Vinyl Reference Recordings

[The Flatearther]

Hijacked my own thread from you know where!

This Top One Hundred Reference list of Vinyl recordings is continually updated. Please post any reccomendations and every week I'll update the list.

Top One Hundred Reference Recordings

1. Rockin Jimmy and the Brothers of the Night, "By the Light of the Moon" Track 3 "Little Rachel" Sonet label SNTF 857.

2. Sara K. "Waterfalls" track 3 side C "All your Love” Special mastered recording on 180G by Stockfisch Records.

3. Taj Mahal Recycling the Blues & Other Related ff. It is 180 Gram on Pure Pleasure.
The track Sweet Home Chicago.

4. James Newton Howard and Friends (Sheffield Labs recording). Side 1, Track 4 : 'L'Daddy'

5. 'Mars: Bringer of War' - Holst: The Planets, Andre Previn and the LSO.

6. 'Tower of Song' - Leonard Cohen : I'm Your Man.

7. Phil Collins 'Hello I must be going', track called ....'Thru these walls'.

8. Cantate Domino by Oscars Motettkor....any track really, but Julsang is great.

9. 'Breakfast in the field' or 'Aerial Boundaries' by Michael Hedges, great recordings and music.

10. Paul Simon “ One Trick Pony” The track, One Track Pony.

11. Dire Straits. “Dire Straits” Track, Sultans of Swing.

12. Peter Gabriel "Rythmn of the Heat" on 4.

13. Harry James "Footstomper" on Sheffield Labs "Coming From A Good Place"

14. Alpha Blondy & the Wailers ....Jerusalem (Sterns 1019) Needs amp on 11.

15. Charly Antolini - Knock Out, Charly Antolini – Countdown. Direct to Metal mastering.

16. Lou Reed Rock n' Roll Animal (Live) "Heroin".

17. Charles Gounod: St. Cecilia Mass, Barbara Hendricks soprano, Georges Pretre Conductor LP# EL 270134 1

18. DSOM- MFSL UHQR pressing

19. Sgt Peppers- MFSL UHQR pressing

20. Fleetwood Mac- Rumours - 45RPM Pallas pressing

21. Dire Straits- Communique - Pallas pressing (once upon a time in the west)

22. Norah Jones- Feels like home- Classic Records pressing

23. Alison Krauss + US- New Favorites (and forget about it)

24. Kraftwerk- Tour de France

25. Ray Charles- Genius loves company

26. Cowboy Junkies - Trinity Sessions.

27. Art Blakey 'indestructible'

28. Roger Waters - Amused to Death

29. TALK TALK 'The Colour of Spring'.

30. Keith Jarrett The Köln Concert ECM Records 1975

31. Paul Simon - The Rhythm of the Saints

32. Neil Young - This note's for you

33. Fleetwood Mac - Tango in the night

33. Dire Straits - Love over Gold

33. Dire Straits - On every Street

34. Sarah McLachlan - The Freedom Sessions

35. Supertramp - Brother where you Bound

36. Sade - Ultimate Collection

37. Van Morrison - Magic Time

38. Joni Mitchell - Court & Spark

39. Mark Knopfler - Get Lucky

40. Tommy Chase, Groove Merchant on Stiff records

41. Stanley Clarke, Stories to tell, from 'if only this bass could talk' because its one of those ones where I have yet to hear a system that can properly unravel it.

42. Goldfrapp's 'Felt Mountain'

43. Antonio Forcione - Live (Naim)

44. Carol Kidd - Nice Work

45. The Blue Nile 'A Walk Across the Rooftops' Linn Records

46. Jonas Hellborg - Elegant Punk.

47. The Beatles "Love" –

48. Yes "Fragile" - Heart of the Sunrise.

49. Another vote for Supertramp's "Brother Where you Bound" - Cannonball.

50. Eric Clapton "461 Ocean Boulevard" - Motherless Children.

51. Pink Floyd "The Final Cut" - Not now John.

52. Chet Atkins/Mark Knopfler "Neck and Neck" - There'll be some Changes Made.

53. Eva Cassidy "Somgbird" (Ltd. Edition) – Fields of Gold.

54. Eagles "Hell Freezes Over" - Get over It.

55. Robert Plant "The Principle of Moments" - Thru' with the Two Step.

56. Working Week "Companeros" - South Africa. Turn it up loud

57. George Benson "20/20" - Beyond the Sea.

58. Holst's "The Planets" - Jupiter. Exercises parts of the orchestra and choir other tracks can't reach.

59. Leonard Bernstein conducts West Side Story - Cool (and it is).

60. Bobby McFerrin "Simple Pleasures" - title track.

61. Particia Barber - Cafe Blue (the recent reissue by Premonition)

62. Buena Vista Social Club - At Carnegie Hall (Nonesuch)

63. Kenny Burrell - Midnight Blue (Analogue Productions)

64. Keb Mo - Peace... Back By Popular Demand (Pure Pleasure)

65. Sade - Diamond Life (the recent reissue by Audio Fidelity)

66. This Mortal Coil - It'll End In Tears (Org Music)

67. INXS - KICK (Mofi)

68. Art Pepper Meets The Rhythm Section. (Analogue Productions)

69. Muddy Waters - Folk Singer ( Mofi)

70. Mary Coughlan - Love For Sale (Demon)

71. Arthur Willis - Bach At Ely (Hyperion)

72. Terry Evans - Put It Down (AudioQuest)

73. Acoustic Alchemy - Red Dust & Spanish Lace (MCA Master)

74. The Guitar Artistry of Charlie Byrd (Analague Productions)

75. Malcolm Arnold - English , Scottish & Cornish Dances (Lyrita)

76. Jean Michell Jarre - Oxygene (Mofi)

77. Alban Berg - Violin Concerto (Deutsche Grammophon Gallery)

78. Richard Hawley - Coles Corner (Mute)

79. Troubadour Songs & Medieval Lyrics ( Hyperion)

80. The Tube (Tacet)

81. Daniel Lanois - For The Beauty Of Wynoma (Warner Bros)

82. The Doors - The Doors ( DCC)

83. JB Lenoir - Alabama Blues( Linn Selekt)

84. Nirvana - Nevermind (Geffen) European Pressing NNING!!!!

85. Aaron Neville - Warm Your Heart (A&M Records)

86. Fretwork - Hearts Ease (Virgin Classics Veritas)

87. The Tallis Scholars - Josquin Missa Pange Linga (Gimell)

88. The Sixteen - Handel Chandos Anthems Vol 1 (Chandos/Linn Selekt)

89. Derrick May - Innovator (R&S Records) Box Set.

90. Correlli - Concerti Grossi (Harmonia Mundi/Linn Selekt)

91. Rossini - String Sonatas (Argo) Marriner

92. Jennifer Warnes' album Famous Blue Raincoat

93. Arne Domnerus et al - Jazz At The Pawnshop (Proprius).

94. Funkadelic Maggot brain

95. 'Friday Night Live at San Francisco' McLaughlin, Meola & De Lucia

96. Crass - Christ the album

97. Ray Brown, 'Soular Energy' 180gm Half Speed Master on Blue Vinyl.

98. "I've Got The Music In Me" - By Thelma Houston, featuring Pressure Cooker. Sheffield Lab’s

99. "Tower of Power" Sheffield Labs 17.
100. James Newton Howard and Friends

101. Harry James "Coming From A Good Place.

102. Keb Mo (Self Titled) MFSL Recording. (Available direct from MFSL or online shops and eBay)

103. Lou Reed -Transformer- "Walk on the wild side"

104. Paul Simon 'Wartime Prayers' (off So Beautiful So What)

105. XTC 'Mermaid Smiled',

106. Sufjan Stevens 'All Delighted People',

107. Beatles 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps',

108. Nick Drake 'One Of These Things First' or 'Poor Boy'

109. Ray Obiedo "Perfect Crime", track 1.

110. Lyle Lovett, "Lyle Lovett and his Large Band": First 2 tracks on side one.

111. John Lee Hooker "Mr Lucky" - Stripped me Naked.

112. Joni Mitchell "Hejira"

113. Shelby Lynne "This is Shelby Lynne" 1st track

114. Joe Cocker's Sheffield Steel album... standout track is "Just Like Always"

115. Time Out - Classic Records 33 or 45rpm

117. Muddy Waters - Folk Singer- Mobile Fidelity

118. Grateful Dead - In The Dark (Mobile Fidelity)

119. Joe Jackson The album "Body and Soul"

120. Talk Talk "The Colour of Spring"

121. Donald Fagen The Nightfly!

122. Tracy Chapman debut album,

123. Ry Cooder Get Rhythm.

124. Al Di’ Meola and Paco De’ Luca Friday Night in San Francisco

125. Steely Dan (Multiple Albums) Aja, Gaucho, Pretzel Logic, Can't Buy a Thrill, Katy Lied.

126. Gladys Night and the Pips 'love is always on your mind'

127. Radka Toneff and Steve Dobrogosz- Fairy Tales- Odin LP03

128. David Sylvian- The Ink in The Well or Nostalgia- Brilliant Trees.

129. Al DiMeola Project-Capoeira-Soaring Through A Dream.

130. Rickie Lee Jones- The Last Chance Texaco.

131. Tom Petty- It's Good To Be King or Don't fade On Me- Wildflowers.

[grimreaper46]

Lynyrd Slynyrd - Free Bird from Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd

Joan Arnatrading - All the way from America from Me,Myself I

Judie Tzuke - One day I will Live in France from Left Hand Talking

Kirsty MacColl - In these shoes from Tropical Brainstorm

Willy DeVille (Mink DeVille) - Storybook Love From Miracle

JJ Cale - Sensitive Kind from 5

Santana - Sensitive kind from Ze Bob

[Jazz Club]

This album is quality.
If you can find a copy?Grab it.
It is on the Van Re-release on vinyl and CD list but as yet no date.

[ray davis]

I await the Gladiator Soundtrack on 45rpm double vinyl.

[John]

Lots of good ff there.

I just received a couple Analogue Productions reissues which are very good recordings.

Cat Stevens - Tea for the Tillerman - much better than the US pressings I have. Apparently the original Island pressings are very good.

http://www.analogplanet.com/content/ana ... ng-plant-0

Respighi: Pines of Rome & Fountains of Rome - Chicago Symphony Orchestra - Fritz Reiner
RCA Living Stereo

http://www.analogplanet.com/content/sch ... -goes-dogs

Apparently the original 1S pressing was the only good one. Subsequent pressing were far less dynamic. This reissue is similar to a 1S from what I understand.

[John]

I like this one and I'm a fan of the mentioned labels who I think produce the best sounding vinyl.

At the beginning of the 90s, in the early days of audiophile vinyl re-releases, the situation was fairly straightforward. Companies such as DCC, Mobile Fidelity, Classic Records and, of course, Pure Pleasure all maintained a mutual, unwritten ethical code: we would only use analogue tapes to manufacture records.

During the course of the present vinyl hype, many others have jumped on the bandwagon in the hope of securing a corner of the market. Very often they are not so ethical and use every imaginable source to master from: CDs, LPs, digital files, MP3s – or employed existent tools from the 80s and 90s for manufacturing.

A digital delay is gladly used when cutting a lacquer disc because tape machines with an analogue delay have become quite rare and are therefore expensive. When cutting the lacquer, the audio signal is delayed by one LP revolution against the signal, which controls the cutter head, and for this a digital delay is very often employed. Of course, the resultant sound signal is completely digital and thus only as good as this delay.

We should like to emphasize that Pure Pleasure Records on principle only uses the original master tape as the basis for the entirely analogue cutting of lacquer discs. In addition, the pressing tool is newly manufactured as a matter of principle.

We only employ existing tools for manufacturing if an improved result is not forthcoming, e.g. the title Elvis Is Back, which was mastered by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray, or several titles from our Philips Classics series, which in any case Willem Makkee cut from the original masters at the Emil Berliner dios in the 90s. It goes without saying that we only used the mother and that new tools were made for our production.

To put it in a nutshell: we can ensure you that our releases are free from any kind of digital effects and that the lacquer discs are newly cut.

[Spikes]

London Grammar "If you wait" (45 rpm) is one of my reference albums, especially the tracks "Shyer", "Wasting my young years" and "Nightcall" although the full album is very nice to put at a test.

[FangfossFlyer]

For many a decade my vinyl reference recording has been:

Little Wing - Jimi Hendrix - “Hendrix In The West” LP

Recorded at The Royal Albert Hall gig of February 24th, 1969.

To be listened to from an early pressing of this release or even the 1980 Hendrix box set and most definitely not from any latter release or digital remaster.

Turn it up,

Richard

[Dan Steel]

Cisco 30th Anniversary Edition.



These are my go to albums.

[Scooter]

For many a decade my vinyl reference recording has been:

Little Wing - Jimi Hendrix - “Hendrix In The West” LP

Recorded at The Royal Albert Hall gig of February 24th, 1969.

To be listened to from an early pressing of this release or even the 1980 Hendrix box set and most definitely not from any latter release or digital remaster.

Turn it up,

Richard

Intriguing to read this, I thought Hendrix’s albums never came across ever as good recordings and I had that album which would have been bought day of release. Although I do think the Monterey was good, even digital. It did get to a point with some of his albums where the quality was decidedly dodgy to say the least and you had to buy carefully. I think his sister took charge and made some poor decisions. I also find it strange that his albums have yet to be remastered and given the high res treatment.

[Scooter]

It’s been good to see this revived and I have just spent a good half hour scrolling through it. The albums that always come up is Dire Straights. I remember Mark Knopfler being interviewed by Paul Gambocini (I think that’s his name used to be a BBC DJ) where he asked did he always use the best studios to record in. Mark was honest and replied no they always used the cheapest and he couldn’t understand why when he went into hifi shops they were always playing Dire Straights or Pink Floyd when they should have been just using Punk Floyd.

[sktn77a]

Another bump for a great thread, and an addition:

Keef Hartley (RIP), HALFBREED, 1969:



Listen to the cymbals at the end of the first verse of "Born to die"!

[evil_C]

I spotted that this thread had been revived and appeared in the New Posts section following sktn77a’s post. I then looked to see who had started it and I see it was the Flatearther (Steve N). Does anyone know why he’s stopped posting? I know he had health issues, so I do hope that he’s OK.