Desert Island Picks

[Sparhawk]

I know there have been some threads about specific genres (vocal, blues, etc), and also about general tastes ("What are DIYers listening to?"), but this is a bit different.

I have a few albums that I really love, due to excellent recording and / or performances. These are the albums I find myself playing for my friends, or using to demo equipment at stores. But they are very few in number, and I know they're not the best examples out there.

So, here's the senario:

You're stranded on an island. It so happens that there is an excellent hifi store on the island, but no music store. You can only bring a few CDs with you. What albums do you chose?

Here are the possible categories:

1. Technical: Recordings which are technically excellent; perfect for revealing the capabilities of a system

2. Skill: Unrivaled virtuosity on the part of the musician, regardless of the quality of the recording.

3. Emotion: A performance that touches the heart, regardless of recording quality.

Or best of all, recordings that combine 1-2 or 1-3.

As I said, I don't have many great examples (that's why I'm asking!), but here are a few:

Technical / skill: Dire Straits / On Every Street
Technical / emotion: Dire Straits / Dire Straits
Technical / skill: Bela Fleck - Perpetual Motion
Technical / Emotion: Holy Cole / Temptation

(btw, this is not limited to any particular genre or style)

 

[pinkmouse]

Food for thought-

Pink Floyd- The Wall 1,2,& 3 but only on vinyl

Steve Earle-Copperhead Road, 1, apart from being a theme for survivalists, the best tune ever to set up a PA system to, esp. when setting crossovers and graphics, because of the interplay between Irish pipes, kickdrum, guitars and vocals

Everything but the Girl- Eden 1&3

 

[Sangram]

Emotion: Santana: Dance of the Rainbow Serpent
Skill/Emotion/Technical: Shakti with John Maclaughlin, Zakir Hussain and Hariprasad Chaurasia
Technical/Skill/Emotion: Friday Night in San Fransisco
Emotion/skill: Kind of Blue, Miles Davis
Technical/skill: On every street, Dire Straits (anybody said repetitions were not allowed?)
Emotion/Technical: Dave Matthews Band: Crash
Emotion/Skill: Pink Floyd: Wish you were here
Emotion/Skill/Technical: Dire Straits: Alchemy
Emotion/skill/Technical: Dead Man walking: The soundtrack

 

[whiteSE]

Technical: Mike Oldfield's The Songs From Distant Earth
Skill: Yes's Relayer
Emotion: RCA Living Stereo release of Pictures At An Exhib.

Techn/skill: McCoy Tyner New York Reunion on Chesky Records.
Tech/emotion: Maia Sharp's, Maia Sharp...incredible soundstage and emotional voice,,,great band.
Emotion/skill/technical: Overture of 1812, Wellington's Victory on Mercury;s Living Presence.