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Post by Rich on Mar 31, 2017 17:50:15 GMT
bluenotejazzcollector.blogspot.com/Anybody else ever come across this blog? I first stumbled upon it a couple years ago and I love the writer's no-nonsense approach. There's only a handful of articles but they're entertaining and enlightening. They do however commit the cardinal sin of mistaking the numbers on the Lexington label for "161" so you'll have to look past that. 
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Post by Rich on Mar 31, 2017 18:06:36 GMT
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Post by sztiv on Apr 1, 2017 8:56:28 GMT
Thanks for the heads up, I enjoyed reading both those blogs.
I'm currently trying to sell off parts of my record collection to finance the purchase of some expensive rarities but when I'm done I must buy a few liberty pressings and DMMs so I can hear what they sound like.
I've been put off buying them because of all this talk of ears and DGs etc but Jason Sositko is of the opinion that they're pretty good.
Being able to buy lots of LPs for less than £10 is very appealing.
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Post by Martin on Apr 1, 2017 13:35:14 GMT
sztiv: there certainly are many Liberty-era Blue Notes that stand up to scrutiny both in terms of the quality of the music and the quality of the pressings. Equally, it would be narrow-sighted to pretend that there aren't duds as well. A thread about our favourite Liberty-era Blue Notes would certainly make for interesting and instructive reading.
As for the DMMs: personally, I avoid them. If you want to go for 1980s+ re-issues, then the Japanese ones by King and Toshiba offer better sound quality.
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Post by bopmodalfree on Apr 1, 2017 17:24:02 GMT
I had not seen those blogs before, so thanks for pointing these out. It's refreshing to hear that he enjoys blue label pressings so much. I will also vouch for these, as most copies I have sound fantastic. It seems that folks have a slight preference for black b over white b, though. I should mention that I only have UA blue label pressings for recordings in stereo from 1962-1969 and it would be interesting to hear from anyone who have blue label copies of fifties or early sixties dates.
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Post by alunsevern on Apr 7, 2017 9:48:03 GMT
No, I hadn't looked at these blogs before. But I'll be perfectly honest -- I don't really need a blog to tell me that Pathe Marconi, Toshiba, DMM and whatever other reissues of Blue Notes the 80s produced are acceptable. I think that as far as Blue Notes are concerned, apart from a handful of Liberty era pressings, they are virtually all I have. Disregarding them makes no sense whatsoever to me -- but then I'm not a first pressing fundamentalist. As with books, I buy whatever I can afford. I would no more go without reading a book because I can't find it in a first edition hardback than I would go without hearing a particular LP because I can't find an original pressing. At usually under GBP10.00-12.00, these various reissues are frequently the only viable way to hear these recordings on vinyl -- and still keep the family fed  Perhaps I would feel differently if I were a true Blue Note addict, but the fact is I'm not. Over the years I've probably disposed of as many BNs as I have retained, simply because I didn't find them interesting enough. some great favourites have been replaced with Music Matters pressings. Over the years I think I have concluded that I am a record collector in exactly the same way as I am a book collector. My primary concern is the content - music or text -- and I'll take it in whatever form I can get it, but for preference I do like old: old books, old records. But neither need to be original. If they are -- and especially if I haven't paid 'originals' prices, then that's a bonus... |
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Post by gst on Apr 7, 2017 15:50:19 GMT
No, I hadn't looked at these blogs before. But I'll be perfectly honest -- I don't really need a blog to tell me that Pathe Marconi, Toshiba, DMM and whatever other reissues of Blue Notes the 80s produced are acceptable. I think that as far as Blue Notes are concerned, apart from a handful of Liberty era pressings, they are virtually all I have. Disregarding them makes no sense whatsoever to me -- but then I'm not a first pressing fundamentalist. As with books, I buy whatever I can afford. I would no more go without reading a book because I can't find it in a first edition hardback than I would go without hearing a particular LP because I can't find an original pressing. At usually under GBP10.00-12.00, these various reissues are frequently the only viable way to hear these recordings on vinyl -- and still keep the family fed Perhaps I would feel differently if I were a true Blue Note addict, but the fact is I'm not. Over the years I've probably disposed of as many BNs as I have retained, simply because I didn't find them interesting enough. some great favourites have been replaced with Music Matters pressings. Over the years I think I have concluded that I am a record collector in exactly the same way as I am a book collector. My primary concern is the content - music or text -- and I'll take it in whatever form I can get it, but for preference I do like old: old books, old records. But neither need to be original. If they are -- and especially if I haven't paid 'originals' prices, then that's a bonus... That's how I started, but I've slowly drifted into first pressings. I do however continue to buy reissues as "place holders" (although I know many will never be replaced with originals). With books I've always bought the version that i felt had the best cover art |
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Post by Rich on Apr 7, 2017 23:49:57 GMT
No, I hadn't looked at these blogs before. But I'll be perfectly honest -- I don't really need a blog to tell me that Pathe Marconi, Toshiba, DMM and whatever other reissues of Blue Notes the 80s produced are acceptable. I think that as far as Blue Notes are concerned, apart from a handful of Liberty era pressings, they are virtually all I have. Disregarding them makes no sense whatsoever to me -- but then I'm not a first pressing fundamentalist. As with books, I buy whatever I can afford. I would no more go without reading a book because I can't find it in a first edition hardback than I would go without hearing a particular LP because I can't find an original pressing. At usually under GBP10.00-12.00, these various reissues are frequently the only viable way to hear these recordings on vinyl -- and still keep the family fed Perhaps I would feel differently if I were a true Blue Note addict, but the fact is I'm not. Over the years I've probably disposed of as many BNs as I have retained, simply because I didn't find them interesting enough. some great favourites have been replaced with Music Matters pressings. Over the years I think I have concluded that I am a record collector in exactly the same way as I am a book collector. My primary concern is the content - music or text -- and I'll take it in whatever form I can get it, but for preference I do like old: old books, old records. But neither need to be original. If they are -- and especially if I haven't paid 'originals' prices, then that's a bonus... Well Alun, not everyone has your experience in collecting to draw from now, do they? I think my intent in linking to these blogs was to help inform less experienced collectors but I also thought veterans might like to know that there are other sensible people out there writing about our hobby. I agree with you on the matter of older records being more interesting and engaging, and I understand your concern for content over collectability. I also understand that you are not a Blue Note devotee like many of us, though I can relate to your feelings regarding how often Blue Note sessions engage me. I too have bought and sold many Blue Note LPs as a result of realizing that a session more or less amounted to "just another hard bop date." Certainly other labels beside Blue Note are guilty of this but I think your criticism of Blue Note is noteworthy due to the "inflated" status of the label, and despite my being a self-proclaimed Blue Note fanatic I think there is some truth to the idea that Blue Note is "overrated". When we look past the hype and the beautiful album art, a lot of times I suppose we're left with "mediocre bop dates". |
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Post by alunsevern on Apr 8, 2017 9:26:36 GMT
Rich, Apologies -- on rereading my previous post sounded a bit sniffy. It wasn't intended that way, but I do get a bit fed up of the endless posts (elsewhere, I mean -- JazzCollector!) that assume that everyone has the money to spend hundreds or even thousands on individual LPs. Increasingly I find it such a narrow (and dare I say it, self-aggrandising) view of collecting that I really ought to stop reading that kind of thing... BUt of course, for various reasons I don't.
I couldn't agree more with what you say about Blue Note -- even though I would probably have hesitated to say it myself:)
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Post by Rich on Apr 8, 2017 22:24:32 GMT
Rich, Apologies -- on rereading my previous post sounded a bit sniffy. It wasn't intended that way, but I do get a bit fed up of the endless posts (elsewhere, I mean -- JazzCollector!) that assume that everyone has the money to spend hundreds or even thousands on individual LPs. Increasingly I find it such a narrow (and dare I say it, self-aggrandising) view of collecting that I really ought to stop reading that kind of thing... BUt of course, for various reasons I don't. I couldn't agree more with what you say about Blue Note -- even though I would probably have hesitated to say it myself:) There was a post on a record collecting blog a couple months back that really rubbed me the wrong way. The prose had an elitist and condescending vibe, so much so that I decided to stop visiting that blog, and I feel good about not giving into its sensationalism. So I understand and relate to your frustration. I had to look up what "aggrandize" meant but I agree, some bloggers seem to take a special interest (either consciously or unconsciously I suppose) in promoting the market and increasing the value of the authors' collectibles. |
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Post by clifford on Apr 11, 2017 16:39:41 GMT
I am fine buying later pressings of classic titles so I can save money and kick it towards something that only has one issue or is hellishly obscure. West 63rd and Lex Blue Notes are beautiful but the stratospheric nature of those records has gotten absurd.
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