[dhwilkin]

When I buy CDs, I buy a whole bunch at once, then lay off for several months. Here's what I got in my latest order:

- Stabbing Westward : Darkest Days
- Fuel : Something Like Human
- Urge : Master of Styles
- Jann Arden : Greatest Hits
- Keiko Matsui : Dream Walk
- Keiko Matsui : Full Moon and the Shrine
- Natalie Merchant : Tigerlilly
- Trans-Siberian Orchestra : Beethoven's Last Night
- Nelly Furtado : Whoa, Nelly!
- Magnolia : Vocal soundtrack
- Kate Bush : Hounds of Love
- Kate Bush : The Sensual World
- Hooverphonic : The Magnificent Tree
- Hooverphonic : A New Stereophonic Sound Spectacular
- Annie Lennox : Diva
- Sarah McLachlan : Surfacing
- Sarah McLachlan : Fumbling Towards Ecstacy
- Madonna : GHV2
- Tabla Beat Science : Tala Matrix
- John Primer : The Real Deal
- Boa : Twilight
- Nausicaa : Symphonic soundtrack
- Final Fantasy VI : Soundtrack
- Final Fantasy IV : Celtic Moon
- Macross Plus : Sharon Apple Cream Puff
- Key the Metal Idol : Original Vocal Soundtrack Vol. 1
- Magic Knight Rayearth : Best Songbook

All these are, of course, excellent CDs... otherwise I wouldn't have bought them. But a few of them really surprised me w/ how good they were:

- Trans-Siberian Orchestra : Beethoven's Last Night
Very interesting idea here. The basic idea is that Beethoven is about to die, and reflecting on his life. All of a sudden, Fate and Mephistopheles (the devil) come out, trying to gain sole posession of his last symphony, just finished. The style reminded me of "The Phantom of the Opera", but w/ more metal elements.

- Urge : Master of Styles
This is a ska band that has some very cool tunes on here. High energy, melodic songs, and I love the horns use. Reminds me of "Pain", another ska band whose albums I need to get.

- Boa : Twilight
Boa is the group that did the opening song to "Serial Experiments Lain", namely "Duvet". That was the main reason I bought the album, but was pleasantly surprised w/ the rest of the songs, which sound very different from "Duvet". It's less upbeat, more alternative rock, no recycled tunes here, and the lead singer has a beautiful, soulful voice. Oh yes, and there is a very neat acoustic version of "Duvet", as well.

- Macross Plus : Sharon Apple Cream Puff
A mini-album based off the virtual idol singer in Macross Plus, Sharon Apple. There are four electronica/techno songs w/ a splash of rock thrown in. Songs range from intimate cafe w/ seductive voices (Borderline and Idol Talk) to high-energy club(Information High). My only complaint is the recording quality could be better, in regards to vocal clarity.

- Magic Knight Rayearth : Best Songbook
Awesome. This is a really diverse album, containing vocal songs from the "Magic Knight Rayearth" anime. You've got your '80s style j-rock, some very light-hearted and fun j-pop (the two songs trying to figure out what the heck Mokona is being the best), and a few symphony-backed songs w/ an epic, dramatic tone. And I love the singer's voices, very beautiful and the emotion just flows forth.

So, comments on any of my new stuff? Or list what you've got recently, along w/ what gave you the most pleasant surprise.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Unholy crap, dude, you got more than some people's entire collections! Darkest Days, as I've said many times before, is probably my favourite album from the 90's. Hounds of Love is a classic.

I only got a couple (not including the SACD's, which I haven't fairly listened to, yet, as the player still needs burning in):

Nightwish - Ocean Born - haven't listened to it yet.

Controlled Bleeding - Can You Smell The Rain Between - this is some W.A.S. They're getting to sound more like X-Legged Sally. But still with that inimitable bass...

Sigh - Imaginary Sonicscape - only had a chance to sample, but I have a feeling that I am going to totally dig this album. KR..., you didn't tell me about the one synthesist nut! (Or did you, and I missed it?)

Secret Chiefs 3 - Book M - electronica side project of Trey Spruance -- very cool. Liner notes seem to have a political slant to them; music has an ethnic tinge to it.

Helene Grimaud (don't know how to put the ticks and backticks in) - Rachmaninov, Piano Concerto No. 2, plus other pieces; and Beethoven, Piano Concert No. 4, plus other pieces -- surprisingly good for her youth (no, you can't hear it in her piano playing). And she's cute! (Sidenote - you can take the Rachmaninov one and reverse the lid so that the backside shows, like a desk calendar. Very cool! A classical pop star!)

Mira - Apart - very cool shoegazer.

Tea Party - Interzone Mantras - Kashmir-era Led Zeppelin influenced, not as good as other things they've done.

 

[KR...]

Quote:

Sigh - Imaginary Sonicscape - only had a chance to sample, but I have a feeling that I am going to totally dig this album. KR..., you didn't tell me about the one synthesist nut! (Or did you, and I missed it?)

I wrote about this CD a LOT of times in the past, a few people at head-fi got this album thanks to me writing about it, you didn't miss it, I think you may have just forgot where you read about it.

dhwilkin,

I don't know any of those groups, but that doesn't matter to me, what matters to me is that you know what this hobby is really all about... THE MUSIC!!!

Enjoy your new CDs!

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Quote:

Originally posted by KR... I wrote about this CD a LOT of times in the past, a few people at head-fi got this album thanks to me writing about it, you didn't miss it, I think you may have just forgot where you read about it.

No, I remember it was because of you, what I don't remember is anyone saying that one of the guys in the band is a synthesist nut (being a synthesist nut, myself, I look for these things). There's a picture of him surrounded by, like, 12 synthesizers and other keyboards.

 

[KR...]

oh, I don't think I did.

Mirai - Fender Rhodes, Hammond, Minimoog, Yamaha acoustic piano, Hohner Clavinet, Yamaha string machine, Roland Vocoder Plus, other keyboards, sampling, programming, modulator, effects, Speak & Spell, recorder, melodeon, bass, vocal, etc.

 

[gloco]

Quote:

Originally posted by dhwilkin - Stabbing Westward : Darkest Days - Nelly Furtado : Whoa, Nelly! - Sarah McLachlan : Surfacing - Sarah McLachlan : Fumbling Towards Ecstacy - Final Fantasy VI : Soundtrack - Final Fantasy IV : Celtic Moon

Cool, i have all of these. The Celtic Moon cd is awesome, one of my favorites, i was blown away by it. I actually have a orchestral game soundtrack also. The only thing i can make out on it is that its "Volume 4." The rest of the title is in japanese, wait a minute, gamemusic sells this cd:

http://www.gamemusic.com/dept/101/ca...title=Nintendo

As for the rest, the sarah cds are great, fumbling is my favorite. Surfacing is a little more laidback and basically a cd to chill out to.
It sounds really good to! I also have the Nelly Furtado cd but haven't listened to the whole thing, but i like her vocals a lot and again, a well recorded cd.

I dont need to say anything about FF6, it speaks volumes for itself

One question: where do you shop for your game soundtracks? Lastly, do you have the Castlevania: Symphony of the Night sdtk?

 

[Vertigo-1]

Mmm I want that FF4 Celtic CD...

Picked up 4 CDs myself today, should be a blast checking them out tonight.

 

[gloco]

Quote:

Originally posted by Vertigo-1 Mmm I want that FF4 Celtic CD...

http://www.gamemusic.com/dept/101/pr...w=0&whichpage=

'nuff said!

 

[Vertigo-1]

'nuff said indeed. There's the reason I never bought it yet. I could be getting two other CDs for the price of that one.

 

[davidcotton]

Quote:

Originally posted by Dusty Chalk Nightwish - Ocean Born - haven't listened to it yet.

Dusty

Expect a slightly rawer, less polished version than wishmaster and youre about there!

Also have you got Hound of the Baskervilles yet? if not you really ought to, oh and check out the Michelle Young cd as well...

 

[raymondlin]

That gamemusic.com looks just like the Amazon websites!

And that Magnolia soundtrack is great, the Amiee Mann songs are anyway. I want those Final Fantasy CDs too! but bloody expensive!

 

[dhwilkin]

Wow, so many replies to make. Think I'll split this up into two posts.

Part 1:

Quote:

Dusty Chalk said... Unholy crap, dude, you got more than some people's entire collections! Darkest Days, as I've said many times before, is probably my favourite album from the 90's. Hounds of Love is a classic.

More than some people's entire collections? Those people need to go buy some more albums, pronto! Hounds is indeed a classic, it's amazing how airy and seductive Kate's voice sounds. Darkest Days is just an all-around, solid album. Hey, how is their album that has "Shame" on it?
Quote:

dhwilkin, I don't know any of those groups, but that doesn't matter to me, what matters to me is that you know what this hobby is really all about... THE MUSIC!!! Enjoy your new CDs!

Thanks KR...! It is important to occasionally remind yourself just what got you listening in the first place, namely the music. Actually, I really like it when people list stuff I've never heard of, because then I can go and see if it's worthy of expanding my musical horizons. My guess is most of the stuff I listed won't be your cup of tea, but you might want to listen to some of Boa and Stabbing Westward.
Quote:

raymondlin said... And that Magnolia soundtrack is great, the Amiee Mann sounds are anyway.

Yup, that's the one I got. I think my favorite song off of it is "Wise Up". Such a simple song, yet so sad and moving.

 

[dhwilkin]

Part 2:

Quote:

gloco said... Cool, i have all of these. The Celtic Moon cd is awesome, one of my favorites, i was blown away by it. I actually have a orchestral game soundtrack also. The only thing i can make out on it is that its "Volume 4." The rest of the title is in japanese, wait a minute, gamemusic sells this cd: http://www.gamemusic.com/dept/101/c...ttitle=Nintendo

Hmm, that appears to be a random sampling of different games, according to the track listings. Is it really good?
Quote:

gloco said... As for the rest, the sarah cds are great, fumbling is my favorite. Surfacing is a little more laidback and basically a cd to chill out to. It sounds really good to! I also have the Nelly Furtado cd but haven't listened to the whole thing, but i like her vocals a lot and again, a well recorded cd.

Sarah's albums are great for relaxing, you're right. Nelly's album has a pretty wide range of styles and music on it, surprisingly enough, and all of them seem to work. Nice album for when you're not in the mood for any particular type of song.
Quote:

gloco said... One question: where do you shop for your game soundtracks? Lastly, do you have the Castlevania: Symphony of the Night sdtk?

I must admit I don't have very many game soundtracks... yet. So far, I've just bought them from AnimeNation, since I also wanted some anime music that I couldn't find elsewhere, and I like getting everything from the same place, if possible. And no, I don't have the SOTN soundtrack... yet. I will get it the next time I get a whole bunch of CDs, like this. I actually didn't know where I could get it until now, namely here. I hate it when they release stuff under slightly different names. Do you have it?
Quote:

Vertigo-1 said... 'nuff said indeed. There's the reason I never bought it yet. I could be getting two other CDs for the price of that one.

That's no excuse for somebody that owns a pair of R10s, a RKV, and a Sony 9000.

 

[raymondlin]

If you like Aimee MAnn, get her other albums, Bachelor No.2 is also quite good. It has a few songs from the soundtrack, 14 tracks in total. And it has the video to Save Me, the one where all the cast in Magnolia sings along to the song.

 

[dhwilkin]

Quote:

raymondlin said... If you like Aimee MAnn, get her other albums, Bachelor No.2 is also quite good.

Eventually, I'll do just that, probably in my next big purchase. But I had to draw the spending limit line somewhere, all those CDs add up. Especially with some of them being imports, ouch!