More of the Music of Crosby, Stills and Nash
Below you will find some of the more popular commentaries we’ve written about the album.
For more album overviews like this one, please click here.
Listening in Depth to Crosby Stills & Nash – Now with Bonus CD Advice
Detail on Crosby, Stills and Nash – Holy Grail or Audio Trap?
I remember this album being dismissed as lightweight back in the day and I may have even agreed with that estimation, to be honest. Heck, compared to Abbey Road and The White Album, the very same thing could be said about all of McCartney’s albums, including my favorite, his solo debut.
McCartney isn’t out to blow you away with high-production value rock here, apart from Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey. He’s making some lovely pop music with his wife and sharing it with the world. And what’s so wrong with that?
The Five Star All Music Guide review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine (the best writer at AMG for our money) nails it, and we recommend you click on the Review tab above to give it the once over.
If you’re a fan of clarinet-led swing jazz, you’ll have a hard time finding a better record than this. The music is absolutely wonderful. Not only that, but it has DEMO DISC sound as well.
The Liner Notes
Direct-to-Disc Recording recorded live at Iruma City Auditorium, Saitama, Japan on April 21, 1978. Eiji Kitamura and His Allstars include Eiji on clarinet, Ichiro Masuda on vibraphone, Yoshitaka Akimitsu on piano, Yukio Ikezawa on bass, Hiroshi Sunaga on drums and Judy Anton provides vocals on “What a Little Moonlight Can Do.”
This album was recorded by the Direct-to-Disc recording method, to capture the natural reverberation of the 1,200 seat concert hall. Various kinds of recording equipment were brought in parts to the backstage of the hall for the recording then reassembled and adjusted. Two whole days were spent adjusting all the equipment. (more…)
Playing so many records every day means that we wear out our Dynavector 17DX cartridges much more often than most consumers would. They typically last us about three or four months.
This requires us to regularly mount a new cartridge in our Triplanar arm.
Once a new cartridge is broken in (50 hours minimum), we then proceed to carry out the fine setup work required to get it sounding its best. We do that by adjusting the VTA, azimuth and tracking weight for maximum fidelity using recordings we have been playing for decades and know well.
For the longest time our favorite test discs for this purpose have been these three:
To be honest, I was the only guy on the listening panel using Bob and Ray. I have played that record at least 500 times, perhaps 1000, and would be lost without it.
Our listening guys — much younger and not nearly as interested in correctly reproducing The Song of the Volga Boatmen as I was — preferred numbers two and three, and of course those work fine too. In fact, when setting up our new studio, I came to realize Bob and Ray were not enough to get the room right, a subject I wrote about here.
We are in the process of making some lists (more lists! You can never have too many!) for records we’ve found to be good for testing, tweaking and tuning your system, your room and your front end setup, among other things. You may want to check them out.
These are the records that challenged me and helped me to achieve more progress in audio. If you are serious about improving your playback, these are some of the best records we know of to help get you to the next level.
More of the Music of The Beatles
Letters, Reviews and Commentaries for Abbey Road
Hello Gentlemen,
Today I listened to the copy of Abbey Road I bought from you last week. I am basically left without words, amazingly jaw dropping. Thank you so much.
Bennett
Bennett,
We love it when our customers’ jaws drop — it’s exactly the reaction we hope for when we discover killer copies in a shootout. They blow our minds and we’re glad they blew yours too.
KILLER sound throughout! Most copies we played were thick, murky, overly smooth and/or veiled, but this one almost never suffers in any of those areas. The sound is clean, clear, transparent and lively throughout.
Georgia On My Mind is a DEMO QUALITY track on this album. You aren’t going to believe all the ambience on this copy. The top end is gorgeous — sweet, delicate, and silky with loads of extension. The sound is extremely hi-res without sacrificing any of the warmth that makes this music so special.
Just listen to the rimshots and the bell in Georgia On My Mind — we guarantee you have NEVER heard those instruments sound so present, clear, and immediate.
Willie’s voice is natural and tonally correct, with all the breathy texture you could ever hope to hear. The acoustic guitars and Booker T.’s organ are perfection. (more…)
