I am a huge fan of Chris Jones and I regularly use his Roadhouses and Automobiles as one of my reference discs. One of the things that draws me to the disc, aside from the music itself, is the astounding sound quality. Someone at an audio show (I can’t remember who) mentioned that this was a common trait for the German label, Stockfisch Records. On a whim, I ordered a few more from the label, more or less at random. I picked up:
- Chris Jones, Moonstruck & No Looking Back (double album)
- Sara K & Chris Jones, Live In Concert
- David Munyon, Slim Possibilities
- Paul Stephenson, Light Green Ball
First up, yes, it seems that the Stockfisch label is pretty consistent — the sonic quality on all these discs are outstanding. Easily some of the best examples of well-recorded music that I have in the collection. I think they tend to work with acoustic artists, or artists that tend to favor acoustic approaches, but perhaps that’s just my cherry picking that’s speaking.
The Sara K disc is just lovely. Vocals are immediate, gorgeous, and the acoustic backup is just excellent. One of my new go-to discs and one that’s seeing quite a bit of play in the current rotation.
I’m a fan of Chris Jones, so it’s probably not surprising that the two early Chris Jones discs are also very good. I think the later Roadhouses has better song writing, but the double album is a great addition if you’re already familiar with Chris’ work.
The David Munyon album is mostly acoustic guitar-driven with Munyon’s earthy vocals fronting them. I like this album quite a bit, but it’s a bit of a sleeper with the songs cut pretty much of a single cloth. Definitely a more bluesy country-pop thing going on here.
The Paul Stephenson album is a bit more up-tempo from the Munyon, and the song writing feels a bit less weighty. Some catchy tunes here, but I’m still caught by how in-your-face this album (and the others in the collection).
Anyway, I can’t recommend the label strongly enough. If you happen across a disc with the Stockfisch label, I think it’s safe to say you’ve got a winner in your hands.
Chris Jones’ “Roadhouses and Automobiles” is a favorite reference disc of mine also. Great recording quality and the music is not too bad either. Fritz from Fritz Loudspeakers turned me on to this.
Thanks for reconnecting me to this piece. I first heard “Roadhouses and Automobiles” while dream-auditioning a pair of Nola Baby Grands a few years back, and now have added it to my collection.
Shifting gears, I am tapping my foot while tapping my keys to Jacques Lossier’s “Plays Bach – Encore” which is the most enjoyable disc I’ve heard in years. Srajean recommended a related work in 2009, (http://www.6moons.com/musicreviews/2009_june/loussier.html) but if you or your readers have neither, I’d start with the first one. I can easily envision ‘ol J.S. sitting down to a listen in your reference room, leaning over and saying “Fuck Yeah, Man”. Sorry, there’s no easier way to explain it. Enjoy, and thanks for what you do.