The best sounding (produced/mastered) tracks/albums

[MC Bodge]

H6Nathan said:

Dr Mabuse by Propaganda, Power of Love by FGTH. Slave to the Rthymn (Ladies and gentlemen....) by GJ. All epitomise that digital reverb/ Fairlighty mid 80's 'We spent ALL the money on studio time' aesthetic

I've been listening to Propaganda. I can't believe I'd not heard more of their work. I knew the Rally Report theme tune, of course.

Great recommendation.

Edited by MC Bodge on Thursday 9th March 13:11

[offspring86]

One track that has always stood out (to me) as a joy to listen to, from a production perspective is Two Princes by Spin Doctors.

When I started playing the drums in the mid-nineties it was one of the first tracks that really jumped out at me as having really clear drum production.

[AC43]

dan98 said:

Usually what makes the difference rather than much to do with any fancy technology involved, is good old fashioned time, effort, experience, care and attention, along with the particular brief and goals of the production team in the first place (if they even exist).
This stuff is much more expensive than having all the latest studio gear.

This.

That idiot Kanye "Ye" West came out with some bks along the lines of "I don't need any musicians because I can get all the sounds I need on my laptop".

Presumably that why all his music sounds like it's being played from a stty laptop with someone grunting over the top.

[donkmeister]

NDA said:

Byronwww said:

Blink 182 I Miss You came on after and it sounded like my hifi got massively upgraded between songs.

Not my kind of music, but that's very well produced.... very wide panning on the instruments - good microphones too!

The treble range sounds buttery smooth on that drum kit. It's good.

I think Mrs D has most of their stuff on CD, I'll give it a listen later.

[donkmeister]

AC43 said:

dan98 said:

Usually what makes the difference rather than much to do with any fancy technology involved, is good old fashioned time, effort, experience, care and attention, along with the particular brief and goals of the production team in the first place (if they even exist).
This stuff is much more expensive than having all the latest studio gear.

This.

That idiot Kanye "Ye" West came out with some bks along the lines of "I don't need any musicians because I can get all the sounds I need on my laptop".

Presumably that why all his music sounds like it's being played from a stty laptop with someone grunting over the top.

What?! The man responsible for making Paul McCartney famous (apparently)?!

I think Mr B the Gentleman Rhymer had the measure of him with his track "We need to talk about Kanye".

[Semmelweiss]

John Martyn - Solid Air
The Mission Soundtrack - Ennio Morricone
Getz/Gilberto
Dave Holland - Lifecycle

[RSTurboPaul]

Interstellar soundtrack.

Absolutely phenomenal as a listening experience when up loud, and on a good, full range (20Hz or lower) system, the organ element will be amazing.

Shut yourself into a dark room and sit in the imaging sweet spot, as it feels a bit like a 'journey' IMHO

The 2CD limited edition box is double the goodness but hard to find for a reasonable price now!

[legzr1]

RSTurboPaul said:

Interstellar soundtrack.

Absolutely phenomenal as a listening experience when up loud, and on a good, full range (20Hz or lower) system, the organ element will be amazing.

Shut yourself into a dark room and sit in the imaging sweet spot, as it feels a bit like a 'journey' IMHO

The 2CD limited edition box is double the goodness but hard to find for a reasonable price now!

I’ve yet to hear a poor production from Zimmer.

If you have Qobuz try the 24 bit version of the Interstellar soundtrack.

I mentioned Bladerunner 2049 earlier - definitely worth a listen then onto Inception soundtrack. Even Gladiator is a marvel of sound quality and dynamics.

[Z4monster]

Skin by Ephraim Lewis.
Superb vocal talent who sadly died after his debut album. It can't be forever being a stand out track for me.

[Harry Flashman]

I'm sure this has already been asked, but for anyone who uses Tidal Hifi, recommendations would be highly appreciated!

[tdm34]

Just thought of a couple of others

The Golden Age of Wireless Thomas Dolby

Night and Day Joe Jackson

[NDA]

legzr1 said:

RSTurboPaul said:

Interstellar soundtrack.

Absolutely phenomenal as a listening experience when up loud, and on a good, full range (20Hz or lower) system, the organ element will be amazing.

Shut yourself into a dark room and sit in the imaging sweet spot, as it feels a bit like a 'journey' IMHO

The 2CD limited edition box is double the goodness but hard to find for a reasonable price now!

I’ve yet to hear a poor production from Zimmer.

If you have Qobuz try the 24 bit version of the Interstellar soundtrack.

I mentioned Bladerunner 2049 earlier - definitely worth a listen then onto Inception soundtrack. Even Gladiator is a marvel of sound quality and dynamics.

I will give Interstellar a go later on - when the house wakes up!

I've been playing with HouseCurve a room correction app which can be used with Roon - I've had good results.

[Snoggledog]

In no particular order:

The Art of David Munrow
K626 - Mozart's Requiem by Georg Solti (1991)
Vivaldi Four season with Concerto Italiano as led by Rinaldo Alessandrini
Any of the original Deutsche Grammophon Furtwangler war time recordings. All mono, but all superb given the equipment of the day. When you can someone in the audience coughing, you know you're getting something that's pure.
Wynton Marsalis - Standard Time, Vol. 6: Mr. Jelly Lord
Wynton Marsalis - In Gabriel's Garden
The original Dr.Who theme tune
Isao Tomita - Firebird - A Night On A Bare Mountain.
Isao Tomita - The Planets. Only applies to LPs. The newer CD's are dreadful
Queensryche - Operation:Mindcrime
Royksopp - Profound Mysteries 1
Pepe Deluxe - Queen of the Wave
Jack White - Blunderbuss. Mainly because he gives the listener exactly what he was intending; warts and all
Bowie - Blackstar
Garbage - Garbage. Given that the drummer is also a well known producer might help.
Jean-Michel Jarre - Certainly the early stuff
Radiohead - OK Computer

Edited by Snoggledog on Sunday 12th March 14:16

[Byronwww]

Snoggledog said:

In no particular order:
Bowie - Blackstar
...
Radiohead - OK Computer

Edited by Snoggledog on Sunday 12th March 14:16

Radiohead production has improved with every album, In Rainbows is probably my favourite though.

Not really been able to get into Blackstar, just feel too sad listening to it.

Just went to see Igorrrr live, their new singers voice is fantastic and the production on their newest album is really good.

[Pepperpots]

Not sure if it's been mentioned but Dire Straits 'Brothers in Arms' was the first DDD CD. Digital throughout the processes, no analogue. Sounds epic.

[mikef]

Pepperpots said:

Not sure if it's been mentioned but Dire Straits 'Brothers in Arms' was the first DDD CD. Digital throughout the processes, no analogue. Sounds epic.

I got a copy included with my Sony CDP-101, the first commercial CD player, or at least one of them. I remember being impressed at the time

[NDA]

Pepperpots said:

Not sure if it's been mentioned but Dire Straits 'Brothers in Arms' was the first DDD CD. Digital throughout the processes, no analogue. Sounds epic.

Was Bop Till You Drop by Ry Cooder not the first DDD?

[legzr1]

NDA said:

Was Bop Till You Drop by Ry Cooder not the first DDD?

I think Brothers in Arms was the first big selling DDD in this country.
There were many all-digital releases before that.

Denon were onto it in the late 60s releasing digital recording machines to the public in the early 70s.

[Pepperpots]

Ah yep, didn't google it properly

[RSTurboPaul]

NDA said:

I will give Interstellar a go later on - when the house wakes up!

I've been playing with HouseCurve a room correction app which can be used with Roon - I've had good results.

Let me know what you think!

There are not many albums I feel the need to block out time and literally just focus on listening to them, but Interstellar is definitely one of them.

I've got Audyssey on the AVR and it does a grand job, but I'm not sure how low it goes and need to analyse / graph / adjust the lower end at some point - I think I drop off at the lower end due to a leaky room and seating/speaker positioning not being ideal for bass, whereas it could be epic if sorted.