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

If it's a pressing defect, it's possible it would only affect certain copies.

 

So, I'm needing a tack on LP to hit free MM shipping and narrowed it down to Undercurrent, Whistle Stop,and possibly The Real McCoy. Anybody want to help me towards a choice? I sampled them all this morning and can't declare a winner. I have Undercurrent NP and those horns are on fire

 

Man, what a decision to make. If it was me, since I have the Undercurrent XRCD I'd go with either WS or TRM and I'd have to flip a coin honestly. I'd lean WS because I don't have it...but my only copy of TRM is a regular CD.

The good thing is - you can't go wrong!

 

I’m only familiar with undercurrent of those three but I really like it. Not as much low end as on other 33s but my understanding is that’s how it was recorded.

 

If it were me, The Real McCoy, but it's a late '60s recording with a bit of an avant feel. So it's the outlier of the three. Most Blue Note fans would problem rate Undercurrent highest--you often see it on the best-of lists. Of course, Whistle Stop is great, too. You can't really go wrong.

 

On my recent purchase from MM, I was leaning toward getting Whistle Stop, partly to compare how Dorham & Mobley played over the same rhythm section as Coltrane/Morgan/Fuller from Blue Train (BT ended up being part of my order), especially on the same MM medium. I just thought that would be cool regarding variations. I ended up not getting WS but instead going for Adam's Apple, which I don't have. WS remains tabbed for a future buy.

Edit: As an aside, I still don't care much for the closing track Ballade from Undercurrent. The rest of the album smokes, but that song gets skipped by me. YMMV.

 

Btw; what's with the low(er) ratings on discogs of MM's Cliff Craft? Is the Classic Records pressing of it that much better?

 

And “Ballade” is my favorite track on Undercurrent! Horses for courses.

 

Out of four ratings, one guy gave it one star, pulling down the average. I can’t see why, and I wouldn’t give any weight to that in making a purchasing decision.

 

Oh, I don't. Typically some of the lower rated stuff is actually what I like the most. This one just seemed like an outlier which made me wonder was there an issue with it or something.

 

I agree with you that McCoy is the outlier. I might have to give it another listen.
I'm leaning towards Undercurrent over WS at the moment. Thanks for the help so far

 

The Real McCoy really grew on me and I think it's one of the finest sounding MM titles I have.

 

The Classic Records issue of Cliff Craft is the stereo version, while MM chose to use the mono tape.

I definitely understand MM's decision -- the session is one of RVG's early (1957) stereo recordings with almost complete left/right separation, and virtually no center fill. The stereo version was not even released until many years later, so Rudy's overriding priority was to make a two-track recording that folded well to mono.

But I have to say, I really enjoy the sense of space and air in the stereo tape. So I like the Classic cut myself.

Here is a YT upload of the stereo:

 

Thanks for the explanation. That makes a lot of sense.

 

Oops! Turns out I'm wrong. The MM is, in fact, in stereo. When first checking, I was thrown off by the front cover, which uses the 1582 catalog number (and not the 81582 number for the stereo LP).

Sorry for the mix-up.

 

I have both the 45rpm and the 33rpm of Ready For Freddie. I've cycled through a few copies of the 33rpm Ready For Freddie because each one has that distortion that has been described above when the trumpet comes in on "Crisis". The same sound does not appear on the 45rpm.

@KOWHeigel posted a sound clip of this phenomenon in February 2017 at this link: Dropbox - Ready for Freddie Sample.mp3

The sonic phenomenon on my copies does not sound as loud as the one in the link, but it is definitely apparent on all of the copies of the 33rpm I have in my possession. At first, I thought it might be non-fill. But after going through multiple copies, I've decided not to ask for a fourth copy because I think that this may be an issue that affects many of the copies. I'm curious if there are other members here who have copies that do not have this sonic signature. I too, have learned to just live with it. It helps that I have the 45rpm version, and I will likely play that when I want to engage in close listening. I love both versions. I should also add the all of my experiences with MM from a customer service perspective have been splendid and really set the bar for the industry.

 

My choice as well.

 

Whistle Stop. One of my favorites, Ron has told me in conversation he considers it in the top three of BN MM.

 

I listened to the clip and played mine again. I don't hear anything like that on my copy

 

Just reading up on it, this was t on my radar before but sounds interesting. Off to check it out!

 

Yup Whistle Stop is right up my alley. Very enjoyable. And it sounds great even streaming on Apple Music so I can only imagine the MM

 

Spinning this tonight. So nice.

 

I just gave it a re-listen and yeah, great!

 

Music Matters have stated a preference for Stereo, even the early wide spread, wrote about it here:
The Blue Note Record Sound | Music Matters Jazz | Jazz Vinyl

Their explanation doesn't really address the key difference, which is not the 50/50 system or the fold down,
it's the fact that Van Gelder only monitored the recordings at the Hackensack studio with one mono speaker.
He made those early 2 track tapes not knowing what they sounded like in anything but mono.

It wasn't until 1959 when they moved to the new Englewood Cliffs studio he listened in stereo,
despite the fact he ran both stereo and mono tapes and the 50/50 system for some time already.

The fact Ron and the gang discuss the superiority of the Stereo 1960 recordings (not made in Hackensack studio)
doesn't really say anything about the early mono/stereo debate. Personally, for the Hackensack
studio recordings before 1959, I think the mono sounds better balanced.

more here:
How They Heard It – Blue Note Records and the Transition from Mono to Stereo

 

I'm pretty sure our host has said that the one speaker stereo mix thing is bull fwiw. I don't know for sure personally.

Edit: Yeah this thread.