A Twist on "Todays" Producers and Engineers!

[Back To Mono]

Just curious as to what you would list as GOOD sounding recordings/CD's, made say over the past 15 years. This is an overall without assuming necessarily the mastering as the main focus, but it is obviously a part of the equation I guess.

Here's three that I think qualify.

Andre Previn - After Hours with Joe Pass and Ray Brown.

Enya - Watermark

Willie Nelson - Moonlight Becomes You

[Unknown]

Hmmmmm...multiple posts on the 'let's bitch about modern mastering' AGAIN thread, and no replies on this one. Really, how many times can you bitch about EQ, compression, noise reduction, and noise shaping? The horse is dead.

Recent recordings that sound good (to me):

k.d. lang - Ingenue
Cowboy Junkies - Trinity Session

various Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash releases

several Windham Hill CDs and LPs sound quite good, although Michael Hedges is about the only person I ever followed on that label

several jazz releases, including Bill Frissell (Nashville and Gone Just Like a Train), Pat Metheny (Beyond the Missouri Sky, Quartet, etc.), and Pete McCann

Luka Bloom - multiple
Pierre Bensusan - multiple

King's X - Dogman

I also really like the way the last couple of Black Crowes CDs have been produced.

I'm sure there are a million I'm leaving off, but these were the first ones that came to mind.

[Back To Mono]

Thanks for your input Patrick, it's a nice change to be able to actually compliment something that is recent(the past 15 years), where the end product sounds good.

Hard to believe they have all sounded that bad.

Maybe Steve Hoffman can add something that has caught his ears as being refreshingly sounding good. If I remember an interview or the old board a few releases have pricked his ears.

[Unknown]

I should have put most of the Tori Amos albums on that list as well.

And perhaps King's X - Ear Candy (so-named because it's supposed to be fun on headphones).

Just listening to "Lions" as I type this. Turns out Don Was produced it.

The very little Sara K. I've heard (on the Chesky label), I like.

Like I said, I'm sure there are a million other examples. :p

[christopher]

Originally posted by Steve M - Australia:
Just curious as to what you would list as GOOD sounding recordings/CD's, made say over the past 15 years.

anything produced or played by BILL LASWELL.

just punch his name into a search engine, because his output is to voluminous to list here.

later, chris

[BeatleFred]

Two that come to mind Ive been listening to and enjoying: Chris Isaak's "Baja Sessions" & Richard Thompson's "Action Packed Best Of".

[KLM]

All the JVC XRCD's sound quite nice. Generally, the CDs from the following groups/individuals are generally high on the well produced list and often serve as my rock reference discs (although I am leaving off a ton of great sounding/well produced classical and jazz titles):

-John Mellancamp
-Peter Gabriel
-Bela Fleck and the Flecktones
-Dave Mathews Band
-Edie Brickel's "Ghost of A Dog"
-Supertramp
-Sting
-Steely Dan/Donald Fagen

The following remastered catalogs (done recently on in the mid nineties) also sound pretty darn good:
-Dire Straits
-Cat Stevens
-Van Halen
-Elvis Costello
-The Band
-Yes

[Mart]

Some off the top of my head are :

http://gs.cdnow.com/graphics/COVERART/local/L/48/81/00004881.jpg Queensryche: Operation Mindcrime

http://gs.cdnow.com/graphics/COVERART/AMG/L/23/09/00212309.jpg Peter White: Perfect Moment

http://gs.cdnow.com/graphics/COVERART/local/L/32/96/00023296.jpg Rick Braun : Body & Soul

http://gs.cdnow.com/graphics/COVERART/local/L/01/36/00130136.jpg Alan Parsons: On Air
http://www.integracoustics.com/images/smilies/multi.gif

These exhibit the uncompressed modern sound with the ungated sound of yesteryear. The details are there in a highly dimensional rendering natural volume which is typically gated as noise these days. Now, while I may not be a fan of noise as some here (I swear some enjoy the low-level white noise like film buffs enjoy grainy B&W films), a modern recording has no cause to so gated like it were an MP3 file.

[Metralla]

With reference to klm's post ... agree with you on the Dire Straits and Cat Stevens remasters.

I would like to add Roxy Music. These are HDCD encoded and have fantastic sound, particularly Stranded, Siren, Flesh and Blood and Avalon. The two earliest ones aren't quite so impressive. Very nice packaging and a pretty good price if you shop around - the best bricks-and-mortar price I've seen is $14. A legendary group and it's nice to hear them again sounding so fine.

Some have reported mixed feelings about the Elton John remasters, and I only have one - Madman Across the Water. I love that album and the remaster is very good, but I haven't compared it with the MoFi. But it was only $9 at Tower and well worth it.

Regards,
Metralla

[Unknown]

i agree on the black crowes. also Ben Harper I have really enjoyed the sound on all of his albums...two oldies to consider both "Live"
rolling stones - stripped (have they ever sounded better)
page and plant - No quarter (great live sound and enjoyed the egyptian strings etc)

there are others like king crimson Thrak which i enjoyed

[Jeffrey]

Hi,

Nice post! Life is good and so have been alot of the releases in the last 15 yrs. I agree w/ the positive compliments on the Cat Stevens remasters. I bought all of them & was surprised by the bashing they took on an earlier thread on this board. As for new releases:

John Gorka's last 2 on Red House label
everything on David Grisman's label - Acoustic Disc
Diana Krall's releases

Joni Mitchell's remasters
Most of Joe Gastwirt's work

Better stop & give others a chance.

The Music Never Stops,
Jeffrey

[joelee]

I really like the sound of the live Pearl Jam shows released this year. All the discs I've heard sound just like the true sound of the concerts. It just proves that overproducing messes things up.

Joe