CHANGSTAR: Audiophile Headphone Reviews and Early 90s Style BBS
Lobby => Music and Recordings => Topic started by: LFF on November 01, 2014, 08:31:42 AM
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LFF’s Music Pick of the Month
(November 2014)
Last month’s recommendation went more along the lines of a traditional holiday album which you would normally play during the holidays (DUH!), so this month, we go back to an album you can sit back and enjoy anytime of the year.
The Very Thought of You by Emilie-Claire Barlow
(http://blog-imgs-24.fc2.com/r/a/s/rasspo/ecb1.jpg)
Emilie who?
Well, Ms. Barlow is a Canadian jazz singer who has been singing since the age of 7. She is also a professional voice actress! Very cool!
This album was released back in 2007 and I think it flew under the radar of many audiophiles. It was certainly appreciated by some people as it was nominated as “Best Vocal Jazz Album of The Year” by the Juno Awards in 2008. Is it really that good? Yes...it is very good and best of all - despite the compression - it sounds magnificent.
THE MUSIC
You can hear in her voice that Ms. Barlow simply enjoys singing this music as it’s presented with such a loving touch that it’s hard to miss.
The arrangements are very nice, lending themselves to be used a perfect demo material for many an audiophile. Instead of writing on and on about her silky smooth, sexy voice, how about you guys just listen….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZHL-vv1k5Y
THE SOUND
Unfortunately, as mentioned earlier, the album does suffer from some compression. It’s not compressed to hell a la Rick Rubin but there is compression. I’m sure the full dynamic range would make this music all the more enjoyable. That said, the compression is VERY tastefully done. I’m sure it was done so that people could hear in their car while driving down the lane on a lonely day.
However, compression isn’t the end all, be all for this album. Surprisingly, the EQ work on this album is above par and very, very well done. While not 100% natural, the EQ here is made to give her voice a nice, dark, laid back sound without ruining the instruments. Whoever mastered this, was a master at his craft. The recording quality is also superb. The instrument separation, clarity and tonal characteristics are fantastic. Not only is the instrumentation very well done but the instruments NEVER interfere with Ms. Barlow’s voice. Her voice is clear, articulate, and well projected over all the instruments, which causes everyone to shine and melt into a cohesive whole that just delights the ear and livens up the mood.
CONCLUSION:
The ever so slight downfall on this album is the slight compression but, all truth be told - it’s extremely slight and given the wonderful performance, fantastic musicians, and fantastic EQ work, this album is an exception to the loudness wars and modern day crap we find stockpiling the shelves at your local wal-mart.If you’re a fan of female vocals, good sound quality, vocal jazz, or simply want a good demo record that doesn’t show up everywhere at shows, then definitely pick this album up.Also, her other albums (some of which are on HDTracks!) are also of very high quality. I've been lucky enough to listen to all of them and own most of them. They would ALL receive similar marks from me. The production value, musical arrangements, musical content, and mastering on all of her albums are of very high quality which is rarely experienced these days.
:)p2 TL; DR - PIRATE SUMMARY :)p2
By ol' Davy Jones, this here mastering engineer be a masterful ear wizard! Arrr...a sexy voice be in dis here album matey! The sound of a siren me does believe. The music and sound be enough to satisfy dis here pirate to his hearts content. Dis be booty for yer system!
Music:10/10
Sound Quality:9/10
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I'v been back-reading all your recommendations Luis, and its been a terrific addition to my music library! Thank you so much for taking the time to do this, really, really appreciated! :)p7
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I'v been back-reading all your recommendations Luis, and its been a terrific addition to my music library! Thank you so much for taking the time to do this, really, really appreciated! :)p7
Glad you're enjoying them. :-)
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I have a Live in Tokyo recording that I've enjoyed for a while now. I'll be looking to pick this suggestion up soon.
Thanks for these!!
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Luis, give me some rock and roll recommendations mate !
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Luis, give me some rock and roll recommendations mate !
LOL! My next one is going to be rock album....just trying to decide if I should go with a new album or with an old one that's often neglected.
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LOL! My next one is going to be rock album....just trying to decide if I should go with a new album or with an old one that's often neglected.
If it seems too difficult to choose, do both. I doubt anyone would mind. That's my vote.
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LOL! My next one is going to be rock album....just trying to decide if I should go with a new album or with an old one that's often neglected.
Oh please, old is gold !!
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If it seems too difficult to choose, do both. I doubt anyone would mind. That's my vote.
+1
:)
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Nice, Luis...thank you!!
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I'm sorry, but a month is just too long to wait. Let's go to every two weeks...
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Agree Matt. Luis where is my rock recommendation?
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I will even if her music were not good (which it certainly is) her bu-sum is nice.
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Wow, what an album. Thanks, Luis!
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.... exalted. Thank you very much for sharing with us this gem find. Amazingly comforting music, charming voice! :)p4