your favourite acoustic tracks reference cds

**toolskid** · 22nd January 2005, 06:29 PM

Just wondering what peoples' favourite reference singer/songwriter acoustic band albums are.

Cheers in advance

duaneadam · 22nd January 2005, 06:46 PM

The Ray Brown Trio's Soular Energy is worth having as it's one of the few DVD audios which outputs 24/96 and 24/192 in digital. (It's two sided)

Listening to this disc with good converters at 24/96 is like listening to the master tapes.

aidyhall · 23rd January 2005, 04:00 AM

So many great records to choose from! I have the advantage of knowing who you are recording, so I'll try and pick stuff that you may find valuable. Here's a little shortlist :

1. Suzanne Vega - Nine Objects of Desire. Beautiful vocal sound, interesting instrumental sounds - Tchad Blake at his best.

2. Sheryl Crow - Sheryl Crow. Also Tchad Blake (mixing only this time I think), I think it also won Trina Shoemaker a Best-Engineered Grammy. Gritty, excellent mixture of loops/live, although the loops were homemade. Great guitar sounds.

3. Tori Amos - any. She married her engineer. Guess he got pretty good sounds, huh?

4. Fiona Apple - When The Pawn... Jon Brion produced, musically dense, but somehow it all makes sense.

5. Alison Krauss - Forget About It. Pristine as you like. Maybe a little too clean for some, but beautifully recorded, with some great players. Nashville doing what it does best. Her most pop album yet, i.e. not too many fiddles and banjos.

I'm sure there are others, but those come to mind immediately. Enjoy!

squeegybug · 23rd January 2005, 04:18 AM

Lyle Lovett -- Pontiac. Not all acoustic. Check these tracks:
If I Had a Boat
Simple Song
Pontiac

Mary Chapin Carpenter -- Stones In the Road. Some acoustic. Great production by John Jennings.

Lucinda Williams -- Car Wheels On a Gravel Road. Some electric, some acoustic.

Norman Blake -- Whiskey Before Breakfast. Not a band, but real.

Gillian Welch and David Rawlings -- Hell Among the Yearlings. Great harmonies, unique guitar work.

Nick Drake -- Pink Moon. Again no band. Who needs one with this?

Richard Thompson -- Old Kit Bag. Some acoustic. The premier singer/songwriter/musician on the planet IMO. Review clip on this album: Produced by John Chelew (John Hiatt, Blind Boys of Alabama), it was recorded quickly with a minimum of overdubs and just a handful of musicians.

A lot more, for sure. Alison Krauss, David Grisman, Tim O'Brien, Emmylou Harris, David Bromberg, Mark O'Connor, Hot Club of Cowtown, The Wilders,...

Steve

studjo · 23rd January 2005, 01:15 PM

Singer / songwriter is very broad in my book so:

Edie Brickell (Volcano)

Aimee Man (lost in space)

Jonatha Brooke (ten cent wings)

Tori Amos (I should check which cd - but everyone is great)

Paul Simon's latest (name escapes me)

Kevin Gilbert (Thud)

Tom Petty (last Dj f.ex.)

from the top of my head
btw listen to some Swiss Jazz too - that helps with those singers

Jo

Knastratt · 23rd January 2005, 01:59 PM

Nice thread. I listened to Fogarty's Blue moon swamp last night and realized how simple yet intriguing it sounds. No barrier between performance and listener.

And I second Tom Petty.

Prewar sessions with Stephane Grappelli and Django Reinhardt except the obvious hiss and stuff has an excellent tone/vibe.

DirkB · 23rd January 2005, 04:44 PM

Ah, this is an easy one for me:

Dave Matthews Band: before these crowded streets

.

My all-time favourite cd.

Greetings,
Dirk

threm · 23rd January 2005, 04:59 PM

Cat Stevens early 70's records sound great.
Just natural with dynamics, probably towards 'warm and fat' compared to todays protooled recordings.
'Teaser & The Firecat'
'Tea for the Tillerman'
'Mona Bon Jakon'

**toolskid** · 23rd January 2005, 05:16 PM

thanks for all the replies so far...

Jack Ruston · 23rd January 2005, 05:23 PM

The latest Alison Krauss and Union Station (lonely runs both ways) sounds incredible. If you like pristine, this is it.

Her voice sounds great this time. On past records it had a tendancy to go a bit thin in the higher registers, but on this record its stronger and sounds rather more effortless.

If anyone has any info on how the record was made, mics, pres etc, I'd love to hear about it.

J

Jim Williams · 23rd January 2005, 06:25 PM

Anything on Todd Garfunkle's MA records is great, these are considered some of the finest acoustic records around.

Jim Williams
Audio Upgrades

**Jules** · 23rd January 2005, 06:33 PM

Shawn Colvin (Spelling?)

The track thats says ''When Johny came in....'' and begins and ends with mandolin... Sublime tones & mixing...

doorknocker · 23rd January 2005, 07:16 PM

Don't know if this fits the singer/songwriter format but my fave acoustic album (by far) is Muddy Waters' 'Folk Singer' record from 1964.
Greatest acoustic sound and also greatest reverb sound ever, IMO. Although I'm by no means a vinyl snob, this is one of those albums that just aren't the same on CD, in fact I even bought it on SACD and while it's great on its own it still can't match the sound of the record.

Andi

www.doorknocker.ch

da burf · 24th January 2005, 09:35 AM

I like Bill Frisell's Nashville album a lot,
no drums, only (acoustic) guitars and other picked acoustic instruments. Only thing: it's instrumental, except for two or three songs.

aidyhall · 24th January 2005, 05:59 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Jules
Shawn Colvin (Spelling?)

The track thats says ''When Johny came in....'' and begins and ends with mandolin... Sublime tones & mixing...

I'm guessing that'll be "Sunny Came Home" from Shawn Colvin's "A Few Small Repairs" album. Yeah, great-sounding record.

Todd Cashfountain mixed it, and its a great example of what he does so well, mixing for the song (that's Bob Clearmountain, BTW).

Inner Light · 24th January 2005, 06:16 PM

Pat Methey & Charlie Haden Missouri Sky,
Pat Metheny 's one quiet night

bcarr · 24th January 2005, 07:56 PM

I really like these recordings:

Bill Frisell: Nashville

Pat Metheny: One Quiet Night (no highend studio used here. Metheny did it himself at home. I think he used 2 mount on guitar mics-can't remember their names an Avalon 2022 and Digital Performer. Please correct me if I am wrong.)

I have an Alison Krauss and Union Station DVD that sounds amazing. I don't remember the name of it.

Phil Keaggy: Beyone Nature

Not many vocalists in this list sorry.

jindrich · 24th January 2005, 10:15 PM

The Sundays

any of their 3 albums. the most balanced is probably the last one, "Static and Silence".

recorded on glorious 2" tape (at home!)

check them out in Tunes store if you dont know them

Also, beethoven's choral fantasy performed by daniel barenboim

Inner Light · 25th January 2005, 04:21 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by bcarr
I really like these recordings:

Bill Frisell: Nashville

Pat Metheny: One Quiet Night (no highend studio used here. Metheny did it himself at home. I think he used 2 mount on guitar mics-can't remember their names an Avalon 2022 and Digital Performer. Please correct me if I am wrong.)

I

any idea which mount on mics , i love the intimacy of that recording. Then again it's most likely the fact that he's such a monster of a guitar player!

bcarr · 25th January 2005, 05:45 PM

First off, Metheny is playing a baritone guitar (made by canadian luthier Linda Manzer) and it is tuned to a special low Nashville tuning. The 2 mics he used were Applied Microphone Technology mics. Here is their site, check out the other people who use their mics.

http://www.appliedmic.com/

Finally, Metheny can make most anything sound great.

HudHudson · 25th January 2005, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by studjo
Singer / songwriter is very broad in my book so:

Kevin Gilbert (Thud)

Jo

Aha, a Kevin Gilbert fan across the Pond! Thud is one of the best-sounding records ever made, and I use it as a reference for how a "real record" should sound. God I miss Kev...

Inner Light · 25th January 2005, 07:41 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by bcarr
First off, Metheny is playing a baritone guitar (made by canadian luthier Linda Manzer) and it is tuned to a special low Nashville tuning. The 2 mics he used were Applied Microphone Technology mics. Here is their site, check out the other people who use their mics.

http://www.appliedmic.com/

Finally, Metheny can make most anything sound great.

thanks alot buddy

waxnsteel · 25th January 2005, 09:57 PM

Another vote for Shawn Colvin - Fat City
Jonatha Brooke(Story) - Some of the odd harmonies get tough on the ears, but Damn Everything but the circus, So Much Mine, and Mermaid are phenomenal. Solo, Blood from a Stone was pretty impressive, too (Ten Cent Wings)
Males? John Mayer on Why Georgia in particular. On a wilder side, David Lee Roth with Steve Vai on Damn Good(Skyscraper), Most Zeppelin had great acoustic stuff in it, how about Styx? Crystal ball? All great sounding recordings.

ntimkovich · 25th January 2005, 10:16 PM

Leo Kottke's "One Guitar, No Vocals" disc. whoa it's good stuff.

**Jules** · 25th January 2005, 11:02 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by aidyhall
I'm guessing that'll be "Sunny Came Home" from Shawn Colvin's "A Few Small Repairs" album. Yeah, great-sounding record.

Todd Cashfountain mixed it, and its a great example of what he does so well, mixing for the song (that's Bob Clearmountain, BTW).

WDG · 26th January 2005, 01:57 AM

Another vote for AKUS.

Rezman · 26th January 2005, 05:04 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Sidewinder
Tommy Emmanuel. His two solo acoustic guitar albums : Only and Endless Road.

I Second that!

Also, Best acoustic reference CD's for me are:

Brooks Williams - Little Lion
Patricia Barber - Verse

Yum Yum!!!

Mike Jasper · 29th September 2006, 12:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by threm

Cat Stevens early 70's records sound great.
Just natural with dynamics, probably towards 'warm and fat' compared to todays protooled recordings.
'Teaser & The Firecat'
'Tea for the Tillerman'
'Mona Bon Jakon'

I agree.

Where were they recorded? I've been looking for an hour and can't find that info online. All I can find out is that it was produced by Paul Samwell-Smith.

Jasper

doorknocker · 29th September 2006, 12:20 AM

Mike,

it took me all of 5 seconds to find this

I always thought that the old Cat Stevens records had some of the greatest ever acoustic guitar sounds. Since a lot of this was recorded at Pye studio I guess it's also the Pye compressors at work. I'd really like to get a pair of those at some point, seeing the prices they go for these days almost made me faint, though.......

max cooper · 29th September 2006, 12:26 AM

I totally love Cat Stevens' '70's stuff and have often wondered if the Pye comps were a part of that sound.

I love the sound of Elliot Smith's "Either/Or", "X/O" and "Figure Eight".

Mark Lanegan's "The Winding Sheet" and "Bubblegum" are great.

Nick Drake's "Five Leaves Left" is cool.

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22nd January 2005, 06:29 PM	#1
toolskid Moderator Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: london Posts: 2,123	your favourite acoustic tracks reference cds Just wondering what peoples' favourite reference singer/songwriter acoustic band albums are. Cheers in advance __________________ Emre Ramazanoglu http://www.emremusic.com the wise man can pick up a grain of sand and envision the whole universe. The fool, however, will just lie down on some seaweed and roll around until he's completely draped in it. Then he'll stand up and go "Hey, I'm vine man"

23rd January 2005, 04:00 AM	#3
aidyhall Gear nut Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: London Posts: 115	So many great records to choose from! I have the advantage of knowing who you are recording, so I'll try and pick stuff that you may find valuable. Here's a little shortlist : 1. Suzanne Vega - Nine Objects of Desire. Beautiful vocal sound, interesting instrumental sounds - Tchad Blake at his best. 2. Sheryl Crow - Sheryl Crow. Also Tchad Blake (mixing only this time I think), I think it also won Trina Shoemaker a Best-Engineered Grammy. Gritty, excellent mixture of loops/live, although the loops were homemade. Great guitar sounds. 3. Tori Amos - any. She married her engineer. Guess he got pretty good sounds, huh? 4. Fiona Apple - When The Pawn... Jon Brion produced, musically dense, but somehow it all makes sense. 5. Alison Krauss - Forget About It. Pristine as you like. Maybe a little too clean for some, but beautifully recorded, with some great players. Nashville doing what it does best. Her most pop album yet, i.e. not too many fiddles and banjos. I'm sure there are others, but those come to mind immediately. Enjoy! __________________ Adrian Hall Producer/Engineer/Mixer www.adrian-hall.com

23rd January 2005, 01:59 PM	#6
Knastratt Gear addict Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Karlstad, Sweden Posts: 484	Nice thread. I listened to Fogarty's Blue moon swamp last night and realized how simple yet intriguing it sounds. No barrier between performance and listener. And I second Tom Petty. Prewar sessions with Stephane Grappelli and Django Reinhardt except the obvious hiss and stuff has an excellent tone/vibe. __________________ Pär Hällquist Trackstop recording One stop Track Shop __________________ How come there's only ONE competition authority?

23rd January 2005, 04:44 PM	#7
DirkB Lives for gear Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Netherlands Posts: 1,467	Ah, this is an easy one for me: Dave Matthews Band: before these crowded streets . My all-time favourite cd. Greetings, Dirk __________________ -progress takes away what forever took to find- Dave Matthews

22nd January 2005, 06:46 PM	#2
duaneadam Gear maniac Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Silicon Valley CA Posts: 226	The Ray Brown Trio's Soular Energy is worth having as it's one of the few DVD audios which outputs 24/96 and 24/192 in digital. (It's two sided) Listening to this disc with good converters at 24/96 is like listening to the master tapes.

23rd January 2005, 04:18 AM	#4
squeegybug Lives for gear Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Missouri USA Posts: 2,003	Lyle Lovett -- Pontiac. Not all acoustic. Check these tracks: If I Had a Boat Simple Song Pontiac Mary Chapin Carpenter -- Stones In the Road. Some acoustic. Great production by John Jennings. Lucinda Williams -- Car Wheels On a Gravel Road. Some electric, some acoustic. Norman Blake -- Whiskey Before Breakfast. Not a band, but real. Gillian Welch and David Rawlings -- Hell Among the Yearlings. Great harmonies, unique guitar work. Nick Drake -- Pink Moon. Again no band. Who needs one with this? Richard Thompson -- Old Kit Bag. Some acoustic. The premier singer/songwriter/musician on the planet IMO. Review clip on this album: Produced by John Chelew (John Hiatt, Blind Boys of Alabama), it was recorded quickly with a minimum of overdubs and just a handful of musicians. A lot more, for sure. Alison Krauss, David Grisman, Tim O'Brien, Emmylou Harris, David Bromberg, Mark O'Connor, Hot Club of Cowtown, The Wilders,... Steve

23rd January 2005, 01:15 PM	#5
studjo Lives for gear Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Switzerland Posts: 1,889	Singer / songwriter is very broad in my book so: Edie Brickell (Volcano) Aimee Man (lost in space) Jonatha Brooke (ten cent wings) Tori Amos (I should check which cd - but everyone is great) Paul Simon's latest (name escapes me) Kevin Gilbert (Thud) Tom Petty (last Dj f.ex.) from the top of my head btw listen to some Swiss Jazz too - that helps with those singers Jo

23rd January 2005, 04:59 PM	#8
threm Gear maniac Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Norway Posts: 285	Cat Stevens early 70's records sound great. Just natural with dynamics, probably towards 'warm and fat' compared to todays protooled recordings. 'Teaser & The Firecat' 'Tea for the Tillerman' 'Mona Bon Jakon'

23rd January 2005, 05:16 PM	#9
toolskid Moderator Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: london Posts: 2,123	thanks for all the replies so far... __________________ Emre Ramazanoglu http://www.emremusic.com the wise man can pick up a grain of sand and envision the whole universe. The fool, however, will just lie down on some seaweed and roll around until he's completely draped in it. Then he'll stand up and go "Hey, I'm vine man"

23rd January 2005, 05:23 PM	#10
Jack Ruston Lives for gear Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Wimbledon Posts: 699	The latest Alison Krauss and Union Station (lonely runs both ways) sounds incredible. If you like pristine, this is it. Her voice sounds great this time. On past records it had a tendancy to go a bit thin in the higher registers, but on this record its stronger and sounds rather more effortless. If anyone has any info on how the record was made, mics, pres etc, I'd love to hear about it. J

23rd January 2005, 06:25 PM	#11
Jim Williams Lives for gear Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: beautiful Carlsbad, CA Posts: 4,258	Anything on Todd Garfunkle's MA records is great, these are considered some of the finest acoustic records around. Jim Williams Audio Upgrades

23rd January 2005, 06:33 PM	#12
Jules Gearslutz.com admin Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: London, UK Posts: 11,697	Shawn Colvin (Spelling?) The track thats says ''When Johny came in....'' and begins and ends with mandolin... Sublime tones & mixing... __________________ Jules "your requirements are arbitrarily mandating a non-native solution" - Peeder

23rd January 2005, 07:16 PM	#13
doorknocker Lives for gear Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Basel, Switzerland Posts: 3,587	Re: your favourite acoustic tracks reference cds Don't know if this fits the singer/songwriter format but my fave acoustic album (by far) is Muddy Waters' 'Folk Singer' record from 1964. Greatest acoustic sound and also greatest reverb sound ever, IMO. Although I'm by no means a vinyl snob, this is one of those albums that just aren't the same on CD, in fact I even bought it on SACD and while it's great on its own it still can't match the sound of the record. Andi www.doorknocker.ch

24th January 2005, 09:35 AM	#14
da burf Gear Head Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Utrecht, The Netherlands Posts: 61	I like Bill Frisell's Nashville album a lot, no drums, only (acoustic) guitars and other picked acoustic instruments. Only thing: it's instrumental, except for two or three songs.

24th January 2005, 06:16 PM	#16
Inner Light Gear addict Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Montreal Posts: 326	Pat Methey & Charlie Haden Missouri Sky, Pat Metheny 's one quiet night __________________ Of all the things I've lost It's my mind I miss the most... www.myspace.com/innerlightmusic

24th January 2005, 07:56 PM	#17
bcarr Gear Head Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Chicago Posts: 63	I really like these recordings: Bill Frisell: Nashville Pat Metheny: One Quiet Night (no highend studio used here. Metheny did it himself at home. I think he used 2 mount on guitar mics-can't remember their names an Avalon 2022 and Digital Performer. Please correct me if I am wrong.) I have an Alison Krauss and Union Station DVD that sounds amazing. I don't remember the name of it. Phil Keaggy: Beyone Nature Not many vocalists in this list sorry.

24th January 2005, 10:15 PM	#18
jindrich Lives for gear Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Palma+Stuttgart Posts: 795	The Sundays any of their 3 albums. the most balanced is probably the last one, "Static and Silence". recorded on glorious 2" tape (at home!) check them out in Tunes store if you dont know them Also, beethoven's choral fantasy performed by daniel barenboim

25th January 2005, 05:45 PM	#20
bcarr Gear Head Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Chicago Posts: 63	First off, Metheny is playing a baritone guitar (made by canadian luthier Linda Manzer) and it is tuned to a special low Nashville tuning. The 2 mics he used were Applied Microphone Technology mics. Here is their site, check out the other people who use their mics. http://www.appliedmic.com/ Finally, Metheny can make most anything sound great.

25th January 2005, 09:57 PM	#23
waxnsteel Gear nut Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 128	Another vote for Shawn Colvin - Fat City Jonatha Brooke(Story) - Some of the odd harmonies get tough on the ears, but Damn Everything but the circus, So Much Mine, and Mermaid are phenomenal. Solo, Blood from a Stone was pretty impressive, too (Ten Cent Wings) Males? John Mayer on Why Georgia in particular. On a wilder side, David Lee Roth with Steve Vai on Damn Good(Skyscraper), Most Zeppelin had great acoustic stuff in it, how about Styx? Crystal ball? All great sounding recordings.

25th January 2005, 10:16 PM	#24
ntimkovich Gear nut Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Birmingham, AL Posts: 88	Leo Kottke's "One Guitar, No Vocals" disc. whoa it's good stuff. __________________ "Fear of corrupting the mind of the younger generation is the loftiest form of cowardice." -- Holbrook Jackson --

26th January 2005, 01:57 AM	#26
WDG Gear Head Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: N. TX Posts: 56	Another vote for AKUS.

29th September 2006, 12:20 AM	#29
doorknocker Lives for gear Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Basel, Switzerland Posts: 3,587	Mike, it took me all of 5 seconds to find this I always thought that the old Cat Stevens records had some of the greatest ever acoustic guitar sounds. Since a lot of this was recorded at Pye studio I guess it's also the Pye compressors at work. I'd really like to get a pair of those at some point, seeing the prices they go for these days almost made me faint, though....... __________________ Andi www.doorknocker.ch 'You'd be surprised how much it costs to look this cheap! - Dolly Parton

29th September 2006, 12:26 AM	#30
max cooper Lives for gear Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: tx Posts: 8,819	I totally love Cat Stevens' '70's stuff and have often wondered if the Pye comps were a part of that sound. I love the sound of Elliot Smith's "Either/Or", "X/O" and "Figure Eight". Mark Lanegan's "The Winding Sheet" and "Bubblegum" are great. Nick Drake's "Five Leaves Left" is cool.