Good recordings with unsatisfactory LPs

[adrian]

One important area the TP can address is the problematic LPs produced from otherwise good recordings.  This tends to happen much more with wide dynamic range, complex music such as large orchestral works.  Some works are just impossible to cut onto LPs without significant compression.  Recordings with a lot of bass information can be a problem too.
Most obvious would be some of the Mercury recordings that many have mentioned.  Other obvious deficiencies:

Orff Camina Burana (except the German Phonix Edition which puts the piece onto 4 LP sides.  Sadly, this LP is extremely rare and expensive)
Beethoven 9th Symphony (best being the MFSL Decca Solti recording.  Even then, the climax in the last movement is compressed and can get confused)
Verdi Requiem (even the King Superanalog LPs are compressed)
Mahler 8th

+ many many more highly dynamic orchestral pieces.

I see less reason for doing simple acoustic vocals or small ensembles (jazz or classical).  The tapes might offer improved transparency and lower distortion, but many LPs of such music are already very satisfactory.

We made a recording of the complete Strauss Elektra opera with the Hong Kong Philharmonic a couple of years ago.  I made the two channel backup tape with just a couple of Nagra IV-S with QGB, running at 15ips using Nagramaster equalization.  Even with the limitations of a live concert recording, the dynamic impact from the session master is at a totally different level from any commercial recordings I have heard on LPs or SACDs.

[ironbut]

Hi Adrian, I agree that large orchestral works with large dynamic swings are much better served by tape than by lp. But, at the same time, I have or have listened to demos of all but two of the 2007 Tape Project releases and my ears tell me that every genre of music is equally liberated by this media and (perhaps just as important) the purist approach that our benefactors have adhered to. When you hear these tapes, I'm sure you'll agree.
If I could make a suggestion for you and other members of this forum, most of you guys have expertise in areas of recorded music that others may not. So, when you make a suggestion, make it for the piece of music, but let myself and others know which particular recording you prefer. Go ahead and shoot for the moon. As long as it was mastered on analog tape, your dream tape could very well come true. I try to list the Label and catalog number so there's no confusion. Well, you get the idea. And even if your suggestion doesn't become a TP release anytime soon, the other members can learn from your suggestion and look for it on lp.
On another note;
Sometimes I feel like the Suggestion Box is sadly, underused. I hear audiophiles gripe all the time about the releases that this or that label has made over the years, and here we have the powers that be (?) asking us to let them know what we'd like to see. Let's see a little more action here (myself included of course).
So, welcome to the forum, nice to see your first post here!