Favorite Music

As you'll notice, our tastes in music are wildly eclectic, and have
grown more so over the years .
These are arranged by genre, though that is inherently difficult since
lots of the best music is by nature cross-genre. If you're looking for
something specific, I suggest you use the "search" function in your
browser.
These are simply the CD's I never grow tired of listening to.
Genres
Classical 20th Century Classical Blues Rock
(very widely defined) Country
Reggae/World Music/Other
Classical
- Junior Recital 2002 (Arwen
Eileen Garrett): Something of a cheater on this list,
this CD has never sold one copy. Recorded, produced, edited,
photographed, cover designed by, manufactured by David Garrett.
Performed by and liner notes by Arwen Garrett. It's a nice program of
flute music with works from the 18th to 20th century, as well as a
composition by Arwen for violin & cello. We just don't get tired of
listening to our daughter.
- Bach: Goldberg Variations (Glenn
Gould): The original 1950's recording, when Glenn showed the
world that Bach was a musician, not a mathematician.
- Beethoven: The Nine Symphonies:
(John Eliot Gardiner): In two 3-disc collections. We have other
recordings of the Beethoven symphonies, but this is a jewel. Played at
the original tempoes Beethoven indicated (much faster than you usually
hear), and with a small orchestra rather than a large one, these
performances will change your opinion of Beethoven. He did have a lighter side, and these
performances give you the impression of someone you could relax and
enjoy company with rather than a moody and difficult genius. HIGHLY
recommended! The last disc contains a 20-minute discourse by John Eliot
Gardiner where he compares (with samples) the approach usually used in
modern times with the approach he took for these recordings.
- Mozart: The Piano
Sonatas (Christoph Eschenbach): Who could get tired of Mozart?
These are a joy. These recordings from the 1960's are still as good a
recording of Mozart's solo piano work ever made. 5 discs of joy.
- Mozart: 4 Horn
Concertos (Gerd Seifert, horn, with the Berlin Philharmonic directed by
Herbert von Karajan:) The Horn Concertos have been a favorite of
ours for many years, and this recording (we have had two others) has
never been matched. Because it was recorded in predigital days, it's
usually available as a budget CD.
- William Kapell
Edition (William Kapell): The complete recorded works of
William Kapell, a fantastic pianist who died in a plane crash in
mid-career in the late 1940's. He should be remembered! Not only does
he play with incredible verve and passion, he is not "stuck" on any
particular period or composer; he plays over three centuries of music
with taste and understanding; a real catholic musician. The high point
of the collection, for us, is a live recording of the solo piano
original version of Modest Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition.
20th Century Classical
- groovebox (Ahn Trio):
We like anything the Ahn trio does, but this is our favorite. They're
three Korean sisters who form a traditional string trio, and specialize
in modern music. They always play with a lot of verve. This album
begins with a fantastic version of the Doors' Riders on the Storm.
- Tabula Rasa (Arvo Part):
Arvo Part is a living Estonian composer whom we absolutely love. His
music would be an excellent intro to modern classical. He started out
as a minimalist but now ranges further. This is an instrumental album,
most of his work is vocal. If you really like vocal music (we tend
toward instrumental) the best introductory album would probably be I Am the True Vine. A new
acquisition, Lamentate, is a
recent (2005) composition. I think it's his best thing since Tabula Rasa, and the only piece to
rival it. I'll live with it for at least a year before I post it here
though.
- Kronos Quartet performs Philip
Glass, Peter Sculthorpe, Aulis Sallinnen, Conlon Nancarrow, Jimi
Hendrix (Kronos Quartet): This very early Kronos album is the
best introduction to their verve and their relentless mission to
introduce people to new music. We don't know a Kronos album we don't
like, but here's the best place to start out.
- Schoenberg: Piano
Works (Glenn Gould): We first had these
on an LP by Paul Jacobs, and loved them then, but Glenn Gould's version
is superior. He's famous for his Bach recordings, most people aren't
aware that he was a great interpreter of modern music.
- Schoenberg: The
Complete String Quartets (New Vienna String Quartets): Have you
figured out that we like the string quarteet format? and modern music,
and Schoenberg? Great recording of great work. The second quartet
includes some lovely vocal work.
- Terry Riley: Cadenza
on the Night Plain (Kronos Quartet): One of Kronos' best performances
of one of Terry Riley's best works. We like Philip Glass but Terry
Riley's music has much more depth. On a CD with several shorter Terry
Riley works. Cadenza is a tone poem mourning the death of
the traditional lifestyle of the American Indian.
- Complete Recordings (Bessie Smith):
8 CD's in 4 packages. Bessie was billed during her lifetime as "Empress
of the Blues" and it was not
hype. Nobody ever challenged the title. Major inspiration for Bille
Holiday, Janis Joplin, and many others. Please note that the Columbia
CD collection labeled "Complete Recordings" is not complete. Her last 6
recordings, which were included in the 5-double-album LP set put out by
Columbia in the 1970's, are missing, for whatever reasons.
- Willie Dixon: The Chess Box
(Various): I don't even know if this is still available.
Willie was a passable but not spectacular blues performer, but the
greatest master of blues songwriting. 2 discs of Willie Dixon songs,
most of
them now standards, sung by the performer who made them famous: Muddy
Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Bo Diddley, Koko Taylor, and more. An absolutely
incredible collection
- The Hot Fives and Hot
Sevens
(Louis Armstrong): If there's anything you like about
jazz, get
these recordings, in whatever reissue you can, and listen to modern
jazz get invented as Louis and his group are the first to adapt jazz
improvisation to the demands of the three minute recording. As Dizzy
Gillespie said of Louis, "No him, no me" - these recordings show why.
They're also the beginnings of sound engineering in the studio; an
unknown worker on these recordings was the first to try different
placings and seating arrangements to control the mix and quality of the
sound. Just get them and listen.
- Satch Plays Fats (Louis Armstrong):
By this time (the 1950's) Louis is no longer jazz's greatest innovator,
but he's
become one of the best entertainers that ever was, and the trumpet tone
is still unmistakable. This collection
of nine songs by Thomas (Fats) Waller are every one gems. The obvious
Waller tunes are on there along with some unknowns, but all get the
full treatment. Our particular favorite is All That Meat and No Potatoes.
- Crescent (John Coltrane):
There's never been one like him before, and never will be
again. This album, at the peak of his career, is our favorite; A Love Supreme, which would
probably be the more common choice, comes in a close second.
- Kind of Blue (Miles Davis):
An obvious choice, probably. This album set the tone for modern jazz.
It's still one of the best jazz albums out there, and one of the most
listenable avant garde albums.
- Light Out of Darkness (Shirley
Horn): Thank you, Shirley, for coming out of retirement and
giving us some A-1 jazz singing and piano work before you died. This is
actually the least jazzy of her latest, and best, years; but this
tribute to Ray Charles will make anybody want to hear more. So do it.
- At the Village Gate (Herbie Mann):
In our opinion, the best of Herbie's many explorations of jazz flute
work.
- Alone with Three Giants (Marcus
Roberts): Has this wonderful album from the mid-1980's been
totally forgotten, along with the artist? Marcus Roberts, a blind
pianist, played with Wynton Marsalis for several years and did
great solo work. Nothing matched this, though. It's strictly solo
piano, and the "Three Giants" are Jelly Roll Morton, Thelonius Monk,
and Duke Ellington. The program of playing them against each other is
both an education (you see how each one approached innovation in
succeeding generations of jazz composers) and a fantastic, entertaining
listen. Still exciting after 20 years.
- Monk's Music (Thelonius
Monk Septet): A great intro to Thelonius' stony, spiky,
sharp and innovative approach to music. A young John Coltrane plays
impeccable sax. A classic worth listening to over and over.
- Thelonius Monk Plays Duke
Ellington (Thelonius Monk): The master of bebop plays the master
of suave big band jazz - with incredibly creative results.
- The Divine Sarah Vaughn: The
Columbia Recordings (Sarah Vaughn): Chosen almost
arbitrarily. You've got to start somewhere
and hear Sarah Vaughn, and this is a good place as any and better than
some (we have a live recording with her, the LA Philharmonic, and
Michael Tilson Thomas doing Gershwin tunes that is one of the absolute
dogs of our CD collection). Get some good recordings of Sarah and
listen; there's never been another.
- Blue Light 'Til Dawn (Cassandra
Wilson):
Cassandra's blues/jazz experimental work really deserves to be listened
to. This is superb, haunting.
Rock
(very widely defined)
- Debut (Bjork): What can you
say? A great debut (in this country) which still sounds as fresh as the
day it came out.
- Medulla (Bjork): One of our
two favorites of Bjork's groundbreaking work. Probably both the most
daring and the most
difficult.
- Vespertine (Bjork):
One of the great things about Bjork albums is that each one is a thrust
in a new direction - there's never just "more of the same". This album
has a fascinating, glisteny finish without ever seeming slick or glib.
- Blood on the Tracks (Bob Dylan):
Either you like him or you don't. We do. His 45 year career has
involved great albums, good albums, pretty good and so-so albums. Very
few have been without their redeeming features. (Exceptions: Before the Flood and Under the Red Sky.) This one stands
out as the absolute peak.
- Highway 61 Revisited (Bob
Dylan): The peak of Dylan's 1960's work. Some people
prefer Blonde on Blonde, for
incomprehensible reasons.
- Time Out of Mind (Bob
Dylan): Just after under
the Red Sky convinced us that Bob had lost it and would just
fade into the sunset - here comes this masterpiece. The two succeeding
albuns have been good, but this is a real standout. Hard, ironic,
honest, and bitter.
- John Wesley Harding (Bob
Dylan): A total departure from his earlier work. Spare,
tight, and focussed.
- Parallel Lines (Blondie):
Blondie's insouciance was one of the brightest spots in the generally
dull 1970's. This 1978 gem is their absolute peak.
- Bad Reputation (Joan Jett):
Maybe it's silly for us to enjoy a headbanger like Joan, but we do. We
think she's particularly good at covering classic standards of early
rock. This is our favorite.
- Are You Experienced? (Jimi
Hendrix): Jimi's been dead for 37 years now, and this album is as
fresh as the day it was released 40 years ago. Not many have approached
Jimi as a guitarist. Sometimes his work could be a little weirdly
self-indulgent, but this is the best work he ever did. Make sure and
get a CD that contains all the cuts from both the US and UK releases.
- Little Richard: 18 Greatest Hits
(The Originial Specialty Recordings): OK, how did Little Richard
get away with it in the 1950's? Well, Liberace did too, but who cares
to listen to Liberaces's music
any more? These are great, vibrant, performances that went off like a
bomb in a crowded room in the 1950's. They're still unbeatable.
- Just Another Band From East LA
(Los Lobos): Los Lobos isn't just a great Latino band, they're a
great rock band. This compilation is a great introduction to their best.
- Bring Me the Workhorse (My
Brightest Diamond): You've probably never heard of this. "My
Brightest Diamond" is Shara Worden, a classically trained opera singer
who has turned her talents to "pushing the envelope" of avant garde
music. Compelling voice, haunting lyrics, and an album that keeps
growing on you. If you like Bjork, you'll probably like this; if Bjork
had been rooted in classical singing rather than jazz, this is the kind
of thing she might have done.
- Southern Accents (Tom Petty):
We like everything TP has done, solo or with the Heartbreakers. He
outdid himself on this disc though. Just superb. A whole album of
standouts and no filler.
- Hot Rocks and More Hot
Rocks (The Rolling Stones): Relisten to these numbers to
recall a time when the Rolling Stones were a great, innovative rock
band instead of a tired old joke.
- Agaetis Byrjun (Sigur Ros):
Why is a tiny nation like Iceland the site of such incredibly
groundbreaking GOOD music these days? Go figure. This is the best of
this Icelandic group's efforts so far. We were introduced to them when
Kronos Quartet played a piece of theirs in concert which totally blew
us away - we'd never heard of them before. They still blow us away.
- Patty Smyth: Greatest Hits
featuring Scandal (Patty Smyth): For a short period in the
1980's, Patty Smyth and Scandal were hot. Then she married tennis star
John McEnroe and got out of music. Warrior
was her only full length album, and it was one fantastic song with a
lot of forgettable filler. This collection of singles shows off one of
the best rock voices - and minds - to ever record. Not a loser in the
collection, and they all sound better
after 20 years. Miss you, Patty.
- Graceland (Paul Simon):
They tried to pretend The Rhythm of
the Saints was just as good, or better; it was neither (though
it was pretty good). This is the very best Paul Simon has ever done,
and considering his career that's saying a lot. Not a throwaway
on the disc.
- Dream of the Blue Turtles (Sting):
This jazzy rocker sounds as good, or better, than the day it was
released. Sting hasn't turned out any bad, or even mediocre albums.
- Nothing Like The Sun (Sting):
Sting's fantastic second album is just plain underrated, perhaps
because it didn't really contain monster hits and was a double album
(though it all fits on one CD). It's a bit better than the first.
- All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese
Eyes (Pete Townshend). Most people see Empty Glass as the best of Pete's
solo career. Nothing wrong with Empty
Glass, but we beg to disagree. Not a bad cut on the CD, but the
clencher is the two blockbuster, intensely personal songs which close
the album. Thanks, Pete. Again.
- Rough Mix (Pete Townshend
and Ronnie Lane): Pete joins old friend Ronnie (of the
Small Faces) for Ronnie's last real statement before his multiple
sclerosis made further playing impossible (historical note: Evolution, the second
cut on Pete's debut 1971 album, Who
Came First,
is basically Ronnie's contribution). Heartfelt and strong, Eric Clapton
is lead guitarist on the title cut (which would have been obvious even
if he was uncredited, as it was on While
My Guitar Gently Weeps). No bad cuts and several knockouts: Keep On Working, Heart to Hang Onto,
and Keep Me Turning.
- The Joshua Tree (U2):
The absolute best of a remarkable career that just keeps on coming.
- By Numbers (The Who):
Yes it's an atypical choice, but this gritty personal album which poses
the pertinent question, "OK so what happens if you didn't die before you got old? How
do you keep on going?" speaks to us pretty directly. Also the last
album which contains really great drum work from Keith Moon; on Who Are You he's a shadow of his
former self. This album deserves a lot more play than it usually
gets.
- Live at Leeds (The Who):
The best live rock album ever made, one of the rock albums ever made.
We've got the original LP, bought the week of its 1970 release (yes,
with all the extras), the straight CD transfer, and the two succeeding
"Deluxe Editions" which have now grown into 2-disc sets. What an
incredible performance - if we could have only been there!
- Who's Next (The Who):
You've probably figured out by now that we're Who fans. This album is
always on the "10 Best Rock Albums" lists they keep turning out for
incomprehensible reasons, and it's thoroughly deserved. Interesting
that it's simply the leftovers from their Lifehouse project which never got
off the ground; which is simply an indicator of he level they were
working at at the time. Every song is memorable.
- 12 Greatest Hits (Patsy Cline):
It's obvious, yes, but Patsy was a giant. We have a 4 disc boxed set
which is great, but this short digest of her best is still heartrending.
- Coat of Many Colors (Dolly Parton):
A great start to a
long and fruitful career, and much more personal than lots of her work.
"Travelin' Man" and the title cut are standouts.
- The Grass Is Blue (Dolly
Parton): For two albums, Dolly got back
to her roots and out of mainstream country, and the results were
splendid. Virginia prefers Little
Sparrow.
- Little Sparrow: Dolly's
"mountain music" album. The album itself is great, not a loser on it;
favorites are "Mountain Angel" and "Down from Dover". After this Dolly
began her trek back to mainstream commercial country with Halos and Horns.
- Hank Williams' 20 Greatest Hits:
Yes, Hank's directness and simplicity is still as fresh as during his
lifetime. This is great stuff.
- Aura (King Sunny Ade): A
superb short album from the undisputed king of "juju music", the pop
music of Nigeria. You'll hear a familiar wail on the first cut; Stevie
Wonder plays harmonica.
- Juju Music (King Sunny Ade):
The absolute best introduction to Afropop ever recorded. We had the joy
of hearing King Sunny Ade & his band play live in a small club
setting in the 1990's. The polyrhythmic structure of this stuff is
incrediblly compelling.
- Mi Tierra (Gloria Estefan):
We first heard this as the music for a performance of Ballet Hispanica.
The dancing wasn't that impressive, but the music blew us away. It
still does. An homage to her Caribbean roots.
- Wild Blue (Eileen Ivers):
Eileen Ivers plays what can only be called "Celtic fusion". She has
only three CD's out; this is by far her best.
- Klezmer Madness! (David Krakauer):
The only klezmer CD we own takes the clarinet far into regions where no
clarinet has gone before. And the ride islways exciting and enjoyable.
- Exodus (Bob Marley & the
Wailers): One of our great regrets is that we only discovered Bob
Marley after his death (his
peak corresponded with our music "years in the wilderness"). There
isn't a bad Bob Marley album,
but there are two (and possibly three, Confrontation is a contender) great
ones.
- Uprising (Bob Marley & the
Wailers): "Redemption Song" alone makes this one of his
greatest."coming In From The Cold", "We and Dem", and "Work" are almost
as great. More power packed into a short album than anyone has a right
to expect.