Steve mastered this version for pure pleasure a few years back & pressed at pallas & sounds excellent For years I've enjoyed my mono original and I sniffed a bit when I saw Pure Pleasure had remastered the stereo tapes. How wrong I was! This is a true stereo recording and an outstanding one at that, which I prefer to the mono. Highest recommendation." Recording = 10/10; Music = 10/10 – Dennis D. Davis, Hi-Fi+,
Great news about Tone Poet series continuing into 2020 and 2021. Imagine 50+ titles sitting on your shelf in a few years next to your Music Matters, AP Blue Note, Verve, Impulse, Fantasy and Prestige titles. This continues to be a great time for Jazz reissues - long may it continue
Really getting into Lou Donaldson - Mr. Shing-A-Ling. Wasn't expecting this. This is definitely going to the top of my play rotation.
Glad people are getting into the "underdogs" of the series. I do think the excellent mastering plays a big role. Plus, the better they sell Id think the success in continuing the series even further than a couple of three years would be possible.
This is definetly a grower. Like this more and more every listen. Great mastering. Really nice surprise.
I'm not sure what the behind the scenes reality check is but in a perfect world my wish would be for the BN 80 series titles to migrate over to the same quality of packaging & pressing as the TP series. It's definitely worth the extra $10 to have the covers and pressings given the luxe treatment. However, I'm happy that the BN 80 is being given the Kevin Gray treatment & the quality it is.
Haven't kept up with the thread lately, but I think this letter that was posted this week might help to explain some of the Tone Poet distribution issues. You should always be kind to your local record stores, but some extra understanding is definitely warranted here. An Open Letter to the Majors From Independent Record Stores
On the Pure Pleasure site it says New Bottle Old Wine “Coming Soon” Remastering by Sean Magee at Abbey Road. Is this yet another pressing? So you’re saying the 2011 Pure Pleasure pressing is just as good as the Tone Poet? Thanks
Well, if you sent them Cornbread then UMe sat on it, because the only version available from any of the hi-res outlets is the old 75th mastering by Bernie Grundman. I went around and around with HDtracks and ProStudioMasters via email, to no avail. But I know you guys have no involvement with which hi-res titles UMe chooses to release.
I'd love if it they could squeeze in Montara but wonder if it can even be on the list of possible options given it was released as part of VMP. If they can do Montara give me Shorter's Schizophrenia too from that set as a TP release.
For many of us, the difference is only around $5...and it's really just the cover and the inner sleeve that need attention. The pressing of the vinyl seems very similar to me as the Tone Poet releases. And yes I would gladly pay the extra $$$ for better packaging. When I was pulling out my copy of "Blue Mode" the other day from the inner sleeve I had to cut open, I got a shock so bad it almost threw me to the ground, I was like this must be one funk filled record I'm about to hear.
There seems to be an issue with contamination on one of the RTI presses that is being used for the Blue Note titles. I have had 2 different titles get stuck looping over and over including this one. It is in fact something sticky stuck to the record. It took a couple of cleans but I cured it.
Oh yes, this would be a wonderful Tone Poet title! Really like the James Spaulding song "Kryptonite". Hancock's playing on that song is very nice. What an awesome looking cover to hopefully release as a nice shiny gatefold for all to enjoy...Excellent recommendation!
I will still hope for a separate release...Maybe if we start a petition it would help, joking of course...please have this one come out as a Tone Poet title.
You might want to keep an eye out here... The Story Of Blue Note Records (Vinyl, US, 2019) For Sale | Discogs Apparently, there was an issue with the labels being reversed on the first issue of Schizophrenia, so some of these are going up for sale. I could care less about the labels so snagged a copy -- it sounds great.
What is this release? Mastered by Kevin? Is it AAA? Does it sound good? Edit – never mind, I see the $45 ones were for single LPs that I already own.
Yeah, there are no listings for Schizophrenia currently, but it's where I found mine for no more than a MMJ SRX
I was real lucky to get my clean Liberty Schizophrenia copy for less than $20 at a favorite B&M. It was my best ever Blue Note shopping day at a B&M. Apparently somebody had traded in a nice collection and they had just hit the racks on an early Sat. morning. I got a bunch of other Shorters,Bobby Hutcherson,Lee Morgan,Art Blakey,etc. all in the $10-20 range in beautiful condition . Most were Liberty or blue label but I was stoked to get them in cleaned ready to play mode. Blue Note....Please don't let Schizophrenia and Patterns to be held hostage.
Guys, business is business and if titles are being released as exclusives somewhere or by MM, we aren’t going to get TP releases no matter how badly we want them. Sad but true. And though I would really love that Schizophrenia release, and Montara for sure, I’m also totally thrilled that we got Etc. and Cornbread. I trust @Joe Harley and his team aren’t going to steer us wrong, and that whatever TP releases they come up with are going to be awesome. If anything, I like TP issuing stuff I’ve never heard or even considered—I never would have even sniffed Glamoured for instance but now I’m damn glad I have it, and in such a fabulous looking and sounding package to boot. So if we don’t get Patterns, give me Oblique. If we don’t get Oblique, give me something else. It’s all good. This series is INSTANT money down for me and I suspect a lot of you as well.
As fat would have it, the VMP Anthology pressing of this had some issues (not VMP's fault), so everybody is getting a second copy of Schizophrenia whether or not their first was affected. You should see lots of these come up on the used market as soon as the replacements ship, which is supposed to be in about a month from now.
Send it back/return it and get a new copy. RTI repressed it and the newer version (which I have) has no defects at all. And while I like the Pure Pleasure (yes, I have an original and the PP reissue), the Tone Poet is better.
