Many of the Blue Note 75s could and still can be had for under $15. I give Don Was a lot of credit for that. I’m one of the folks that first got into Blue Note via that series. While the flaws eventually drove me to Music Matters, being able to try lots of titles inexpensively really got me hooked on Blue Note. First step titles like Blue Train and Idle Moments but deeper catalog titles like Ike Quebec, Tina Brooks, Mobley’s Workout.... I’m hoping for 80th that maybe they do another inexpensive reissue with some lessons learned. No one expects MM quality product for $15 but better vinyl QC alone would be a slam dunk. Myself, there’s lots of BN titles I don’t $60 like, but for $15 i’d get it for sure.
If they could do the same digital files but press them at RTI and sell them for $25, they might do pretty well. But I'm psyched for the Tone Poet series! Wondering when the next month's titles will be announced.
Totally understood. However, what are you really introducing them to? Records that were badly pressed with middling SQ. Other than the selection of titles, it wasn’t a great introduction to vinyl for newbies. The older Blue Note CDs were better.
THE MUSIC these were aimed at folks who just got a starter turntable and sees a bunch of wax time junk in the racks and wants to have a Blue Train to put on with their Kind of Blue and Dark Side and Zep 4 and Abbey Road. $15 at Barnes and Noble, sure why not. Gateway drug to other titles and players and jazz. Yeah the CDs may be better but that’s beside the point.
Most starters don't care about SQ because they haven't heard what a good record can sound like. Some are using Crosleys & co, bluetooth speakers, computer speakers, soundbars etc. And even if they were not using any of that, most people new to vinyl are so used to music on YouTube and the like that almost anything will sound better to them. People who are just getting into vinyl that love jazz are also going to their LRS and they see a bunch of albums they recognise edited by WaxTime, Jazz Images, Wax Love, Green Corner etc. Those all have doubtful quality and most that don't know better will happily buy. For some, it's easy to spot a record that sounds bad or a record pressed poorly like the BNs 75, but for most starters it isn't. For newbies, the series made a lot of sense imo. And don't get me wrong, I found it totally frustrating that so many amazing albums that I could buy cheaply would end up sounding bad because of choices BN made. I bought one and never touched 75th again.
I promise you that the young vinyl buyers those were aimed at are not buying CDs. However anyone might feel about that point.
Fine, perhaps ITunes. I get it. Not aimed at audiophiles. However, those records weren’t a vast improvement.
Who is trying to convince you of that? I think you've missed the point. The 75th series wasn't for you. If you buy the Tone Poet series, enjoy them!
No disagreement after your edit. Not aimed at audiophiles, we agree. Now Don Was is putting out a product audiophiles can be happy with--and I think we can agree that this is good!
OK, the answer was pretty obvious, but yes, the RTI pressings will be used internationally. In other words, there will be only one version of each release, wherever you end up purchasing it.
I got an update for delivery in February [3rd - 4th week] now "Livraison prévue entre le 2 mars et le 7 mars" .... I think that they push me to cancel the order ....
For any fellow Canada based followers the first 2 titles our now available for Pre-order on Amazon Canada. Cheers!
Maybe that's precisely what they're pushing for. Maybe they're trying to get impatient customers to cancel their pre-order and minimise their losses? Don't know how this works tbh. Anyway, I still have yesterday's date (Feb 28th - Mar 2nd). Btw, great news about RTI. Thanks, Joe!
Can you please post a link. Amazon does seem to make this series difficult to find. Thanks in advance
Great news, just ordered and cancelled the French order (as with the exchange rate, it was pretty close to a wash!).
Cost. I think the point is that for people who want to spend less, but still want some aspects of the vinyl experience, this is an appropriate avenue (i.e. some digital level in the chain means a less expensive end product). I have a tendency to agree. If this gets people (who aren't audiophiles themselves yet) into jazz or whatever, more power to them. Of course, I wish everything was AAA, but I also think the music should be widely available. We can have both.
It’s pretty common on message boards for people to confuse descriptive statements with normative ones, I’m afraid. I’m not intending to encourage it. I am encouraging the Tone Poet series, though. Bring it on!
I wasn't confused. It is the phrase below that moved it from a descriptive statement to a normative statement, or at least the phrasing was vague enough to allow for it to be interpreted as going beyond description to a value judgement.
Yes. We can have both with vinyl reserved as an all analog medium and digital being available streaming. Blue Note does this. Lots of hi-res Blue Note is available on Tidal. No need to muddy the vinyl waters with a product pressed with the same files found on Tidal.
That ship has sailed. Vinyl won’t ever be all AAA again. All the more reason to cherish Tone Poet, MM, AP, etc.! We are fortunate to live in such times and to have these premium options. Edit: also, we’re lucky to have this forum and transparency from Joe Harley so fans of this great music can discern the difference and make informed decisions.
“They might do pretty well” is a prediction of how they might sell, of course. It is not a statement that I hope they might do it.
