I've ALWAYS loved this music, and cherished the lps and cds I have had. Dunlop on drums with Monk has been a favorite combination of mine (though I love Ben Riley's work as well)--Frankie just dances with the tunes and his soloing is so musical and inventive. And both the quartets were such hardworking working bands, and it shows in the music. This is amazing stuff, so clearly executed and masterfully conceived. (And the sound, the original recorded sound and the new remastering, have a clarity and solidity that add authority to the listening experience.)
"It's Monk Time" has long been a favorite for the piano playing---it starts off with essential Monk transforming a standard by himself with real verve and that a perfect beginning for an excellent album of Monk pianistics (and more of course from the other three.) The new "Underground" is so cool because of the added bits (though it is a bit unsettling to hear this album differently after so many listens to the original) and the Hendricks bit accompanying the bass solo on "In Walked Bud" stands out as a fantastic listening experience. "Criss Cross" is a very satisfying album in all ways. It just is a blockbuster compositionally and in performance. "Solo Monk" which I have not yet bought in the new version has long been a favorite, one of my first Monk lps in fact, and one that I puzzled over for a long time and then delighted over when it finally reeled me into its eccentric orbit.
Yes, I've been digging these for several decades and glad that they finally wormed their way into your listening world!