Robert Benson
ARNOLD: Symphonies 7 & 8
Vernon Handley, Royal Philharmonic
Conifer CDCF 177 (CD only). John Kehoe, Andrew Keener, prods.; Tryggvye Tryggvason, eng. DDD. TT: 64:36 Malcolm Arnold, best-known for his lighter works, also has a "serious" and quite sinister side, as evidenced by these world-premiere recordings of his Symphonies 7 and 8. Both are tragic, dramatic, and dissonant, often with a sense of bittersweet nostalgia. The Seventh, cryptically dedicated to the composer's three children, is perhaps his most brutal, devastating score, replete with screeching high…
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Robert Deutsch
GUYS AND DOLLS: 1992 Broadway Cast
Edward Strauss, cond. Music & lyrics by Frank Loesser
RCA Victor 09026-61317-2 (CD only). Paul Goodman, James Nichols, engs.; Jay David Saks, prod. DDD. TT: 58:56 OK, here's the deal. Put on this CD, close your eyes, and if---like the guys "standing on the corner" in another of Frank Loesser's musicals---you've got a rich imagination, you can almost see the show that's packing them in on Broadway. You've just saved yourself at least $50---double that if there are two of you. If your audio system features Class D components…
GUYS AND DOLLS: 1992 Broadway Cast
Edward Strauss, cond. Music & lyrics by Frank Loesser
RCA Victor 09026-61317-2 (CD only). Paul Goodman, James Nichols, engs.; Jay David Saks, prod. DDD. TT: 58:56 OK, here's the deal. Put on this CD, close your eyes, and if---like the guys "standing on the corner" in another of Frank Loesser's musicals---you've got a rich imagination, you can almost see the show that's packing them in on Broadway. You've just saved yourself at least $50---double that if there are two of you. If your audio system features Class D components…
Larry Greenhill
THE COMMITMENTS: Original Soundtrack
MCA MCAD-10286 (CD only). Paul Bushnell, Kevin Killen, Alan Parker, prods.; Kevin Killen, eng. AAD. TT: 46:54
Corey Greenberg's definitive review of this soundtrack ends with a Perot one-liner: "buy it or stay white and slow." I agree. Next to Richard Thompson's Rumor and Sigh, one of my R2D4 picks last year, The Commitments is a CD I could not do without. Why? Its rendition of Soul is deep, solid, and driving. Best is 16-year-old lead singer Andrew Strong, who knows the music, has terrific phrasing, great pitch, and an…
THE COMMITMENTS: Original Soundtrack
MCA MCAD-10286 (CD only). Paul Bushnell, Kevin Killen, Alan Parker, prods.; Kevin Killen, eng. AAD. TT: 46:54
Corey Greenberg's definitive review of this soundtrack ends with a Perot one-liner: "buy it or stay white and slow." I agree. Next to Richard Thompson's Rumor and Sigh, one of my R2D4 picks last year, The Commitments is a CD I could not do without. Why? Its rendition of Soul is deep, solid, and driving. Best is 16-year-old lead singer Andrew Strong, who knows the music, has terrific phrasing, great pitch, and an…
Beth Jacques
JOHN CALE: The Academy In Peril
Edsel Records ED CD 182 (CD import). Jean Bois, mix eng.; John Cale, prod. AAD. TT: 45:37
When classically trained pop stars try to prove it, they generally throw a few quotes of Mussorgsky into the mix. John Cale---whose career spans the foundation of the Velvet Underground through avant-garde modern composition, via La Monte Young---cooks from scratch.
JOHN CALE: The Academy In Peril
Edsel Records ED CD 182 (CD import). Jean Bois, mix eng.; John Cale, prod. AAD. TT: 45:37
When classically trained pop stars try to prove it, they generally throw a few quotes of Mussorgsky into the mix. John Cale---whose career spans the foundation of the Velvet Underground through avant-garde modern composition, via La Monte Young---cooks from scratch.
Profoundly curious, a technical master, and genuinely off the wall, here Cale has fun with an orchestra. Concerned, as always, with diametrical opposition and sonic perfection,…
Richard Lehnert
JOE HENRY: Shuffletown
Joe Henry, vocals, acoustic & resonator guitars; David Mansfield, violin, mandolin, resonator guitar; Cecil McBee, upright bass; Phil Kelly, piano, organ; Michael Blair, percussion, vibes, vocals; T-Bone Burnett, resonator guitar, snare & brushes; Charlie Giordano, accordian, organ; Don Cherry, trumpet, Jews' harp
A&M 75021 5315 2 (CD only). T-Bone Burnett, prod.; Rik Pekkonen, eng. AAD. TT: 41:22 It was close---last month I almost named this three-year-old album Stereophile's "Recording of the Month" over its successor, Joe…
JOE HENRY: Shuffletown
Joe Henry, vocals, acoustic & resonator guitars; David Mansfield, violin, mandolin, resonator guitar; Cecil McBee, upright bass; Phil Kelly, piano, organ; Michael Blair, percussion, vibes, vocals; T-Bone Burnett, resonator guitar, snare & brushes; Charlie Giordano, accordian, organ; Don Cherry, trumpet, Jews' harp
A&M 75021 5315 2 (CD only). T-Bone Burnett, prod.; Rik Pekkonen, eng. AAD. TT: 41:22 It was close---last month I almost named this three-year-old album Stereophile's "Recording of the Month" over its successor, Joe…
Peter W. Mitchell
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, Fantasia on "Greensleeves"
ELGAR: Serenade in e, Introduction & Allegro for Strings, Elegy, Sospiri
Sir John Barbirolli, Sinfonia of London, Allegri Quartet
EMI CDC7-47537-2 (CD; LP version available only in the UK). AAD. TT: 57:47 The heart of this disc is the 16-minute Tallis Fantasia, played by three antiphonal groups of string instruments: a quartet, a chamber orchestra, and an octet. In some performances they are separated left-to-right, but in this 1963 recording they are arrayed front-to-…
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, Fantasia on "Greensleeves"
ELGAR: Serenade in e, Introduction & Allegro for Strings, Elegy, Sospiri
Sir John Barbirolli, Sinfonia of London, Allegri Quartet
EMI CDC7-47537-2 (CD; LP version available only in the UK). AAD. TT: 57:47 The heart of this disc is the 16-minute Tallis Fantasia, played by three antiphonal groups of string instruments: a quartet, a chamber orchestra, and an octet. In some performances they are separated left-to-right, but in this 1963 recording they are arrayed front-to-…
Markus Sauer
CANNONBALL ADDERLEY: Something Else
Miles Davis, trumpet; Cannonball Adderley, alto sax; Hank Jones, piano; Sam Jones, bass; Art Blakey, drums
Blue Note BST 81.595 (LP). Rudy van Gelder, eng. AAA. TT: 38:38 This is one of the classic Blue Note albums. What do you say about an album that has been universally praised since its first release in 1958? To even hint at criticism of the playing would be childish; to nit-pick about the sound of this really nice Rudy van Gelder recording would be futile---it's obviously good enough to let the music shine through. And shine…
CANNONBALL ADDERLEY: Something Else
Miles Davis, trumpet; Cannonball Adderley, alto sax; Hank Jones, piano; Sam Jones, bass; Art Blakey, drums
Blue Note BST 81.595 (LP). Rudy van Gelder, eng. AAA. TT: 38:38 This is one of the classic Blue Note albums. What do you say about an album that has been universally praised since its first release in 1958? To even hint at criticism of the playing would be childish; to nit-pick about the sound of this really nice Rudy van Gelder recording would be futile---it's obviously good enough to let the music shine through. And shine…
Allen St. John
THE CLASH: London Calling
Epic E2 36328 (LP), EGK 36328 (CD). Bill Price, eng.; Guy Stevens, prod. AAA/AAD. TT: 65:56
This is no record to die for, it's a record to live for---a first-round desert island draft choice. Watch for the plane, pogo amid the palms to "Death or Glory," and wonder why Ginger brought all those clothes for a three-hour tour. Angry and hopeful, London Calling marks the finest moment from The Only Band That Mattered (for a little while, anyway). And, I contend, the sound is reference quality. If you're auditioning a new component with "…
THE CLASH: London Calling
Epic E2 36328 (LP), EGK 36328 (CD). Bill Price, eng.; Guy Stevens, prod. AAA/AAD. TT: 65:56
This is no record to die for, it's a record to live for---a first-round desert island draft choice. Watch for the plane, pogo amid the palms to "Death or Glory," and wonder why Ginger brought all those clothes for a three-hour tour. Angry and hopeful, London Calling marks the finest moment from The Only Band That Mattered (for a little while, anyway). And, I contend, the sound is reference quality. If you're auditioning a new component with "…
The Compact Disc clearly hasn't read the script. At a time when, in the autumn of its commercial life, the format is supposed to be stepping aside to allow younger blood to succeed it, CD has instead in recent years enjoyed something of a revival in audiophile opinion. While SACD and DVD-Audio, rather strutting and fretting their hour upon the stage, are doing more plain fretting than anything, the best in CD sound quality has improved sufficiently for some to question whether we need the new media at all.
I think all the hi-rez and multichannel naysayers are misguided—and those who…
Background
For readers not au fait with the conventional downsampling (decimation) process and the concept of aliasing, a few words of explanation are due at this point.
For readers not au fait with the conventional downsampling (decimation) process and the concept of aliasing, a few words of explanation are due at this point.
In order for digital encoding to capture a signal's content accurately, the signal must not contain any frequency component above half the sampling rate—the famous Nyquist Criterion. When a continuous signal is converted into a discrete (ie, digital) equivalent within an analog-to-digital converter, this condition is ensured by first passing the signal through a low-pass filter that removes signal components above…