Sometimes it’s just about the music

[springnr]

Hi Fidelity scmelody, just enjoyed this tune played through my computer speakers.

FRETLESS BASS-COVER-JEFF SCHMIDT "Still Silhouette"-by Jesús Rico - YouTube

Classical, folk, jazz, rock, county, blues… share what you’ve enjoyed listening to lately

[NW-Bound]

OK, I am game.

I recently ran across this French song on youtube, and I smiled every time I listened to it. I thought about posting this in an old thread about love songs, but well, it can go here too.

Please excuse the poor translation that follows. I am not a French-speaking native, and in fact have not spoken French in decades (I hope someone will correct my translation).

La Godiche / The Clumsy Oaf

Un garçon comme ça / A guy like that
Dit qu'une fille comme moi / Say, a girl like me
Au style élégant / With elegant style
Mais qui marche pas droit / But who cannot walk straight
Les épaules en dedans / With drooping shoulders
Le geste maladroit / And clumsy gestures
Ca s'appelle comment? / That's called how?

Une godiche ça s'appelle / A clumsy oaf, it's called
Faut m'aimer sacrément / Must love me religiously
Pour trouver que godiche / To find such clumsy oaf
Ca me va comme un gant / That fits me like a glove

Un garçon qui conçoit / A guy who can see in
Qu'une moitié de fille comme moi / Half a girl like me
On ne s'en contente pas / People don't just
C'est un tout ou c'est pas / It's all or nothing
Une fille simple qui l'est pas / A simple girl who's not
Ca s'appelle comment? / That's called how?

Sandrine Kiberlain - La Godiche - YouTube

[ERD50]

I will add some later when I have some time. I do agree with the premise - as much as I enjoy trying to get great sound from my equipment, it is the performance and heart and soul that matter, and that can often come through even with a poor sound system (especially if we already are familiar with the tune, I think our brain 'fills in' what is missing, and ignores the bad).

But I'd still rather experience a great performance WITH great sound than a great performance with poor/mediocre sound.

-ERD50

[Mr. Paul]

Nice. Tried to get the audiophile folk to talk about favorite good sounding CDs and no one seemed interested.

Radney Foster, Jerry Douglas and Ally Bain from the legendary Transatlantic Sessions series from the BBC.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eos7FbtuTbo

[Meadbh]

Jeff Beck, Imelda May, Darrel Higham and friends, in a tribute to Les Paul from 2010, but just posted on YouTube. Settle in for an hour and a half of great rock and roll.

Jeff Beck - Rock n Roll Party Honoring Les Paul 2010 - YouTube

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Paul Nice. Tried to get the audiophile folk to talk about favorite good sounding CDs and no one seemed interested. ...

Ahh, found that post:

http://www.early-retirement.org/foru...ml#post1417617

I actually was interested in it, but I got distracted before I got a list together. I'll work on it and post back in reply in that thread.

-ERD50

[walkinwood]

I got the CD "Here we go again" from the library. Willie Nelson & Wynton Marsalis play the songs of Ray Charles with help from Norah Jones. I especially loved this one

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVmra6tPTYU

[NW-Bound]

I listen to more Jazz, easy listening music, and instrumental pieces than rock music. I particularly love the classical guitar, and one of the compositions I never tire of listening to is Asturias (1892) by Isaac Albéniz. It is named after the northern region of Spain that I have not been to, but will some day just because of this music.

All classical guitarists perform this piece, but I found that I liked John Williams' performance the best. Then, yesterday I ran across the following performance by Sharon Isbin. And this is my current favorite! She's an American guitarist of some repute as I later found out, but why did I not hear of her before? Oh well, for me, better late than never to run across her name.

The following video was very nicely made. Watch her fingers working the strings. The music is so beautiful, it almost makes me cry.

Note: I thought I heard a couple of flaws in the audio, but not being a musician, I suspected that they were technical errors in the file. Or was it my imagination?

Sharon Isbin - Asturias - YouTube

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meadbh Jeff Beck, Imelda May, Darrel Higham and friends, in a tribute to Les Paul from 2010, but just posted on YouTube. Settle in for an hour and a half of great rock and roll.

Thanks for posting. Jeff Beck is just so amazingly versatile and goes from sublimely subtle to rock-and-roll screaming. Very cool to hear him doing old rock-a-billy stuff, and so much more. 'Cry Me a River' was a standout for me.

As much as liked the singer, the digital harmony she used for "How High the Moon" got tired after a few phrases. In the Les Paul, Mary Ford original, she over-dubbed each line, singing along with the previous recordings so there would always be slight variations, and that creates interest. But done digitally live, you are getting a harmonized digital copy that is far too robotically 'perfect', and that gets boring on the ears very quickly. But it was still fun, and overall a wonderful set.

-ERD50

[aja8888]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meadbh Jeff Beck, Imelda May, Darrel Higham and friends, in a tribute to Les Paul from 2010, but just posted on YouTube. Settle in for an hour and a half of great rock and roll. Jeff Beck - Rock n Roll Party Honoring Les Paul 2010 - YouTube

Thanks!

Dyno-Mite!!

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound I listen to more Jazz, easy listening music, and instrumental pieces than rock music. I particularly love the classical guitar, and one of the compositions I never tire of listening to is Asturias (1892) by Isaac Albéniz. ...

Beautiful piece of music, and great performance.

Quote:

Note: I thought I heard a couple of flaws in the audio, but not being a musician, I suspected that they were technical errors in the file. Or was it my imagination?

But yeah, these youtube videos often seem to have glitches (I heard some crackles). I never know if it is my playback software in the browser, but I suspect the compression they do during the upload is pretty extreme. And in this case, by the time I got near the end, I had to stop it - the sound quality was just getting annoying for me. With a single acoustic guitar, I find I need good quality because there isn't anything else to 'hide behind'. Part of that is because the speakers hooked to my computer are not great, but I bet if I played that on my 'system', it would sound (technical sound quality) worse, as that system would clearly reproduce the defects.

-ERD50

[HFWR]

Speaking of Jeff Beck...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ndyILodYwM

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HFWR Speaking of Jeff Beck...

I'd love to hear some guitarists tell me about Beck's playing style. I've noticed on these and other videos, he rarely (never?) uses a pick. It sure seems to give him a lot of flexibility, his other fingers are right there to pluck or selectively mute strings rather than locked into gripping a pick. And of course, a thumb/finger can 'work' a string in ways a pick cannot.

So why don't more players use this style?

-ERD50

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ERD50 ...But yeah, these youtube videos often seem to have glitches (I heard some crackles). I never know if it is my playback software in the browser, but I suspect the compression they do during the upload is pretty extreme. And in this case, by the time I got near the end, I had to stop it - the sound quality was just getting annoying for me. With a single acoustic guitar, I find I need good quality because there isn't anything else to 'hide behind'. Part of that is because the speakers hooked to my computer are not great, but I bet if I played that on my 'system', it would sound (technical sound quality) worse, as that system would clearly reproduce the defects. -ERD50

What I noticed was at least a couple of instances where I thought a few notes were missing, and at least one instance where a plucked note was suddenly louder than the ones preceding and following it.

I noticed that the guitarist's pose varied during the video - she was sometimes reclining in the sofa, and other times sitting in a chair. I believed that the video segments were edited and spliced over an audio track that was originally a single continuous performance. And perhaps in the editing, some audio flaws crept in due to the editing and not the artist's performance.

I will definitely get her CD to listen to, independently of the above apparent flaws. That would answer my questions. And then, I will pay more attention to see if I can detect the sound quality problem that you described.

[Nodak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by springnr Hi Fidelity scmelody, just enjoyed this tune played through my computer speakers. FRETLESS BASS-COVER-JEFF SCHMIDT "Still Silhouette"-by Jesús Rico - YouTube Classical, folk, jazz, rock, county, blues… share what you’ve enjoyed listening to lately

I notice this says it's a fretless bass cover. However the picture clearly shows frets on the guitar neck.

[Nodak]

Here's one of the songs I've been listening to today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-gi...?v=k-gizY8_18M

[springnr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nodak I notice this says it's a fretless bass cover. However the picture clearly shows frets on the guitar neck.

I'm guessing inlaid or painted frets leaving a smooth fingerboard.

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by springnr Quote: Quote: Originally Posted by Nodak View Post I notice this says it's a fretless bass cover. However the picture clearly shows frets on the guitar neck. I'm guessing inlaid or painted frets leaving a smooth fingerboard.

That threw me at first too, but listen and watch around 25-35 seconds in, and it is clear that he is sliding along the fingerboard and it is a portamento (an even glide from one note to another).

So those 'frets' are just reference points, not physical frets.

-ERD50

[progmtl]

Alright, rejoice in the splendor that is Richie Kotzen. AMAZING guitarist, and what a voice!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_I1FnNSbjN8

[springnr]

Chet Atkins & Mark Knopfler - I'll See You In My Dreams - Walk Of Life - YouTube