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

There is: Acoustic Sounds Blue Note 50% off Analogue Productions

 

Just got my first MMJ LP, the SRX Blue Train. Played side one and sounded terrific. So tonally rich and fat. A brief second of non fill towards end of side but otherwise perfect. These things are so crazy expensive though - $94 to my door which I think is nuts for a single reissue LP. So I have trouble seeing myself ordering more at this point unfortunately.

 

The new SRX are, but that is freeing up a lot of the original issues LPs on the secondary market. Keep your eyes on the Classifieds and you can find them at much more reasonable rates from trusted sellers.

They are really worth every penny if you are a fan of Blue Note Records.

 

I recently just discovered MM records at a local shop and picked up the the 45s of Real Mccoy and Hubbard's Here to Stay. They had a copy of a Night in Tunisia and Roll Call that I missed out on.

I then discovered this forum and picked up some more after obsessively reading through this forum. Right now I have:
Tyner - Real Mccoy 45
Hubbard - Here to Stay 45
Grachan Moncur - Evolution 45 (personal fave)
Dolphy - Out to Lunch 45
Lee Morgan - Proscrastinator 45
Lee Morgan - Search For the New Land 45
Blakey - Free For All SRX
Blakey - Moanin SRX
Coltrane - Blue Train SRX

A couple questions
1) I'm definitely getting Soul Station SRX but am wondering if it's worth also getting Search for a New Land since i own the 45
2) I'm debating between a couple others to get the free shipping whenever Soul Station is available and choosing between

• Andrew Hill - POD 33 or 45
• Jackie Mclean Right Now 45
• Morgan - Leeway
• Durham - Whistlestop
• Mclean - Desination Out
• Henderson - Inner Urge

Im glad i found this forum but it's also been painful for the wallet

 

Oh, also Tina Brooks True Blue 33 and Back to Tracks I'm also wanting. Ah!

 

Moanin' SRX just showed up!

Looks immaculate, even under halogen lighting.

Going to be tough to wait for the 5 o'clock whistle.

 

My Moanin' SRX is immaculate. It sounds wonderful. Basically exactly like the original recipe 33, but with perceptibly lower noise floor. This can be a pretty subtle difference, but I listen at night on headphones, so I prefer it.

 

Glad I saw this as I was just about to say something about them. Good call. (but damn, Flight To Jordan and The Tokyo Blues are so righteous!) My hard drive fried out on my computer and have been without for two days, must have saved much $$$ not looking at music. I was hoping Search For The New Land was still pending as I have got my order ready to go and thanks again to all for the feedback on Tina Brooks, again, only heard True Blue on CD...

SRX In Search
True Blue (45 is the version to get, not the 33 correct?)
Back To The Tracks
Up At Minton's vol 2
Talkin' About!
Right Now - not really familiar with this one much, please tell me a must have. Wish I could get more, but 2/28 is getting ever so close now.

Listened to my SRX of Moanin' for the second time last night. One last cleaning before hand and oh yeah, this one is the king for right now. My favorite sounding SRX yet. With a wee bit volume added, this baby will shred you to pieces. Outstanding!

Sorry @Gabe Walters can't do headphones, need this monster coming at me at full force! But can only imagine how sweet it must sound through them.

 

True Blue 33 = Punchy, brighter tonally, a bit tight sounding.

True Blue 45 = More spacious, relaxed, more natural, a bit mellower tonally.

The 33 has a bit more apparent bite. The 45 sounds more relaxed and real.

These are subtle differences. I'd be happy with either one for different reasons. I prefer the 45 by a small margin.

 

Appreciate the feedback and thanks for not telling me to get both, but in a subtle way, you almost did. That's a pretty tough call the way you described the sound on these. More bite/brighter tonally vs. spacious/real...decisions, decisions, fun stuff indeed!

 

I was listening to my SRX of Moanin through headphones and noticing a noise I've only heard on one other record I've owned. It sounds sort of like what I'd describe as a dry zipper sound, like if the needle were running (bouncing?) against the platter directly. It's really noticable in between tracks mostly. Any ideas what this might be?

 

No, Scotti, do NOT get both, for the sake of your future (financial) health. Honestly, you need only one. Both convey the music quite well. Do you prefer the brighter, punchier sound, or a more relaxed, sound personality. They're close. It's not like they're night and day difference, or they each really bring out a different sense of musicality. The 45s tend to have more of the quality I hear when I go to a club and listen in person. The sound is relaxed with more ease of presentation. The 33 has a slightly less ease of flow. But it's subtle.

I own both. I don't need to own both. I will probably sell the 33.

 

For me, 45 rpm albums lose out in the end because they breaks up the momentum of the music experience by having to turn over after two maybe three tracks.

I do have about ten MMJs at 45 but I reach for them less than the 33s ( I don’t have any duplicates of the same title at difference speeds). And I’d trade the 45s for 33s if I could.

 

Great start Theo!
Here's my thoughts on the titles you mentioned I'm familiar with

• Andrew Hill - POD 33 or 45 - I just picked up the 33 a month ago, I love it. I'll let someone else debate the 33 vs 45 piece, and it may be your personal preference
• Jackie Mclean Right Now 45 - This is only on 33 at MM, right? We discussed this one here a few pages ago. I think its a steal at the current price, and worth $40 just for Poor Eric. The drums sound terrible on this one streaming, but Gray was able to get them to sound reasonable on the MM, musically its great.
• Durham - Whistlestop - I have the 33, I think it sounds great. Performance and music is good, but for some reason I don't get turned on by it as much as others do - I think Ron or Joe said it's their favorite? If you already like the music on it, then the MM is a winner.
• Mclean - Desination Out - yeah I've been thinking of grabbing this next too!
• Henderson - Inner Urge - I had the 45 and traded it for the 33. It's fantastic. Really, all of Joe's albums on MM are great in one way or another. Our Thing with Andrew Hill on piano is still $50 the last I checked and a great one, Joe getting a little more adventurous, Hill playing a little more to the team than he would later on.
• Tina Brooks - Tracks vs True Blue - I have the True Blue 33 and Tracks 45. Both are fantastic albums, Blue is a bit more polished but great, and Tracks more loose. Bothe are worthy in both sound and performance. Also for the price, Hubbard's Open Sesame with Tina is a really hot session as well!

 

I prefer 33 for convenience as well, and its not like the 33s sound like trash compared to the 45s. I've got 14 of the 45s, and I only play them late weekend night's with a drink. I love em, they sound fantastic. But I can't get much work done listening to 8 minutes a side.

 

But I don't think they were necessarily programmed specifically with playing them in any particular order. I would bet that if you saw the group in person at the time, touring to support the album, that they'd be playing a bunch of things. These were some sort of song cycle. A Love Supreme? Sure. Those pieces are designed to be played in a particular order. Dark Side Of The Moon? Again, sure, designed to be played as a suite of songs, in a particular order (Not that they can't be played out of context).

But I think the fact that you have to get up and turn the record over, meaning that there's an extra 15 seconds between hearing the cuts, is not any sort of deal breaker. And can't you imagine Tina Brooks chatting between one cut and the next? "Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. We'd now like to play....".

 

I get it. If you're listening to it in the background, convenience trumps any musical advantage that the 45 may subtly hold. Personally, I only listen to these when I'm ensconced between the speakers. My turntable is five feet away. Easy to get up and turn the record over (or put on the 2nd disc).

 

The zipper sound is the way people tend to describe areas with non-fill. My guess would be that is what's happening. You should contact customer service and request a replacement.

 

For me It's nothing about the songs cycle like on Sgt Pepper or Tommy or Quadrophenia at all. It's about jazz tunes and sets being somewhat long, so on a 45 I have to stop and turn the record over after 8 or 9 minutes. Nothing to due with the cohesiveness that an artist may or may not have in sequencing these albums.

 

Was not planning on it (thanks), as you can see I wised up and talked myself out of the 45 of Out To Lunch, as my 33 is ever so fine. Might save the $5 and get the 33 of True Blue.

And how about "Right Now!" (anyone), should I grab it now since I'm getting free shipping? Because I need to take it easy here after this order because there are still four more SRX titles coming that I want after "In Search"....

 

Thanks for the welcome and info! I'm trying to get a balance of 33 and 45 depending on my mood. I plan on getting every SRX release this year outside of Search for a New Land.

I think I've narrowed it down to POD 33 as I really love that album and especially Dolphy. You're right about Right Now, it's a 33 and the price seems great. I feel like Destination Out may also be next.

Question - do the higher priced items mean they're more likely to sell out?

 

Right. So getting up between songs just means that. Getting up briefly between songs. Of course, I get that it sort of breaks the mood, the trance, if you will. So I understand why you prefer the 33s overall. Again, it's not like a night and day difference between them, but that subtle feel of relaxness, if that's a word (different than relaxation), is worth it to me, other things being essentially equal.

 

In terms of sound, I prefer the MM (and AP) 45s over the 33s. But flipping records and cleaning the stylus four times to listen to two albums gets annoying very quick, at least for me. So I almost always grab 33s when available.

 

Xhosa Cole Quartet cover imagined

Just a bit of fun, shot and edited on my iPhoneX.

Was such a great gig, I do hope they record as a band someday.

 

Just got the Soul Station 45. This one sounds so so sweet!