best commercial album for moniter testing?

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doulos

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what is your guys fav album thats known for it being mixed extremly well preferably in 2 catagories rock and acoustic work?
just curious ohhhhhh and a good refrence album for analog warmth? just curious about your guys answers :)
 
Mr Bungle's "California"--a very well mixed and dynamic record. Possibly the most dynamic record ever recorded.

Portishead (either record but particularly the second) -- very discreetly mixed where every sound has its own zip code but the snare and vocals often peak bet 2.5k and 4k. It will tell you if the monitors peak there. That CD almost distorts on NS10s, actually does distort on events (as does bjork's "vespertine"), is a bit muddy on tannoys, sounds hideously bright on KRKs and oddly balanced and open sounding on the 824s.
 
Blue Bear,
Steely Dan - AJA. One of my all time favorites. This is the one I used to show off my new Technics stereo and JBL 4311's back in 1979/80. Damn, now I've got to fix my SL-1600MK2 turntable and pull that LP out of the closet. Thanks Blue :rolleyes:

DD
 
JayHawks - - Sound of Lies
Uncle Tupelo - Anodyne
Joe Jackson - Body and Soul
 
Dire Straits "Brothers in Arms"

And....

Anything produced by Mutt Lange...

Anything mixed by Tom Lord-Alge

Joe
 
rock- NIN the Fragile.

Acoustic- Telluride Sessions... Strength in Numbers.

xoxo
 
Radiohead - Okay Computer (Best mixed. Also good for checking stereo separation of monitors.)

Yes - Fragile (Ditto. Also good for revealing compression artifacts and other imperfections, analog/warmth qualities, etc.)

10,000 Maniacs - Our Time in Eden (Has everything. Horns, accoustic, electric, it's there).
 
I second NIN- The Fragile. A VERY busy record yet everything sounds fantastic. I wish I could get that quality of mix on my own records.

Accoustic - Days of the New - Days of the New (aka the Yellow Album).
 
Some odd ones for me -

"Force" by A Certain Ratio - a band from Manchester who never sold much, but I can really tell what a system actually sounds like if I play this on it.

Also, "Magnetic North Pole" by Cold Water Flat. Produced by Sean Slade and Paul Kolderie. An unbelievable indie/rock sound. Like Buffalo Tom (who we once blew off stage in Norwich - tho' that's another story) but better. The bass sound on this record is simply perfection.

For checking PAs, I'll use "Dignity" by the mighty Deacon Blue, "Fine Time" by New Order, "Black Coffee" by All Saints and "T'raenon" by Photek. All of which upset my indie friends a little, but to be frank, the Beta Band and obscure Japanese hardcore aren't that hot when it comes to checking PA rigs!

PS - Bear - I'm off upstairs to the studio to run "English Settlement" through my monitors - I might learn a thing or two...
 
GARY KATZ - ROGER NICHOLS

When I worked in a gear store, we used The Nightfly and Steely Dan's Two Against Nature. Most people were happy with that.
 
Two against nature was a great piece of work, but It does sound cold compared to AJA. Maybe it had to do with Digital gear instead of Tape.
 
I love Our Time in Eden!!!!
Lyle Lovett's Joshua Judges Ruth is great too!

chessrock said:
Radiohead - Okay Computer (Best mixed. Also good for checking stereo separation of monitors.)

Yes - Fragile (Ditto. Also good for revealing compression artifacts and other imperfections, analog/warmth qualities, etc.)

10,000 Maniacs - Our Time in Eden (Has everything. Horns, accoustic, electric, it's there).
Click to expand...
 
Dada - Puzzle

Aja - Steely Dan

Crime Of The Century - Supertramp

Los Lobos - Kiko

Eric Clapton - Journeyman

"Puzzle" and "Crime Of The Century" are both Ken Scott productions.
ANYTHING mixed and produced by Ken Scott is top-notch stuff!


Just about anything ever recorded by Spyro Gyra would also make a great reference.

I actually HATED Steely Dan's "Two Against Nature" so much that I gave the CD away less that a week after I bought it... and I'm a BIG Steely Dan fan! Oh, well...
 
I really like California by Mr Bungle (their latest).
There is an amazing amount of stuff going on and a lot hard left/right detail. Good low end. clean.

The Yellow Shark - Frank Zappa and The Ensemble Modern
Good orchestral album - nothing electronic (naturally) and not a perfect recordng but theres a lot there.

I also really like Eye In The Sky by The Alan Parsons Project
and of course Dark Side of The Moon.
That sound is just really appealing to me and let's face it, Dark Side is just a really, really well put together album.

Radiohead kind of reminds me of that Pink Floyd sound. I dont know why, maybe because they're English.

-mike
 
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