I don't think there are any 'special issues'. I'm a premium subscriber too (for the various freebies) but apart from gifts all I have received are the LPs as per the release schedule.
They only just updated my digital subscription up to 29, so I know no more than we already know. Special issue subscriber but no special issues here too.
Are the ones you saw the actual DeAgostini releases with original sleeves and labels or were they the same titles but with those unique French 'photographer' sleeves ?
They weren't the Deagostini ones, but were 180g pressings and looked pretty good quality. The copy of Blue Train was on blue vinyl and they had a Mingus Ah Um picture disc. I don't know if the sound quality of colour/picture discs has improved in the last 10-20 years, but when I was buying a lot of drum & bass vinyl in the late 90s and playing out in clubs, I'd avoid them like the plague, even though they looked cool! The selection of Jazz vinyl was incredible to be fair, especially considering Fnac is basically a high street store. I picked up the Blue Note 'Blue Break Beats Vol.1-3' remasters, which are all excellent, and replace my tatty original copies! Highly recommend if you have an interest in 90s Hip Hop like A Tribe Called Quest, Gangstarr, Nas, etc..
Yes, I picked up a load of 9,99€ jazz titles in FNAC recently. There is a series, which duplicates many of the DeAgostini titles with unique gatefold sleeves using the work of a French photographer who took many contemporary shots of big-name musicians when playing in France in the 50s and 60s. The covers alone are worth the 9,99€.
I'm a big Clifford Brown fan, so glad you like it. He would have been bigger than Miles had he not died so young imo.
I liked the Sarah Vaughan one with Clifford Brown far more than any other Sarah Vaughan albums I'd previously heard. I'll have to look out for more by him. I'm learning about jazz as I go along, I hadn't heard of Clifford Brown, Max Roach, Hank Mobley, Wayne Shorter or Eric Dolphy a year ago. Even the people I had heard of I'd not heard much by and never had sat with an album to listen to properly by them. It's been great. I can't afford them all and feel that the more avant garde side of it isn't for me, but I'm enjoying these LPs a lot. Really looking forward to Sonny Clark next...
Last night I listened to my new copy of 'A Night at the Village Vanguard' by Sonny Rollins, in the Blue Note 75th Anniversary issue. Audio quality was very impressive, I must say, although the vinyl itself feels more 140g than the advertised 180g. Given their similar price I think I'll continue collecting the bebop/hard bop titles in the deAgostini series. I don't think you can do better for the money. Those classics not being released in the series; and there are a lot of them, I'll look at the 75th Blue Note issues. The audio quality on both is definately superior to the 1970s/80s reissues most commonly found (if at all) and for not much more money.
Wow, my latest mail order for deAgostini has only taken 11 days to arrive! Getting quicker perchance?
Been checking out my local Asda since the series started. I have Blue Train, Kind of Blue, Something Else, Blues and the Abstract Truth and Live at Greenwich Village (Albert Ayler). Back ordered Mingus Ah Um and hadn't received it in nearly two weeks. Having said that Customer Service were actually pretty good and it was delivered on a 48hr signed for service. I get the impression demand is high. And rightly so since the quality is excellent. Licensed from Sony (Columbia) and UMG (Blue Note, Impulse) on the ones I have. My biggest surprise was the Albert Ayler one. I actually bought it because I loved the cover and it was recorded in the Village Vanguard, nothing else at the time - impulse buy (excuse the pun).
Will pick up Cool Struttin' tomorrow morning. Anyone know what's coming after that? Wish they'd just put the schedule on the website.
De Agostini must be taking up a lot of vinyl pressing capacity right now. I read separately there was an issue in vinyl manufacturing keeping up with demand. Perhaps they want flexibility.
Is anyone getting these from Newsagents now? The last one I saw was the "Sketches from Spain" one, sleeve was mangled so I didn't get it, ended up getting one off Ebay. I have managed to get a few from ebay at 'comparable to retail or cheaper' price, the Ayler one has just arrived...
My local supermarket doesn't have the Sonny Clark but it does have De Agostini's latest. All the Beatles albums, Abbey Road is 9.99 including a folder for the booklets. Beatles albums are widely available anyway so not sure what the advantage will be for Beatles fans. Perhaps its the casual supermarket shopper.
Still getting mine from a small local newsagent in Kent. Think they only get the one copy in though, so have to get down there on release day! Picked up Cool Struttin' after a few weeks break. Will be skipping Gerry Mulligan too.
