Top 10 must-have CDs, part 2

This is Part 2 of a list of my favorite sounding CDs of late, in no particular order. My preference is for realistic-sounding recordings, recordings that allow the band to sound "live." And sure, I still like a lot of recordings that are heavily processed, but I wouldn't by any stretch use them to "test" the naturalness of a speaker.

The first half of the top 10 CD list appeared in the previous Audiophiliac.

A different kind of heavy metal music.

Savage Aural Hotbed, "Wreckquiem"

Talk about heavy metal, Savage Aural Hotbed is a (mostly) industrial percussion group. They rhythmically hit, scrape, or smash pipes, barrels, tenor and baritone snorkelhorns, electric power tools, and drums. I love SAH records for their dense textures and searing dynamics and this new one will give your system an aerobic workout while dazzling your ears with its mesmerizing charms.

Ms. Cash at her best

Rosanne Cash, "10 Song Demo"

OK, this one's from 1996, but it's withstood the test of time. True to the title, it's just Cash accompanied by a small group of players, Production is minimal, so if your system is good enough the music can sound very, very real. The music's a perfect 10.

Jazz that'll rock your world

Gerald Clayton, "Two-Shade"

Clayton's nimble piano trio delivers hard-driving pieces and explosive improvisations that'll push your hi-fi to the limit. The piano, bass, and drums balance is, musically and sonically, as good as it gets. It may be Clayton's trio, but it's a band of equals. The stereo image is set back, behind the plane of my speakers, so it doesn't have the claustrophobic, up close perspective of most contemporary jazz recordings.

New blues for a new century

Bob Brozman, "Post-Industrial Blues"

Bob Brozman is a monster guitar and string player. His updated blues is of our time, but rooted in the tradition. Sonically, Post is a wonder, exquisitely detailed and spacious, and Brozman's odd humor on the Doors' classic, "People Are Strange" is deliciously weird.

One of the best solo piano recordings ever

Dick Hyman, "Thinking About Bix"

Pianist Dick Hyman was thinking about legendary jazz musician, Bix Beiderbecke when he made this CD. The tunes are old, but the joy of the music is timeless. This is a good a solo piano record as I've heard, with life-like dynamics and totally natural timbre. Superb!

[tipoo_]

Dark. Side. Of. The. Moon!

[stepyourgameup]

I guess my musical tastes suck 'cause I haven't heard of these.

[alegr]

Steve, <br /> <br />How about some Mahler?

[buzzvader]

Why on earth would Steve Guttenberg, an audiophiliac, want to listen to CD's anyway? Something suddenly wrong with vinyl?

[clrgj2]

I have never heard of ANY of these albums!!! Am I really that much of an outcast?

[NYCgoalie]

No, you're not the only one. None of these were on my radar too. <br /> <br />Then again, Steve probably gets a lot of free CD's from indie labels. So he probably has access to a lot more stuff than the rest of us.

[Freeradical79]

Mmmmm. Might it not be better to choose accessible music? Savage Aural Hotbed is interesting, and thats about where it ends. A top 10 must have? No way.<br /><br />And enough with Dark Side. Meddle is a far more aurally interesting Floyd experience.<br /><br />How about Kate Bush, Hounds of Love? It is beautifully produced and packs an array of textures into one LP. A hifi needs to be able to reproduce the quiet chanting choir, the pounding percussion, the Irish folk, the sampled voices/helicopters/whispering german ghosts not to mention her own three-octave vocal range.<br /><br />Leftfield, Leftism? Possibly the best example of house/electronica, well produced and will really test the ability of a hifi to go LOUD, the Johnny Rotten vocal'd Open Up makes most hifis shrink away in horror. Madonnas Vogue also puts a hifi to the test, slick, layered, bass-heavy and meticulous production by Shep Pettibone makes it one challenging piece of electronic music.<br /><br />One of the better recordings for Bachs Suite for Cello? It should sound as though there is a single cello player sitting in between your speakers and the range and texture of a cello is perfect for testing the capability of a hifi, the bass needs to be clear and crisp and closely in synch with the mid and high range (it almost always sounds hideous on a sub-sat system).

[Vesicant]

Ever read equipment reviews in Stereophile or similar mags, where the reviewer lists a bunch of esoteric recordings not because it's good music or proves anything about the UUT, but just to demonstrate how cool and hip they are compared to the moron readers? These lists serve the same purpose. But I can play, too. I'll see your Bob Brozman and raise you a Paul Geremia.

[TheAudiophiliac]

Hey guys, I'm sorry you think Rosanne Cash and Elvis Costello are "esoteric." Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys is hardly obscure. <br /><br />Dark Side of the Moon? Come on, I'm trying to be a little more current the 1970s classics that everybody already knows about. The point of the list was to turn you onto comparatively new stuff that sounds exceptional. Who knows, you might even like some of it if you listened to it. That's not such a hard thing to do. Unfortunately most mainstream music is dynamically compressed and sounds just plain bad.

[soundman45]

I think saying that most mainstream music just sounds plain bad is a little strong. Where I think alot of the problem lies is that engineers and producers don't seem to know how to make sonically pleasing recordings anymore. You get these engineers that are wizzes in cutting and pasting in Protools but have no clue how to capture live instruments and mix them correctly. No matter how you choose to master that stuff, it's completely doomed from the start.

[make_or_break]

Sonically pleasing? Only if it makes MONEY. Productions only push the aural/acoustic quality if there's PROFIT to be had. That's why mainstream releases don't get the recording and mastering attention during the production phase; record companies know their target audience, and what will be just good enough to sell. It's the small, seldom-heard-of labels and producers that push the envelope, if only to cater to the audiophile marketplace. They're niche to begin with, so why not cater directly to the niche audience?

[NYCgoalie]

Aside from "Dark Side...", my 10 ten HAS to include the remastering of Peter Gabriel's "So" (beautifully done), the remastered "Surfing with The Alien" by Joe Satriani and HDCD release of the self titled "Van Halen" album. <br /> <br />All 3 are killer albums, and would push any good system. Gabriel's CD has many layers that the sound system would have to separate. The system would also have to be able to handle the full spectrum of guitar sounds that Joe gets out of his guitars. And finally, if the system were to be able to make Eddie's distortion sound clear and not "muddy" (which it certainly isn't), then THAT'S a quality system for an audiophile.

[soundman45]

All I'm trying to say make_or_break is that good engineering and producing doesn't cost alot of money and shouldn't have a specific genre or market for that criteria. The point is there are too many people in the modern record industry (engineers and producers) that have no F_cking idea how to get good sounds.

[kcar27]

Steve, it'd be interesting if you could add some classical works to future lists. Classical aficionados are freaks about sound and most recordings in the genre are outstanding. Recordings of classical works that you know intimately can reveal the strengths and weaknesses of a stereo system.

[uptheironsrafi]

Did anyone listen to "A Matter of Life and Death" by Iron Maiden? They didn't master the album in any way, which means no compression, no normalisation, no nothing. But since i don't have a pair of high end speakers, I dont really know what it sounds like in an audiophile speaker. Could someone enlighten me on the quality of the recording?

[mavfan2]

Must have? <br />Calling it "10 CDs that are an audiophiles dream and will put your sound system to the test" would have been more accurate. One's musical taste can't be thrust on someone else (thus the great t-shirt from The Onion that reads simply "Your favorite band sucks.") <br />If you had just put a few CDs on the list about which you said the music wasn't your thing but the sound was fantastic that'd be one thing, but this is a personal top 10, something YOU must have, but that most of the rest of us will pass on and be none the poorer for it.

[bugboyblack]

so many comments saying 'never heard of these artists'... isn't one of the main functions of a review to expose people to new things? it would be pretty boring if reviewers wrote about bands everyone liked already. just because a reviewer doesn't list your favorite band doesn't mean theyre trying to show how cool they are. some folks get so adversarial...relax, you might find something new to like!

[douglord]

Could you do this for SACDs? Maybe do 2 lists - 1 for eccentric stuff and 1 for mainstream stuff - or even better do it by genre and don't leave out stuff that most HD enthusiasts shun like metal, rap and techno. <br /> <br />I know THE SHAME!! But I thought some of the Metallica HD stuff was really cool, and while I love me some Wagner ? I don?t want to listen to Whiny Chick Music Volume 34 ? no matter how HD it sounds!

[HulkSmashForever]

I was going to say the "Police Academy" soundtrack, but it's a different Steve Guttenberg...

[Vesicant]

&gt;Hey guys, I'm sorry you think Rosanne Cash and Elvis Costello are "esoteric." Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys is hardly obscure. <br /> <br />&gt;Dark Side of the Moon? Come on, I'm trying to be a little more current the 1970s classics that everybody already knows about. The point of the list was to turn you onto comparatively new stuff that sounds exceptional. Who knows, you might even like some of it if you listened to it. That's not such a hard thing to do. Unfortunately most mainstream music is dynamically compressed and sounds just plain bad. <br /> <br />Why did you post this dreck as a reply to me? I never said Roseanne Cash and Elvis Not The Pelvis were esoteric. Nor did I refer to The Dark Side of the Moon. As far as turning us on to comparatively new stuff, you didn't title your list "Here are some things I find interesting that maybe you will too;" you called it "must haves." The jury says NOT, so say we all. Patch up your amour propre and get on with reprinting manufacturer's press releases.

[bathyscaaf]

Weird. I loved watching Savage Aural Hotbed in MPLS back in the late 80s early 90s. Sometimes they would pop up randomly in their jumpsuits and caps, pull a bunch of plastic drums and metal bits out of their van and just start playing on a sidewalk. I only have their 1st album, "Cold is the Absense of Heat" and they hadn't managed to record the percussion in a way that really put across the sound of three people hitting different drums at the same time. Nice to hear they are still around. Nice guys, good music.