De Agostini - Jazz at 33 1/3 rpm series in UK newsagents

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Willowman, Jan 20, 2016.

  1. Willowman

    Willowman Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    London, UK
    https://www.deagostini.com/uk/collections/jazz-vinyl/

    Just picked up the first one of these in WH Smiths, £4.99 for 'Kind of Blue' on 180g vinyl.

    Back of the sleeve says (c) 2016, Made In EU. No idea what it sounds like yet, and no mastering credits anywhere that I can see.

    Forthcoming are the usual suspects, 'Blue Train', 'Maiden Voyage'; etc..

    Might be worth a dabble.
     
  2. AJK74

    AJK74 Forum Resident

    Wow! Thanks for the tip, will check these out.
     
  3. Willowman

    Willowman Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    London, UK
    Kind of Blue is £4.99, then 'Blue Trane' £9.99 and £14.99 after that. Not such a compelling proposition at £14.99!
     
    AJK74 likes this.
  4. horslips

    horslips I'd rather be out on my bike!

    Location:
    Dublin
    I notice in one of the flyers that it was originally copyright 2011 by an Italian De Agostini company.

    After some searching on the website, it seems that 70 issues are planned.
     
  5. Imagine70

    Imagine70 Forum Resident

    Interesting list on the Italian website (complete with typos):
     
  6. Jim Black

    Jim Black New Member

    Location:
    Bo'ness
    I found this in Sainsburys as well. You need to subscribe at £30 a month to receive the series of 70 albums (2 per month). I already have two copies of KOB, so didn't bu this (to be honest I have my eyes on the MOFI release of Kind of Blue). I guess if the mastering and pressing quality is decent, then £15 a record might be reasonable value. Oddly they only have the first few releases list on their website (https://www.deagostini.com/uk/collections/jazz-vinyl/) so not much of an incentive to sign up. Not sure who the series will appeal to. I'm not that keen on shelling out over £1k on a series were I may not like or want many of the releases.
     
    VinylCountdown likes this.
  7. OneStepBeyond

    OneStepBeyond Senior Member

    Location:
    North Wales, UK
    I think I'll pick the first one up, at least... will be worth it for that price as I only have two CD masterings of it at the moment. :D I got a £10 WH Smith's voucher for Christmas and wondered what to do with it - now I have the answer and will still have over a fiver remaining.

    Many thanks for the heads up on this. :righton:
     
    The Killer likes this.
  8. Jim Black

    Jim Black New Member

    Location:
    Bo'ness
    Definitely worth a fiver if you don't have a copy of kind of blue. One of my versions is the blue vinyl version from the 50th anniversary box set - it's not a great pressing. So now thinking I will buy this to see if it's better. My other version is the mono Record Store Day release. The MOFI version is now over a £100 on Amazon - looks like it had been £50. The reviews of this gave been very positive.
     
  9. Imagine70

    Imagine70 Forum Resident

  10. OneStepBeyond

    OneStepBeyond Senior Member

    Location:
    North Wales, UK
    Bought it this afternoon - playing it right now but I'll be honest and say that my 'system' is so basic that I won't attempt a critical analysis of the sound quality (except I'm loving what's coming through the speakers.) :) Digital or analogue - I wouldn't have a clue.

    However, the LP is nice and flat - it is pretty quiet; crackles are only audible by cranking it to a volume that is well past what I'd ever really listen to music at. A few tiny clicks that might be removable with a cleaning machine - I only have and use a carbon fibre brush. I've bought other brand new LPs that play less well than this. I was happy to see the 6-eye Columbia label (not worried that is says 'Made in EU' on it - and that the sleeve has the expected small print about this is part of a series, etc...)

    Will I subscribe? It wouldn't exactly break the bank to do so and it's not as if I have that many of the albums listed (13 and all bar one on CD - a crackly copy of Time Out, as a Twofer and I do have that on CD as well.) But how many would I play even a second time? Not being able to answer that makes this difficult and in reality, doubtful. But I'm not saying no... yet. :sigh:
     
    Lost In The Flood and Imagine70 like this.
  11. bibijeebies

    bibijeebies vinyl hairline spotter

    Location:
    Amstelveen (NL)
    All this talk reminded me of I Grandi Del Jazz series from Fabbri editori from 1979. Those were compilations by the way.
     
  12. thematinggame

    thematinggame Forum Resident

    Location:
    Germany
    ^^^^^^ The two I have are no compilations

    Archie Shepp = Montreux One from 1976
    Sam Rivers = The quest also from 1976
    I have also got a Jeremy Steig one from the similar I giganti del Jazz series which = Energy

    They look cheap but have a 8-page Lp-sized booklet with great photos (text unfortunately is in Italian only) and the sound quality of the copies I have is excellent
    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Jan 21, 2016
    max_samhain and bibijeebies like this.
  13. James Glennon

    James Glennon Senior Member

    Location:
    Dublin, Ireland
    The new reissues have the same matrix numbers as the Italian editions with one exception...

    Italian 88862 -1A/1B D001/D002
    New reissue 88862-2A/2B D001/D002

    JG
     
  14. bibijeebies

    bibijeebies vinyl hairline spotter

    Location:
    Amstelveen (NL)
    I stand corrected.
    First one I bought was the Miles Davis compilation.
     
  15. Almost Simon

    Almost Simon Forum Resident

    I bought this today on way home from work. Stopped in to get some lottery and having seen discussions on this decided to go for it. Kind of Blue for less than a fiver is a no-brainer. Nice little insert to slip in as a reference when listening. The whole subscription thing doesnt seem that great although the next two albums in the series are ones I would want - John Coltrane - Blue Train and Billie Holiday - Lady in Satin, and some of the others would be onf interest. Mind you, these releases are usually pretty cheap in Fopp and i'm popping in their Covent Garden store next week so will have a look at their prices.
     
    Sneaky Pete likes this.
  16. Dubmart

    Dubmart Senior Member

    Location:
    Bristol, England
    Watch out the ones in Fopp aren't Russian pressings on DOL, these magazine ones are properly licenced at least.
     
    OneStepBeyond likes this.
  17. PH416156

    PH416156 Alea Iacta Est

    Location:
    Europe
    I wanted to buy some of these LPs but all copies I saw at the newsagent were not in the greatest shape...
     
  18. CrazyCatz

    CrazyCatz Great shot kid. Don't get cocky!

    Well I've read this Thread a couple of times now, and whilst I do own a Deck(think it's only fit for knackers yard) But I am watching gawd knows how many Duals / Thorens / RP & Nad Turntables not to mention tha really cheap Bush MTT1 on FleaBay.. So I will definitely be Buying a new Deck or fixer upper.. anyhoos point being I only have one Album to name(Eye of The Tiger, Yeah I know) do have about a dozen Singles.. but nothing New, nothing Good.. So think I'm at least going to pick up tha 1st 3 of this series... Then at least I'll have some Music I would want to listen to and with tha 1st being so cheap, then I think someone said 2nd is £9.99 and 3rd is £14.99 so that'd be 30 notes in total for 3 Top Vinyl Albums, which isn't so bad.. works out tenner a piece.. pretty sure owt from Virgin on 180g is £20 and above...

    atb
     
    Robert C likes this.
  19. OneStepBeyond

    OneStepBeyond Senior Member

    Location:
    North Wales, UK
    Yes, there are a ton of these in my local HMV...
     
  20. Dave S

    Dave S Forum Resident

    I just saw this release in my local shop. The cover was printed in the USA. Is that the same for the EU manufactured issues?
     
  21. Almost Simon

    Almost Simon Forum Resident

    Okay, so I get the impression these aren't great. Anyway to easily tell these are Russian pressings, noted in Fopp and HMV all LP's are sealed.
     
  22. Almost Simon

    Almost Simon Forum Resident

    Worth a look around, they seem quite plentiful but as we know in newsagents with normal magazines as soon as someone has a flick through them I tend to avoid as paying £5 for an issue of Mojo or Uncut and then getting home and finding its damaged/torn is a major frustration.

    I just spun the first side of Kind of Blue. No complaints from me for £4.99.
     
    CrazyCatz likes this.
  23. Dubmart

    Dubmart Senior Member

    Location:
    Bristol, England
    I don't think they are pressed in Russia, but somewhere in the EU, the label is Russian, DOL is definitely one, there may be others, but I've done my best to avoid them, it's rather disappointing when you see a pile of cheap Jazz reissues in shops like Fopp, original covers and all only to turn them over and discover they are some cheap CD sourced public domain issue, I was shocked to see they are even doing Blue Notes with the original sleeve art which I assumed would be covered by copyright, the only good thing I can say about them is that HMV/Fopp seem to retail them for £7. There are plenty of proper reissues and cheap secondhand copies of most classic Jazz albums around as well as this new magazine series so no reason to buy the Russian ones.

    Incidentally, if the UK magazine follows the Italian then it's a really good and diverse selection of titles, some pleasant surprises and lots of great music that doesn't just stick with the really safe choices, as long as the mastering and pressing quality are okay I don't think anyone will be disappointed for their £15 a time and at the end you will have a nice foundation Jazz collection you can build on.
     
  24. Almost Simon

    Almost Simon Forum Resident

    I just played my copy of Kind of Blue and I'm more than happy, as always I have to state I'm not an audiophile but I do know the difference between a good and bad pressing and I have no concerns. A few pops and crackles but very minimal. Did a comparison with my '97 SBM cd version, that is louder and more bass too but I'm much more likely to dig out the vinyl going forwards, it feels more right to play on vinyl.

    The 7 page Kind of Blue guide is okay, fits nicely in the vinyl sleeve. The main magazine isn't that great, does fold out into a 43"x23" black and white poster of the Cotton Club. The magazine is full of inserts to get you to subscribe, various "free offers" vinyl cleaning kit, binder, zippo lighter, "jazz is back" tee shirt, as I'd imagine after the first 2 or 3 issues the shops will stop stocking the vinyl. But I would like a vinyl copy of Coltrane's Blue Train (out 3rd Feb,) and Billie's Lady in Satin (out 17th Feb,) so if they're the same quality as these pressings I wouldn't get too upset at paying £30 for the 3 of them.

    Beyond that if I find my love for classic jazz growing i'll go and search out the vinyl for myself.
     
    Ridin'High and OneStepBeyond like this.
  25. JQW

    JQW Forum Resident

    They've managed to mis-spell Wynton Kelly's name on the front cover. How could that happen?
     

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