Introduction It's that time again—time for Stereophile's annual "Records To Die For" extravaganza. This year, when it came time to write my intro for the 12th edition of this ever-popular feature, I found that several books I'd been reading had passages that applied to "R2D4."
First, from Sex for Dummies (1995, Running Press, miniature edition), a slight tome given to me by my co-workers in a sweet gesture the import of which I prefer not to contemplate, this section heading: "The G Spot: Myth or Fact?" For some reason, that started me thinking about music...which is probably why…
John Atkinson
BILLY JOEL: Fantasies & Delusions, Opp.1-10 for Solo Piano
Richard Joo, piano
Sony Classical CK 85397 (CD). 2001. Steven Epstein, prod., mastering; Don Devito, assoc. prod.; Richard King, eng., mastering. DDD. TT: 76:18 Recordist David Smith, who's been in charge of engineering for Sony Classical for many years, once told me that the key to a successful piano recording is to capture enough of the room ambience to allow the instrument to be placed within a facsimile of the space but not so much or of the wrong kind, that the overall sound becomes "cold" and…
Lonnie Brownell
BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD: Buffalo Springfield
WEA/Rhino R2 74324 (4 HDCDs). 2001. Buffalo Springfield, prods. AAD? TT: 4:14:50 Unless you're a diehard Buffalo Springfield fan, this is overkill. Then again, for those who aren't, buying this may convert you, as it did me. I regularly listen to disc 4, which contains their first two albums, Buffalo Springfield and Buffalo Springfield Again—it's great in the car. The first three discs contain almost every studio recording they ever made in their short two-year history, in chronological order, which provides an historical and…
Robert Deutsch
BEETHOVEN: Symphonies 1-9, Piano Concertos 1-5, Violin Concerto, Overtures
Wilhelm Backhaus, piano; Henryk Szeryng, violin; Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt, Vienna Philharmonic
Decca 467 892-2 (8 CDs). 2001. No prods. or engs. listed. ADD. TT: 10:09:31 Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt's recording of Beethoven's "Choral" symphony has been a favorite of mine for many years now, but I hadn't thought of writing it up as an R2D4 until I happened to hear a more recent recording of the work, with Nikolaus Harnoncourt conducting the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. The mediocre quality of the…
Larry Greenhill
EVA CASSIDY: Live at Blues Alley
Eva Cassidy, vocals, acoustic & electric guitar; Keith Grimes, electric guitar; Lenny Williams, piano; Chris Blonde, bass; Hilton Felton, Hammond organ; Raice McLeod, drums
Blix Street G2-10046 (CD). 1996. Eva Cassidy, Chris Biondo, prods.; Roy Battle, eng.; Uncle Punchies, mix; Robert Voslien, mastering. AAD. TT: 57:35 Eva Cassidy was a natural talent who learned vocals singing harmony with songs on the radio; she was never married and had no children; she won awards for multiple vocal categories; she was praised in Time, People…
Robert Levine
NATALIE DESSAY: French Opera Arias
Arias by Délibes, Chabrier, Ravel, Meyerbeer, Bondeville, Thomas, Milhaud, Offenbach, Poulenc, Gounod, Sauguet
Natalie Dessay, soprano; Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo, Patrick Fournillier
EMI 5 56159 2 (CD). 1996. Alain Lanceron, prod. DDD. TT: 65:45 Natalie Dessay is a marvel: her sound is bright, particularly above the staff, but the middle voice is wonderfully developed and warm. The fast passage work is graceful and thrilling. Whether she's portraying Fire in Ravel's L'Enfant et les sortileges, the supremely…
Fred Mills
JACK FROST: Jack Frost
Arista ARCD8667 (CD). 1991. Steve Kilbey, prod., eng.; Pryce Surplice, eng. AAD? TT: 58:54 In 1991, Steve Kilbey (Church) and Grant McLennan (Go-Betweens), presumably both in the throes of relationship woes, hired a string section and joined forces under the assumed name of Jack Frost. The resulting LP married the best of both worlds—Church's lush, atmospheric rock drama and the Go-Betweens' sunny, strummy baroque folk—and yielded a sweetly textured, emotionally battered breakup album. From "Threshold" 's disco-flavored white soul and the crunchy…
Wes Phillips
BOULEZ: Notations VII
DEBUSSY: La Mer
STRAVINSKY: Le Sacre du Printemps
Daniel Barenboim, Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Teldec 8573 81702-2 (CD). year?. Christoph Classen, prod.; Michael Bamann, eng. DDD. TT: 66:65 The Stravinsky and Debussy are absolute showstoppers, featuring impassioned playing and top-of-the-heap interpretations. All three works feature demonstration-quality sound with taut, muscular bass response and U-R-There sonic realism. This is the record they should have called The Power of the Orchestra. And if you think your system has good bottom end,…
Leland Rucker
CREAM: Disraeli Gears
PolyGram 531 811-2 (CD). 1967/1998. Felix Pappalardi, prod.; Tom Dowd, eng. AAD. TT: 33:33 Strange brew. The rainbow has a beard. Tales of brave Ulysses. Whimsical wah-wah. Delirious drums. Big bass. Harmonies from some higher dimension. SWLABR. There is little doubt that Cream's short career sowed the seeds for future musical prowess and excess while wedding the blues to psychedelia, but there's no excess here. Disraeli Gears is about economy, stupid. These 11 songs are notoriously lean and mean, the longest, "Sunshine of Your Love," clocking in at…
Chip Stern
STEVE DAVIS PROJECT: Quality of Silence
Steve Davis, drums; John Hart, guitar; Andy Laverne, piano; Drew Gress, bass; Tim Ries, drums
DMP SACD-04 (SACD/CD). 1999. Steve Davis, prod.; Tom Jung, prod., eng. DDD. TT: 51:31 Using an early prototype of Sony's Direct Stream Digital recording system, record producer-engineer-impresario Tom Jung's experimental session from fall 1997 is perhaps the finest example of the high-resolution potential of SACD as an improviser's medium. Drummer Steve Davis has an impeccable feel for the impressionistic potential of the modern drum set,…
