I want to get hold of the classic Miles Davis albums Walkin' Cookin' Steamin' Relaxin' Workin' (I believe all but Walkin are from the same recording session?). There seem to be some sets of at least four of the albums but I have read some varying reviews regarding the sound and also stupid errors such as incorrect track lists etc about some of the sets. Can a Miles expert give me some recommendations for the bets sets or individual editions of these albums? I don't need any gold cds, just a decent sounding reasonably priced cd editon. Thanks!
Miles Davis-Steamin With The Miles Davis Quintet-Hybrid Mono SACD|Acoustic Sounds » Miles Davis Quintet-Relaxin With The Miles Davis Quintet-Hybrid Mono SACD|Acoustic Sounds » Miles Davis-Cookin With The Miles Davis Quintet-Hybrid Mono SACD|Acoustic Sounds »
Cookin', Steamin', Relaxin' and Workin' have all been released as DCC Gold CDs mastered by our host in the 1990s. I have not compared those to the above mentioned Analogue Productions SACDs, and you said you don't need "gold CDs", but would still recommend them for their sound quality: https://www.discogs.com/Miles-Davis-Quintet-Cookin-With-The-Miles-Davis-Quintet/release/5891925 https://www.discogs.com/Miles-Davis-Quintet-Steamin-With-The-Miles-Davis-Quintet/release/6323351 https://www.discogs.com/Miles-Davis-Quintet-Relaxin-With-Miles-Davis-Quintet/release/4069381 https://www.discogs.com/Miles-Davis-Quintet-Workin-With-The-Miles-Davis-Quintet/release/5292278 For Walkin' I would recommend the JVC XRCD mastered by Alan Yoshida: https://www.discogs.com/Miles-Davis-All-Stars-Walkin/release/1810189
I can't listen to those, they hurt my ears. Of the 4,000 or so CDs that I own those Van Gelder remasters are some of the very worst. Just get the DCC versions or the recent downloads.
I have the circa 1987 Prestige "Original Jazz Classics" CD's and have never felt the need to upgrade. Haven't listened to them in a while but I'm pretty sure they're all decent sounding, and you can pick them up for peanuts.
I think the mastering on the Legendary Prestige Quintet box is really good, even compared to the DCC's. $36 on amazon.
I have these, that I have had a long time, and I'm not really sure what masterings they are, there is no proper credit: http://www.discogs.com/Miles-Davis-Quintet-Cookin-With-The-Miles-Davis-Quintet/release/1832116 http://www.discogs.com/Miles-Davis-Quintet-Relaxin-With-The-Miles-Davis-Quintet/release/1913443 http://www.discogs.com/Miles-Davis-Quintet-Steamin-With-The-Miles-Davis-Quintet/release/2100364 http://www.discogs.com/Miles-Davis-Quintet-Workin-With-The-Miles-Davis-Quintet/release/2056814 They have OJC, Fantasy and Prestige logos, but they are "marketed & distributed by ZYX" (and they have a whole bunch of other record label logos too). On Discogs it says, for this series: "Remastered independently from the US original OJCs by German engineers in the ZYX Music Mastering Studio[...]distributed in the European market only." These are they only versions I have ever had or heard, does anyone know how they compare?
I find Miles very bright on the RVGs I'm shamed to admit I only own Relaxin'. I have the AP Prestige Monos one. It's excellent. OJCs are generally good and easier on the wallet
How do these SACDs compare, relative to the Kevin Gray mastered SACDs? Cookin'- AP mastered by Doug Sax Relaxin'- mastered by Joe Tarantino Steamin'- MFSL
OK you guys, this thread just made me reevaluate my Miles Davis Prestige Collection. Now according to this Wikipedia page The Legendary Prestige Quintet Sessions - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia » there were actually a handful of Miles Davis Quintet Albums released by Prestige besides the ones mentioned in this thread. So my collection includes; 1. The Complete Miles Davis Quintet Legendary Prestige Sessions, a 4 CD box set Made In Japan and mastered by Joe Tarantino. This little box includes everything on the 4 albums mentioned in the thread title and it sounds pretty darn good. 2. Miles, The New Miles Davis Quintet, I have it on DCC 24 kt Gold CD mastered by Steve Hoffman 3. Cookin', Analogue Productions SACD mastered by Kevin Gray 4. Relaxin', I have the old Prestige SACD mastered by Joe Taratino and the new Analogue Productions SACD mastered by Kevin Gray 5. Workin', I couldn't find this in my collection (although everything from this album is included in my Complete box set) so I just bought the 24/96 download from Acoustic Sounds. 5. Steamin', I have the old MFSL SACD and the new Analogue Productions SACD. So I guess that I am covered for now on these titles, unless you guys think I am missing something.
I only had the OJC of Workin' and thought it sounded poor in comparison with other OJCs. Much later I bought the Fantasy K2 and it definitely sounded as though it came from better tapes, that happened with a couple of other OJCs too. I went onto buy K2s of the whole series, I have never regretted it. It is not unheard of for first tape searches to turn up poor tapes or cassette masters later supplanted by better tapes.
Many years ago I bought a load of K2 CDs that were mastered by Japanese engineer Tamaki Beck and his team. On first hearing on the system I had in those days they did impress me, but after a while I got headaches listening to them: too loud and harsh, and I got rid of them. For Workin', Cookin', Steamin', Relaxin' I still prefer the DCCs, and for Walkin' the Alan Yoshida-mastered JVC XRCD.
Sir, you are propagating a common myth. K2s in general came out at the same time as the start of the loudness wars but the Fantasy K2s are neither loud nor bright. If you want to hear an extreme example of exaggerated sound go to the RVG remasters, in general they sound awful, I believe RVG had lost his hearing by that time. I'm sure the DCCs and XRCDs sound excellent but the sound of Fantasy K2s is not exaggerated. In addition to Workin' I believe you will find the K2 of Art Pepper + Eleven sounds better than the OJC. Simply better more recent tapes, that's all.
Although those titles are not part of Miles Davis's Legendary Quintet productions, they are indeed on Prestige. I have; 1. Bags Groove on Analogue Productions SACD 2. Musings on DCC 24 kt gold CD. Is there anything else that I am missing here?
I am talking about the K2s issued by Japanese Victor and some Fantasy K2s that were mastered by Japanese engineer Tamaki Beck and his team, and they did sound loud and harsh to me, whether you like it or not. Two examples of K2 box sets released by Fantasy at the time that sound unpleasant to my ears are Thelonious Monk's The Complete Prestige Recordings and Sonny Rollins' The Freelance Years: The Complete Riverside & Contemporary Recordings. K2s that were mastered by US engineers like Joe Tarantino usually sound good and those that were done by Alan Yoshida are generally excellent. As someone here once said: it's all in the mastering. Anyway, I think this K2 discussion is derailing the tread and we should go back on-topic.
There are a few others on Prestige that are all included in a 2009 box I have called "All Miles - The Prestige Albums." Dig, MD with Horns, Blue Haze, Quintet/Sextet with Milt Jackson, Collector's Items, MD and the Modern Jazz Giants.
