They are what I said they are. Look on the back, no licensing statement. If you don't believe me, ask someone like Chad Kassem or Joe Harley what they think of them.
That's hardly a subjective judgement though is it? You judging it by what you read. not by what you hear.
My only experience with the DOL label was a new copy of Time Out by Dave Brubeck. It was extremely noisy and actually had a small glob of melted vinyl on one side. I avoid all of their releases now. Once bitten, twice shy. YMMV.
I have a couple of Waxtime’s, bought cheap out of curiosity. They sound fine. But that isn’t the issue. If it’s grey market, if it’s CD rips, then it’s cheating. If it’s not done with love , care or attention to detail, it’s not going on the turntable any longer.
I don't have to. A first generation copy is always going to sound better than a second generation copy. I don't have to do a blind test to figure out basic physics.
DOL is a Russian label. Everything they do is a bootleg, except they can get away with it because of Euro copyright law. None of the artists or their estates are getting paid. As others have said, all they're doing is ripping cd's to vinyl. If that works for people, fine. I would always opt for an original, or an analog era reissue. Or just the cd. But that's just me.
I've bought about 15 DOL lps and only 1 had issues, a very noisy side 2 opening of the Robert Johnson picture disc. being cut from cd will likely put off analog purists obviously, but I think they're value for money and the colored vinyl and pic discs I've gotten have been a joy. titles I think sound quite good, and better than a lot of original pressings because they have quiet surfaces and try finding Japan-like quiet surfaces on lps made around 1956... Chet baker sings blue vinyl Billie Holiday strange fruit purple Nina Simone Little girl blue green vinyl Chet baker Chet yellow Dale Hawkins Suzy Q black Eddie Cochran singin to my baby black Elvis Christmas white Ella Fitzgerald Christmas white
If you want dead quiet surfaces and you don't mind cd's ripped to vinyl, why not just buy the cd? Not only are you getting the same quality, but they're legal and the artists are getting paid. I don't necessarily mind digital vinyl, but I have yet to find a cd ripped to vinyl that beats out a true analog version, even if the latter has some surface noise. Pretty much everything that you listed can be had in good quality, all analog pressings for cheap, or great, analog reissues.
Well, I know what you mean and am happy with my DOL Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley and Irma Thomas LPs. I know what they are, what they are sourced from and don't mind at all. The ones I have sound good. The pressings have all been perfect. I can imagine it's a case by case basis though, their Chuck Berry - One Dozen Berrys is appalling. Fake stereo and sounds like it's taken from a mediocre cassette, complete with drop outs. I got rid of it even though I don't own the album. The 'Why don't you buy the CD?' is easy to answer. I prefer vinyl aesthetically for music from that pre 1963 era and like to have the original artwork / photos and track lists, which DOL usually maintain. I don't buy DOL vinyl when an official version is available on vinyl, but so many of their titles aren't. Wax Time's Julie London - Calendar Girl has the original gatefold and is a pristine pressing. The sound quality is excellent. If it's from a CD, it's from a superb sounding one. I won't touch picture discs or coloured vinyl from these labels and also only buy them very cheap. £10 maximum.
I might have got lucky. That sounds awful. It could be good to use this thread to discuss the good and bad. I have found Muddy Waters - Sings Big Bill Broonzy Chuck Berry - After School Session Irma Thomas - Wish Someone Would Care Bo Diddley - S/T all to be good. The Irma is a bit patchy for quality, but certainly not bad. The thing is, there are no quality vinyl reissues of that album. The CD is hard to find too.
Everyone who buy DOL, Wax Time, Vinyl Lovers, Vinyl Passion, Not Now Music, Jazz Images, Lilith, etc should ought to read this news article from Acoustic Sounds: Unauthorized vinyl giving quality album reissues a bad rap - Acoustic Sounds News Or the article from Michael Fremer at Analog Planet: Reissue Labels To Avoid and Some Best to Proceed With Caution I agree with the others that they should be avoided. Either buy the CD or digital downloads, or find a quality LP pressing (new or used). Don't give your hard-earned money to these labels.
Labels like DOL that exploit European copyright loopholes do not pay royalties and therefore harm the artists (or the current license owners). Recording artists’ incomes have been seriously undercut by streaming and file sharing, and these grey-market labels add insult to injury. Better to find a legitimate, licensed source of the same music to give your money to, IMHO.
with the titles I listed I also have the proper cd, I was interested in the colored vinyl versions (and with all titles I listed I have orig analog issues) but it's more in their novelty. I never said I thought they were audiophile, just that the vinyl pressings were quiet and I do find them listenable. The royalty issue is something else entirely and I do like to see artists get paid but isn't everyone I listed dead? what if they had no heirs or they didn't leave possessions to anyone? at what point does something become public domain?
Royalties are generally given to the surviving family members or whoever own the rights to their music, which depends entirely on who is entitled to them. For example, Dexter Gordon's wife, Maxine, is President of Dex Music LLC that deals his intellectual property and so on. Jowcol, run by Ravi Coltrane, also handles John's and Alice's music as well.
In Europe I believe it's 50 years for the artist, and an additional 70 years for the composer. In the US(again, I think) royalties are paid out to the owner of the master for as long as the recording is used. That entity then pays the folks who recorded it, the producers, etc.
I think that indeed for the younger generations who stream and listen to mp3's, CBS or EMI doesn't say much. And some people here aren't audiophiles but music lovers. (I'm one of those for example). All I wanted was to find a forum where I could talk and read about artists and songs. Steve Hoffman for me was just a guy who created such a forum where this happened. Later I was informed about who Steve Hoffman is. My natural anticipated knowledge about this forum was besides of knowing that you could talk about music here, close to zero. And the name Steve Hoffman did not ring one bell at all. The great thing however is that you can learn here. At the condition that information is given.
