[non-entity]

Hi folks!
 
I was wondering... Does anybody of you guys know an album which was recorded directly to two track or at least something that's rather untouched? The reason I'm asking is because I am looking for something really raw, with not much tinkering behind. This might seem weird to some of you, but lately I'm really into intimate, raw and unedited stuff. One album that comes to mind is "The Trinity Session" by Cowboy Junkies. Another album that gives me a similar feel is "Folk Singer" by Muddy Waters (man, what a great record).
 
If you know anything raw, please, please post it! (no EQ or noise reduction, no pro tools stuff, maybe even a straight tape transfer)
 
Another album that really made me appreciate the minimalistic approach is the solo album by Mark Hollis. As far as I know, nothing was done to make the record sound more "pretty". Recorded in a great sounding room, using two vintage Neumann microphones, with lots of sweet tubes, held on tape. Although mixed digitally, it "still" (nothing bad about digital) blows me away. My ears bleed for similar stuff...
 
Well, I hope someone can suggest albums like the ones I mentioned... Would be much appreciated!

 

[violinvirtuoso]

I would talk to LFF (as he does this for a living).

 

[ArmAndHammer]

If you like jazz, blues, classical, rock and roll, try Mapleshade Records. They record live to two track and transfer over to digital and do no EQing. 

 

[bigshot]

Pretty much all music before the sixties was recorded that way. If you're looking for jaw dropping musicianship and spontaneous performances, you'll find hundreds of thousands of examples in back catalog. That freshness doesn't come from the brand of mikes used or whether EQ was applied or whether tube amps were used... it's a result of the process of music-making. Live music is more alive. Multi-tracking and fancy engineering can add a high polish to the surface, but it's what's inside that counts.

Open your mind to older music and artists.

 

[Davey]

Gillian Welch - Time (The Revelator)
 
Some posts around here about it, including my own, and some enthusiastic comments at amazon, but it really has a nice old raw and honest folk-bluegrass-country-rock sound, no overdubs, no autotune crap, just some vintage guitars and banjos and vocals...all together in the same place, and at the same time.
 
http://www.amazon.com/Time-Revelator-Gillian-Welch/dp/B00005N8CQ

 

[markbrauer]

If you like blues you might try Kim Wilson's "My Blues".  According to a review I found on the net "it's recorded in mono instead of stereo direct to tape and avoids modern studio effects".  Back when it came out I remember reading that Kim recorded it to two track stereo and mixed it to mono.  Some of the cuts have a definite two-track ambiance.  My favorite is "West Helena Woman" which is the most stereo cut on the album.  It's no "Folk Singer" (maybe the best ever) but it sure is raw. 

 

[non-entity]

Quote:

Pretty much all music before the sixties was recorded that way. If you're looking for jaw dropping musicianship and spontaneous performances, you'll find hundreds of thousands of examples in back catalog. That freshness doesn't come from the brand of mikes used or whether EQ was applied or whether tube amps were used... it's a result of the process of music-making. Live music is more alive. Multi-tracking and fancy engineering can add a high polish to the surface, but it's what's inside that counts.

Open your mind to older music and artists.

For your information: I do listen to a lot of older music and artists, but I have yet to find something cohesive and consolidated (I'm asking for albums) of that era. As far as I understood, it was common practice to record single songs for a single release back then, rather than working on a whole album. And yeah, I have a handful of old, breathtaking 45 rpm singles, but right now I have the album format in mind. I don't want any polish, I'm looking for something as natural as possible. And you probably misunderstood me a little. I do know that "freshness" doesn't come from certain pieces of gear, but from the music itself. I mentioned the technical side because this might get you guys a better idea of what I have in mind.
 
Mapleshade Records, Gillian Welch and Kim Wilson are interesting suggestions - I'm going to check out some samples.
 
@ArmAndHammer: could you suggest a certain album that was published by Mapleshade Records?
 
Thanks so far!

 

[bigshot]

Just about any bluegrass album will fit the bill, as will most BeBop, Cool Jazz and Easy Listening or Pop Vocals from the 50s or 60s. Try the Osbourne Brothers, the Dillards, the Country Gentlemen, Art Pepper, early Miles Davis, Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald especially with Oscar Peterson backing, Shorty Rogers, Dexter Gordon, Cannonball Adderly, Sonny Rollins, Gerry Mulligan... Tons of 50s/60s jazz stuff. Better yet, look for live performances on video. Naxos has an amazing series called Jazz Legends. Another great concert is Bluegrass Country Soul.

Audiophile labels usually have pedestrian performances.

 

[MohawkUS]

Check out Darkthrone, Venom,  Burzum, and for a really raw sound Emperor's Wrath of the Tyrant. 
Most metal of this genre(atleast the original bands of the genre) will have the sound you are looking for, glad to see someone else who appreciates raw sounding music, pretty rare on a forum dedicated to getting the best sound quality 

 
EDIT: I forgot one of my favorites, Scorn Defeat by Sigh, you can even hear static in the backround
 
http://www.amazon.com/Darkthrone/e/B000APCYH2/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1294364910&sr=1-1
 
http://www.amazon.com/Burzum/e/B000AP849E/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1294364922&sr=8-1
 
http://www.amazon.com/Scorn-Defeat-Sigh/dp/B002BYSG6I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1294365210&sr=1-1

 

[non-entity]

@MohawkUS: I think  the word "raw" is a little bit misleading - I'm not looking for metal albums. Still, thank you.
 
@bigshot: Bluegrass, Jazz, Bebop and most of the other genres and/or things you mentioned sadly don't fit the bill for me. I'm familiar with many of the artists you mentioned, but I don't know a single album by one of them which makes me feel like "Folk Singer" or "The Trinity Session". Did you ever hear about the latter? I think you should check it out if you haven't. Most of it was recorded during one session in the Church of the Holy Trinity, only the first song of the album was recorded a few days later at the same location. There's a beautiful cover of "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" on this album, and I thought this might interest you. I just thought you possibly like Hank Williams.
 
By the way: I just noticed something confusing. You mentioned Naxos Records, a Chinese record label. I've got a 6 CD set called "Traditional Jazz Legends" which states "Made in Hong Kong" on the back, but it was put out by Musicbank Limited. This has nothing to do with the "Jazz Legends" you mentioned, right?

 

[bigshot]

The Jazz Legends series are DVDs. They are sold separately and in box sets. The programs consist of complete live performances recorded for Norwegian TV in the late fifties and early sixties. The Ella Fitzgerald disk makes me cry.

I'll check into Trinity. sounds good!

Try Sinatra's In The Wee Small Hours. That's a powerful concept album.

 

[non-entity]

Okay, so the CD set I've got is something different. Well, I guess I should check out some of these DVDs then, if I can. I'm a big fan of Tom Waits and once I read that the cover art of "The Heart of Saturday Night" was inspired by "In the Wee Small Hours" by Frank Sinatra. This, plus the fact that I read so many positive things about this concept album led me to putting it on this endless long list on which I note albums I want to listen to. Well, guess what? I just put "In the Wee Small Hours" further up.
 
I'm pretty sure that albums like "The Trinity Session" are rather rare. Makes me sad.

 

[bigshot]

Sorry. I had the name wrong. It's Jazz Icons

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddvd&field-keywords=Jazz+legends&x=16&y=13#/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddvd&field-keywords=Jazz+icons&rh=n%3A130%2Ck%3AJazz+icons

 

[drewfus420]

Grateful Dead soundboard tapes

 

[markbrauer]

Don't know why I didn't think of it when I first posted, but some of the best two track stuff ever produced was recorded direct to disc by Sheffield Labs.  My first truly audiophile reproduction experience was Michael Newman playing classical guitar on Sheffield Lab-10.  It's still the closest thing to live music I've ever heard.  That same session I also got to hear the Harry James releases "Still Harry After All These Years" (Lab-11) and "the king james version" (Lab-3),  To this day the most dynamically incredible recordings I've heard.  All three have been on many "best" lists.  The vinyl is long out of print but Sheffield did release some of it's stuff on CD made from two track analog tape rolling at the same time as the D-to-D. I've only heard the vinyl and can't vouch for the CDs.  (Note; my observations are based on listening with a pretty darn good speaker-based system.  Never heard them on headphones although I can't imagine they'd sound bad.)

You mention "Folk Singer", you should also try Buddy Guy's tribute to it - "Blues Singer".  While not quite as stunning, it has a very similar ambience and doesn't sound processed.  And Buddy Guy/Junior Wells "Alone and Acoustic" is awfully good too.