Pharoah Sanders vinyl reissues on Anthology Recordings due in Nov. 2017

Those do look nice, but no easy way for me to get in US. Too bad I didn't know re: them when I was in UK over the summer!

 

I don't have an original, but it certainly doesn't sound like my other Pharoah Sanders albums on Impulse. It sounds like I'm listening to it with a cold, if that makes any sense – kind of muffled. It's pressed well and it's dead quiet, but I'd recommend giving this a pass. Kicking myself for not picking up the last original I saw in a shop. This album was pretty common in used bins for a number of years – Thembi was another one – so I was always reluctant to buy it, feeling like I'd eventually come across a better copy. Hardly ever see any original Pharoah Sanders albums in the wild these days.

 

Totally co-incidentally I just took delivery of a used Tauhid vinyl on Impulse, 2nd pressing on Black/Red label, likely 1970 pressing since Black/Red and NYC address on the label. It has Van Gelder in the dead wax so nice surprise. Anyway, despite the scratches and some noise it sounds superb. I can't compare against the vinyl you have but I did a quick comparison against the CD and the vinyl has so much more detail and depth. If I really wanted a clean vinyl copy there is one other choice .....

 

The black and red Impulse / ABC label pressings are generally pretty good. It's not until you get into the green labels and the black with neon logo labels that things get iffy.

 

VMP just blew out remaining stock on Tauhid at $14, and I grabbed the last one they had. I'm sure it'll be worth my $14 even if it is a needledrop.

 

I just listened to Summun. It is a nice and quiet pressing. It's nothing great mind you but I think it's worth it for the price and if, like me, you can't find quiet originals.

 

Jewels of Thought is currently $12.98 on Amazon. Given the lackluster reviews, I will probably pass personally, but thought I'd mention it.

 

Here's the thing. I just received a copy of ARC 044 Jewels of Thought (only £13.43 new) and gave it a whirl. From memory it sounds different in places. I then compared when Pharoah comes in hard at 10.30 on Hum-Allah to my early 70s Impulse vinyl version (Pharoah Sanders - The Best Of Pharoah Sanders). There are definitely more tones on the Anthology version. I think Josh at Bonati Mastering has kept more of the overtones/harmonics from Pharoah's hugely harmonics laden playing in his vinyl mastering. If you look at his website, he's done digital/vinyl mastering for the three albums, the majority of his work BTW. I also thought I detected a (digital) change near the end of the solo when it becomes more soft and fluid. It may have been a small flaw in the vinyl however - hard to tell.
Anyway - the source for mastering was digital. Josh Bonati has likely digitally tweaked for his particular Neumann lathe.
Comparing against other versions to figure out what's best I think it's down to personal preference. I would happily listen to the Anthology, my Best of or the CD version. I like them all !
Only downside of ARC044 - it's not a gatefold.

BONATI MASTERING NYC