Well Recorded Rock Music

[moserw]

Isn't this one a brilliant album? recording is good but not great, but the music is superb!

A good band, I've all their albums, but this one especially is in a different league.

 

[biyer]

May I suggest some Tool? Danny Carey (drummer) has a really open sound to his kit as opposed to the usual tight, constrained sound heard in rock/metal. I like the mix on almost all their albums equally. They avoid the loudness wars and use a dynamic mix that is reminiscent of old-school prog rock.

From the wiki page:




YouTube - Tool - Lateralus (HQ)

Good taste.Very few people can appreciate TOOL.

 

[heliumflight]

Good taste.Very few people can appreciate TOOL.

I totally agree

A thread on similar topic is already active. It could be helpful

http://www.hifivision.com/music/5586-tried-tested-good-recording-cds.html

 

[psychotropic]

results of my friend's examinations into recording quality. Good recordings:

Michael Jackson - Dangerous
The Beatles - White Album
Radiohead - In Rainbows

 

[psychotropic]

Michael Jackson - Thriller (25th Annivery reissue)
Bread - Best Of

 

[psychotropic]

Prince - Musicology
Red Hot Chilli Peppers - bloodsugarsexmagik
The Police - Regatta De Blanc

 

[coaltrain]

I just ordered from Amazon - 6 CDs costing about 60 US$ with 40 US $ as courier charge. The CDs got delivered within 2 weeks to Delhi and in excellent condition.

i've mentioned this on another thread: try amazon uk. some of the stuff is dirt cheap. for eg, kind of blue is 4 pounds!

also, vat is deducted from the price on all stuff shipped outside the uk. so it's like getting your shipping for free. and, you get your order delivered in 5 days, on an average.

regarding sq on rock albums, check out the 30th anniversary hybrid sacd of dark side of the moon. guaranteed to melt your ears, in a good way

 

[psychotropic]

Genesis - Nursery Cryme

 

[i_apocalypseon]

The Pixies - Doolittle(one of the few essential albums out on MFSL SACD. well recorded,mixed and mastered. might knock ur head off)
Shellac - At Action Park(Math/Noise Rock. Dynamics!)
Ministry - The Mind is a Terrible Thing(Industrial. great mixing.)
The Cure!(Goth/Post-Punk/Pop. ANYTHING by them is exceptionally well mixed and mastered. dynamic)
Midlake(Indie.Folk/Prog/Rock. Clean Production)
The Decemberists - The Hazards Of Love(Indie Prog Rock. well mastered.)
Grinderman - Grinderman(Like Most of the Bands i listened to cant be pigeon-holed. Just rock-n-roll the way it should be played. Call it what u want. I'm genuinely a fan of Nick Cave.)
Aereogramme - My Heart Has A Wish That You Would Not Go(Mellowed down album by folks who used to play metal. prog.)
Rx Bandits - Mandala(Ska-Punk Prog. Not too compressed. Great production.)

Hmm.. cant think of too much else.. most of these albums are modern day. and by those standards pretty damn good. I've heard the new Iron Maiden album was released without ANY mastering!

As a sidebar- u should probably get ur fingers into ANY material Pre-dating the late-90's. Quite a lot of the 80's... oh i dunno... hair? glam? queen? david bowie?.. definitely not very compressed. umm... the 70's ofcourse(Prog!)... take ur pick. u'll get quite a few recommendations. Anything from the 60's without exception. King Crimson's debut is one of the most near-perfect sounding prog rock u'll likely hear.

Again not well-formed or expert opinions. Just enthusiast-ic.

 

[i_apocalypseon]

ooh! forgot this one- Naked Empire - Bottom Feeders(the band put up the album on demonoid for free)
And something a little tangential.. listen to A Place To Bury Strangers' self-titled album(in mp3 form for free) Once you have, i believe ANYTHING you come across after, will sound dynamic... you have been warned. they are hailed as new york's loudest band.

 

[sameer kumar]

Roxy music 'Avalon'.
A master piece and should appeal to many.Sound quality is excelent.A great listen at night.
Genre:Glam-Rock.


Porcupine Tree 'Fear of a Blank Planet' .
Sounds bit heavy but very melodic.Top-notch production values.
Genrerogressive rock.

 

[psychotropic]

G3 (Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson, Steve Vai) - Live in Concert - Superb live recording, very detailed, with lots of air, and pretty dynamic.

Genesis - Abacab - Beautiful recording, ever so slightly bright, but superb overall

 

[alpha1]

I don't know why but whenever I listen to any rock recording - it always pales in comparison to Michael Jackson and Madonna recordings.

Rock ones sound as if listening thru a sheen.

 

[psychotropic]

Michael Jackson is superb, Madonna I haven't heard recently. I agree that a lot of rock music is poorly recorded, which is why this thread exists, so that the stuff that is well recorded can be unearthed. I am sure if you listen to Dire Straits or Genesis, you wouldn't have the "listening through a sheen" complaint.

I don't know why but whenever I listen to any rock recording - it always pales in comparison to Michael Jackson and Madonna recordings.

Rock ones sound as if listening thru a sheen.

 

[Finyl Vinyl]

The difference between jazz and rock music recordings cannot and should not be compared. And yes, as some one said, there is always the recording label and the engineer to be considered.

For rock musicians, the bench marking should be George Martin, Alan Parsons (Wish You Were Here and Meddle, especially), Peter Grant (Led Zep-Houses of the Holy), cant remember the engineers, but Stevie Ray Vaughan-In Step (the track Living Life By The Drop), Frank Zappa-The Yellow Shark, Various Artists-Night of the Guitar, Yes-mostly all albums, King Crimson-Court of the Crimson King, Allman Bros Band-Live at Fillmore East, Santana-1st LP, Caravanserai, Live at fillmore, Eric Clapton, Neil Young, Nirvana-Unplugged and lots others.

With jazz, (especially straight ahead, bop, swing and other genres using acoustic instruments), engineers and producers tend to capture the ambiance of the studio. In this regard Norman Granz, Tommy LiPuma, Rudy Van Gelder, Nesuhi Ertegun, Frank Sinatra backed by Billy May orchestra and Nelson Riddle orchestra, Louis Armstrong-Sings WC Handy and scores of others.

You might notice that I picked three Unplugged albums by three rock artists. Why? Because they also captured the entire ambiance of the studio. For a great jazz recording, listen to (I cant't recall the album now) Charlie Byrd on Columbia Jazz (either with Jobim or Getz) that was recorded in a church.

I was converted to jazz at the age of 15. No regrets. Went straight from Telegraph Road to Creole Love Call in the space of 20 minutes

 

[rams1977]

Nirvana - MTV Unplugged is one of my favourite LIVE rock recordings.

Recent addition to my favourites: Steely Dan's "The very best of steely dan".
This is one hell of a recording.

PS: Psychotropic this would interest you because Donald fagen partners with Becker in this album.

 

[psychotropic]

I've been trying to like jazz for many years now. Am still in the state that Alexis Petridis describes in the initial parts of this article in the Guardian.

To quote:

"As I suspect is the case with a lot of rock fans, I own a handful of jazz CDs, the titles that used to appear regularly in music press 100 Best Albums lists: A Love Supreme by John Coltrane, Miles Davis's Kind of Blue and Bitches Brew. Like a gym membership, I bought them in a well-intentioned spirit of self-improvement that I never quite followed through. It's not that I don't like them, it's just that they don't move me in the way I'd expect such towering masterpieces of 20th-century art to move me. I don't love them, because I don't appreciate them properly, and I don't appreciate them properly because I don't understand the milieu from which they sprung"

I was converted to jazz at the age of 15. No regrets. Went straight from Telegraph Road to Creole Love Call in the space of 20 minutes

 

[Finyl Vinyl]

Nirvana - MTV Unplugged is one of my favourite LIVE rock recordings.

Recent addition to my favourites: Steely Dan's "The very best of steely dan".
This is one hell of a recording.

PS: Psychotropic this would interest you because Donald fagen partners with Becker in this album.

Dan produced some great albums. It might interest you to know that The Doobie Bros and Steely Dan had at one point inter-changing line ups, so you will find that when you hear a tune somewhere in the middle section, you might get it mixed up for a Dan or Bros. track.

And without meaning to sound condescending, no true music lover will ever settle or buy a "Best of" or "Greatest Hits" ever. Please don't get me wrong, but a compilation will never capture the essence of an album's philosophy. It's a great place to start exploring, but you can't call yourself a fan with a compilation. Case in point, I burnt a CD for my daughter called "Beatles For Kids". I know it will be a matter of time before she goes on to the Red, Blue albums and then their entire discography

 

[Finyl Vinyl]

I've been trying to like jazz for many years now. Am still in the state that Alexis Petridis describes in the initial parts of this article in the Guardian.

To quote:

"As I suspect is the case with a lot of rock fans, I own a handful of jazz CDs, the titles that used to appear regularly in music press 100 Best Albums lists: A Love Supreme by John Coltrane, Miles Davis's Kind of Blue and Bitches Brew. "

That's the first mistake a rock listener does... goes for the critical and commercial success stories. Start with a really big album, or start with an album that has a great drum solo. (that usually gets the rockers going, doesn't it?) Duke Ellington-Live in Seattle 1952, Live at Newport 1956, Herbie Hancock-Empyrean Isles, Chet Baker & Gerry Mulligan-Live at Carnegie Hall, Herbie Hancock and Jaco Pastorius-Live, Tower of Power-Some Albums, Bloomfield, Kooper and Stills-Super Sessions, Blood Sweat and Tears-first 3-4 albums, Chicago-early albums

 

[psychotropic]

I've heard a fair bit of blood sweat and tears and love it, but maybe i haven't heard their 'jazz'-y stuff, i used to have a 'best of' tape of sorts in college, and i love almost every track on it. Thanks for the other suggestions, will try and get my hands on it and listen to it.

Blood Sweat and Tears-first 3-4 albums,