Yay!!! The 2 x 45 R.P.M. LPs are out now. And here I was certain that we'd get nothing until after the Nefertiti SACD. We needed this one badly - the remix just sucks compared to the original mix. That and I've never been able to find a pristine, quiet original pressing.
I'm excited too. This one tends to be either overlooked or, in my opinion, unfairly maligned. And bring on Filles de Kilimanjaro!
I've always liked Miles In The Sky, and agree that it doesn't get the recognition it might deserve. I think it's just surrounded by so many other excellent albums, it gets overlooked. For me, it's right up there.
I gave this a play today before heading to work. I wish I had more time to sit and listen, because I've never heard this album sound so great. I've never been able to get a really good sounding Columbia LP - this album was originally mastered pretty quietly back in the day and turning up the volume on a 45 year old LP can usually reveal a lot of surface noise. If you've only heard this on CD you probably have been underwhelmed. AFAIK only the very disappointing CJM CD or Mark Wilder remix have been available in the U.S. and I can't say I like either. The 1987 CBS/Sony Japan 32DP 728 CD is my favorite digital version as it uses the original mix and is mastered pretty well, but even that sounds pedestrian compared to the MFSL double-45. The way they're able to get such great separation and tonality is just crazy. If you've never heard the original mix you're in for a real treat. The percussion hits in the left channel never let you forget that Tony's there, and Herbie's soulful keybs on the right are so clear and pure and in their own space. Miles and Wayne are painting with sounds and even Benson's electric guitar on "Paraphernalia" sounds fantastic. It's just holographic. And now it's extra psychedelic, with added rainbow color circles in MFSL's new gatefold sleeve. BTW the MFSL banner on the LP cover is blue, not orange as depicted on the preliminary artwork. An under-appreciated, often overlooked "transitional" album that deserves another listen and I'm glad Mobile Fidelity gave it a chance. I'm going to keep on enjoying every minute of it.
How does the original mix compare to the Wilder remix? Is there more of a stereo spread on the original, e.g. Tony Williams?
Yes, there is. Hard to describe, but although Tony and Herbie are more "out there," overall the mix seems tighter than the remix and the band just seems to cook more. If you've compared the Sorcerer original mix to the remix it's kind of the same. There's a magic to Teo's mixes that was lost in the remixes. Wilder has done some great work over the years but I think with most of the Miles remixes he did a disservice. Kind Of Blue is an exception to that IMO.
I was sending a PM on another medium to some of my drummer friends. I thought I might share it here with some editing of names and general name-calling. Ha. Per below: Re: Miles in the Sky. I got copy # 2044. It is remastered by MFSL's Shawn Britton. 45 RPM and with four tunes total, each side is one tune. Side One -- and it occurred to me it would have been cool if they didn't label each side numerically but rather let each respective tune self-identify -- is far and away my favorite. The improvement over my coveted Japan vinyl "... is not subtle." There is a bass line on Stuff that I had never really heard before. It is deep and wobbly and just out of this world. It's like listening to this record as I have never heard it before the MOFI. Presaging, perhaps, more of what I consider the Filles album signature sound, this record, too, has some electric piano. George Benson is present on the tune Paraphernalia, and that tune alone. This is 1968, just one year after Georges contribution on, say, Alligator Boogaloo. The playing is in a similar vein. One thing I don't like about this album is the sparsity of ride cymbal. Again, like Filles, there is quite a bit of hi-hat work, a la straight-eight rock patterns. And when he does go to a ride it sure as heck does not sound to me like the Nefertiti ride. It sounds to me more like the left side cymbal, what we believe is a 50's era A. Zildjian. This album is devoid of the glorious Nefertiti ride, to my immediate memory of having just listen to -- but not necessarily for -- it. The album beyond side one is rather disparate and suffers from that production technique of slicing and dicing pieces. Indeed, thinking about the first track again, you can clearly hear how the first several bars are at a slower pace, then a splice, then it is fairly consistent tempo thereout on Stuff. It doesn't suffer this production technique as much as, say, In a Silent Way. But still, I wish they could have just recorded the tunes more "warts and all" and let it go without all the splices. Those kind of ruin it for me. I plan to get the Nefertiti and Sorcerer MOFI 45s, based on my experience with this record.
I got my MOFI The Sorcerer (#1512) and Nefertiti (#561) the other day. I have listened to all eight sides of glorious second great quintet just once. As with the previously mentioned Miles in the Sky, I am really enjoying these. My initial impressions mirror those rendered for Miles in the Sky. I think the two most salient improvements are the upright bass and the greater clarity and space around all the instruments. The benefit of this is that the soundstage is more realistic. To my taste, the musical content of these two albums is much stronger than Miles in the Sky. I'm really enjoying these.
I'd rather they do more of the pre-fusion titles. I have an original CBS/Sony Japanese pressing of Pangaea (and Black Beauty) and haven't played them in decades. They – and what came after – just aren't the Miles I care for.
Here's a list of the pre-fusion titles on the Columbia or Sony Legacy labels that MOFI has neither released nor announced for future release: Miles Ahead Jazz Track 1958 Miles Miles and Monk at Newport Porgy and Bess Jazz at the Plaza Someday My Prince Will Come In Person - Friday and Saturday Nights at the Blackhawk Miles Davis At Carnegie Hall Seven Steps to Heaven Miles Davis in Europe Miles in Tokyo Miles in Berlin E.S.P. The Complete Live at the Plugged Nickel 1965 Cookin' at the Plugged Nickel Miles Smiles The Bootleg Series, Vol. 1: Live in Europe 1967 Let me know if I've forgotten anything. Of these 18 titles (or 17, if you collapse the Complete Plugged Nickel w/Cookin' at the Plugged Nickel b/c the latter is a subset of the former), Sony Legacy has released five in excellent mono editions in recent years (Miles Ahead, Jazz Track, Miles and Monk at Newport, Porgy and Bess, and Someday My Prince Will Come). Impex has released two in excellent stereo editions (In Person - Friday and Saturday Nights at the Blackhawk, and E.S.P.). I doubt those could be bettered by MOFI, though I expect their theoretical releases would have a different sonic signature, and reasonable people could differ as to which they prefer. Analogue Productions released stereo editions of Someday My Prince Will Come and Seven Steps to Heaven, but I would very much like to hear what MOFI could do with the latter. I'm content with the Sony Legacy mono on Someday My Prince Will Come. I doubt we'll see another US release of Complete Plugged Nickel, or a first of The Bootleg Series, Vol. 1. These titles are just too voluminous to feasibly release on vinyl, though I hope I'm proved wrong on that. I would very much welcome MOFI editions of Miles Davis in Europe, Miles in Tokyo, Miles in Berlin, and Miles Smiles. And, as mentioned above, Seven Steps to Heaven. I've praised the Speakers Corner edition of Miles Smiles as sounding close to the original US stereo release, but I'm sure MOFI could better both if they got the tapes. Which of these titles would you like to see MOFI release?
I have the Impex and Speakers Corner reissues, and don't feel the need to see MoFi reissues for them. I have the AP 45 RPM of Seven Steps and Someday, but would like a good 33 RPM of those. In addition to Miles Davis in Europe, Miles in Tokyo, Miles in Berlin you mentioned, I would also like to see a good 33 RPM reissue of Jazz At The Plaza (I have an old Columbia from the 70s). Maybe they could do Plugged Nickel as released originally on a 2 LP set. I'm sure there are those who would be happy to see the later fusion releases done. Personally, I won't buy those simply because I'm not going to listen to them.
Dark Magus might be my favourite Miles album, and the reason I want a MOFI version is because it was only released in Japan originally and currently there's only a crappy 4 Men With Beards version out.
I have that 4 Men With Beards Dark Magus, and it's not terrible, for what it is. It sounds fine to me but is likely sourced from a high-res file. Lately, Sony has been handling the manufacturing side of titles licensed to 4 Men With Beards, and the infamous 4 Men handle the distribution.
When I moved in 2003 an open box disappeared with some records and other miscellaneous items. The Sony/CBS Japanese issue of Dark Magus was among them. I think the movers stole it because they saw something in the box that interested them. I learned two lessons from that: 1) seal off every moving box from prying eyes, 2) inspect the inside of the moving van before you pay for the job.
I should also note that the packaging is very nice, FWIW. Stoughton Press tip-on style gatefold sleeve in heavy cardboard.
Maybe. They've also announced Jack Johnson, My Funny Valentine, and, of course, Kind of Blue. I would expect that Kind of Blue is next because the SACD is out, but who knows; the My Funny Valentine SACD has been out for a while now.
