The Pop List, Part 2
(Best-Sounding Recordings, Including Some Jazz)

This article was originally published in early 1999.

Time flies when you're having fun. Whaddya know, it's time for installment #2 of The Pop List of best-sounding recordings. (One of these days I'll come up with a more imaginative appellation....) It's been a few months since the first installment; an overwhelming amount of cards and letters have requested this second go-round (yeah, and I just broke the major league home run record)—and most of all, I haven't heard any new great-sounding records to write about in the past month, so I gotta do something to earn my keep! (Spending more money on diapers than discs these days, you know....)

To briefly recap the ground rules, for those of you who may have missed the first installment (Volume 3, Issue 9, September 1998):

—Although a recording won't appear on this list unless it's of three-star quality, defined by this magazine as "A very good recording with no major sonic flaws but a few minor ones (such as a reduction in dynamic nuances or low-level details)...", I'm not limiting the listings to "ultimate" recordings—though you will find many of those listed here. I'm using this magazine's sonic rating system (see Volume 3, Issue 1, January 1998), with five notes as the highest rating.

—These lists are an ongoing series—I have thousands of recordings in my collection, and I hear more every week, and I'm writing them up on a semi-random basis rather than from the "top down," so stay tuned for further gems.

—Please take these listings as one man's informed opinion rather than The Ultimate Word on What's Good—contrary to popular belief, I haven't heard that famous Monty Python collection, Every Record Ever Recorded, and as the case with any opinion, there's certainly room for disagreement.

—If I don't like the music, a recording doesn't make it onto this list, no matter how good it sounds.

—All recordings are LP unless indicated. While many of the records can be purchased on CD, I haven't done so, and can't comment other than to state the obvious: the better-sounding the original LP, the greater the likelihood that the CD version will capture its glories.

Suffice it to say that every one of these recordings is worth adding to your collection. In fact, with records like these, who needs Viagra?

**********

THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND: Live at Fillmore East
Capricorn SD 2-802 (2 LP, "pink-label" pressing) ****

The landmark live LP from the landmark rock band, Live at the Fillmore East remains one of the greatest rock recordings ever, for dozens of reasons—Duane Allman and Dickey Betts' soaring guitar improvisations and masterful twin-guitar harmonies, Duane Allman's jaw-dropping, never-equaled slide guitar playing, Gregg Allman's soulful, impassioned vocals and organ playing, in songs that encompass flights into musical abstraction, incredibly tight ensemble playing and deep emotion. This album, containing Allman Brothers classics such as "Whipping Post," "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" and "Statesboro Blues," captured a great band at its greatest peak and redefined what a live album could be and left an indelible influence on rock music. The sound is remarkably realistic, with tight, extended bass, exceptional midrange, airy, extended highs and a presence and punch that's as close as you're going to get outside of the concert hall experience of waves of high-SPL sound pounding your body.

HARRY BELAFONTE: Belafonte at Carnegie Hall
RCA LSO-6006 (2 LP) **** 3/4

An audiophile legend and rightfully so, this superbly-recorded 2-LP set embodies everything that made the Golden Age of LP recording golden—exceptionally realistic tonal balance with wideband frequency response, superb detail resolution (on a top-quality high-end system, you can hear the shape of Carnegie Hall and pick out individuals in the crowd), and that hair-raising sense of "continuousness" that makes you feel like you're listening to a time-capsulated recreation of a real event in your listening room rather than a mere recording.

THE CLASH: London Calling
Epic E2 36328 (2 LP) *** 3/4

One of the most well-recorded rock albums ever. At their best, the Clash could rock ferociously, delivering their powerful and passionate songs with unrelenting, even fearsome energy. And this is the Clash at their raging, furious best, a collection of astonishing songs including the anthemic title track, "Lost in the Supermarket," "Clampdown," a backbreaking version of "Brand New Cadillac" and much more. All recorded in hurricane-intensity, forcefully-dynamic yet open, detailed sound, with roaring guitars, pummeling drums, and searing vocals. Once upon a time, rock and roll once actually meant something to a lot of people. I am told the British pressing is even better, but have never been able to score a copy.

KENNY DREW: Undercurrent
Classic Records/ Blue Note ST-84059 (re-issue) *** 3/4

Classic, straight-ahead jazz at its finest, with stellar playing from pianist Drew, along with Freddie Hubbard, Hank Mobley, Sam Jones and Louis Hayes. Exceptionally natural sonics, discounting the hard left/hard right placement of some instruments.

BILL EVANS: The Paris Concert, Edition One
Elektra Musician 60164-1 (LP) *** 3/4

BILL EVANS: You Must Believe In Spring
Warner Bros. HS 3504 (LP) **** 1/4

A gorgeous trio recording from the master—he even makes "Suicide is Painless" (the theme from MASH) sound profound—with sound quality that is simply sublime. Musical magic—Evans' touch, tone and lyrical beauty are captivating, and his sidemen—Eliot Zigmund on drums and Eddie Gomez on bass—are magnificent throughout.

LEE FELDMAN: Living it All Wrong
Pure 003642540-2AD (CD) **** 1/4

Quirky, off-center songs and knowing observations on life and love from this New York-based artist, who sounds as if he could have come from nowhere else. A short description such as the cannot begin to do justice to the man's artistic depth. Phenomenal sound quality in every respect. (Reviewed in the January, 1998 issue.)

BRUCE FORMAN: Still of the Night
Kamei KR-7000CD (CD) *** 1/4

Forman is a not well known enough jazz guitarist, as evidenced by this wonderful, warm, inviting recording—one of my favorite all-time jazz guitar discs.

GANG OF FOUR: Entertainment
Warner Bros. BSK 3446 (LP) *** 1/2

The musical equivalent of swallowing barbed wire and washing it down with acid. Caustic, corrosive, abrasive music and lyrics—Andy Gill's guitar playing is the musical equivalent of glass shards—set to an irresistible, relentless beat, captured in clean, open, dynamic sound. "Damaged Goods" is one of the most powerful songs ever written.

HEAVEN 17: Let Me Go
Virgin VS 532-12 (12-inch single) **** 1/2

A mesmerizing song about the painful dissolusion of a lingering love affair, dreamlike, hallucinatory, overwhelming. Recordings like this are what this column is all about—this is an incredibly powerful piece of music with stunning sonics in every respect. Demonstration quality—one of the finest recordings on planet Earth. Move heaven and earth to get this one.

MICHAEL HEDGES: Watching My Life Go By
Open Air OA-0303 (LP) **** 1/4

My favorite from the singularly brilliant guitarist, a man who could make a single guitar sound like an entire orchestra and who redefined the conception of what an acoustic guitar could do in as profoundly a manner as what Jimi Hendrix did for the electric guitar. Hedges' guitar and voice and the sparse instrumental accompaniment are recorded with pristine clarity, and the songs are among his best. True, the guitar is at times deliberately recorded to sound bigger-than-life, but it works in the context of the music.

MICHAEL HEDGES: Oracle
Windham Hill 01954-11196-2 (CD) ****

BILL HENDERSON: Send In the Clowns
Classic Records 12-inch 45 *****

Yeah, I'm not kidding, five stars. Maybe you'll disagree, but I don't think so. Rather than go on and on, let's just say: unbelievably realistic. On a good system, this live recording is as close to Being There as it gets. The 33 1/3 RPM side is hair-raising; the 45 RPM side will have you shaking your head in disbelief.

DICK HYMAN: In Recital
Reference Recordings RR-84 (CD) **** 1/2
One of the finest solo piano recordings ever created; extraordinary sound and phenomenal playing to match. HDCD encoded, but sounds amazing even on a non-HDCD deck. (Reviewed in the December, 1998 issue.)

JACINTHA: Here's to Ben
Groove Note GRV1001-1 (LP), GRV2001-2 (CD) **** 1/2
This is one of those exceptionally realistic recordings that blurs the line between reproduced music and reality. Jacintha's pure, supple voice will have many of you swooning, and the musicians' accompaniment is sympathetic and supportive. (Reviewed in the December, 1998 issue.)

CAROLE KING: Tapestry
Ode SP 77009 (LP) *** 1/2

DOUG MACLEOD: Come to Find
AudioQuest......(LP) **** 1/2
JVCXR-0023-2 (CD) ****

Another audiophile classic, and rightfully so—extraordinarily natural sound, recorded live direct-to-two track analog. Multi-miked, but done in such a way as to present a remarkably realistic perspective. And talk about dynamic—man, this recording blows my proverbial socks off every time I hear it. The JVC XRCD CD is only slightly less amazing than the LP.

JONI MITCHELL: Blue
Reprise MS 2038 (LP) **** 1/4

JONI MITCHELL: Court and Spark
Asylum 7E-1001 (LP) *** 1/2

Surely, every reader of this magazine has heard this and has a copy. If not, you should get one now. "Help Me" alone is worth twice whatever you'll pay for it, which shouldn't be much—this is an easy LP to find.

THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION: Weasels Ripped My Flesh
Reprise MS 2028 (LP) *** 1/2

Zappa at his most bizarre, this mostly live, cleanly-recorded album features essential Zappa gems such as "Oh No," "The Orange County Lumber Truck" and the song that was my theme song through all of high school, "My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama."

WILLIE NELSON: Spirit
Island 314-524 242-2 (CD) **** 1/4
A man and his guitar and soul, with the help of a few musical friends. A deeply personal, powerfully emotional album, stunningly recorded. (Reviewed in the July, 1998 issue.)

REBECCA PIDGEON: Four Marys
Chesky JD 165 (CD) **** 1/4
This album of traditional Gaelic and other songs is compellingly beautiful, from Pidgeon's voice to the breathtaking, alluring sound quality. (Reviewed in the November, 1998 issue.)

JAMES LEE STANLEY: Freelance Human Being
Beachwood Recordings BR2425-2 **** 1/4
An amazing recording from an amazing artist, this recording has knocked me out as few recordings have done in the past decade. Recorded live to two-track with little or no studio frippery on most tracks, the sonic immediacy of this disc is something rare and special, as are the music and performances. Spellbinding. (Reviewed in the November, 1998 issue.)