jazzbo Posted March 13, 2003 Report Posted March 13, 2003 Well, I picked up five new Impulse! reissues, the Kuhn, the Shepp, the Ayler, the Hines and the Russell. They're digipaks! Not like the Alice Coltrane in the last batch which was a gatefold. They have an insert that has photographic reproductions of the inside covers . . . so you get the art, but they're not really "lp reproductions." Listening to the Kuhn now, which is nice indeed with McFarland orchestrations. Great sound. And the best thing is that Tower was selling them for 9.99---and lists them at 12.99. Mistake? Maybe. A lot better than the last batch which was 18.99 list or so! Quote
wesbed Posted March 13, 2003 Report Posted March 13, 2003 (edited) Well, I picked up five new Impulse! reissues, the Kuhn, the Shepp, the Ayler, the Hines and the Russell. I looked at the Russell yesterday at Borders. Is it the one that, on the back, says it will be issued till a certain day in the year 2006? Edited March 13, 2003 by wesbed Quote
AfricaBrass Posted March 13, 2003 Report Posted March 13, 2003 Thanks for the heads up about Tower! I have enough money to buy two of them. One will be the Pee Wee Russell. I love that album. Any suggestion for the other? I'm thinking about the Ayler or the Hines. Quote
J Larsen Posted March 13, 2003 Report Posted March 13, 2003 (edited) I can't endorse the Ayler. It has a couple really good tracks but the rest of it doesn't work for me. Either really dumpy vocals or bagpipes ruin many a tune on that record. Ask Me Now seems to be the best of the bunch. October Suite is okay, but it's really quiet. A bit too refined for my normal listening tastes. I like the Shepp more than I thought I would, but not enough to recommend buying it - there are just so many better discs you could buy. In a way the Hines is the oddball in the batch, as it's the most traditional record by far. It's about what you'd expect from Hines with the Ellington band circa 1966 - perhaps not as spectacular as it possibly could have been in a perfect universe, but solid nonetheless. I'd give this one the nod if you wanted to make a second purchase in the series. I guess my feelings on the current batch from Impulse is that it's great to see more stuff come from their vaults, but that I waited so damn long my expectations rose too high. When the next batch comes (whenever that may be), they will be demoted from "day of release purchase" to "wait for the reviews" status for me. Edited March 13, 2003 by J Larsen Quote
jazzbo Posted March 13, 2003 Author Report Posted March 13, 2003 (edited) The Hines is very good. Very good. Ellingtonians. . . with a few ringers including Elvin Jones on half the album. I really like it. I like the Kuhn a bit more than Mr. Larsen does. And maybe the Ayler a little more too. The Shepp I've enjoyed on a German cd that I have. . . I'm eager to compare the remastering. It's in line with others of the later Impulses from Shepp. . . . It's no Fire Music. But it has some great moments of drama! The Pee Wee is really good, though I really reach for much earlier Pee Wee more often. Yes, these are available til some time in 2006. Gives you plenty of time! Edited March 13, 2003 by jazzbo Quote
jazzbo Posted March 13, 2003 Author Report Posted March 13, 2003 I find it interesting that they made these digipaks. . . could they have listened to customers? NAH! Wonder if any of the non-Impulses in the series are digipaks; it's not unusual for Impulses to be that way ultimately. I'm going to get the "Afro-Harping" eventually---that is a COOL lp! Quote
AfricaBrass Posted March 13, 2003 Report Posted March 13, 2003 Thanks Lon and Jan for your help! I think I'll pick up the Russell and Hines this time around. Are the digipacks like those of previous Impulse releases or are they like the Verve by request series digipacks. I guess it doesn't matter, I'll be at the store later picking them up. I usually store my digipack cds in those resealable plastic sleeves. I have finally run out of the large supply I once had. Any suggestions on the best place to get more? Quote
Dmitry Posted March 13, 2003 Report Posted March 13, 2003 How's the McFarland-Kuhn disc? Is it similar to Gil Evans' arrangments? Quote
jazzbo Posted March 13, 2003 Author Report Posted March 13, 2003 (edited) I wouldn't say that the arrangements on the Kuhn is like Evans arrangements. . . it sounds identifalby McFarland and most of the time rather sparse; the first side of the lp has a string quartet backing, the second side has woodwinds and a harp. BUT the trio really is the centerpiece. . . at least that is how I heard it here at work. Edited March 13, 2003 by jazzbo Quote
jazzbo Posted March 13, 2003 Author Report Posted March 13, 2003 Africa Brass, the digipaks are very similar to the Verve by Request series. Quote
Dmitry Posted March 13, 2003 Report Posted March 13, 2003 Thanks. I'll check it out. Saw it at the used cd place the other day, and it looked like one of those European digi-packs. Quote
Jazzmoose Posted March 13, 2003 Report Posted March 13, 2003 Am I hearing this right? You people LIKE digipaks? Or am I just misreading sarcasm? Quote
Dmitry Posted March 13, 2003 Report Posted March 13, 2003 I like digipacks. What's not to like? Quote
Brad Posted March 13, 2003 Report Posted March 13, 2003 I like digipacks. What's not to like? They get easily damaged and kind of look cheap. It seems like a way to cut costs. Quote
Dmitry Posted March 13, 2003 Report Posted March 13, 2003 Everything gets damaged easily if you don't take care of it. Except for THE BOX, of course. Quote
jazzbo Posted March 13, 2003 Author Report Posted March 13, 2003 I like digipaks. I like lp facimiles. I like jewel cases. I just want 'dem shiny discs however I can get 'em! Quote
Brad Posted March 13, 2003 Report Posted March 13, 2003 Very true, but if you drop a cd with a plastic case and the case breaks, you can replace the plastic case. You can't do that with a digipack. Quote
Chuck Nessa Posted March 13, 2003 Report Posted March 13, 2003 Digipaks are not cheaper than jewel boxes. Quote
Dmitry Posted March 13, 2003 Report Posted March 13, 2003 Very true, but if you drop a cd with a plastic case and the case breaks, you can replace the plastic case. You can't do that with a digipack. I never had a digipack break when dropped. Jewel cases, otoh... Verve Master Edition digipacks suck bollocks. Quote
Jazzmoose Posted March 14, 2003 Report Posted March 14, 2003 I've had broken examples of both. The jewel cases I replaced. The digipack I'm stuck with, and of course as it's the "teeth" that break, now the CD isn't securely held. Plastic breaks; I just think the format used should recognize this fact, and allow for replacement. In addition, they're like, uh, not cool, dude... Quote
vibes Posted March 14, 2003 Report Posted March 14, 2003 I've had broken examples of both. The jewel cases I replaced. The digipack I'm stuck with, and of course as it's the "teeth" that break, now the CD isn't securely held. Plastic breaks; I just think the format used should recognize this fact, and allow for replacement. This has always been my biggest problem with the Verve digipacks as well. I guess I don't mind the packaging as much because I make mp3's of everything I buy, and then just listen to those. However, I hate grabbing a CD and having the CD fall out when I open the digipack. Quote
Usual Channels Posted March 14, 2003 Report Posted March 14, 2003 Outside of the danger of the 'grabber' breaking (and, in my experience, the Impulse! ones are awfully sturdy), I love digipacks! I think that the Impulse! ones are the most appealing CD packaging I've ever seen! Granted, the new reissues are kind of chintzy (not as glossy, not as much fold-out, worse spine font...) Quote
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