sublime.I know that a lot of people adore the the old Rudy van Gelder recordings but the sound of the piano he never got right. ECM does.
ECM Records - Home
dj.ccymdhky.170x170-75.jpg
mzi.kagzzzdq.100x100-75.jpg
E1594g.jpg


10. Joni Mitchell; Travelogue.
Joni looking back and rerecording her best songs, with gorgeous Vince Mendoza arrangements.
Her voice is deeper, more ''lived'' and her phrazing reveals her love of Billie Holiday. The recording is sublime with a BIG sound stage.

Now I will go back in time, analogue time, and the music from these L.P.'s will probably be known to most of you in one format or the other.


11.Miles Davis; Kind of Blue. this album needs no introduction. It has stood the test of time. The new remasters sounds even better. Manfred Eicher of ECM says that the sound of that album is what he is TRYING to achieve.
dennis-stockmagnum-photos-1958-miles-davisleft-cannonball-adderley-and-john-coltrane-right.jpg

12. Sonny Rollins;The Bridge. Sonny and Jim Hall brings Coltrane and Miles to mind in contrast but maybe with an even bigger empathy.''God Bless the Child'' breathtakingly well played and sounding.Very clear placement of the instruments.That is actually what Sound Liaison and Reference Recordings has reintroduced a good, and well defined sound stage. A sound stage where it feels as if you can point a finger at each instrument and say; there it is! see the bass at 10 o'clock!
View attachment 5059
13.Frank Sinatra; Only the Lonely.This must be the recording that inspired the engineers of the Travelogue recording and is in my opinion the best Frank Sinatra album.
14.George Shearing with Nancy Wilson;the Swinging is mutual!
Listen to track 2 side one '' All Night Long'' That track almost,but just almost, makes me believe that old thick LP's sounds better than modern Hi-Resolution Studio Master Wav files.
15.Monica Zetterlund with Bill Evans;Waltz for Debby.This sweet Sounding recording shows what a fantastic accompanist Bill Evans was. The Swedish engineers knew what they were doing too, a clearly defined sound stage.
mqdefault.jpg
115541722.jpg

16. Milt Jackson and Wes Montgomery; Bags Meet's Wes.
Pat Metheny's favorite Wes album.Again placement and every instrument recorded to it's full potential. The tape machine was not running completely steady so the sound is trembling ever so slightly.
17.John Coltrane; Crescent. So I guess that to keep the peace I better put in one Rudy van Gelder engineered album.Rudy did know how to record a saxophone and the drums sounds good too. Rudy's true strength though was balance.
John_Coltrane_-_Crescent.jpg

18.Bobby Timmons trio;In Person. I love Ron Carter, the bass player,and he is magnificently prominent here, talkin' 'bout DEEP BASS.
mENGjNuBZgsNgFeCqXGrA-w.jpg

19 Arthur Grumiaux, Bach Sonatas & Partitas. Somehow this recording tell's it like it is; this is the sound of the violin, this is how the Partita's sound. Just like with Carmen Gomes, MUSIC first!
20. Holy Cole;Temptation. This is an old favorite of mine, sound of the bass has not stood the test of time, but the production is incredible.
uNpddZ5p.jpg

21. Me'shell Ndegocéllo; Peace beyond Passion, again great production and.... placement.Unusual for a funk album from this period.
22. Dave Brubeck; Time out. almost forgot this one, that would have been unforgivable. Time Out is an audiophile classic.

oops... I see that I went past the limit of 20 and I did not even get to Mingus; Ah Um... Steely Dan... Ray Charles..........

What a wonderful post - from thoughtful descriptions to art work. Thank you for sharing. I'm going to go buy a few of these this weekend. Darrin
 
Wow, thanks for taking the time to write this post. It's such a joy to me to discover new music so I love posts like this. I know (and love) half of the music you mention so there's a good chance I'm going to enjoy the ones I don't know.

Thank you!
 
Hi A.S.,

Thank you for this interesting selection.
I know a couple of them and a few are new.
I checked the music store of Sound Liaison and I liked specially the album of Carmen Gomes Inc. (nr. 2 of your list)....sounds amazing!!
Very interesting what these guys are doing.

Monica Zetterlund is also one of my favorites.

Thank you! :)
 
If i had to choose only one SPECIAL album out of my whole collection this would be the ONE.

Suspended Memories - - - Forgotten Gods

Just a normal redbook cd with ( Steve Roach - Jorge Reyes - Suso Saiz ) Hearts Of Space - - - HS11034-2

Suspended Memories     Forgotten Gods.jpg

 
Just got the After Silence download, very very satisfying album. I think that the version of Astor Piazzolla's Oblivion is absolutely amazing. Actually the whole album is.It is so good to hear somebody, daring and being able to, play with such intense emotion and at the same time having the technical ability to do so.
I have the other Sound Liaison downloads for some time now and they have been played almost daily on my system, this new album has the same signature sound that makes the albums from this company so attractive, deep black background, and a vivid representation of the instruments.

Also very nice to see you have Nancy Wilson with George Shearing on your list, that album(LP) is also one of my personal favorites.

I also agree with you that Reference Recordings and Sound Liaison are bringing back some of the forgotten art of giving the instruments a clear position in the stereo field, somehow after listening to these type of recordings everything else seem so crowded, I mean I have piano trio recordings sounding more muddy and confused than the After Silence recording with up to 8 musicians playing at the same time.
Hey just saw now while checking up on the nr. of musicians on the After Silence album on the Sound Liaison site that they are giving away a couple of free samples, one from Carmen Gomes and one from the Andre Heuvelman ''After Silence''.
FREE TRACKS

But anyway great post, you have a good taste and I truly enjoyed reading your assessments of why just those recordings are your favorites. Thanks!




Well since this forum is about sound, I thought it a good idea to list some of my best sounding music in audiophile terms.
Unfortunately that means no Robert Johnson, Charlie Parker, Pablo Casals, Art Tatum, Heifetz...... since the recording quality of these albums is not outstanding but luckily I own a number of equally good but well recorded music in various formats.


Andre%20200%20met%20schaduw%20220_200%20v6.png

1. Andre Heuvelman; After Silence.
2. Carmen Gomes; Thousand Shades of Blue.
3. Paul Berner Band; Road to Memphis.

After some consideration I decided to be bold and put three of my Sound Liaison Studio Master Downloads at the top of my list.
These 24/96 hi-res WAV files has a depth and natural decay combined with a warm wide sound stage which none of my other recordings can touch. Not bad for a small independent label.
Andre Heuvelman's After Silence is a stunning prove that he most be one of the worlds foremost trumpet players. I only have this download for a few days now but it is so convincingly recorded and produced that I had to put it on top.
Carmen Gomes knows how to move you without having to use any of the cheap effect's so many singers are constantly using putting them self's above the music, not here, this is straight from the heart.She turns Chris Isaac's ''Wicked Game'' into a hauntingly beautiful song of desperate love. True mastery.
Monty Alexander trio alumni, Paul Berner has made an achingly beautiful ''americana'' jazz album, with reed player Michael Moore in top form. The album with two guitars makes Bill Frisell come to mind.
The interplay between the guitars is incredible.

Sound Liaison; Music Store

SSS1%20Milan%20200.png
Paul%20Band%20Milan%20200.png


4. Dough McLeod; There's a Time
5. Minnesota Orchestra; Symphonic Dances
6. Albert Fuller; Bach & Rameau

Equally good are the Keith Johnson recordings from Reference Recordings. These were my top audiophile musics until Sound Liaison came along.
The Doug McLeod recording has a similar sound as the Carmen Gomes ''Thousand Shades of Blue'' album, deep, warm and very natural. If it wasn't for the fact that Doug's voice is moving a little bit from left to right in the stereo image, that album would have been at No 1 or 2 together with Carmen Gomes.
The Minnesota Orchestra's recording of the Symphonic Dances is simply the best recording of a symphony orchestra that I own.
Albert Fullers lovely interpretations of Bach and Rameau's Harpsichord music. If you think you don't like the sound of a harpsichord, check this one out you'll be surprised.Reference Recordings Complete Audiophile Classical Music Orchestra and Jazz HDCD Catalog

Doug-MacLeod-Theres-a-time.jpg
HD030911109622_185.jpg
RR2105CD.JPG


7. Keith Jarrett; at the Blue Note.
8. Bobo Stenson trio; Serenity.
9; Peter Erskine trio; As it is.
For piano trio recordings these 3 ECM albums are sublime.I know that a lot of people adore the the old Rudy van Gelder recordings but the sound of the piano he never got right. ECM does.
ECM Records - Home
dj.ccymdhky.170x170-75.jpg
mzi.kagzzzdq.100x100-75.jpg
E1594g.jpg


10. Joni Mitchell; Travelogue.
Joni looking back and rerecording her best songs, with gorgeous Vince Mendoza arrangements.
Her voice is deeper, more ''lived'' and her phrazing reveals her love of Billie Holiday. The recording is sublime with a BIG sound stage.

Now I will go back in time, analogue time, and the music from these L.P.'s will probably be known to most of you in one format or the other.


11.Miles Davis; Kind of Blue. this album needs no introduction. It has stood the test of time. The new remasters sounds even better. Manfred Eicher of ECM says that the sound of that album is what he is TRYING to achieve.
dennis-stockmagnum-photos-1958-miles-davisleft-cannonball-adderley-and-john-coltrane-right.jpg

12. Sonny Rollins;The Bridge. Sonny and Jim Hall brings Coltrane and Miles to mind in contrast but maybe with an even bigger empathy.''God Bless the Child'' breathtakingly well played and sounding.Very clear placement of the instruments.That is actually what Sound Liaison and Reference Recordings has reintroduced a good, and well defined sound stage. A sound stage where it feels as if you can point a finger at each instrument and say; there it is! see the bass at 10 o'clock!
View attachment 5059
13.Frank Sinatra; Only the Lonely.This must be the recording that inspired the engineers of the Travelogue recording and is in my opinion the best Frank Sinatra album.
14.George Shearing with Nancy Wilson;the Swinging is mutual!
Listen to track 2 side one '' All Night Long'' That track almost,but just almost, makes me believe that old thick LP's sounds better than modern Hi-Resolution Studio Master Wav files.
15.Monica Zetterlund with Bill Evans;Waltz for Debby.This sweet Sounding recording shows what a fantastic accompanist Bill Evans was. The Swedish engineers knew what they were doing too, a clearly defined sound stage.
mqdefault.jpg
115541722.jpg

16. Milt Jackson and Wes Montgomery; Bags Meet's Wes.
Pat Metheny's favorite Wes album.Again placement and every instrument recorded to it's full potential. The tape machine was not running completely steady so the sound is trembling ever so slightly.
17.John Coltrane; Crescent. So I guess that to keep the peace I better put in one Rudy van Gelder engineered album.Rudy did know how to record a saxophone and the drums sounds good too. Rudy's true strength though was balance.
John_Coltrane_-_Crescent.jpg

18.Bobby Timmons trio;In Person. I love Ron Carter, the bass player,and he is magnificently prominent here, talkin' 'bout DEEP BASS.
mENGjNuBZgsNgFeCqXGrA-w.jpg

19 Arthur Grumiaux, Bach Sonatas & Partitas. Somehow this recording tell's it like it is; this is the sound of the violin, this is how the Partita's sound. Just like with Carmen Gomes, MUSIC first!
20. Holy Cole;Temptation. This is an old favorite of mine, sound of the bass has not stood the test of time, but the production is incredible.
uNpddZ5p.jpg

21. Me'shell Ndegocéllo; Peace beyond Passion, again great production and.... placement.Unusual for a funk album from this period.
22. Dave Brubeck; Time out. almost forgot this one, that would have been unforgivable. Time Out is an audiophile classic.

oops... I see that I went past the limit of 20 and I did not even get to Mingus; Ah Um... Steely Dan... Ray Charles..........
 
oops... I see that I went past the limit of 20 and I did not even get to Mingus; Ah Um... Steely Dan... Ray Charles..........

Break your rule and list more! I have never heard a Ray Charles album that was recorded well so would love to know which one you were thinking of...
 
A.S.,

Thanks for taking the time to write a great post. I'm glad to see that Me'shell Ndegocéllo-Peace beyond Passion made your list. I agree that it is an exceptionally well-recorded album, particularly for a funk album. It is also full of great music by a fantastic artist. Her best in my opinion.

While I would put Brubeck-Time Out ahead of most of the other jazz titles on your list strictly in terms of sound quality, I do agree that they are all very worthy of mention. Are you listing Brubeck-Time Out and Rollins-The Bridge each as an LP, CD, or download?
 
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