At Bowers & Wilkins, we want listeners to feel inspired by the sounds we can create. We want them to feel connected to music and emotionally moved by it. Try these great tracks on any of the bespoke Bowers & Wilkins sound systems we have developed with Aston Martin, and the listening experience is sure to move you in more ways than one.
MOTHER NATURE’S SON
The Beatles Anthology (Disc 3)
The final version of this song, first released on The White Album in 1968, is a complex arrangement of instruments that includes several guitars, drums and some orchestral contributions from George Martin. By contrast, this is an earlier rough-cut version; it’s take number 2 of the song (there were 25 eventually), and its composition is much simpler than the eventual release. Featuring just Paul McCartney’s voice and his acoustic guitar, you’ll struggle to find a more immediate and real-sounding piece of recorded music, from the sheer presence of the performance to the ambience of Abbey Road Studio Two and the spoken contributions of the engineers in the control room. It’s a perfect demonstration of your Bowers & Wilkins Continuum Cone’s clarity and the Tweeter-on-Top’s resolution.
ROYALS
Lorde
Pure Heroine
This muscular, minimalist slice of electropop is so mature, so sophisticated in its simplicity that it’s hard to credit that on its release, New Zealand songstress Lorde was just 16 years old. It’s a clever, infectious and affecting recording propelled by seat-shaking bass blended with bitingly witty lyricism. The standout demo is the effortlessly catchy ‘Royals’, with thunderously powerful bass extension that will really show off your surround sound system’s scale.
MAKE ME FEEL
Janelle Monae
Dirty Computer
‘Make Me Feel’ doesn’t just sound like one of Prince’s funkier out-takes – rumour has it that the song was actually penned by His Royal Purpleness himself. Whatever its provenance, there’s no denying the track’s raunchy through-the-floor groove or its salacious intent. This is Janelle Monáe toying with sex, sexuality and full-on sass: it’s a no-holds-barred burst of infectiously funky fun that wraps around you in a near-360 degree soundstage whilst powering into your car’s cabin with layer after layer of deep, deftly carved bass.
BLUE JEAN BLUES
ZZ Top
Fandango!
ZZ Top’s 1975-vintage fourth album is an interesting hybrid of live and studio recordings. The first side, all live, is appealingly ‘real’ and exciting, but it’s the second side’s six-strong selection of studio works that really stuns as a demo. Of course, ‘Tush’ is the most wellknown cut, the band’s first really big hit, but our favourite is the simply exquisite ‘Blue Jean Blues’. Billy Gibbons’ wonderfully dexterous blues guitar solo is a treat of technique and tenderness. It’ll image beautifully on your system, sounding stable and focused at the centre of the soundstage.
CONCRETE JUNGLE
Bob Marley and The Wailers
Catch A Fire
Catch A Fire is a small slice of recorded history; the first Island Records release, it was also the first Wailers’ record to feature musical contributions from another performer. At producer Chris Blackwell’s insistence, ‘Concrete Jungle’ was reworked to include overdubbed guitar elements performed by Muscle Shoals session musician Wayne Perkins, who more routinely would play with bands such as Free and The Rolling Stones and who – allegedly – had no idea what reggae was before he was asked to play. Despite its convoluted birth, the result is a fabulous record, with beautifully resolved instrumental details plus outstanding bass depth and agility.
DON’T START NOW
Dua Lipa
Future Nostalgia
London-born to Kosovan-Albanian parents, Dua Lipa’s heritage, style and voice are unique – and yet despite her massive success, the intelligent edge that underpins her music is proof positive that pop doesn’t have to be pap. This is an effortlessly polished recording full of pulsating rhythms that course through every second of the production. ‘Don’t Start Now’ is the showstopper of her album Future Nostalgia, propelling its raunchy disco rhythms on a funky powerhouse of bassline groovery. It’s a perfect way to demonstrate the virtues of your system’s bass drivers.
SCENE SUSPENDED
Jon Hopkins
Scene Suspended
Chances are you’ve heard something involving Jon Hopkins even if you’re not overly familiar with the man himself: the 46-year-old musician and producer has a CV that reads like a Who’s Who of electronic music. ‘Scene Suspended’ is a beautiful, intriguing and emotive piece that deftly fuses classical, ambient and electronica into one utterly innovative and emotive whole. It’s a lush presentation, beginning with a roll of thunder that seems to emanate from several metres behind and beyond the confines of your car’s cabin.
I CAN SEE THE CHANGE
Céleste
I Can See The Change
One of Britain’s most exciting soul prospects channels Billie Holliday in this fabulous track. It’s a superb song and a stunning production: Céleste’s voice is perfectly framed in a tall, deep and broad stereo image, while the track’s gently constructed soundstage swells and scales in perfect sympathy with the track’s emotional heartbeat. It’s a great advert for the openness of the Bowers & Wilkins Tweeter-on-Top and also the Continuum cone’s midrange presence.
YOU LOOK GOOD TO ME
Oscar Peterson
We Get Requests
First recorded in 1964, this outstanding recording is a masterpiece of high-resolution technique. This version of the recording, remastered by George Marino at Sterling Sound from the original analogue master tapes, allows you to hear every aspect of the performance: listen out in particular for the resolution in Ray Brown’s wonderful bass playing in the first minute of the piece. The image should be perfectly locked to the centre of your soundstage, so you’ll feel like the performers are giving a very special concert just for you.
COLORS
Black Pumas
Black Pumas
Some demos make a playlist because they’re useful to showcase a certain aspect of a car’s audio performance, such as resolution or bass extension. Others make it simply because they’re just a damned good song – and this is one of those. Austin’s Black Pumas were on a stellar rise to success and ‘Colors’, so brilliantly conceived and performed, was the rocket propelling them to the stars. Singer Eric Burton blends the best of Bobby Womack, Otis Redding and Al Green as he purrs his way through the performance.
