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Which track do you demo to your friends?

You know when a friend arrives at your house, sees your stereo and says "how much did all this cost". You tell him/her the $$$ and they say "are you mad?" Of course, the next step is to justify it by playing something that will make their jaw hit the floor. Which track do you play? Me, I play a track called "Spanish Harlem" by Rebecca Pidgeon off an album called "The Raven". Works every time :-) Their jaw hits the floor, and no-one speaks till the song is over. Then they something along the lines of "Oh, I see what you mean". Follow up/alternate demo tracks for me would include "Fire and Roses" by Mimi Goese and "Ordinary Life" by Christen Barry. What track do you play in this most demanding of moments?
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nilthepill
842 posts
 
I pick any Reference Recording CD's, POMP AND PIPES (2nd and 4th track)in perticular. Any Mapleshade CD'S,Makin' Whoopee: Tribute to the King Cole Trio ( 5th and 6th)OR A LA CARTE BRASS AND PERCUSSION: Boogeyin'!Any)in perticular. Most from the above two labels are good for DEMONSTRATION. I will have to try out some of the track(albums)mentioned in the above posts.
stumpie
23 posts
 
This is great ! Some if this music i have , some i don't. I'm buying some CD's tomorrow ! :) The 1st CD i would play to a show off my system would be James McMurtry , Candyland, Track 6 & 10 ! After eight years these two songs still give me goos bumps !!!Follow up. John Prine, The missing Years , Track 2 & 3 !!!! Both of these CD's have other good songs also. :)
tubegroover
2,279 posts
 
I ALWAYS let guests decide what they want to hear. If it is just about showing off the system I have a few that I use but sonics on there own is never a criteria. Folks want to hear MUSIC not audiophile drivel. Earl Hines "Fatha" album Sophisticated Lady is a show stopper for piano. No one gets by that one. Dynamics of an orchestra; 3rd movement of Rach 2nd Concerto with Jorge Luis Prats Piano and the Mexico City Phiharmonic Orchestra. The power of the orchestra at the opening of this movement is conveyed in a most real manner. Female vocals - I play Ella singing "My Funny Valentine". It isn't the greatest recording but is good enough and really is an eye opener to those who aren't familiar with what a great artist she was.
rayhall
393 posts
 
I would pick Dick Hyman from "From the Age of Swing" on Reference Recordings: "You're Driving Me Crazy/Moten Swing", "Moonglow" or "Dooji Wooji"; from Marian McPartland, "Reprise": "In Your Own Sweet Way","Tickle Toe","Symphony" and "Things Ain't What They Used to Be", from Duke Ellington, "Three Suites" (Columbia): "Overture", "Toot Toot Tootie Toot", "Sugar Rum Cherry" and "Entr'acte". These last four are jazz arrangements of well-known movements from Tchiakovski's "Nutcracker" and show the absolute musical genius of Ellington. Recording ain't bad either. From Charles Mingus' "New Tijuana Moods" (RCA), I choose "Dizzy Moods", "Los Mariachis" and "Flamingo" and from "Louis Armstrong Sings Back through the Years" I choose "A Kiss to Build A Dream On", "Dream A Little Dream of Me", which he sings with Ella Fitzgerald, "La Vie en Rose" and "Blueberry Hill". Leaving jazz, from Gloria Estefan's CD "Hold Me, Thrill Me , Kiss Me" (Epic): "Everlasting Love", "Traces", "Turn the Beat Around" and "Cherchez la Femme". For an unclassifiable CD, try "Bob and Ray Throw A Stereo Spectacular" a reissue of an old RCA LP available from Classic Records.
rayhall
393 posts
 
I forgot "Breaking Up is Hard to Do" off the Gloria Estefan CD.
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