Not sure if it's been issued on CD, but Santana's "Lotus" live collection from the late 70s was stunning in every way: sound, packaging and performance. The re-issued Abraxas CD, with a couple of extra tracks, sounds excellent; I much prefer it to the LP, although you don't get the cool poster.
Geoff
And how can anybody know which one you're reffering to; there are tons of it. Catalogue number, barcode...?
Most concert dvd’s have a stereo setting, which is what I listen to. The concert surround mixes are pure crap and slam everything to the center channel. It’s really bizarre that there is a better concert experience through two speakers rather than five or seven. Also, the bass is better, not just a thump but a smooth presentation of the bass range.
One thing I like about the surround processor is Dolby will combine two mono channels into one center channel. This is much better for listening to old mono recordings. I don’t like mono from two speakers. The downside is I have to switch back and forth between stereo and Dolby.
None of this technical wizardry improves a poor recording.
This one sounds ok on computer speakers via YouTube, Maybe I'll try the CD:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6_q3-jc2H89Q79jobp3hsICCVCzkRT3D
The Ramsey Lewis Trio - Hang On Ramsey! (1965) so it's a very old recording, but it is live. Who knows.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6_q3-jc2H89Q79jobp3hsICCVCzkRT3D
The Ramsey Lewis Trio - Hang On Ramsey! (1965) so it's a very old recording, but it is live. Who knows.
True, and some artists like Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones have had up to four or even five CD issues of the same album. It can get confusing even when you scour various fora for recommendations.
The first CD issues of Hendrix' music had miserable packaging and to me, sounded thin and hissy, but some reviewers claim they sounded the best of all the CDs. Electric Ladyland was issued on two CDs with sides 1 and 4 of the album on the first and 2 and 3 on the second CD: huh??
The Alan Douglas produced CDs were a real mixed bunch, with some being compressed and 'de-noised' to the nth degree but others such as The Jimi Hendrix Concerts sounding OK. He 'revised' the packaging to include booklets which were sometimes full of nonsense and missing the original artwork. Then along came the Estate and re-packaged and re-mastered everything again, sometimes with extra or different tracks and then a few years later, had another go at some of the albums. To confuse things even more, some swear by the sound of Japanese made CDs.
I've ended up with four copies of Electric Ladyland - not counting two LP sets - and only play the latest (i.e. the 2018 Estate issue with a book, a DVD an unreleased concert and outtakes and mastered by Bernie Grundman) , which sounds the best of the lot.
Geoff
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It turns out this album is only available as a "reissue" with two albums on one CD. Does anyone know anything about BGO Records? They are located in the UK. They resissued the two albums on one CD.
https://www.bgo-records.com/#
I found a copy of the BGO Records release on Fee-Pay for $15 including shipping, so I guess I'll give it a try.
There is an almost identical release of the album re-titled Hang on Sloopy by Ramsey Lewis (CD, Jun-1998, Universal Special Products) but it's missing one track. I may pick up a used copy of that for comparison.
The best sounding live Jazz record I know is this:
https://www.allmusic.com/album/diane-schuur-the-count-basie-orchestra-mw0000192464
It was recorded at the A&M Studios in Hollywood, in front of a live audience. The Count Basie Orchestra was directed by Frank Foster, as the titular had already passed away.
The video recording of the same performance is available on DVD.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/diane-schuur-the-count-basie-orchestra-mw0000192464
It was recorded at the A&M Studios in Hollywood, in front of a live audience. The Count Basie Orchestra was directed by Frank Foster, as the titular had already passed away.
The video recording of the same performance is available on DVD.
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Thanks. There is a playlist for it on YouTube so I'll check it out there before considering a purchase. The sound quality for it on YouTube is awful. Her voice is just shreiking. It does concern me that it was a GRP digital master in 1987. Back then, most digital masters were awful to my ears, with an unmistakable and often unbearable digital hard edge to them. Sheffield Lab stopped recording digitally at some point back then after a few albums and went back to analog. Some others did as well.
Diane Schuur and the Count Basie Orchestra on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lAd6hrYc6lI7-CXZPS3B88Si0s89uCEhM
I have another Diane Schuur CD that I don't find to have very good quality. It also is a GRP digital master from 1992 by GRP Records, Diane Schuur In Tribute. I'll listen to it again tonight if I have time to see if I have changed my mind. I quit listening to it decades ago but never discarded it. For obvious reasons, her voice is difficult to record properly. I did see her live once.
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Agreed; all ours sound great, particularly the Herbie Hancock, but not a dud among the rest.
Geoff
That reminded me of Austin City Limits. I recorded SRV and Double Trouble on VHS back in the day and I swear the sound and picture was better than the DVD. Also, the second set was good too, I forget who it was, sorry.
I think your point about live concert energy is one reason Phish phans only listen to the live albums and bootlegs, those Phish guys are always doing something new.
Response from BGO Records regarding sound quality:
Our remastering engineer was tutored at Pye by Malcolm Jones, who mastered many of the Beatles singles – please look him up on the internet as it is interesting reading.
We think Andrew is one of the finest remastering engineers in the UK and indeed gets many compliments as to the quality of his work.
He uses the Sadie system which can process recordings at 24bit but the end result on audio CD format will be 16bit.
I love the old standards and labels such as:
ECM
Blue Note
Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab
Reference Recordings
Impex Records
AudioQuest Music
Three Blind Mice
Venus Records
East Wind
JVC Victor
DIW Records
Paddle Wheel Record
But I will admit, I now have limits on remastered content and very old recordings.
Their music is eternal and truly what matters, but new classics are being recorded in our time, with all the bells and whistles of modern recording tech.
ECM
Blue Note
Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab
Reference Recordings
Impex Records
AudioQuest Music
Three Blind Mice
Venus Records
East Wind
JVC Victor
DIW Records
Paddle Wheel Record
But I will admit, I now have limits on remastered content and very old recordings.
Their music is eternal and truly what matters, but new classics are being recorded in our time, with all the bells and whistles of modern recording tech.
Because OP asked for CD’s? Some people actually like a physical copy of their software with documentation. True that you can back-up your digital files but they often don’t come with liner notes, pictures, and artwork.