Mr. Record (Robert Pincus) opines on The Wall and other TAS Super Discs

I asked my good friend Robert Pincus about his opinion on paying top dollars for four TAS Super Discs.

Pink Floyd/The Wall - Japanese CBS/Sony 40AP 1750~1
Bizet/Carmen (von Karajan/Vienna) - RCA LDS 6164
Prokofiev/Romeo & Juliet (Maazel/Cleveland) - British Decca SXL 6020-2
Delibes/Coppelia (Dorati/Minneapolis) - Mercury SR2-9005

With his permission (encouragement actually), I'm posting his reply here unedited.

FYI. Robert aka Mr. Record is the music expert at Cisco Music (not the one that provides networking solutions) and he can be reached at (818) 884-2234. He does not have a direct number but he should. He is an avid record collector and audiophile (not the lazy kind ).



Dear Paul,

As far as the titles below are concerned, you're talking to the wrong guy for an opinion on Pink Floyd's Wall. It always sounded disco crap to me. I was never impressed by the music or the sound. I haven't a clue which version is the best.

As far as the rest is concerned, I would never pay those prices! Yes, I know that dealers get these kind of prices, and people are glad to pay them too, but, Paul, I've been there and done those!!!! The Karajan Carmen was
NEVER pressed on good vinyl. It's full of pre-echo, and the dynamic range is squashed! Is this what you want?

As far as Romeo and Juliet is concerned, does having 3 versions make you
happier? Maazel's great Decca's are the ones he made in the 60s, in the city of Vienna! Do you have the Super Analogue Sibelius 2nd or the STUNNING Fidelio? The Fidelio isn't particularly rare, and it's one of the finest
sounding opera sets ever recorded. The only reason people aren't clamoring to get it is because it hasn't made it to anybody's list, yet! The only Maazel/Cleveland recording I like is his Respighi album. It kills that compressed to crap/overrated Reiner recording, and in ALL HONESTY, the new Decca CD is fabulous. However, it's only fabulous to those who know and ACCEPT the good and bad qualities of '70s multi-miked recordings. The best vinyl version I've heard is the Mofi UHQR. The regular Mofi version is a joke, but if you think I'd pay the kind of money people ask for that record, you're thinking of somebody else! If I found a UHQR it would go directly to Better Records!

The Mercury is a wonderful performance and the sound is very punchy. However, at that price it had better be really quiet. The Golden import has MUCH better string tone, at a slight sacrifice in punch. As decent strings mean a lot to me, I kept the Golden Import.

Robert

 

He makes ME look like a nice guy. I'm trying to get him to join the forum to take the heat off me. So far no go, but if he ever does get on here it'll turn Steve's hair white just trying to put out the fires RP will start.

TP

 

Mr. Pincus sounds like fun, Tom. As for THE WALL, well, I love that disco and my Japanese copy sounds pretty good, though noisy (looks NM). I think I paid around $6-7 for it used, with a worn jacket. My system is mid-fi I'd say (ROTEL, etc) so feel free to qualify that statement. I'm beginning to feel, in my old age, that no album is worth more than $30, just because they aren't, they really aren't. Didn't stop me from dropping $100 on a mono White Album, but that was few and far between for me.

 

Pinknik,
You have the right attitude about RP. Our discussions are very lively! Some people have a problem with those of us who are, shall we say, "opinionated". Obviously, if I can dish it out, I should be able to take it, so I let him rant freely, and take it all with a grain or two of salt.

TP

 

Tom,

You and Robert are both nice guys, to me at least. I do appreciate the advice from both of you, even though sometimes you contradict each other.

Getting him to join? Forget it! See what I got myself into just for trying. Turning Steve's hair white? I think the fire will burn it all off before it can turn white.