DrJ

Basically, I'm too cheap to buy all the 20 bit upgrades of his catalog held by Fantasy...I got the Prestige CD boxed set on the cheap, and it's sonically OK but rather dead-sounding. I have heard there is a vinyl version of the Prestige set - but I've read mixed reviews on OJC/Fantasy reissue vinyl. Anyone have this who can comment on sound quality?

Theremin for me...

I'm in Dan and Noj's camp on this one. The only thing I'd add is that until the NFL (coaches and leadership) get really serious about cleaning up the league's image - by suspending such players and basically hounding and harrassing them until they either get the message or leave - this kind of crap will continue to happen. I wasn't "personally offended" by Moss' childish gesture, but it's just silly and stupid for a grown man to be doing, and it turns me off of the game, at least as much as the steroid scandal has done the same to me for baseball and players going into the stands has done for basketball. Pro sports in the U.S. is becoming a total joke, basically it's a series of living comic books aimed at the lowest common denominator. I think a lot of other people feel the same way...lots of people I know still watch sports, but I have to say that very few seem to have the deep love of the games and more saliently the PLAYERS that they had in the past. This type of stuff is a major reason for that. Anyway, the NFL should do itself a favor and start coming down really hard on all the ridiculous end zone celebrations, gestures at the crowd, etc. Maybe someday we'll once again see a guy score a fantastic touchdown and simply flip the ball to the ref while he trots off the field...which, btw, looks EVER so much cooler and hipper than watching a 250 lb guy in pads and helmet doing a dainty little hokey pokey. PS - ED ads really have nothing to do with all this - yeah, those ads are stupid and offensive, but at least it's a real problem for many people and this is perhaps the only way they'll be encouraged to seek help. I'd prefer a classier approach too, but what the hell does that have to do with Randy Moss's moon (wait...I don't want to know!)

Interesting Jim. So no problem yet with scratches on CDs that cause skipping on playback?

I actually, unlike many here, also basically like jewel boxes...the greatest thing about them, in fact, is their very expendibility. Simply put, if you drop a mint LP (the jacket or the album or both) you're hating life, but if you drop your CD in its jewel box, big deal if the jewel breaks? Everything else is protected well. My only practical problem is eventually going to be storage space...I have a lot of room to grow my collection right now, but it's getting to be less and less with each passing month. I never want to be so overloaded in terms of having adequate storage space that I start avoiding playing stuff or even trying to look for it because everything is so cluttered and cramped. Being able to use a thinner sleeve and reduce storage profile by 3/4 sounds might appealing...

Yes, as a set it is quite pricey - but many of the individual LPs (especially the earlier ones) can be had for quite a bit less than the "unit LP price" you get dividing the set price by 10. Still, if I could find a set, reasonable price, I'd be mighty tempted...

Yes, it was in looking through the Hoffman thread that I heard these were highly regarded. I'm not sure they are quite up with the original pressings from UK and Japan, but probably close enough for me! THanks for the comments on the Odeons' sound quality, I am probably going to sample one and then decide for myself whether it's worth chasing all of them down. There was actually an extremely limited edition box of 10 LPs when this was issued - really hard to find because they tended to be broken up and sold as individual albums. BTW, people may be interested to know that I have read very mixed reviews of the Mobile Fidelity stuff...in fact most people seem to prefer the Odeons who are "audiophile" types. Apparently some of the MoFi stuff was actually heavily processed/tweaked, for example...I didn't save the links but if you do some searches you'll come up with just as many brickbats about that series as kudos. Bummer, as I had figured those would be universally lauded as great. Next to the Odeons from Japan early 80s (a red vinyl series btw), and next to the original 1960s pressings from UK or Japan, the next most positive consistent comments seem to apply to the 70s UK pressings. For us folks in the U.S., apparently for U.S. versions Capitol did a nice series right before the death of vinyl as a mass-market format (many comment that these pressings were far superior to anything previously issued in the U.S., interstingly enough given the late issue date) However of all these series, most seem very hard to come by in my searches without breaking the bank; the Odeons (expensive enough) are less ridiculous and seem to come available a bit more often. Plus they did the whole lot in mono, and I am really interested in hearing the monos - apparently those were the mixes George Martin and the Beatles actually participated in and "intended" us all to hear, even up through the SGT PEPPER and "White Album" - despite most of us being reared on Stereo versions. The story goes that the stereo mixes were not supervised by the Beatles, even of the later albums, and were done very hastily after the painstaking mono versions had already been blessed. Also, apparently George Martin is on record saying that PEPPER needs to be heard in its mono mix to truly get the experience that he and the Beatles intended. I'm guessing the Odeons still pop up because some people, in spite of that, prefer stereo after all. BTW - all of this is stuff I pieced together from multiple Web sites and books, and it's quite possible that I have some of the facts a bit off, so I would welcome input from people who have actually heard different issues from these series and are more in the know.

Milt Jackson / Lucky Thompson - SECOND NATURE (Savoy 2 LP set)

I use the "various" filed under "v" alphabetically by title of the recording approach

I am glad you posted this, I have the same question. Many times I've thought about going to simple plastic sleeves and then using some type of indexing tabs/cards between artists on the shelves, but I've worried about disc damage and also the general lack of ease in finding individual titles with that approach. Anyone have other ideas?

Make that 3 for Mary Lou!

I found the Don Pullen Mosaic Select in a favorite used haunt...with tax it ended up being only about a $5 discount versus just ordering new, but hey, that's about 10% off so I went for it. Perfect condition. Just as an aside, the number on the set (0015) is the lowest for any Mosaic that I own to date.

Anyone in the know about what are considered to be best quality vinyl reissues for Beatles (probably not interested in the originals given the high price)? I am interested in the original mono mixes, and from what I can piece together so far it appears the series issued in Japan on Odeon in 1982 (and then re-released briefly in 1986) gets high marks and is not TOO ridiculous price-wise. However, there are conflicting stories on the Web, different opinions, so I'm a little confused. Comments? Other suggestions? I have a workmanlike, inexpensive series of albums on UK Parlphone done in the early 80s, these are stereo mixes though and the vinyl quality wasn't great.

My deepest condolences to you and to all of Grey's close friends and family members. I found him to be a wonderful contributor to the board, and will miss his thoughts and insights.

Wow...tempting, I must say, just for the updated standard CD remasterings...I could actually care less about the SACD layer. Might have to take the plunge...just might...

Leeway, I had the same question - if they're truly "100% analog," I think I would be willing to invest the extra $ to get the LP set over the CD set. Have you e-mailed Mosaic to ask them to clarify? If not, I would be willing to do it...I'm guessing that they are though.

I finally caught up with this set...had purposely avoided hearing the original JACK JOHNSON LP so I could come to the box fresh and with open ears. I started with the original LP and...wow. I mean...wow. It's hard for me to see how anyone could say they don't enjoy this music and recognize these two tracks for the masterworks they are. Thus far I find it far more realized and powerful than anything on BITCHES BREW, for sure. I've just now started to work through the "source material" on disc 1 and certainly there are some dead spots, but also lots and lots of fascinating moments. Worth it as a hack guitarist just to study John McLaughlin's work throughout, setting a new standard. You can definitely hear the wellspring he was for so many slightly younger players who came shortly after.

Good idea to tell folks what we've purchased as a direct result of this thread...for me, last weekend in the used stores in the Bay Area, I tracked down Mel Rhyne's ORGAN-IZING and the Hal Singer date...neither of which I'd have put very high on the list if not for the endorsements here. Both are really enjoyable - the Singer was a wonderful surprise, I would definitely probably have slept on that one - but I'm particularly taken by the Rhyne date - which makes some of the best use of the often tricky organ/piano combination I've ever heard. Griff and Mitchell in the front line don't hurt ONE little bit either.

Many great ones listed so far...I'd add these to the "all time great" list just off the top of my head: Larry Young - "Monk's Dream" (really, the whole damn UNITY album should be included, although I singled this one track out because he's so front and center and so thoroughly conquers this tune...) Big John Patton - "Soul Woman" Eddy Louiss - "Nardis" Ed Swanston (w/Ike Quebec) - "A Light Reprieve" Shirley Scott (w/Hawkins, Cobb, Lockjaw, and Tate) - "Lester Leaps In" Mel Rhyne - "Things Ain't What They Used to Be" Don Patterson - "Jesse Jackson"

At this point, I'm in WAY too deep with the U.S. RVGs to stop - have 'em all up to this batch, so no question I'm biting again! This is one killer grouping; though I have all of these titles in other earlier CD releases I think the sonic upgrades will be quite noticeable for most of them unless something is awry.

The thing that seemed so great about Shaw was that he came across as genuine, real, an actual person. Didn't always agree with him but you knew where he stood and he just seemed like someone you'd love to sit and talk with for many hours. Not to mention the great music...just recently have been revisiting the recordings with Farlow, the LAST RECORDINGS stuff on MusicMasters...just worth their weight in gold. Goodbye, Mr. Shaw, and thanks.

You're right Patricia, on all counts! Two more good finds (I think) this week, both on the Web, and both musically valuable Savoy 2 LP sets: 1) Fats Navarro - FAT GIRL - all his Savoy sessions, masters plus alternates (rather than having to hunt it all down on various CDs piecemeal) - on Ebay, for under 4 bucks, in VG+ condition 2) Milt Jackson - SECOND NATURE - all the music from his dates with Lucky Thompson for the label, about half of this music I haven't yet heard and can't wait...the stuff I do have is truly desert island material (JAZZ SKYLINE and JACKSON'S-VILLE tracks). This was an on-line used/new retailer, NM copy for 15 bucks (probably a little high but this one has been hard to track down for anything less) I've become a real big fan of these Savoy 1970s era 2 LP sets...the Yusef Lateef and Dexter Gordon entries are also wonderful. So much better done than the stupid, incomplete CD reissues overseen by Orrin Keepnews and others...

Late chime in - it's a good one, very worth having so no worries, you made a good purchase. But I must confess that based on the best of Getz and Louiss and Thomas I've heard elsewhere, I was a bit disappointed. With that line up it could have been GREAT...it's merely interesting most of the time.

Yes, but it looked partial...I did see the e-mail address for the Allegheny Jazz Society too and will drop them a line inquiring about future reissue plans and complimenting them on their work thus far. I was just wondering if anyone here had info...thanks folks!

Just FYI, I located a Barnaby reissue of this date on LP not long ago and paid around $5. Well, it ain't original virgin vinyl, but it sounds surprisingly good, and the price was most definitely right...keep your eyes peeled, folks! In fact, there's 2 copies of this 1977 LP reissue listed on Ebay right this very minute: Williams Candid on Ebay I think it's a good one...Williams plays it pretty close to the vest, nobody really busts loose but nice, very nice inside-and-just-a-tad-out kind of date of the era.