R_f_sayles, thank you for confirming what I thought I was hearing. It does sound almost like veil of white noise, which on first listening confused me as to what was going on. That very quiet brush work and the baritone sax make for a very unusual combination of sounds to my ear, not being accustomed to this combination. Also, I totally agree with your assessment of the Analogue Productions 45rpm Fantasy jazz series. All of these reissues that I've heard (about 15 or so now) have been superb. (I wish I'd managed to pick up a copy of "Waltz for Debbie" before it went out of print, but I expect the 33 will be lovely.) As to Tom Port, he's a seller of new and used vinyl/CDs on the web. He has strongly held opinions, some of which I agree with and many I don't (e.g., his opinion of the Speakers Corner Mercury reissue series). While I've not liked many (perhaps most) of the MoFi reissues I've heard, "Teaser" is one I have liked. The criticism Port makes about this reissue is the naturalness of the sound. That is a problem with many MoFi reissues in my experience: very unnatural messing about with EQ. That's not the case on this one. Bill (Wc65mustang), the brown label A&M may be more dynamic; I'd have to re-listen for that. And, there may well be brown label copies that sound better than my copy, I'm not trying to make a comparison. My priorities cause me to focus more on instrument timbre and inner detail, which is what I've liked about this version, and that is unusual for me given my reaction to most other MoFi's I've heard. When Port says "it's just a mess and should sound like a mess", that's simply not what I hear and is my only point. . |
Wc65mustang, I would agree with you in so far as dynamics are concerned. My A&M copy although very clean is not as quiet and the timbre characteristics sound a bit off compared to the MoFi IMHO. In almost every case a first pressing domestic seems to be more punchy and sometimes more forward than the comparable MoFi. I think this is the main cause for general distain by some for the OMR reissues, can't say I always agree.
Happy holiday! |
An original brown label A&M pressing of "Teaser" is clearly superior to the MoFi. Not even close. I have both. The MoFi is a tad quieter but the A&M is simply much more dynamic. |
Gentleman, You sparked my curiosity, not being able to recall the sound in question. After listening to the side one ('Round Midnight) of "Mulligan meets Monk" I believe the sound you are referring to in the left channel is brush work "stirring" if you will, across a drum skin throughout the piece. It is subtle and falls behind both the piano and monkÂs verbal antics almost leaving a vale of white noise but with somewhat more grain. If it were not for the holiday I am sure Chad Kassem would be handy for a reality check phone call.
Best wishes for the holiday! |
Rushton, On the subject of the Cat Stevens, Teaser and the Firecat MoFi reissue (mine #0559) sounds splendid. I also have a first press of it on A&M SP4313 that sounds quite good yet isn't as quiet (surface wise) or timbre correct as the MoFi IMHO. So who is Tom Port and what is his issue with this beautiful record? Doesn't he like the MoFi?
Cheers!
Raytheprinter, Pardon me for interjecting. "The Mulligan meets Monk" performance is an unusual but cool east meets west (coast) juxtaposition. Thelonious is one bad cat as I'm sure you are aware.
Analogue Productions has not made one single dog or for that matter even a single So-so 45RPM pressing in this entire series including the Mulligan meets Monk title. I am receiving all of them as a member in the first 50 something numbered pressings from Chad and I can't say enough about how outstanding each and every one of these records is. They are some of the best pressings ever made IMHO.
Happy listening! |
Ray, sides 2-4 are definitely good. I'm still trying to figure out Side 1 ('Round Midnight). I think what I'm hearing is a constant accompaniment of brushes from the drummer -- sounds really strange in the left channel across Monk's piano and made me think the pressing was defective at first. I'm becoming convinced that it's just the sound that's on the tape and that this more highly resolving mastering is no longer masking it, but I don't have any other copy to compare it to. I need to listen to this side again. Other than this, all the virtues of Analogue Productions' 45rpm mastering are in place.
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Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!Ray |
Rushton,Is the Analogue Production "Mulligan meets Monk" a good sounding pressing?Tonight i played a 1 dollar thrift store ,Red Seal "Heifetz ,Three Great Violin Concertos"Two record set,near mint,,man what a great find!!! |
R.Strauss, Also Sprach Zarathustra, Reiner/CSO (Classic Records 45rpm reissue - unfortunately not an improvement over the 33rpm reissue in terms of string tone: it shreds my ears and no amount of VTA adjusting can cure it. But other aspects of the sonic picture have great impact and power. However, the strings are hard and steely, reflecting the worst of the early Classic Records remastering efforts.)
Handel, Sonatas for Oboe, cello and continuo, L'Ecole D'Orphee, CRD 1077/8 (another outstanding performance by L'Ecole D'Orphee, and another marvelous engineering job from Bob Auger)
Herold-Lanchberry, La Fille Mal Gardee (excerpts), Lanchberry/ORylOpera, Decca, SXL 2313 (45rpm Speakers Corner reissue - an absolutely superb performance, recording and reissue. The 45rpm version vastly outclasses the earlier 33rpm reissue from Speakers Corner.)
Elton John, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, MCA 2-10003 (an early US pressing, with unfortunately hard, edgy, bright sonics. Is the Speakers Corner reissue materially better?)
Cat Stevens, Teaser and the Firecat (Mobile Fidelity reissue - quite good sonically, with natural timbre and detail. Tom Port claims this is the "worst sounding version of all time." I'm listening to #0898 and if Tom's listening to the same series pressings, he and I clearly don't agree on the sound of this reissue.)
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- Seiji Ozawa/Chicago Symphony/Rimsky Korsakov/Scheherazade/Angel
- Eugene Ormandy/Philadelphia Orchestra/Shostakovich 5/RCA Gold Seal
- Kubelik/Boston Symphony/Smetana/Ma Vlast/Deutsche Grammophon
- Bernstein/New York Phil./Shostakovich 9/Columbia |
Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf
Saint-Saens: Carnival of the Animals
...Henderson/LSO, Beatrice Lillie -narrator, Decca SXL 2218 SpeakersCorner reissue (delightful, character-filled performances of these works in excellent sound)
Handel: Trio Sonatas for Violin and Continuo, L'Ecole D'Orphee, CRD 1075/6 (another outstanding recording engineered by Bob Auger! The CRD label is an often overlooked label full of stylish performances and outstanding sonics.)
Linkoping, the Classic 45rpm reissue of the Reiner/Pictures is indeed on of the best performances of this work in my collection and sonically is "top drawer". As usual, the 45 handily outperforms the 33 sonically. The 45rpm reissue of the Saint-Saens Organ Symphony (Sym No. 3, with Munch/BSO) is similarly superb.
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Rushton, I'm sure the 45rpm Pictures at an Exhibition/Reiner is one of the BEST outthere. Enjoy listening! |
Bob Dylan -Nashville Skyline on Columbia 360 Sound
Martha Reeeves & the Vandellas -Greatest Hits
on Tamla Motown
Dr. John -Dr. John Plays Mac Rebennack on Clean Cuts
Jesse Sykes & the Hereafter -Reckless Burning
on Devil in the Woods Records
Yusef Lateef -Eastern Sounds 0n TransAtlantic Prestige |
"Mulligan Meets Monk" Analogue Productions 45rpm reissue
"Polish-Hungarian Lute Music" Ragossnig -lute, Archiv 2533 294 |
Bruce Springsteen -Born to Run on Classic Records reissue
>needed a solid classic rock anthem to get started with coffee and toast today, good Sunday morning all. Cheers! |
Nice little session:
Tom Jans and Mimi Farina - Take Heart (1971 AMLS 64310)
Leo Kottke - My Feet Are Smiling (1973 Capitol ST 11164)
Joh Hammond - John Hammond (1964 Vanguard VSD2148)
Wes Montgomery & Wynton Kelly Trio - Smokin' at the Half Note (1965 Verve V/V6 8633) |
So far:
Roy Orbison: "Greatest Hits" S&P reissue mastered by Steve Hoffman at ATI (great sound!)
Miles Davis: Steamin', Analogue Productions 45rpm reissue
Mulligan Meets Monk, Analogue Productions 45rpm reissue
Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf, Henderson/LSO, Decca, SXL 2218, SpeakersCorner reissue
Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition, Reiner/CSO, RCA LSC 2201, ClassicRecords 45rpm reissue (outstanding performance and sound)
Prokofiev: Scythian Suite, Dorati/LSO, Mercury SR 90006, ClassicRecords reissue
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Slipknot1, I love Joni Mitchell's "The Hissing Of Summer Lawns" great choice. Cheers! |
So far today:
Cowboy Junkies "The Trinity Session" (RCA 8568-1-R)
Joni Mitchell "The Hissing Of Summer Lawns" (Asylum 7E-1051)
Respighi "Church Windows" Clark/Pacific Symphony (Reference Recordings RR-15 45rpm) |
J.J. Cale -Special Edition on Phongram UK
Yo La Tengo -Fakebook on Bar NONE records
My Morning Jacket -Z on ATO records
Taj Mahal -S/T on Columbia 360 sound
Tom Waits -Small Change on Asylum records |
Neil Young -Prairie Wind on Classic Records (Reprise) |
The Crazy World of Arthur Brown. Love Revisited- so many groups of the 70s and 80s have taken many of the ideas and riffs layed down on these 2 LPs.
Also listenig to: Dr. John- Night Tripper, Django, Mozart Chamber by The Budapest Quartet, Aretha, Procul Harem- A Salty Dog. It's getting late, to be cont... |
- Espana/Argenta/The London Symphony Orchestra/Decca
- Spanish Orchestral Music/Turina/Albeniz/Falla/Angel
- Debussy/Iberia/Reiner/Chicago Sym./RCA Victor
- Manuel De Falla/Nights in the Gardens of Spain/Gonazlo Soriano/Paris Consevatoire Orchestra/His Master Voice |
Beatles -Abbey Road on Mofi from the box
Spoon -Gimme Fiction on Merge records
Electric Light Orchestra -Eldorado on Jet records
Van Morrison -Hymns to the Silence on Polydor UK
Van Morrison -His Band and the Street Choir
on Warner Bros. CA
Van morrison -Veedon Fleece on Warner Bros.
Van Morrison _ Astral Weeks on Warner Bros. W7 |
R_f, Thanks for the commentary on the Basie and Monk; I gues I now have two more additions to my wish list! I agree with you about the Fantasy jazz series from Analogue Productions: every one I've heard has been phenominal.
This afternoon with some friends over:
Count Basie "88 Street" (Analogue Productions 45rpm reissue)
John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman (Speakers Corner reissue)
Ella Live in Berlin (fun with "Mack the Knife")
Ella and Louis (Verve, Speakers Corner reissue)
Linda Ronstadt "Lush Life"
Stravinsky "Firebird Suite" Leinsdorf/LAPO, Sheffield Labs (then contrasted with the last 5 minutes of the Dorati's full ballet performance on Classic Record's 45rpm Mercury reissue for a stark example of contrasting miking techniques)
Cohn on the Saxophone (Sundazed reissue - they do it again: great sound!)
Sarah McLachlin - Fumbling Towards Ecstacy & Freedom Sessions (Classic Records reissue)
Kodaly's Hary Janos Suite, Kertesz/LSO (Speakers Corner reissue of a great Wilkinson/Kinsway Hall Decca recording)
Respighi's Pines of Rome, Reiner/CSO (Chesky reissue of the RCA)
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Rush, I too find the Bill Evans very enjoyable, beautiful, in a word. As for the Unique Thelonious Monk set he chose to play cover tunes on this 1956 album. It is a very strong showing with Art Blakey on drums and Oscar Pettiford on bass they rollick through the standards with fun and dexterity. The interplay between Monk and Blakey on "Liza" is delightful at very least. I like Monk and this is a solid effort for his second Riverside recording. As for the Count Basie Farmers Market Barbecue, it is a great swing album. It shows that right up until Mr. Basie's end he could electrify a well chosen group of band members to wing way out in that relaxed, seemingly effortless way. About half the recording is a larger arrangement and in the other half the Count pairs it down to just a choice few horns. I find great enjoyment from the swing genre, it reminds me of my dad who liked to play it around the house on a regular basis, clarinet being the weapon of choice. As kids we'd dance all around the place to this stuff, very fond memories. Steve Hoffman again did this recording NO harm. I find myself to be a very poor critic of this Fantasy jazz series of Chad's Analogue Productions in that I gush with praise over every issue, bare none. Happy listening!
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R_f_sayles, any comments to offer on the Count Basie or Monk?? The Bill Evans I admire greatly, but haven't heard these two...
Yesterday's listening was dominated by a dominating performance of Mahler's Sixth Symphony performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra with Eschenbach conducting. I really like what Eschenbach is doing with this great orchestra. He has his detracters, but for me, his plasticity of tempo and ability to shape phrases is a marvelous gift to his audience. Several concerts back, we listened to a guest conductor who was well liked by a local music critic for all the reasons we just didn't enjoy his performances: that metronomic approach is not for us.
Later in the evening it was:
Lightnin' Hopkins, Goin' Away, Bluesville 1073 (Analogue Productions reissue, 45 rpm)
Lazy Lester, Analogue Productions, APO 003 direct-to-disc
Kathleen Battle Sings Mozart, with Previn/RPO, Angel R144625 (early digital and the sound quality is poor, but Battle's singing is divine)
Regards, |
Count Basie Big Band -Farmers Market Barbecue
on Analogue Productions 45 RPM Limited Edition
Miles Davis All Stars -Walkin
on Analogue Productions 45 RPM Limited Edition
Bill Evans Trio -Portait in Jazz
on Analogue Productions 45 RPM Limited Edition
Thelonious Monk -The Unique...
on Analogue Productions 45 RPM Limited Edition |
Honeyboy Edwards, Shake 'Em On Down, Analogue Productions Original, APO 2010 (about as real as it gets!)
Saint-Saens, Symphony No. 3 (Organ Sym), Munch/BSO, RCA LSC 2341 (45 rpm Classic Records reissue)
Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, Fantasia on Greensleeves; Elgar, Intro & Allegro for Strings, Enigma Variations, Barbirolli/Sinfornia of London, EMI ASD 521 (Alto reissue)
Purcell, Music for Theater, Vol. 5, with Hogwood/AAM, Kirkby -sop, Nelson -sop, L'Oiseau Lyre
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Stevecham, I agree with you about the Armstrong and Ellington LPs. The performances are wonderful: these musicians were clearly having fun in these recording sessions. And the sound quality is very good. Highly recommended.
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Rushton, got both of those Arm&Ell recordings and they are truly energizing. Shows you just how good recording, equipment, technique, musicianship was. Makes one wonder what has happened since then. I guess one could also include Classic's dedication to restoration of music history.
Tonight it's Supertramp Paris. I found this original copy for $5.95 today at my favorite used store. Cleaned it up and it's a trip back 25 years. I'm convinced there was nothing wrong with tape and vinyl. It wasn't broke, so why did they "fix" it? |
Tonight we've been playing jazz:
Armstrong & Ellington: Recording Together for the First Time, Roulette SR52074 (Classic Records reissue)
Armstrong & Ellington: The Great Reunion, Roulette SR 52103 (Classic Records reissue)
Cannonball Adderley, with Bill Evans: Know What I Mean?, Riverside 9433 (45 rpm Analogue Productions reissue)
Coltrane: Ballads, Impulse AS 32 (Speakers Corner reissue)
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Linkoping: Love the music you've been playing! |
Cello, agree.... those music are always legendary :)
For tonigh:
Shotakovich Symphony 5/Leonard Bernstein/NewYork/CBS
Shostakovich Quartet No. 8/Borodin Quartet/London
Prokofieff: Lieutenant Kije/Reiner/Chesky
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No.4/Mravinsky/Leningrad Philharmonic/Deutsche Gramaphone
and after all these.. let's do some jazz for the night! |
Eric Johnson's "Tones" album I bought when it came out. |
Ralph, I'm very fond of the Solti Ring Cycle recordings. I have them all on London pressings, and just a couple repeated on Decca. Marvelous performances and recordings, it's simply amazing what John Culshaw accomplished with the aid of that remarkable Decca recording team.
I will join you regarding the Arvo Part; I was listening to his "Passio" the other evening. Your comment will have me pulling out the "Tabula Rasa" before I go to bed tonight, but I suspect "Fratres" may be my favorite work on that LP.
You are SO RIGHT about Atrium Musicae de Madrid. In my opinion, Paniagua (the director of this group) can do no wrong and has created amazing recordings over the years. Musique Arabo-Andalouse is certainly one of his best. And in simply outstanding sonics from Harmonia Mundi. Do you have the others?
BTW, Ann's judgment tonight is that the amps are sounding superb, a huge step up in performance in this MkIII iteration! THANK YOU!!
. |
Tonight we've been playing:
Shostakovich, String Quartets Nos. 4 and 12, Fitzwilliam Quartet, L'Oiseau Lyre DSLO 23 (wonderful!)
Dvorak Cello Concerto with Janos Starker (cello) and Dorati/LSO (Mercury, Speakers Corner reissue) Ann says she wants to hear some of the other performances in the collection (such as Piatagorsky, Rostropovich, Rose) so we'll be repeating sometime over the next few days. The Munch/BSO, Piatigorsky, in the 45 rpm reissue from Classic Records is excellent and a treat to anticipate playing.
Rachmaninov, Isle of the Dead, Ashkenazy/Concertgebouw, Decca 6.42947 (a digital recording, but well engineered by Dunkerley with excellent soundstaging)
Vieuxtemps, Violin Concertos 4 and 5, Barenboim/OrchParis, Perlman -vn, Angel S 37484
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Rush, have you heard any of the Decca recordings of Wagner with Solti conducting? For many years his recording of the Ring (and the annual visitation from the Met) were in many ways a penultimate audio experience for me. It took me years to finally locate originals...
Tonight is Arvo Part's Tabula Rasa. Not ECM's best recording, but the performance is spooky.
Musique Arabo-Andalouse - harmonia mundi (France) - who else?? but the Atrium Musicae - nothing else need be said.
and for some chillage- A Strangly Isolated Place by Urlich Schnauss |
Sir John -Tumbleweed Connection on Uni |
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Linkoping....Nice choices....some of my favorite stuff.
.
Rgds,
Larry
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Last night my 13 year old son picked Bob Dylan's "Down in the Groove." When I asked him why, he said it looked cool. 1400 LPs to choose from and he ends up with that one!?! Of course I told him no CDs prior to the Dylan choice. I enjoyed it, but I can't get over the process. |
- Rimsky Korsakov: Scheherazade/Chicago Symphony/Reiner/Chesky
- Pictures at an exhibition: Philadelphia/Eugene Ormandy/Columbia
- Tchaikovsky/Symphony No.6/Chicago/Georg Solti/London
- Respighi/Fountains of Rome-The pines of rome/Ernest Ansermet/L'orchestre De la Suisse Romande/London |
Bach, 33 Chorale Preludes from the Yale Manuscript, Joseph Payne playing the very Baroque-style Bozeman-Gibson Organ at St Paul's Church, Brookline, MA, Harmonia Mundi HMC 5158 (Another superb recording by producer Robina Young, who produced so many of the great US Harmonia Mundi recordings.)
Bach, Selection of Organ works, Marie Claire Alain, Erato ERA 50527
Roy Orbison, Lonely & Blue (mono), Monument M 4002 (Classic Records reissue)
. |
Captain Beefheart Trout Mask Replica, Mark Knoffler - Shangri La, Tony Rice Unit - Still Inside, JS Bach Kananten and possibly the Live Ry Cooder Album if I can get around to it.... |
"Marcel Dupre Organ Recital" Mercury SR 90169 (Speakers Corner reissue), simply a superb recording and reissue. One of the best organ additions to my collection in many years.
"Everybody Digs Bill Evans" Bill Evans Trio, Riverside 1129 (45 r.p.m. reissue from Analogue Productions)
Bach Organ Concertos, Richter on the Silberman-Arlesheim organ, Archiv 2533 170
. |
Hey, R_f, thanks. I love the record. Beautiful music, well recorded and pressed, played on a decent reproduction system, well, I think it's magic, pure and simple. |
Nick of Time
John Barleycorn
Rockin' the Fillmore
Tango in the Night
Long Player
I Can't Stand Still |
Ccryder, You do have the Classic records 33 1/3 with a red label. It will state on the back cover at the bottom "Manufactured under license..." but will not say "Classic" anywhere on the record or cover. Canadian records on RCA/BMG were German pressed and had Black labels with silver nomenclature and state "BMG Canada" on the back. YouÂre in great shape with that pressing. Enjoy! |
R f - the record I got on ebay was advertised as being a Classic pressing. Record label says RTH 8568, is RCA Red label, heavy vinyl, has Blue Moon on it. Jacket says BMG Entertainment. I am thrilled by the sound, but now I am curious about what I have. I suspect it's the Classic, but I'm no expert on how pressings are labled. Brief Google search seems to support the theory it's the Classic pressing, but not real clear. Can you shed any light on what I have? Many thanks! |
R f - I almost bought the 45's here on A'gon for $115 (and have seen them for $200), but just couldn't bring myself to that price point. I can't imagine this sounding better, although I am sure you're telling the truth. It is a beautiful piece of music. |
