All in the head

"To derive good sound is not about the thing you do right but the wrong thing you don't do." says a wise guy. I wish I would have comprehended it earlier, I'd have saved some monies then. Making wrong turns will incur a financial loss, who doesn't make mistakes? Likewise, all systems are not built the same. If you could exercise more receptiveness, you'll appreciate the beauty of each individual system despite different audio approach.

I have had a good 100 minutes of listening yesterday evening. Absolutely mesmerizing, the music moves me so much that I let my hair down and turn off my analytical intuition. Free my mind, relax and allow the music takes me. These days I don't listen for more than 120 minutes. Your brain wears out and wanders beyond 120 minutes listening time span. Spontaneously, you reach out to your phone and begin browsing, the music will then resort to background noise. Music is everything about emotion, noise is a pollutant. You only attentive to the chorus, the rest is noise to fill the emptiness.

Two CDs were on my playtime, "When Roland met Burt" and "I Have Got A Song For You".

"When Roland met Burt" by Roland Keating is a great album, he sings Burt's work. Without a question, Burt is a great songwriter and have produced many household hits like "Walk on By", "The Look of Love", "What the World Needs Now Is Love", "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself", "This Guy's in Love with You", "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head", "Close to You", "Arthur Theme"  and "That's What Friends Are For". Absolutely timeless.

What do I have here? While this is not an audiophile approved album, all tracks on this album were recorded live with a full orchestra backing. Do you know the boost the music receives? Buckle your seat belt, I'm in for a treat. The recording is good, the music even better. A good mix of slow and upbeat numbers, recognisable tunes, you just can't beat that. The way the tracks were arranged in sequence, the album producer wanted to take you for an emotional roller coaster ride. Now the difference between an album and a compilation is the continuity, the storytelling. Anyway, typical audiophiles are habitually jumping track to track. It's a dream for any vocalists to perform with an orchestra, an honour, a recognition, you don't see newcomers perform with an orchestra. They have yet to earn the privilege. The drama heightens, the grandiose shone, the music is on steroid. Roland took the upbeat numbers like a duck to the water, my heartbeat chased after the tempo. Undeniably, my reaction is the most telling.

"This Little Red Book" is my most memorable track. I was electrified by the punches coming from my speakers, drove adrenaline rush to my heart. I think a full Naim system will sing admirably. I can't help wanting more composure to end the closing. Satisfied. Albeit the orchestra is scaled down, that didn't deter my listening pleasure. Moving on to a sentimental number, "The House Is Empty Now" wrenches soul, I felt the lyrics. Roland takes the slow numbers equally well, he conveys the emotions. His rendition reaches me deeply, speaks to me, isn't this the primary reason we audio?

Thereafter, I took thing slow with "I Have Got A Song For You" by our homegrown EB Duet. A vocalist and a guitarist, you dare not try this if you have a less than perfect vocal. No place to hide. Let me tell you, Eve Wong can sing, full stop. There was on occasion my wife and I went to see them live at Sunway Velocity in their CD promotion tour. Pity, the PA sound system was not very good. Fresh from the memory, I was glad to learn that their second album comprises original materials following up their debut album "The Beginning", a cover version of the classics. I got both CDs in my collection. This particular album, even the first one, doesn't pose any particular challenging audio attributes given their smooth jazzy and souly in nature. The locally produced recording is good, not great, I'm not troubled by it. More importantly, their music moves me.

I believe my best audio is ahead of me, I really do. My quest for "closer to music" motivates me to explore possibilities, relentlessly. Getting close to the real thing sends me ineffable shivers. The harmonics, the nuances, the microdynamics, the sustain, most of all the directness of unamplified music, all in a single package. Only in live, you get a glimpse of true timbre, our system could only hope to replicate a dose of it, there's much more information out there.

Take a moment to examine, aren't we listen to direct and reflected sound too simultaneously? While some press insistence on measurements, they're completely missing the point. What counts is what you receive at the end. The case of "The same system sounded different in different rooms" is a genuine phenomenon, how could you turn a blind eye on this? Are you so naive to not think room tuning overrides measurements?

Oh blame me, I'm hypercritical of room tuning. No good room acoustics, no good sound, as simple as that. Mostly, audiophiles don't know where to begin with room tuning. Move something around and listen, there isn't any textbook to guide you. Be mindful, loudness is not an entity in high fidelity. You want to go loud, you look for a system with big drivers and high power handling speakers, finesse and harmonics are eluded.

Specs are all in the head if they know what they really mean in audio. Sound without a soul, you'll be overwhelmed with a ton of details coming out from their system. Perhaps they're proud with their microdetails and cleanliness, what's missing is a string that weaves the sound up, the flow is missing. Does this indicate in sine wave or oscilloscope or whatever measuring tools? Come on, you're smarter than them. Perhaps they don't know how to listen. It's resounding clear that room acoustics is powerful enough to turn the tide, can you turn a blind eye on room tuning? A big mistake to confront the ignorant, walk away quietly. Some have become very sick. If you want controversies to lighten your boring life, their group chat will not disappoint. Instead, they will keep you really busy and "entertained". Before long, someone will walk out feeling like a fool. The negativity creates bad air, do little to build a good system. Me? No, thank you. Trump is talking about building a wall, my wall is high enough to fend off nonsense. Life is too short to be wasted on social media, Mark Manson knows it too.

Commemorative CD 2016

The producer of Commemorative CD 2016, Jo passed to me a red hot copy to me for my thoughts. Knowing him, the selection of tracks has an implicit objective; to educate general public on variety of music and to broaden music listening horizon. I know he also wanted to attract new visitors with new diversity of music.

Without further ado, here's go.  

Track one, Norfolk Country Line

Acoustic guitar broke the silence, McLeod “Ever go down to Norfolk country line?”, his voice, not particularly deep nor husky but rather penetrating, McLeod has done enough to attract me. This composition has its root in country blue with a story telling like delivery. Duet with a low voice female, “Our love!” that’s the climax when both shoot at the high notes. The harmonica sings beautifully. I couldn’t ask for a better arrangement. A very nice piece, easy on ear, it couldn’t be any better to start off this commemorative CD. First track matters, it either promotes further listening or chucking the CD aside. 

Track two, Fireworks

Her shady voice and delivery resembles Susan Wong. Her voice is slightly nasal and gravelly. The double bass, hmmm, a little gluey and thick for my taste. I got poor double bass articulation. Slow tempo, it’s a treat listening to this Bossa Nova in one lazy afternoon, it relaxes the mind. Singing articulation is not necessary for Bossa Nova. Never mind what she sings, just floating on her voice. The cymbal is commendable though.

Track three, La Campanella, No. 3 in g-sharp minor from Grand Etudes de Paganini

A light and nimble playful piano is composed by Franz Liszt in his true admiration for the “super human” Mr. Paganini’s masterly violin skills and techniques, prompted Liszt to duplicate a copy of Mr. Paganini’s image onto himself; he is an equally talented piano maestro. As such, this piano composition comprises of high level of technicality to reflect his flamboyance.

The flying notes with a variation of key strike forces, the pianist is playing with a wonderful continuity. You will be amazed by his virtuosity the run at the closing. It gets your heart pumping. Bravo, bravo.

Track four, The DJ

Breathy voice, most Gaelic songs are sad. She sings so close to the mic, as such, the image is bigger than life (without accentuate the volume). This is my least preferred track in this CD.

Track five, Adja da Li Znaes pametis

The Middle East guitar style led me to suggest a world music. I see myself relaxing on a veranda with a desert view. The recording is remarkably open, with great ambiance subtleties. The unique guitar strumming induces paralytic sensation, so as when the guitar picks up the pace. Who could not have guessed the hallmark of MA Recording? I always love MA Recording’s way of treating the natural decay.

Track six, Looking For A Home

Hear the guitar vibrato, fascinating. Country boys always have their way with guitar note bending, others music genre doesn’t do that much. “I have been down so many times ”, “Wouldn’t leave me alone, never hurt nobody” I couldn’t help feeling the backup vocal is stealing the show, the song came alive. Folks, listen to the separation between the main and backup vocal. The vocal harmonization is marvelous nevertheless. This is a tale of a convict looking for a home.

Track seven, Body and Soul

Back to mainstream jazz, I could spot nice music instrument localization. She stands singing half foot to my right. Her voice is full and relatively free of grain. Then, there is a bass trombone, that’s a little unusual. I can imagine a night out drinking in a jazz pub.

Track eight, Isn’t It Little late

Another Gaelic number, the wooden percussive instrument is regulating my heart beat. Oh! The texture.

Track nine, The Dog Song

An electric guitar intro and a sparse voice, what do you get? It sounds like the mix of soul and blues. The guitar is electrifying and tenacious.

Track ten, Espelho quebrado

A song in foreign language, presumably, a Latin. It’s a Portuguese. Maria sings her heart out. Sweet and feminine, this track melts iron hearts. Accompanied by a sax, it tells a broken love and helpless.  

Track eleven, Golden Spear Steel Horse

This is an ancient Chinese home welcoming piece, featuring drums at the center stage. Pipa has a magical way of speaking to you, so zen and so rich in harmonic due to the twisted notations. The tranquility disappears with the war drums come in the action, bring about intensity and drama. The grandeur of stage, this is no easy task.

Track twelve, Come Together

Now, this sounds familiar. Listening to this acoustic steel strings guitar repertoire, the playing style reminds me of the legendary late Michael Hedges. Aggressive play and attack on the strings.

Track thirteen, Meanwhile

Begins with percussive notation, follows by the moving drum strokes. A gentle double bass on the left and a cymbal on the right join in, the sax on the far right come in onto the scene. The cymbal opens a new dimension of space like it always does. The recording captures the essence of the music. The ripple quality of the drum is so inviting. You got to loosen your mind and flow with the music, this is free will jamming.

Track fourteen, Vranjanka

The opening double bass is so imposing as if running over you, the gain of recording is notably up by a few notches. A skillful display of double bass virtuosity, the notes are weighty. This should be the favorite show piece track, no doubt about it.

Track fifteen, Lord’s Tundra

Bass guitar time, this brings me back to Brian Bromberg CD. Feel the music.

Track sixteen, Mass in B Minor

This mass chorale appeals to Bach fans. Bach is known for his vocal music, he is one of the most important figures in Baroque period. His works have great influences on the later generation of composers. In this piece, you will hear the synchronization of voices, male and female, higher octave and lower octave. Your system is put to the test on its ability on stay resolute producing this massive work. A wall of singing heads and feel the solemn and heaviness of this piece. 

This year selection comprises many tracks featuring double bass. Generally, double bass is tuned to E1 which responds to 41.2Hz. This frequency is within most speakers reach. Beside one heavy Chinese piece, the rest are equally challenging on harmonic reproduction. Be patience with the tracks, the music will slowly grow on you. It is the matter of the degree of how well your system in managing micro details, micro dynamics and ambience retrieval. Combine these aspects leads you to a new dimension of musical pleasure, spatial and spacious. The talk about music transporting listeners to a virtual TIME and SPACE is true as you continue to work your system towards that goal.

I wanted to take time to thank Jo for his time and effort on this CD. He is one of the good guys that believe in giving back to the social, continues to contribute and share his knowledge for the good of the audio community in general even though he has retired from showcasing his LS3/5a to the general public in KLIAV show. Look, he doesn't have to do if he doesn't want to, you get what I mean. Not forgetting the generous sponsors too, thank you.

Oh my Lady Gaga!

Lunar New Year (LNY) is around the corner. Most Malaysians are drowning in holiday spirit. A week long holiday is a good break before working your ass off for the entire 2016, your boss expected that commitment. My new year resolution this year is having no resolution, live life easy. Securing livelihood, stay healthy, attending more live music and taking better pictures, something to keep myself occupied.

Music is still my first love, it enriches my life. Who wouldn't love good music particularly those in growing years? Those sensual tunes walk me down memory lane. I do know now that some people do strange things, perhaps they are painting a piece of memory. Well, we all have tendency to look back when you reached a certain age. Those are good times especially when you are young and healthy.

Honestly, I don't know much about Malay classics. When you look at music, you look at articulatory phonetics. Some lingoes are inherently romantic. Like majority of the languages of the world, Malay phonetics has the fluency in which, facilitate beautiful phrasing. Mind you, some lingoes audibly angry with strong emphasis of nasality. Chinese is choppy with four distinctive keys. The meaning is vastly different when you pronounce the wrong key. That's why Chinese is one of the most difficult language to master.

Anyway, I'd like introduce Sheila Majid, a diva who requires no further introduction to fellow Malaysians. Here's her credentials, she begs 1998 America's International Star Search Award for Best Female Vocalist, the first Malaysian artist to break into Japan in the following year. She also the first Malaysian artist to stage a solo show at Royalty Theatre. And, the below CDs were recorded in Petronas Philharmonic Hall in 2015 commemorating her 25th years in her singing career.

She has an incredible voice, plenty of wetness. Not forgetting the background vocal too. The vocal harmonization deserves credits. Mostly, the orchestra injects power to her delivery. Every artist has his/her own delivery. And music lovers look out for that signature, the uniqueness. Me too singers at best singing cabaret in local lounges, they don't have the ummph... to go up the next level. People listen and forget. Anyway, entertainment industry is a complicated business. Beside vocal line, look which relating to image plays a big part.

Remember I write about the blackness when the music dies some time ago? It was again audible in these CDs, it was there. The blackness is even more profound in the hall. This is because the reverberations of my room amplify the whiteness unless your room is acoustically dead.
Comes in double CDs box set, it costs RM34 (8USD) this is tremendous value. Listening to the CDs, I was amazed how well they were recorded. The hall ambiance retrieval and the crowd applause just as remembered as with my past audible experience with Malaysia Philharmonics Orchestra. Three visits in 2 weeks.

Strings, brass, timpani were spectacular. I really need to set the record straight, my reference is based on hall ambiance retrieval, the crowd applause and orchestra play, all the elements of MPO sounded right. The uncanny quality is magical. In my humble opinion, this local recording quality surpassed audiophile approved CDs, audiophile CDs in comparison sounded artificial. I say this with one reservation, her voice was stronger than the mezzo soprano that might have suggested that she was using a mic.

Hair raising every time I play these CDs. Oh my Lady Gaga! Without hesitation, these CDs are now firmly my system repertoire. I will not point you to tonality, dynamic, micro details, extreme frequency or other parameters, but listen for yourself how close it sounded to the real thing, specifically the ambiance. Some of MPO recordings are labelled under BIS under the baton of Kees Bakels.

A well recorded live album is very hard to come by, a true rarity. You know how reproduction music can sometimes sounded weirdly different from the real thing. People refer this phenomenon as black art because you never know how's your mixing turn out to be. By the time this post is published, I have already got a second copy as spare. Folks, it is that good! Only if you like her music, of course.

The beginning

Dust off 2015, new year, new beginning. Have the long break do any good to you? Thirst for more success, hunger for more fidelity?

At 20s, you better be. There's a long road ahead of you.
At 30s, you should be. Time and tide wait for no one.
At 40s, you ought to be. Jump at the opportunity.
At 50s, you could be. Doesn't matter.
At 60s, just stay healthy.

Seeing my ex-colleague losing a job at 50 is mind disturbing, for God sake, he makes the most money for the company. Dear friends, this is a tale of working class. Alas, the government talks about retirement at 60s, this is not realistic in private sector. Private sector will try all means to get rid of you well ahead of your time, making way for hungrier young employees. Killing two birds with one stone, boosting internal competition and everybody has a shot at the top, this is a healthy corporation culture. Corporate politics is the side effect. You get to spend time on politics in order not to be wash out. In addition, the book will be looking good too. To some extreme cases, female work force is asked to delay reproductive plan by offering all paid up egg storage facility! In a world of capitalism, everyone has to go when a corporate is not making money.

Are we heading to recession, bank is tightening credit, new project sales is stalling, car sales dropped, less customers at the restaurant, all signalled the weakening of economy. We are now combating rising cost of doing business, rising inflation in a shrinking market. Currency war, many countries deliberately revaluing its currency to boost export, and Malaysia, Ringgit plummeted by default. Ringgit is the worst performing currency in Asia Pacific.
  
Audioing is getting expensive. Thinking of catching a real deal in pre-owned market? It stays as a wishful thinking. Pre-owned High End stuff is likely to be taken out of the country, leaving a vacuum in local pre owned High End segment. The whole scenario is out of the frying pan, into a fire compounded with low spending power. Cables, tweaking gadgets and music will do well in bad times given the fact that they don't have that much to spend on electronics and speaker.

Despite the above, shouldn't we spend more time on music? I picked up Eb Duet debut album "The beginning" released on 11th November 2015. Fresh from the oven,so it seems. The duo is Eve Wong, the vocalist and Billy Ho, the guitarist, identical to Double Take. Eb Duet started off as performer at private and public event. Eve has a full and smokey voice that you wouldn't expect from a petite physics. Luckily, she doesn't have a peculiar English articulation given English is not her mother tongue. The selection of songs is standard jazz where the market is floated with similar offerings from recording companies. Another mediocre too will break the bank and a failed effort.

The voice and style are the quality that will stand out amidst the crowd. Outstanding recording quality is a bonus, especially the micro dynamic is noteworthy. Eb Duet must have a lot of gut doing these numbers, I found myself mesmerizing Eve's voice. Good efforts from the Studio B and Mobile Recording, the album projected a strong rock solid "presence", the SET sensation on human voices. In all honesty, I prefer Mobile Recording track 6 and 9 than the rest of the tracks by Studio B. Track 6 is recorded in a house and track 9 in a hotel, the ambiance sounded more natural as opposed to more clinical inclined with Studio B. Well, that's me. If I am going to nitpick, the cello and the lower frequencies could be better recorded. It sounded a little murky and lessen in that region. And dump the organ, play the piano please.

The arrangement is simple enough, smooth flow of music and you don't want complicated virtuosity to mess things up. Just prepare the stage for the vocalist to deliver the song will be fine. A great number of instruments are used, guitar, bass, organ, cello, brush and chimes, adding colours and dimension to the songs.

All in all, "The beginning" is an album worthy to collect. The album can be had at Rock Corner and CD Rama at a promotional price of RM41.90, first press.

  

Skye Deep Blue

It is believed many Malaysians may have missed this album for it was not distributed here. A classic story of lounge singer, spotted, went into a recording studio. There are a lot of unpolished great singers that needed a break. CD recorded in China to me sounds unnatural, with a very forward midrange while the rest step back.

Try hunting this CD in JB, no luck. Got to get it from Singapore. Boy, am I glad. Skye is a Singapore born, lounge singer at St. James Power Station. Built in 1926, this place was a power plant turned into an entertainment centre for the booming Vivo City. This album was released in 2008, this is her debut album under Harmony Records. It is a surprising good cover version album with great selection of modern classic Mandarin hits and a English number, Elvis's Love me tender. Mind you, this is not another ordinary cover version, it gives me goosebumps. Credits to her husky voice, weighty, individuality, unplugged style and great recording quality. Of course, her executive producers, Yin Tan and Sebastian Koh. Her vocal reminiscent of Paul Young's flu-struck voicing. Some cuts bettered the original to my ears, of course.

If you are a fan of MA recording, this is going to be a treat. Todd Garfinkle, the familiar face who show up every year at KLIAVS promoting his CDs is responsible for recording. Single microphone, one take recording, uncompressed, no mixing and direct cut to master. Optimum sonic preservation. Expect exceptional harmonic richness, palpable imaging and great ambiance capture, a hallmark of MA recording. Recording took place in Republic Polytechnic. Every bit spells audiophile. The arrangement is mostly accompanied with crispy guitar plucking and gorgeous drum. All audiophile goodness you ever asked for from this album.

Track list

1 後來
2 曾經心痛
3 囚鳥
4 味道
5 一笑而過
6 棋子
7 一個人生活
8 聽海
9 哭不出來
10 最熟悉的陌生人
11 Love Me Tender

Skye smoked Sally on this particular track, bettered in emotional intent of the song. Sally has a higher key, displays an angry delivery while Skye conveys helplessness.

Unreserved thumb up.

Tathagata

Which album gives you the goosebumps every time listening to it? Some say Second birth reincarnation CD, it will give you the creep. It works your mind as if you are going through the phase to get out the circle of kharma. Many say you could not go to bed after listening to it. I disfavor this type of mind disturbing music. Little musical value.

Tathagata is a Sanskrit word, meaning one who has thus come/gone. While I do not proclaim my proficiency in Sanskrit, music has proven to be a universal language. This is an award winning CD, composed by the dean of Shanghai Conservatory of Music, Mr He Xuntian.

The line of world music or native music is rather blur, Mr He employed a lot of native music instruments in his works. There is also some sitar play here and there, an Indian influence that led me to Tibetan music.

Fans of sound effect, you will find some brilliant sound effects, vicious thunder, lightning and borderless sound field. No walls can hold up to this magnificent CD. The thunder strikes (CD in play) is as real as can be. Your neighbor will hate you every time you play this CD for the false alarm. I felt the urge to turn down the volume fearing the track might blow my speakers. The visceral thunder show no mercy. I can only imagine this CD play on mega system, this will definitely shake pants.

Guys, if you want to impress your guests, this is it. Tathagata can keep your Manger Test disc back  on your shelves. Beware, the whole thing will collapse if your amp aren't up to the task. Me, this is not my type. Furthermore, my system could not cut it.

Mc Chicken

Everybody has their favorite vocal albums. I was a vocal man before but I'm slowly gravitizing to classical music, unamplified music. The splendor and grace of classical music is magnifique, courtesy of improved resolving power of my system. In my opinion, unamplified music is your best reference to timbre accuracy.

A friend who gave up on audio, sold all his audio stuff claimed that he is freed from audio slavery. He now goes live concerts and says even mega systems could not come near to what he is listening. He is right but live events and audioing are two difficult things, liken apple and orange. We audio because we like to tweak, and along the path, we enjoy music, at our convenience, any time, any where, no ticket hassle. The keyword of audioing is involvement. When there is an involvement, you care, you are passionate. That's the difference.

Music genres demand different audio requirements. Pop, jazz and blues demand good kicks at the midbass and PRaT to groove, west coast sound will serve you best. Classical requires a linear tonal balance to sound right, east coast sound. Vocal, British midrange hard to beat, the Brits have an edge there.

Blumenhofer Acoustics? A less known German speaker maker. In general, small companies put more heart into their stuff, don't they? Not another sampler? The thing with most samplers, the moods swing like roller coaster. Pop the disc in and spin, wow, wow, wow! Blumenhofer Acoustics sampler is simply superb. I repeated the sampler three times on its maiden play, tapping foot, moving head. That's how good it is!

Selection of music scores aside, the vinyl tonality really caught my attention. Many companies, Tacet, Analogue Production etc tried ways and means to make red book format sound less digital, their approach succeeded in various degrees. Well, digital has come a long way, today digital sounded remarkably better, less jitter and more of polycarbonate flavor.

Labeled under STS Digital, vinyl direct anolog digital conversion to red book format via MW decoding. Sound cool! Indeed, the sonic fabric is knitted tightly, tons of organic feel to it. Total lack of digitis, no grain, silk like. Vinyl proprietary hiss is even audible. You want to know "presence", this is it.

Painstakingly select 14 scores from 4000 LPs, the selection is truly musically excellente. From pop, jazz, blues, folk, though this sampler did not give me the jerking feel hopping from one music genre to another. Its like ice blended latte, smooth, creamy and aromatic. Forget about audiophile approved tracks, these are real world songs with familiar tunes. Audiophile approved scores have that peculiar unapproachable-ness to them, they called acquired taste. No, this is your regular Mc Chicken.

Track list

1. Steady On                        Shawn Colvin
2. Last days at the lodge      Amos Lee
3. Saltarello                          Dead can Dance
4. Golden Brown                 The Strangles
5. Come to the river             Hans Theessink & Terry Evans
6. Blues Walk                      Lou Donaldson
7. So Strong                         Labi Siffre
8. II Blues                            Sam Lightnin Hopkins
9. House of rising sun         Cynder Petera
10. Come Di                          Paolo Conte
11. Kirya                               Ofrz Haza
12. Homeless                         Paul Simon
13. Wade in the water           Eva Cassidy
14. Money money                 The King Singers

Recording is really good, it has human properties. The brass excites, the double bass is resilient, the spatial is spooky, the tunes are groovy, what more will you ask for.

This sampler can be had from ebay, it is not cheap though. Mentioned above is Volume I, my Volume II is still unopened.

KLIAVS 2013 Commemorative CD

Hey folks, KLIAVS is back again. This is an event most fi are looking forward to check out the latest toys in the audio market. It is also timely for fi from all over the country to fellowship. Out to grab, the organizer has printed 10k copies for the show goers.

Hot from the stove, I've received a copy of CD from the organizer on July 2. The producer handed it over to me, I felt honoured. The artwork of the cover CD is like non other, a royal symbol somewhat and the fabric background injects elegance, mystery and very English flavoured. Are the producers getting a lit excited receiving the coming of new member of British Royal Family? I know that the producer was once studied in UK. Talk about colonial sentiment, ha. Only they will know. In a nutshell, the cover looks classy and presents less commercial intent.

The producer also revealed that the quality of the CD is better and cost higher to promise better sound. Wasting no time, I spun the CD to pen my thoughts.

Here's the tracks recorded on this CD :

1. Autumn Leaves from Audiophile Prologue 1
2. Amour M'est Au Cuer Entre from Out of Time and Country
3. Cello Suite 3 from Martin Zeller/J.S Bach/6 Suites Cello
4. Tomorrow from Woong San/Tomorrow
5. El Portenito from Sera Una Noche/La Segunda
6. Birmingham Jail from Sheila Jordan/Voices
7. Wisdom of Empty City 空城計from Three Kingdom 三國
8. John Henry from Cecile McLorin Salvant/Woman Child
9. 短歌行 from 關棟天/短歌行
10. Chapel of Love from Girl Talk/Girl Talk
11. I'm All Smiles from Ravid Goldschmidt &Silvia Perez Cruz/Llama
12. Sonata Graz No. 3 For Violin Continuo In D RV II Allergo from La Serenissima/Antonio Vivaldi
13. Chitlins & Gefiltefis from Christian Mcbride/Conversation with Christian
14. Echoes of Love from Omar Akram/Echoes of Love
15. Dance of The Tumblers from Exotic dances from the Opera/Rimsky-Korsakov/Eiji Oue/Minnesota Orchestra

The selection of tracks this time around mostly is less commonly heard and more of acquired taste.  Suffice to say, Commemorative 2013 will be less appealing to fi with narrow music genre preference and newbie. So, be patience, wotk them out and you will like it soon enough.

Recording quality wise in general bettered Commemorative 2012, notably more natural tone and greater tone density. I was told that a sealed Commemorative 2012 is going for RM120 - RM150. Imagine that!

Voices, go for track 1, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11
Acoustic timbre, track 3, 5, 7, 12, 13, 14, 15
Spatial presence, track 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 14, 15
Big scale, track 7, 9, 15
Bass, track 4, 8, 13, 14, 15
PRaT, track 8,

My favorite tracks are No. 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12 & 15. Well, that's me. You might have different favorites. Vocal fans will not be disappointed, the vocal has the surreal presence. The ambiance tends to draw my attention and is one of the hallmarks of audiophile approved recording.

My run down on the tracks :

Track 1 is not an easy track to chew. If your system doesn't have a good bass reproduction, the double bass will mess it up instantly.

Track 2 is my personal favorite. The bell measures your highs reproduction, the spatial imaging in huge soundscape is absolutely stunning. Very clean recording.

Track 3 sounded elegance. Smashing clarity on the cellos, delicious instrument reverberation propagation. Love it.

Track 4 demonstrates a lushly vocal with strong rumbling bass. Background is not as dark and clean.

Many MA recording hallmarks, clean and spacious were showcased on track 5. The conversations were unpretentious.

Feeling a crave for country songs, Track 6 will be fulfilling. Ultra black background. MA recordings has its magic again on double bass, well behaved, controlled and comes with distinct edge delineation. Very natural vocal reproduction.

I am not unfamiliar with track 7. Three Kingdom is one of the better recordings from China, many were hampered by over EQed resulting unnatural timbre. Cinematic effect with rumbling bass if these what you're looking for, you found it here. This track will on put a test on your amp current delivery and

Track 8, a folk song with Jazz influence. Punchy midbass, a test on your system ability to depict double bass and kick drum. Harry Belafonte's version is still very much prefered.

Track 9 is very acquired taste, it is either love or hate affair.

Track 10 is my least favorite.

Track 11, as with similar to Track 5. The female vocalist voice sounded like Ricky Lee Jones.

Violin lover track, track 12. Expansive and tone beauty.

Cow tendon string fans, track 13 is a bass crunching score. A good test for tenacity, and it is strictly for kick ass system. This track will move a lot of air.

Track 14 is a new age score. Out of word, difficult to describe.

And lastly, the producer is saving the best for last, play it, crank it up, wrap it up and call it a night. The splendor of a full orchestra, my kind of music. Layering, tone beauty and majesty of orchestra, this is room shaking track.

A worthy note, MA Recording is truly breathless and outstanding. They have the uncanny quality to depict space, timbre and spatial presence, floating the images in mid air. Reference Recording too is equally impressive. Commemorative 2013 will slowing grow on you.

Go out, attend the show and grab a copy or be sorry.

Fire and ice, phew....

This week I'm going to talk about Carmen Fantasy, a popular operatic piece composed by Pablo De Sarasate. Of all interpretations, some are honest to the original composer's intent, some add flavors, nothing wrong with that, it is all in the name of interpretation.

When listening to Classical, take time to read the synopsis, here, to understand the story line and the background. Carmen Fantasy should possess the Gypsy characteristics with the following movement with adagio, moderato finish off with allegro.

This CD featuring Sarah Chang, violinist, Placido Domingo conducting Berliner Philharmoniker. When did Placido start conducting? Fire and Ice was recorded in Berlin in 2001 when Sarah was only 20, she has matured progressively from her earlier albums, Debut (1992), recorded when she was only 9. Well regarded as a child prodigy, she is the modern violinist to watch. Life must be tough on her as many prodigy never destined to rise into the stardom due to pressure and high expectation. Some promising talents commit suicide for that.

As I compare Debut to her Fire and Ice, well, you will find Sarah in Debut (1992) is an unpolished diamond, crude. I never care for her Debut. I first watch her perform Carmen Fantasy in Youtube. Here is the link. Awesome! Technical command, phrasing, artistry at a very high level. I am not good enough to claim it was a flawless performance but I thoroughly enjoy it. Trust me! I have listened to many on Youtube, this is by far the best, IMO. Too many impart too much romanticism on this work I think it is not correct. Dude! Sarasate would want it to be fast and furious.

Listening to Sarasate makes your heart pumps, as a result, it takes me an hour or so to calm down for bed. Now, if you are old and lack imaginative mind, you'll know Sarasate is good for you to get the job done!

I compared Sarah to Itzhak, Itzhak's romantic phrasing helped by his Strad, is a little too much for me. Tempo is slower than normal, less Gypsy-ness especially at the closing, a lit lackluster. Recording quality of Itzhak CD supercedes Sarah's. Audiophiles would prefer Itzhak. Thus, it is wrong to generalize a great violin virtuoso can play all repertoires equally well.

Now that Itzhak Perlman has passed his prime, I keep a close watch on Sarah because she is up there if not the best in her peer group. I find her works move me. At 30, Sarah is in her prime now. I hope that she will not cut back on her recordings after finding someone and start a family. What kind of works she is known for? I know the answer but if you are interested, it is time for you to go find out.

Recording was done in Berlin. Now you got a first tier Berliner Philharmoniker, gifted Sarah Chang and the very good recording quality, a blessing to audio. Mine is 2001, first pressing, made in EU. Go grab a copy.