Alan Yoshida and Bernie Grundman mastered Blue Note 75th Anniversary Vinyl Reissues

Yes, I mentioned this confusing state of affairs on the previous page. I can add that the Blue Note Collection/Limited Edition stickered ones do not reference the Alan Yoshida mastering on the back cover like the 75th anv. issues. They're 2 Euro cheaper here as well (17,99 vs. 19,99 for the 75th's), but they appear to be very similar and originating from the same pressing plant that BN Europe always uses.

 

Anyone here have Herbie Hancock's Maiden Voyage and can comment on how it sounds?

 

I think we need to be clear - despite the title of this thread, I have seen nothing that indicates that Alan Yoshida mastered more than a handful of these releases. That is certainly true for the HDTracks downloads.

 

Yep...any of the classic BN HD Tracks titles that are not specifically credited to Alan were done by Bernie G. Which isn't a bad thing IMO...both of those guys do top notch work.

 

Absolutely. I praised the general caliber of the downloads (from both of them) earlier in the thread.

 

I've been following this thread and have a question. I'm not sure if it's been covered.

Are there differences in the US and EU pressings of this series. I just got the Larry Young Unity LP and I notice that it is made in the EU, it's on 180 gram vinyl and has a download coupon. I also have the Blakey, Rollins, Hancock and Gordon releases which do not state that they were made in the EU and are on lighter weight vinyl and have no download coupon. Is there a difference in the 75th anniv series in the US and EU versions for all releases?

 

Maybe the thread title should be changed?

 

Not so fast. They don't all sound great.

I picked up the Herbie Hancock - Maiden Voyage and John Coltrane - Blue Train LPs this week from the new 75 Blue Note series. Just finished listening to Maiden Voyage. Wish I'd seen this thread first. The Herbie Hancock LP is warped and chock full of that crunchy non-fill noise on Side 2. The LP is going back.

I read over in the vinyl thread, that member ChrisM (not to be confused with Chris M), is now taking back a 2nd copy of Maiden Voyage for the same non-fill issues. He's in London, Ontario. I'm in Alberta. There must be a whole batch of Maiden Voyage LPs out there with non-fill issues.

I'm going to give Blue Train a spin tomorrow morning. If it's the same non-fill mess as Maiden Voyage, it's also going back. I won't be buying any more U.S. pressed LPs in this series. Can't take the risk of poor quality control at United.

 

Listening to on Vinyl (Part 174)

It's a real shame, as the lacquers for Maiden Voyage were cut by Chris Bellman (CB etched in the dead-wax).

 

I have Unity and Speak no Evil, both EU-pressings, 180 grams, with download coupons.

 

Wow, Ike Quebec: Easy Living!

 

I finished listening to the John Coltrane LP this morning. It's going back to the record shop w/ the Herbie Hancock LP. Non-fill near the end of the 2nd side.

 

Listened to my Maiden Voyage yesterday for the first time and it had the same crunchy noisy, scratchy sounds and I will be sending it back. The overall SQ wasn't very good either. I already sent back my copy of Blue Train. It had a large scratch on side two. I have Unity on order. I'm sure it will probably fail as well and I'll be done with 75th BN's for good. Too bad.

 

Sorry to hear that.

Come on United. Where's the quality control on the Herbie Hancock LP?

Who manufactured the EU versions? From the earlier description, the EU LPs are 180g and have download cards. They could be a better deal, with better vinyl.

 

I bought Speak No Evil today because in spite of some negative comments, I could not resist the $14.99 price tag at my local indie. I give the sound a thumbs up compared to the only other version I have-an earbleeding RVG remastered CD. However, coming out of the sleeve, this is the worst looking LP I have ever seen that I bought new. If this was a used LP, I probably would have passed on it. There's a lot of scuffing on side 1 and some spotting as if someone tried to clean it but did not get all the liquid off. On the other side, I have a mark that runs across the first two tracks on side two that looks something like a sperm. I was ready to take it back but I could not hear any noise. is it my 62 year old ears? -and, besides that, there were no other copies. So I am going to enjoy the music which sounds very good to me.

 

My copy of FREE FOR ALL isn't pretty, but it sounds great. I may buy a couple more of these.

 

Same here. I have most of the series. The only one with issues so far is Maiden Voyage side 2.

 

I'm brand new to the forum and was motivated to join because it's the only place I could find with discussion of the merits and shortcomings of the Blue Note 75th anniversary reissues.

Like many of the other contributors, I had major problems with side 2 of Maiden Voyage, I finally got a copy I was happy with on the third try. I've been thrilled with the sound and pressing of Live at the Golden Circle, Something Else, and See No Evil, however.

I received my copy of McCoy Tyner's The Real McCoy and am disappointed with this one, though. In addition to some annoying passages with pops and loud surface noise, there seems to be some weird phasing-type issue going on, particularly noticeable on some of the louder cymbal crashes. Has anyone else experienced similar problems with this record? I'll be sending it back tomorrow and trying my luck with another copy.

 

Can anybody recommend somewhere in the UK that sells these new EU versions (180g + download) for a half-decent price please? Amazon seems pretty vague about which version you're getting and I'd rather use an independent anyway!

 

Got my copy of Unity from zoreno-uk via amazon marketplace (180 gr. + download)

 

The swooshing sounds are the way it was recorded. Not sure why.

 

Yeah, it sounds great. Clean as a whistle. Really Herbilicious!

 

That is kind of what I suspected. I do not have another copy (vinyl or CD) to compare it to, so I was not sure, though. Thanks for your input.

 

How much production-values slack are y'all prepared to cut Blue Note, given that these vinyl reissues are not targeted at the audiophile market and are priced to get the music to a younger, newbie audience?

 

None, I bought one of these LP's to test the water (Art Blakey & Jazz Messengers - Free For All) sounded like mush. I paid $19.95 for this LP and I feel ripped off. No more of these for me.