BAASnotes.com – Bay Area Audiophile Society

Ori’s Desert Island Disks

And now for something a bit different….

Below, Ori describes his Desert Island Disks via track descriptions of a proposed compilation CD:

I included the source information for each track. If you like a track, you’re likely to enjoy the whole CD.

Unlike most compilation CDs, I attempted to put together tracks that are musical rather than “audiophile-approved” ones. The result should be a very listenable collection of songs and tunes. There are good reasons why I chose the specific tracks, as discussed below. In the context of evaluating equipment, try to pay attention to the specific points I mention for each track. In the context of enjoying music on your system, the tunes need no explanations whatsoever!

Enjoy!

Track 1:
Philips Digital Classics 422 069-2 Flamenco/Pepe Romero, track 1

The whole CD is a wonderful purist recording of authentic Flamenco pieces. Pepe Romero is a master of the Flamenco guitar and the recording seems to be unedited. A guitarist, chanter/singer and dancer in a small echo-y studio. Great dynamic range and a deep soundstage, with the natural echo from the studio walls.

Notice the complexity of the guitar tones and the “surprise” entrance of the dancer into the scene!

Track 2:
Laserlight Digital 15-695 Meditation vol 10/track 7
Ivo Pogorelich/Chopin “Funeral March” (Live, ADD)

This is a cheap compilation CD with some wonderful pieces. The specific track is the “specialty” of pianist Ivo Pogorelich. It was recorded on analog tape, so you should be hearing the tape hiss very clearly, but the music… Trained in Moscow, there is no doubt about the powerful “hammering” at the loud passages, but Ivo seems to have a soft side to his masterful interpretation of the piece.
Notice the complexity of the piano tones and the trailing edge of mechanical buzzing and overtones. Kudos for this mass production label for issuing a great analog recording totally unmolested. This 10-CD collection is well worth the $20-30 going price at the time it was released!

Track 3:
Mercury Living Presence 432001/track 1
Janos Starker (cello) with LSO, Szell/Dvorak cello concerto op. 104 (Live, ADD)

Janos Starker was at his prime in 1962. This is in my opinion the best recording of the Dvorak concerto from the musical/artistic point of view. The same goes for “Kol Nidrei” on the same CD.
I chose this track, because it captures a magical moment. The orchestra and the soloist just mesh into each other seamlessly, producing a wonderful duet. In this case, Starker had one of his greatest moments of musical revelation. He pounds the strings with explosive anger, then switches to a melancholic cello. The “power struggle” between the orchestra and cello reminds me of another great recording from the era, that of Van Cliburn in Moscow, where he gave an unbelievably powerful performance of the Tchaikovsky concerto. Starker is in the same category of the untouchables. Not Casals nor any of the cello greats have ever recorded anything that comes close in terms of emotions and drama.

The recording itself is analog, but the mastering is very clean, preserving the energy and tonal details. You can hear the very complex tone of the cello, which is a very mechanical/woody instrument. This piece has a huge soundstage and an enormous dynamic range, and the music… it makes you want to cry…

Track 4:
Verve P2-37909/track 8
Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong/Summertime

The whole CD is a great masterpiece but “Summertime” is very special. This is a great duet, with a powerful trumpet contrasting the softness of Ella’s voice. It’s an American classic in all respects.
There are two reasons I chose this track for the compilation CD. First is the musicality, vocal performance and the clean brass on this recording. The second and probably the more important reason – it’s a smooth transition from the classical to the popular and it stands in great contrast to the next track on the CD… Two great performances with two different interpretations and no clear “winner.” Now that’s entertainment!

Track 5:
Columbia Legacy CK 67005/track 7
Janis Joplin/Summertime

The CD is worth buying for that one and only piece. A sweet Gershwin melody on acid! It reads originality all over, and I’d rate it as one of the most expressive recordings I’ve ever heard. Joplin was pushing the envelope of interpretive singing, with very few parallels at the time (Joe Cocker comes to mind). The range of her voice and the huge contrast between powerful “screaming” and intimate mumbling makes this studio (!) recording a real musical gem. Add a dose of wailing guitar and you get a musical landmark.

You should notice how clean the guitar and cymbals are recorded. It’s a great example of how you can record electric instruments without the artificial sound processing or compression. Tour de force of a classic song on acid!

Track 6:
EMI CDP 7 91084 2/track 9
Deep Purple/Soldier of Fortune

For a rock band known for hits like “Smoke on the water” and “Highway Star”, Deep Purple can be surprising at times. This power ballad was recorded with their first vocalist David Coverdale. He did not have the range of Ian Gillan, but Coverdale has a very interpretive presentation. It’s vastly different than Janis Joplin, but still a very personal/intimate singing.

Definitely a rock recording, but a standout for Deep Purple. Not as complex as Led Zepp “Stairway to Heaven”, this tune remains on the soft/ballad side and still paints a very powerful picture.

Track 7:
Columbia Legacy C2K 65759/disc 1, track 6
Bob Dylan/Just Like a Woman

This 2-CD set is a fantastic re-issue of Dylan’s 1966 tour in the UK. It demonstrates a studio re-mix done right! Actually, done wonderfully!!! Bob Dylan alone on stage. Raspy voice and an imperfect guitar with occasional spurts on the harmonica, Dylan is an engaging artist which never fails to leave the audience at awe. Then you switch to disc 2… Heck, that’s a whole different chapter of the story… Live interpretive singing at its best!

Track 8:
House of Blues 51416 13152/track 5
Taj Mahal/Honkey Tonk Women

This project by House of Blues lets loose several blues singers and their personal take on songs of the Rolling Stones. Track 5 is a stand-out, in the sense that it feels like a test track rather than a studio recording, and perhaps it was… Taj Mahal with the Dobro guitar and Jim Cotton on the harmonica. It’s all improvised, and you can definitely tell that Cotton at times is not sure where the music is going – and just follows along with a masterfully disguised “correction” or two… What a purist recording!
On the technical side, you should note the unique tone of the Dobro guitar, the much more “real” sound of the harmonica (due to a complete harmonic content!) vs. Dylan’s, and the artistic freedom at the end of this track…

Track 9:
Columbia Legacy CK 67005/track 18
Janis Joplin/Me and Bobby McGee

This is a demo track with no editing. A different facet of that versatile singer and so far from her “acidic” interpretation in Summertime, yet unmistakably pure Janis. I’m still waiting for somebody else to take over…

Track 10:
Impulse! IMPD-233/track 11
Diana Krall/My Love Is

I’m no great fan of Krall. Most of her recordings are so boring that I can fall asleep. I did not own even one CD of hers, until I heard this one. In 1997, Krall is a daring artist. The sweet sexy picture on the front cover does not hint of what’s inside. Not all the tracks are great and many still carry her sugary sweet signature, but she dares to sing rather than badly try to be sweet.

If you own one and only CD by Krall, this should be it! Track 11 brings the best of her talent. She sings without a shelter to hide under. No piano or percussion, just a vocal and a double bass by Christian McBride, a real master of the instrument.

This acoustic track features an incredible bass with the complexity of string plucks and enormous tonal clarity. It would have been a great track was it not for the mastering with a double dose of reverb added to this otherwise superbly recorded piece. A great example of how you can ruin a great acoustic recording with one small touch of a button!

Track 11:
MCA-CURB MCAD 10475/track 4
Lyle Lovett/North Dakota

Lyle Lovett is a very emotional singer and his roots come out loud and clear on this CD, which is filled with “gospel style” music. Track 4 is different. A well-recorded quiet piece, featuring Ricky Lee Jones as a perfect vocal companionship to Lovett. While it’s obviously a modern studio recording, it is tastefully done and a joy to the ear and soul.

Track 12:
Elektra 75010-2/track 13
Judy Collins/Amazing Grace

Wow! One word should be enough to describe this track… A tour de force of the power of the human voice. Recorded in a large church, you hear real long echoes and enormous ambiance all around the singer and choir. No comparison to the miserable artificial reverb in Krall’s track…

The clarity of this recording is uncanny. You should be able to pinpoint individual singers in the choir. The only down side to this recording is the digital mastering, which is noticeably more “solid-state edgy” than the vinyl version – what a scary thought!

Track 13:
Columbia DIDP 098771/disc 2, track 7
Herbie Hancock/Watermelon Man

This track is very interesting. It’s instrumental and each instrument plays a very simple tune. What makes it complex is the musical chaos of multiple instruments playing in unison. Some have compared this orchestration to Ravel’s Bolero. I think it’s much more interesting than Bolero!

This is what experimental Jazz is all about. The piece pushes the boundaries of what’s Jazz and what’s not. It’s tuneful, constantly varying and it’s well recorded with great dynamics and soundstage. Notice the super slow decay of the music at the end of the track!