Off Beat/Non Main Stream SACD Standouts

Do you have any SACDs by lesser known artists that you consider standouts both from a musical and sonic viewpoint?
There are many titles that I see when searching the on line dealers that are by people I have never heard of and don't have a clue as to what their music is like even though they are slotted into genres eg: blues. Let's face it, there are literally dozens of discs being promoted as fabulous "blues" with pictures of guy's in fedoras with dark steel rimmed glasses. I'm I crazy or are these all the same guy with different names?

Seriously though, I'm looking to discover more gems like the Joe Weed 'Vultures' SACD that I have raved about in past posts. I'm sure there are others out there. Do you know of any?

 

I would probably try the Eric Bibb releases on the Opus 3 label.

Great music, and great artist - and the sonics are good too.

 

These have been mentioned a few times. Is there any one in particular that you would choose first?

 

I like "Just Like Love" or "Good Stuff" the best.

Take your pick.

 

Tommy Smith

I like Tommy Smith's 'Sound Of Love' and 'Blue Smith' both on hybrid SACD from Linn Records. 'Sound Of Love' is basically a beautiful tibute to romantic Ellington compositions while 'Blue Smith' is quite a bit more upbeat and features the guitar genius of John Scofield. Both are sonically great. I found them at their cheapest price on half.com.

 

Kodo - "Mondo Head" is very cool. The recording is excellent and the wide range of percussive instruments really shows off the dynamic range of SACD. Whereas a lot of percussion discs can get rather boring, Mondo Head has a surprising amount of variety and is very musical.

 

I would point you in the direction of some of the SACDs available only in Japan.

The one that comes to mind in particular is "Birdland" by M. Sasaki & the LA All Stars. The Stereo track is a DSD recording and is quite a standout.

You can order it from HMV Japan at http://hmv.co.jp/Product/Detail.asp?sku=877459

Some other SACDs from Japan to consider are "All in All" by Earth, Wind and Fire, "Caravanseri" by Santana, "Native Dancer" by Wayne Shorter, "Young at Heart" by Tony Williams Trio (1st Jazz DSD recording) and "Make It Big" by Wham.

 

Friday Night In San Francisco - Al DiMeola, John McLaughlin, Paco DeLuca

an amazing performance! and sonics to match!

 

Speaking of the Opus 3 label, you might also consider the Multichannel SACD of "Rauk" by the Global Percussion Network.

It's a pure DSD recording using the Meitner DSD converters and Sony's Sonoma 8 channel DSD editing station. Musically it's unusual, but it's right up there sonically. Definitely in the "off beat SACD sonic standouts" category!

Check Stuart Robinson's review at http://www.highfidelityreview.com/reviews/review.asp?reviewnumber=565279 for more details on this one.