Sensible Sound articles from July 2004

Sensible Sound archives from July 2004

Ramblings.
July 1, 2004... Welcome to Issue 100. For this milestone issue, I have asked our contributors to look back over the past quarter-century or so of their involvement with this hobby and reflect on some of the experiences that they have had. As you will see, many...

Eeesssshhhh!(Forum)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... How on earth is a $2,000 single-drawer non-SACD player a "sensible" choice? For well under $400 a Philips 963SA is an extraordinary SACD player: CD upsampling, etc, etc. There is no DVD player worth $2,000. Especially one that will not play all...

Folkie dokey.(Forum)
July 1, 2004... When I listen to a two-channel stereo SACD through my inexpensive multi-format player, the superiority over CDs does not jump out and grab me; it reaches out and gently pulls me more deeply into the music than I have ever before been. I never...

Yes, there was ...(Surveying The Soundscape)
July 1, 2004... ... another International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January. And, yes, it was once again the largest and most successful CES ever. The vaunted successes are mostly statistical and you can check out www.cesweb.org. I miss the...

CES 2004.(Straits Of The Art)(Church Education System)
July 1, 2004... Who really needs Christmas when you have CES just around the corner? That seems to be the way I was feeling this year as the CES 2004 approached. I arranged to be at this year's test for a full four days. The hustle and bustle of the holidays...

Skeptimania.(Column)
July 1, 2004... Well, it is finally done. My "second" system's room and component upgrades are finally complete. The "expanded" room is a comfortable 22 feet long, 16 feet, 8 inches wide, and 8 feet high. This comes to a tad more than 2,900 cubic feet....

Will they still service it 20 years later?(Looking Back)
July 1, 2004... Alternate Titles: Will They Still Service It 100 Issues Later? Will It Be Published for at Least 100 Issues? Will Every Dollar of Your Subscription Money Be for the Number Of Issues Stated? It was an e-mail from a gentleman (we'll call him...

Don and on.(Looking Back)
July 1, 2004... I've been building my DVD collection and adding visual software to my modest collection. I've periodically weeded out my recordings because of reduced space or especially predatory beasts. When I cast my mind back over my various collections of...

My first rig.(Looking Back)
July 1, 2004... I bought my first rig when I was a sophomore at UC Berkeley in 1969. It was a Magnavox receiver that I think put out 10 watts a side, a Garrard turntable, and a pair of home-brew speakers concocted by Keith Davenport, the co-op's electronics...

Brief responses to a request from the editor.(Looking Back)
July 1, 2004... My most exciting component purchase. That would be when I received my two Allison IC-20 systems over a decade ago--factory direct. I had to drive 30 miles to a depot to get them (with a borrowed pickup truck that almost could not hold the...

Bitten by the bug.(Looking Back)
July 1, 2004... I was bitten by the Hi-Fi bug in college in the mid-60s, where my GE record player no longer seemed adequate against the Heathkits and Dynakits of my friends at the college radio station. My first real system was a Dual 1019 changer, H.H....

Looking back.
July 1, 2004... On a radio interview, Helen Forrest paused in her attempts to respond accurately to an interviewer's interest in her experiences as a singer with some of the greatest bands of the '30s. "You know," she said, "if I'd known I was living in an...

Lyle loves it.(music industrty)
July 1, 2004... It is difficult to rationally explain one's passionate love of music to those who are lacking this "gift." Consider yourself one of the chosen. Whether it is attributable to the touch of the Almighty, predetermined inherited temperament, random...

Nostalgia and memories.
July 1, 2004... My nostalgia for audio equipment is very much linked to the people who sold them to me. I go back 35 years to Warren Frank in Syracuse New York (Stereo World) who introduced me to KLH speakers: first the bookshelf 17s and then the floor...

Axiom Epic Grand Master 5.1 Speaker System.(Component)(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... Manufacturer: Axiom, Hwy. 60, Dwight, Ontario P0A 1H0, Canada; toll-free ordering/advice: 1-866-244-8796; www.Axiomaudio.com Price: M22ti l/r satellites, $400/pr; VP-100 center satellite, $220; EP-175 powered subwoofer, $500; QS-8 surround...

Three Phono Cartridges: Grado Platinum, Shure V15VxMR, and Clearaudio Aurum Beta.(T$S)(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... Manufacturer: Grado Labs, 4614 Seventh Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11220, www.gradolabs.com; Shure Brothers, Inc., 222 Hartrey Ave., Evanston, IL 60202, www.shure.com; Clearaudio, distributed by Musical Surroundings, Inc., 2625 Alcatraz Ave., Ste 501,...

John Abercrombie: Class Trip.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... John Abercrombie: Class Trip (ECM 1846 B0002289-02) Astute readers have already figured out what the last sentence (fragment) of this review will be. (Over the course of nearly 100 issues, Ye Grumpy Olde Editor has become pretty...

Monty Alexander with Ernest Ranglin: Rocksteady.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... Monty Alexander with Ernest Ranglin: Rocksteady (Telarc CD-83581) Monty Alexander has released a number of recordings for Telarc, most of which have been, at least to these ears, of marginal musical value. Ernest Ranglin has released just a...

Anonymous 4: American Angels.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... Anonymous 4: American Angels (Harmonia Mundi HMU 907326) Is this music really supposed to sound this beautiful? Anonymous 4 really do sound like American angels on this recording of traditional American devotional music. The tradition of...

Clint Black: Spend My Time.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... Clint Black: Spend My Time (Equity Music Group EMG-3001) The previous Clint Black recording reviewed in these pages, D'lectrified, boasted that no electric instruments were used. Spend My Time makes no such claim, but it still sounds...

Arthur Blythe: Exhale.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... Arthur Blythe: Exhale (Savant SCD 2050) For many jazz fans, just the news that an Arthur Blythe recording is available is sufficient information to warrant a purchase; no review or recommendation is necessary. But let me add a few details...

Jennifer Higdon: Concerto for Orchestra; City Scape.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... Jennifer Higdon: Concerto for Orchestra; City Scape Atlanta Symphony Orchestra/Robert Spano (Telarc CD-80620) Telarc featured a Higdon work, Blue Cathedral, on an impressive disc last year that featured a mix of composers old and new; this...

Steve Kuhn with Strings: Promises Kept.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... Steve Kuhn with Strings: Promises Kept (ECM 1815 B0000238-02) Pianist Steve Kuhn has teamed with bassist David Finck and a small string orchestra arranged and conducted by Carlos Franzetti to make an utterly beautiful album that is most...

Charles Lloyd/Billy Higgins: Which Way is East.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... Charles Lloyd/Billy Higgins: Which Way is East (ECM 1878/79 B0002281-02) This is not a recording that is going to appeal to the casual listener, so consider yourself warned if you fall in that category. But if you are a big Charles Lloyd...

Stravinsky: Suite from "L'Histoire de Soldat"; Ragtime; Petit Choral (from "L'Histoire de Soldat"); Dumbarton Oaks Concerto; Concerto in D for String Orchestra; Suites Nos. 1 and 2 for Small Orchestra.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... Stravinsky: Suite from "L'Histoire de Soldat"; Ragtime; Petit Choral (from "L'Histoire de Soldat"); Dumbarton Oaks Concerto; Concerto in D for String Orchestra; Suites Nos. 1 and 2 for Small Orchestra Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen/...

The Subdudes: Miracle Mule.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... The Subdudes: Miracle Mule (Back Porch Records 72435-98651-2-6) After a several-year break, the Subdudes are back, and their sound is still as comfortable as a favorite pair of faded jeans. Kinda rootsy, kinda Cajun, kinda bluegrass, kinda...

Double Double.
July 1, 2004... It seems fitting that for our milestone 100th issue, our Double Double should feature a musical work that is so close to our hearts. For this special occasion, Tom and I thought it would be appropriate to compare two recordings of one of our...

Carousel Corner.(rock'n'roll albums)
July 1, 2004... Lists are the bane of journalism. If you don't think the substance of your writing--what you have to say--will attract readers, you can dash off one list or another, which, while revealing very little other than the purveyors' prejudices, is...

Guster, "Amsterdam", Keep It Together.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... Guster, "Amsterdam", Keep It Together (Palm Pictures, Warner/Reprise) Boston trio Adam Gardner (guitar, vocals), Ryan Miller (guitar, vocals), and Brian Rosenworcel (percussion) have been a hot ticket on the Boston music scene for the last...

Supergrass, "Evening of the Day", Life on Other Planets.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... Supergrass, "Evening of the Day", Life on Other Planets (Island) Supergrass still leads with Gaz Coombes's overdriven guitars, perhaps the only distraction--and admittedly a personal quibble about how some bands ought to shape their...

Shannon McNally, "Down and Dirty", Jukebox Sparrows.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... Shannon McNally, "Down and Dirty", Jukebox Sparrows (Capitol) For this her debut effort, Capitol surrounded McNally, a more huskily voiced Sheryl Crow with far greater range, with studio aces like Jim Keltner, Billy Payne, Greg Liesz, and...

Aerosmith, Honkin' On Bobo.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... Aerosmith, Honkin' On Bobo (Columbia) Okay, let's get the hate mail out of the way: I love the Stones--they really are the greatest rock'n'roll band on the planet. But Honkin' On Bobo is wa-a-a-ay more authentic, honest, and Utterly...

Fountains of Wayne, "Welcome Interstate Managers".(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... Fountains of Wayne, "Welcome Interstate Managers" (S-Curve/Virgin) My buddy, lawyer cum Zionist investment counselor Bruce Wiener, recommended Fountains of Wayne a few years ago, so I promptly bought 1999's Utopia Parkway. I have no idea...

Eric Clapton, Me and Mr. Johnson.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... Eric Clapton, Me and Mr. Johnson (Reprise) Mr. Johnson of course is Delta poet/singer/ songwriter Robert Johnson, whose singular power as a performer is swathed in mystery and not a few legends. Cream cut multiple Johnson covers in its...

Moe, Wormwood.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... moe, Wormwood (imusic/BMG) This veteran Buffalo NY boogie band bends genres and forms in its personal Cuisinart churning up an unpredictable hodge-podge of bar band workouts, which can find the Beatles meeting the Allmans for lunch over at...

The New Pornographers, Electric Version.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... The New Pornographers, Electric Version (Matador) A supergroup of sorts, carved from a number of Vancouver BC indie bands, TNP helps redefine power pop. What distinguishes Electric Version is its vocals, thoughtful, sublime harmonies, which...

Coldplay, Parachutes.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... Coldplay, Parachutes (Capitol) I've asked my shrink why certain band names will be instant turn-offs--for some subconscious reason, you can't seem to muster up the impetus to even give the band a fair listen 'cos you hate the name. Bloody...

Concert for George.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... Concert for George (Warner Strategic Marketing) They were his friends and compatriots, mostly musicians, some simply inclined. And they gathered in the Royal Albert Hall one grand evening to pay him tribute the best way they knew: they...

Rolling Stones, Four Flicks.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... Rolling Stones, Four Flicks (TGA DVD) "Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity."--Ecclesiastes, 1:2. This pretty much sums up the first of this four-disc set, "Documentary". You get a ringside seat to the...

Media.
July 1, 2004... Media. There's a new rag on the stands, Paste, where in addition to a sampler CD in every issue, you can explore in considerable depth the likes of The Pernice Brothers, Guster, Norah Jones, Barenaked Ladies and others in the vanguard of modern...

Bach, J.S.: Cello Suites.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... Bach, J.S.: Cello Suites, 1-6. Peter Bruns, cello. Recorded in 1997, at St. Jean de Grenelle Church, Paris. Engineer not listed. 126+ minutes (2-disc set). Opus 111/Naive 20011. Few cello compositions require a more accomplished performance...

Biber, Heinrich: Harmonia Artificioso--Ariosa; Tam Aris Quam Aulis Servientes.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... Biber, Heinrich: Harmonia Artificioso--Ariosa; Tam Aris Quam Aulis Servientes. The Rare Fruits Council. Recorded in 1996 and 1998; location not listed, but almost certainly in France. Engineer not listed. 146+ minutes (2-disc set). Naive/Astree...

Harmonious Wail: Gypsy Swing.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... Harmonious Wail: Gypsy Swing. Recorded in 2003, at Shady Bend Studio, Verona Wisconsin. Engineer: Tom Blain. 76+ minutes. Naxos World 76056. The flyer that comes with this disc says that gypsy swing is genuine European jazz and the only...

Porter, Cole: Big Band Reflections of Cole Porter.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... Porter, Cole: Big Band Reflections of Cole Porter. The Jazz Orchestra of the Delta. Recorded in 2000 and 2001, at the University of Memphis recording studio. Engineer: Jeff Cline. 40+ minutes. Summit 362. The sound here is more jazz than...

Rameau, Jean-Philippe: Suites from Dardanus and Le Temple de la Gloire.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... Rameau, Jean-Philippe: Suites from Dardanus and Le Temple de la Gloire. Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra. Recorded in 2001, at the George Weston Recital Hall, Toronto Center for the Arts. Engineer: Doug Doctor. 67+ minutes. CBC 5229. As the...

Vivaldi, Antonio: Stabat Mater and Concerti per Archi; Domenico Scarlatti: Salve Regina; Charles Avison: Concerto No. 7.(p=-p./)(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... Vivaldi, Antonio: Stabat Mater and Concerti per Archi; Domenico Scarlatti: Salve Regina; Charles Avison: Concerto No. 7. Tafelmusic Baroque Orchestra, with Marie-Nicole Lemieux, contralto. Recorded in 2003, at Humbercrest United Church,...

Surround sound.
July 1, 2004... This is a longer pair of reviews than usual, and amounts to another of my critiques of DVD-A and DD music recordings in general (with the conclusions also easily applying to DTS and SACD releases). What I am proselytizing here results from what...

Garfield, David: the Retro Jazz Quintet.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... Garfield, David: The Retro Jazz Quintet. Recorded in 2003, at Zipper Concert Hall Colburn School for Performing Arts. Engineer: Mark Waldrep. 70+ minutes (repeated with several technologies, with additional non-music material). Aix 80022. ...

Bax: Symphony No. 7; Tintagel (Tone Poem).(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... Bax: Symphony No. 7; Tintagel (Tone Poem). David Lloyd-Jones, Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Naxos 8.557145. Englishman Arnold Bax wrote tone poems in the first half of the twentieth century. Whether he called them "symphonies" or not,...

Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique; Herminie, Scene lyrique.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique; Herminie, Scene lyrique. Marc Minkowski, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Les Musiciens du Louvre, Grenoble. DG B0001851-02. The recording makes it hard to discern just how many players are involved, but for some...

Best of New Year's Concert.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... Best of New Year's Concert. Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Various conductors. DG B0001663-02 (2-disc set). As all of you are aware, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra has been presenting a New Year's concert of music by the Strauss family...

Britten: The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra; Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... Britten: The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra; Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge. Benjamin Britten; London Symphony Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra. JVC XRCD 0226-2. While upgrading to new and better hardware is always fun and...

James Galway at the Movies: Quiet on the Set.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... James Galway at the Movies: Quiet on the Set. James Galway, flute; Thomas Kochen, London Mozart Players. RCA 82876-50932-2. It had been quite some time, over a year or two, since BMG had last sent me a disc to review, leading me to believe...

Bo Hansson: Lord of the Rings.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... Bo Hansson: Lord of the Rings. Virgin Silence 72438 12061-6. Believe it or not, there really was a "Lord of the Rings" before Peter Jackson. Legend has it there were even books written on the subject, but that was apparently long before...

Haydn: the "London" Symphonies, Nos. 93-104; plus Symphonies Nos. 88, 91, and 91.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... Haydn: The "London" Symphonies, Nos. 93-104; plus Symphonies Nos. 88, 91, and 91. Eugene Jochum, London Philharmonic Orchestra; Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra; Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. DG 474 364-2 (5-disc set). In 1973 with a...

Mendelssohn, Panufnik, Takemitsu, J.S. Bach. Alexander Sitkovesky, violin; Dmitry Sitkovetsky, New European Strings Chamber Orchestra.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... Mendelssohn, Panufnik, Takemitsu, J.S. Bach. Alexander Sitkovesky, violin; Dmitry Sitkovetsky, New European Strings Chamber Orchestra. EMI-Angel 7243 5 57440-2. I assumed from their names and from the cover picture that young Russian...

Paganini: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 and 2; 24 Caprices; Rossini Variations; the Carnival of Venice.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... Paganini: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 and 2; 24 Caprices; Rossini Variations; The Carnival of Venice. Michael Rabin, Yehudi Menuhin, Frank Peter Zimmermann, and Salvatore Accardo, violin; Sir Eugene Goossens, Alberto Erede, and Franco Tamponi,...

Rameau: Dardanus and Le Temple de la Glorire, instrumental music.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... Rameau: Dardanus and Le Temple de la Glorire, instrumental music. Jeanne Lamon, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra. CBC SMCD 5229. Jean Philippe Rameau is the eighteenth-century French composer who took up music late in life and turned the...

Original Masters: Leopold Stokowski, the Decca Recordings 1965-1972.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... Original Masters: Leopold Stokowski, the Decca Recordings 1965-1972. Leopold Stokowski, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Hilversum Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, and the New Philharmonia Orchestra. Decca 475 145-2...

Ravel: Suite No. 2 from Dapnis et Chloe; Pavane pour une infante defunte; La Valse; Ma Mere l'Oye; Bolero.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... Ravel: Suite No. 2 from Dapnis et Chloe; Pavane pour une infante defunte; La Valse; Ma Mere l'Oye; Bolero. Paavo Jarvi, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Telarc CD-80601. The music of Maurice Ravel is among the most poetic, imaginative,...

Johann Strauss I Edition: Vol. 3.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... Johann Strauss I Edition: Vol. 3. Ernst Marzendorfer, Slovak Sinfonietta Zilina. Marco Polo 8.225253. It's always nice to hear a few waltzes and galops one has never heard before, and it's equally nice that Marco Polo appears to be doing...

Vivaldi: Four Seasons; Concertos for two violins, strings, and continuo.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... Vivaldi: Four Seasons; Concertos for two violins, strings, and continuo. Nigel Kennedy, members of the Berlin Philharmonic. EMI 7243 5 57666-0-1. Quoting from the booklet note, "No living musician has done more to revitalize Antonio...