what blue note vinyl reissues sound best?

[rgodridge]

hi folks

sort of a newby to moddern jazz, been a traditional/swing guy for years but starting to branch out a bit.

I'm in the uk and have a few reissue questions mostly about blue note 1500s.

I'd like to get some o the classics at affordable prices on vinyl.. Where would you recommendme to start? What are the best, nicest sounding reissue labels?

i've heard good things about speakers corner and original jazz classics, though i don't think either do blue notes, but where can i buy these in the uk? don't want to pay as much on postage as i would for the records!

thanks a lot for any help,

Rob

[Big Beat Steve]

No, OJC never handled Blue Note on vinyl. OJC is the reissue "header" for the labels of the Prestige/Fantasy/Milestone/RIverside family, so a bit different.

Deciding which AFFORDABLE BN's sound best is a subjective and probably a bit controversial amter (at least among label fetishists) so you'll have to wait for answers from BN geeks to get the REAL details.

As a "normal" listener and fan, I'd say that the 60s Liberty pressings of the BN LPs offer about the best fidelity/price tradeoff - along with certain very well-done Japanese reissues, of course. But as there have been different reissue series and pressing runs of the Japanese reissues through the years, you will have to wait for word from the fanatics again.

Many say that you ought to avoid the quite affordable reissues marked "DMM" (Direct Metal Mastering) and pressed in France that were around a lot in the 80s/90s. I found the sound of these a bit harsh and "tinny" on some reissues indeed but am fairly satisfied with others from that series. So the actual quality apparently varies, probably depending on what the original recording was like and what you are accustomed to.

On the other hand, speaking of comparatively affordable BN 1500s, I found the early 80s reissues reissued by "Pathé-Marconi EMI" (indicated in fine print in the CENTER at the bottom of the back sleeve and NOT having the DMM logo) to be quite acceptable and to offer relatively good value for money. Don't know about today's price rate for secondhand items from this series and don't know if I am committing heresy in putting a word in for them but hey ... at the time they cost about one third to one fourth of what a Japanese import LP would have set you back here.

Edited September 27, 2013 by Big Beat Steve

[rgodridge]

thanks for the reply.

I'm looking for ones that are either still in print and crop up often that sound good, i don't really want to buy any that are just dodgy bootlegs and basically ripped straight from cds i could buy for half the price.

i'll look out for those 80s ones though cheers.

[Daniel A]

Good advice from Big Beat Steve. When it comes to Japanese reissues those from King clearly has an edge over the Toshibas.

[rgodridge]

are those jap king records still out there to be bought? just curious

i really want those cliff jordan ones on vinyl, i have the cds and think they're just great musically and the recordings are good too, so finding either a good remaster or reissue of those would be awsome.

[Clunky]

Ok I'm not really a BN geek but I've bought enough to have an informed opinion. I'd agree with BBS. My only rider to his advice is that I'm pretty happy with all the Japanese LP issues. Kings do sound better ( warmer ) but Toshibas are easier to come by and often in NM condition . Very quiet surfaces

[Clunky]

Regarding current LPs is much harder. There are masses of Blue Note LPs issued by Scorpio but the consensus is that they use DAT as source material and pressings are average. So you get CD sound on an LP.

Audiophile labels such as Music Matters issue expensive (£50) 45 rpm sets. High quality in every respect but with a price to match. Heavenly Sweetness from France do some nice BN issues apparently from analog sources. I've not heard any of these so can't comment.

If it's sound quality I'd go for Music Matters. If it's nostalgia and overall VFM I'd agree that Liberty issues are a very good compromise. UA issues ( early 70s?) that followed seem to be fewer in number but those I've heard sound really nice.

[Deepak]

  On 9/27/2013 at 9:31 PM, rgodridge said:

are those jap king records still out there to be bought? just curious

i really want those cliff jordan ones on vinyl, i have the cds and think they're just great musically and the recordings are good too, so finding either a good remaster or reissue of those would be awsome.

Only on the second hand market. They have been out of print for a while. I bought a bunch of them the last time I was in Japan, they are very reasonably priced over there. IMO too over priced on Ebay.

[sidewinder]

Mr Tanno used to be a good source of the Kings and Toshibas. Too bad that he retired..

1970s United Artists reissues can often be very good sound for the price. The Music Matters 2x45rpm sound nice too (although not cheap).

Edited September 28, 2013 by sidewinder

[mjazzg]

I bought one Heavenly Sweetness and whilst it didn't sound quite as full as the equivalent Liberty pressing it sounded good enough for non-audiophile listening. A good and reasonable source for these reissues has been Honest Jons

http://www.honestjons.com/shop.php

  On 9/27/2013 at 11:08 PM, Clunky said:

. Heavenly Sweetness from France do some nice BN issues apparently from analog sources. I've not heard any of these so can't comment.

earlier discussion about them here

Edited September 28, 2013 by mjazzg

[Big Beat Steve]

@Rob/rgodridge:

Here is a BN labelography that should tell you quite a bit about teh different pressings and reissues and their overall evluation. This document is not up to date (it is from 1997/1999) and therefore does not include the recent vinyl reissues but it should include some useful info about the "usual" secondhand BN vinyl pressings that are out there:

http://kleene.ss.uci.edu/~rmay/Bluenote.html

[rgodridge]

thanks all for the advice.

I'll try one of those heavenly sweetness ones when i find them or the ua/libberties, £50 per album is a bit out of my price range though i might do that with particular faorite records.

Steve, thanks a lot for that link, that is going to be quite helpful!

[Deepak]

Here is the entire King Blue Note discography: http://microgroove.jp/bluenote-jpn/1977-1983.html

[paul secor]

Just a reminder that those 45 rpm reissues have to be changed every ten minutes or so.

Another consideration might be that those BN recordings weren't originally issued to be listened to that way. Then again, recordings originally issued as 78s weren't originally issued to be listened to on LP.

[Deepak]

  On 9/28/2013 at 2:18 PM, paul secor said:

Just a reminder that those 45 rpm reissues have to be changed every ten minutes or so.

Another consideration might be that those BN recordings weren't originally issued to be listened to that way. Then again, recordings originally issued as 78s weren't originally issued to be listened to on LP.

How about the various Blue Note CDs that place the alt takes immediately after the master take ruining the proper album track order? Mosaic vinyl box sets often do the same thing and they are some of the best reissues I own (Monk, Powell, Nichols Blue Note vinyl box sets are all in regular rotation at my house). In my opinion that is more annoying than flipping a record after a song or two.

I would take issue with those 45 rpm reissues if they were breaking up songs that were supposed to be listened to in succesion (ie Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon), but Blue Note albums are a collection of songs with no connection between them.

Edited September 28, 2013 by Deepak

[porcy62]

The MM 45rpm's are definitely the best sounding BNs out there, but they are pricey and flipping the record after 12 minutes could be an hassle. The japanese pressings come as good second (Kings a little better then Toshiba) tough if your sistem leans towards smooth sound they could be a bit syrupy. The purpose of Mosaics were to reissue once out of print stuff and gather sessions togheter, so if you're interested in it they are a good choice, the sound quality is always good. Classic Records, now defuct, reissued some BN, lively sound, with mixed results on some title. IMHO obviously.

[Daniel A]

Re: "collection of songs": Well, there are exceptions like Herbie Hancock's 'Maiden Voyage' which is a kind of concept album.

Edited September 28, 2013 by Daniel A

[sidewinder]

  On 9/28/2013 at 3:20 PM, porcy62 said:

The MM 45rpm's are definitely the best sounding BNs out there, but they are pricey and flipping the record after 12 minutes could be an hassle. The japanese pressings come as good second (Kings a little better then Toshiba) tough if your sistem leans towards smooth sound they could be a bit syrupy. The purpose of Mosaics were to reissue once out of print stuff and gather sessions togheter, so if you're interested in it they are a good choice, the sound quality is always good. Classic Records, now defuct, reissued some BN, lively sound, with mixed results on some title. IMHO obviously.

Concur with all of that.

[rgodridge]

yeah, i can see that flipping the record every 10 minutes is a bit annoying, but as a 78 collector i think i'd just get used to it.

Ideally I wouldn't get the 45 pm reissues and will probably look into those jpn king reissues.

thanks all for your help so far!

[tomatamot]

Please d`nt forget to watch to the cheap looking brown double albums, they all have a very good fidelity. ( dark blue label )

fe:

Happy Hunting!!!

Edited September 30, 2013 by tomatamot

[sidewinder]

Cheap looking now maybe.... they looked pretty damn classy and expensive when they came out. 70s beige look, I guess.

[king ubu]

Not an expert, but I snatched up each and any Connoisseur LP I could get for an okay price and I'm pretty glad I did, even though it's just half a dozen (mostly a CD guy).

[tomatamot]

  On 10/14/2013 at 8:11 AM, king ubu said:

Not an expert, but I snatched up each and any Connoisseur LP I could get for an okay price and I'm pretty glad I did, even though it's just half a dozen (mostly a CD guy).

:tup :tup