Just picked up the Corea from my local. Happy camper here - sounds fantastic. The drum work is exquisite. What a great album, very free sounding, and the Sonics are just as clear and transparent. This is one that’s nice to turn up real loud
I just got an e-mail from them stating Etcetera got pushed to April 18-20 It seems like a bit too much. I just hope NHS gets here soon, at least.
Sorry to hear that but I have to ask: are you speaking about the label being pressed off-center or is the actual LP pressed off center? Off-center labels have no impact on the sound quality (unless so wildly off center that the label covers grooves ...I've only seen that once on a record I owned.) Off center pressings (tonearm swings back and forth excessively as it plays are a different matter and something I obsess about with the pressing plants.
I've had the pleasure of living with the TP Etcetera for the last week. It arrived along with Now He Sings.... Both arrived in all the packaging, totally flat, dead silent vinyl. As others have noted, the quality is up to the standards of Music Matters: the cover, pressing quality, and most importantly, the mastering. There is an incredible ease to Etcetera - it's a record that grows on you with repeated listening, especially the languid tunes on the first side. Side two, for me, was immediate, it didn't need to grow. I don't own the Connoisseur pressing of this title. However, I do have the 1980 Japanese King (almost) equivalent, The Collector: The Collector is basically Etcetera, but it switches out "Toy Tune" for its title track (which was recorded during the Adam's Apple session). Thus, Etcetera, like Music Matters' The Feelin's Good did for the Mobley session, presents a more accurate portrayal of the June 14 session. Why did King switch out "Toy Tune" for its release of this material? I don't know the answer, but my first guess would be that "The Collector" is simply a great Shorter track that somehow needed to see the light of day. I do like it more than "Toy Tune." My second guess would be that "Toy Tune" follows "Penelope" and both of these tracks are on the slower, more drawn out tip. They aren't as immediate as the songs that grace the second side. This may be why Blue Note didn't see fit to release the album back in the day. There was no "Adam's Apple" as "Sidewinder" on the album. Don't get me wrong, I love the slowly evolving beauty of the first side of Etcetera, but perhaps Alfred in '65 and King in '80 didn't feel the same way. I've spent the better part of my listening time the last few days comparing this Tone Poet version to the King. Mainly "Barracudas" and "Indian Song" - my favorite tracks on the albums. The King seems like it is cut hotter; it has a greater energy and immediacy if the volume knob is not adjusted when A/Bing. The Tone Poet is more laid, back and has a greater sense of realism - especially in the drums, which simply glitter on the TP. I really like the King version of this music, but if you adjust the volume knob on the Tone Poet, you lose nothing in the energy/immediacy department and gain everything in the realism in the rhythm department. Wayne himself sounds similar to me on both pressings (just quieter on the TP). The added realism of the Tone Poet added to the complete picture of the session makes the Tone Poet iteration of Etcetera a no brainer. However, I'll likely keep the King because it's the only place I can hear "The Collector" on vinyl. As for Now He Sings, it ranks up there with some of the best sounding piano trio albums I've heard. Up there with Hampton Hawes Trio's The Green Leaves of Summer and Evans' Village Vanguard, etc. I'm still like a virgin with this title, but I've heard something new every time I listen to it. It's so cool that both of these albums got audiophile releases like this at this price point, reaffirming my initial inclination that I'll be on board for all of the titles this year. And hopefully beyond.
I just got a notification from amazon.fr - the arrival date for etcetera was changed to 18-19 April... Does anyone know if there is a similar delay in getting these in Europe from other retailers?
Just asked my local bricks 'n mortar to hold a copy of Contours for me. I have originals of Etc. & NHS. I only have a homemade cassette of Contours. The only other one of the initial 18 I need is Chant, I have no copy of that at all. I think Etc. is a great record but I like my rainbow series cutout just fine.
I love all of my original late 70's/early 80's Blue Note Classic (LT series) LPs. I don't have them all and Etcetera was one of the ones I was missing so I can't compare the two. But yeah, consistently good sound quality on those.
As mentioned above, the UK Amazon sure is showing Feb 22nd BUT my pre-order from France has the same date as yours. It keeps moving. I’m half tempted to pick up a UK copy as back up.
That's what I just did, ordered a copy from DE - costs twice as much, but a two month delay is a bit excessive!
Contours an Amazon U.K. for £27.26 BUT you can’t buy it, the site won’t let you! States, Sorry no listings! Aarah!!!
My Amazon.ca order for Wayne Shorter's Etcetera has been pushed back to March 14th to April 9th. This is not good.
The label is very off-center and the actual LP is pressed off-center as well, although not nearly as dramatically as the label. I will need to listen again this evening for any impact on the sound but I'm sure there is at least minimal impact, correct? The tonearm sways back and forth during playback. Whether my ears can perceive it is another question entirely. I'm hoping that this doesn't mean the entire run is off.
The run isn't off, I can assure you but the label on that side of mine isn't centered very well either. The record is well centered on mine and it's something I pay particular attention to with pressing plants. But some variation in centering is possible as the records are stamped. It's usually very minor but once in a while, a plate can slip.
Forgive me if this has been answered before, but are these Tone Poet reissues limited runs of a specific number?
Really great to hear that demand was so strong for these first two releases. These two are, of course, very strong choices. I'm not sure demand will be as strong for every title in the initial list. I'll be in for about half of them, focused on the classic Blue Notes. Maybe it's my bias, but I think demand will probably be strongest for those.
I have never been in a position to be a subscriber to AP's or MM'd series, but I will pick and choose, as I have done, including occasionally taking a chance on music of which I was previously unfamiliar.
This sounds promising, hopefully Tone Poet will become the norm for Blue Note releases (perhaps someone could convince them to do Audiowave style/quality releases on CD too ). I got my pre-orders of the Corea and Shorter albums last Friday and they are both fantastic, the jackets are better than the ones in the Blue Note Review 2 box (which are nice too but I find it odd that they don’t have the usual info printed on the spine), and the music is excellent (oh, and the sound is great too). My jazz collection isn’t all that extensive, so I’m all in on this initial set of 18 announced releases, I plan on preordering all of them when available and have already ordered the upcoming Cassandra Wilson and Sam Rivers. I’ve been prompted by these to explore some more Blue Note albums via streaming and I’d personally be excited to also keep seeing some steady releases of the 70s BN catalog, I haven’t heard that many but the ones I’ve checked out recently—like Eddie Henderson’s Sunburst, Sweet Lou (Donaldson), Mouzon’s Mind Transplant, and any Bobby Hutcherson (particularly something like Linger Lane, View From The Inside, and Cirrus)—would be awesome!!! Like I said already, I really hope TP catches on and becomes the norm for BN (it’d be amazing if it caught on enough that we could see you, or someone of similar mind, start to branch this out into other labels—Prestige, Riverside, etc—too). Kudos!!!
