Music Matters Definitive Blue Note 45 RPM and 33 & 1/3 RPM vinyl series (pt7)

I have both IM ,MB on MM33, wonderful! Hope yours are as well.

 

My MM 33 copy was from the second run and is noise-free. I have the AP 45 and SACD too.

 

Three years ago I clearly preferred the MM33 to the AP45:
Music Matters Definitive Blue Note 45 RPM and 33 & 1/3 RPM vinyl series (pt7)
I'll listen again, maybe I change my mind. Wouldn't be the first time.

 

So, I just recently purchased my first MM Blue Note reissue (which was CA 'Somethin' Else). Since these are pretty pricey I'm going to purchase about htree more and that will be it. I know I'm going to get Cool Struttin' and Midnight Blue (and I'm sticking to the 33 1/3. I'm looking for suggestions on what my third purchase should be. Any suggestion from people familiar to the series would be helpful. Thanks in advance!

 

If you know the music already, go with what album(s) you like best.

 

Hmm, don't really know what your preferences are beyond the ones you just listed, but I like the 33s of Wayne Shorter's Night Dreamer and Speak No Evil, Herbie Hancock's Maiden Voyage, Eric Dolphy's Out to Lunch, Lee Morgan's Search for the New Land, and Bud Powell's The Scene Changes. But, I have quite a few 33s and I like them all, I'd just choose an artist I like and get one of their albums I don't have or one that I super love.

 

Blue Train, Moanin', or Soul Station.

 

Exactly my view--hard to advise without knowing more, and they're all so good that one can be sure of quality no matter what one chooses.

 

Is MM still pressing these releases or are they just selling what inventory they have left then shutting it down?

 

There have been some rumbles that they may do more, but nothing that's been substantiated.

 

We know that at least some of the 33s have been repressed, but I would assume MM makes that decision according to demand. I wouldn't bet on further represses though. They have limited licenses for these titles, of course.

 

Yeah, with the prices being so I high I was wondering if they are selling off the last of their inventory and not pressing anymore. From what I understand the 33's started of at $35 each; now that are up to $60 which tells me they are probably trying to get the most for what they have left before they shut it down.

 

I think it remains to be seen how long they have left in them, but if they wanted to move inventory quickly, they wouldn't have adopted this pricing strategy. It is clear they are trying to get value from the collectors' market.

 

They can do as they wish, but it has definitely discouraged me from picking up some of the items. Song for my Father was listed the last time I checked at $100, I would've definitely bought it already for the regular $50 or even a little bit of a markup. I'll get by on with my RVG CD at that price. Also, I wouldn't have spent so long contemplting on the Idle Moments and Midnight Blue if they weren't marked up. Alas, my desire to have great sounding versions of those titles crumbled my resistance. But, I have yet to buy a record for $100...

 

Yeah, I'm just cherry picking. Somethin Else sounded so good I decided to get a few others. I listened to the ones I was interested in on YouTube. I'll get these three and that will be it.

 

Song for My Father is $84.95 from Music Matters. I know because I just ordered it the other night after debating with myself for years. On the one hand, I hate that it's so pricey and that put me off it for some time. On the other, it's the one I didn't yet have that I most wanted, and I started to feel like I'd kick myself if it went out of stock; nowhere else has it as far as I can tell. That latter feeling started outweighing the former, and I had the money sitting in my PayPal account from a recent sale of another LP, so . . . .

 

Something I had looked at recently was $100 on the MM site, maybe a Shorter or Blakey album, then.

 

Same here. I bought 6 albums from them when they were priced at $40. I was about to buy more when the price went up, but I have bought none since. I'd have bought 6-10 more if they had kept their pricing the same.

 

Well, I first went for all the albums that I wanted that were still regular price. Then I got the ones that I really wanted even though they were elevated in price. Fortunately, quite a few 45 albums that were hiked up on MM's site were actually still available on acousticsounds for regular price plus being able to use the AS discount codes for 15 or 20% off, so I've amassed a decent collection of 50-60 MM titles over time. Others that I would like to get I haven't though because the price is too high for how much I feel I would enjoy those particular items.

 

Song For My Father is definitely in my favorite top five MM reissues. IMO, it's the best Horace Silver Quintet date. Sum of the parts exceeds the whole: compositions, players, delivery. The cherry on top - the last track is pure candlelight magic.

I have had very good luck with early Blue Note reissues. I would suggest looking for a 1966 or 1970 reissue of this title on eBay or Discogs. It's going to sound excellent, assuming VG+ grading, and probably cost one quarter to half as much. It is an essential jazz title, IMO.

 

Regards,

Dzhason's Wallet

 

Yeah, that's what I thought too. Now, 19 titles later....

Seriously though, think of it as an investment. You will get much more enjoyment out of the MM releases, and they should hold/increase their monetary value over time.

 

I fell down the rabbit hole of jazz about a year ago, and now I just discovered Music Matters. There is so much other music I want I just can't break out of this jazz binge I've been on. I could buy about 4-5 records (maybe more) for the price of one MM release.

 

Got my copy of Grant Green's Idle Moments today and just listened to it. I listen on headphones at night and I'm very happy with the quality of the pressing on this one, it's very nearly perfect with only one noticeable tick during Nomad. When I get a chance I'll probably take it out soon for an ultrasonic cleaning as I usually do with my new records, sometimes it really really works magic and, of course, sometimes nothing can be done.

I'm listening to Kenny Burrell's Midnight Blue currently, which I also got in today... it's a little bit noisier, but it has a lot more really quiet spots with just guitar so it's really exposed when listening through headphones. Doesn't seem like anything out of the ordinary though, and ditto on the cleaning for this one.

Verdict so far is that I'm glad that I bit the bullet and went ahead and ordered these two, the sound is really enjoyable and presents these two stellar sets of music in amazing detail.

 

Coincidentally, I was listening to Midnight Blue last night at the exact same time as you were. I don't have any noise issues on that LP. I bought it from a local shop who had stock from when the title was first released.

However, like you, I have Idle Moments from the second time it was pressed by MM. It is flawless. IIRC, most reports with noise have been from the first run. Both of these titles are just fantastic throughout.