advertisement


Tone Poet Blue Notes

Just invested in my first two of these, namely Joe Henderson's State of the Tenor vol1 and Stanley Turrentine's Hustlin'. Before I go filling out more of my collection, I remember reading there were various issues with some recent Blue Note pressings - are there any from the Tone Poet series that one should steer clear of or is this series largely (as I optimistically hope, from the length of this thread!) free from issues?
 
Just invested in my first two of these, namely Joe Henderson's State of the Tenor vol1 and Stanley Turrentine's Hustlin'. Before I go filling out more of my collection, I remember reading there were various issues with some recent Blue Note pressings - are there any from the Tone Poet series that one should steer clear of or is this series largely (as I optimistically hope, from the length of this thread!) free from issues?

They sound fabulous in my limited experience, it's the Classic Vinyl Series that's been a bit hit or miss at times.
 
I have got about 35 of them so far. No problems with any of them. All excellent. The cheaper BN80 series were all excellent as well. The QC just seems to have slipped only on the following BN Classics a number of buyers have reported. I passed on nearly all so far so can't report on those personally.
 
Same here - I've got about 30 and single every one is an excellent pressing. Flat, quiet and beautifully packaged.

I've only had issues with one of the 80s or Classics - the Brian Blade BN 80 record - I had 3 copies with the same swishy surface noise across 3 of the 4 sides. Apart from that all have been consistently good.
 
Have to admit I’m struggling a bit with Dr Lonnie Smith/All In The Mind. Just doesn’t grab me…kinda floats along nicely but…not much else.
 
Has anyone else got the Lee Morgan Lighthouse box? I have to admit I’m pleased I bought this one on CD rather than dropping £300 or whatever it is on the vinyl. The sound is ‘ok’ rather than what we expect from Tone Poets etc, the bass is not good, obviously clipped and odd tonally at times, and the overall balance between players is just not great. It’s still good, and doesn’t get in the way of the music, which is excellent, so definitely worth having as a recording, but I’m happy with the CDs (or even streaming) here.
Just catching up with this and starting to play the CD box now one set at a time. I was first going to go with the CD box then thought I would splash out on the vinyl, but just as I was about to order it went out of stock. Had to wait for a restock of the CD box, but £44 is a much better price. :)
It's OK as Tony said - in fact more than just OK, but not Tone Poet standard. The CD mastering is Robert Vosgien, but I doubt Kevin Gray could have pulled much more out when mastering the vinyl? Any limitations are likely due to the tapes. The bass is a bit of a disaster though again as Tony says, muddy and lacking distinctiveness, at least at the start of the first set. I'd put probably put most of that down to Jymie Merritt using his hybrid amplified Ampeg Bass that he helped to invent. I'm not a fan of uprights amplified via pickups and played through a 90 watt amplifier in his case. Probably didn't help them get the balance right, although this seems to be improving as the set goes on. Some great and exciting playing though so well worth having, but I am glad I only paid for a CD box in the end. ;)
 
I'm sure that pressing the Lighthouse LPs has held up the release of the TPs
Gavried, I doubt that they pressed more than 1,000 sets in all, if that given how difficult it was to get one. OK that is 12,000 total records, but that is nothing in the scheme of things compared to runs companies including Universal might want for a hit making pop artist album. There are a few over run vinyl boxes back up for sale on Blue Notes US site, but not here.
 
Putting this here in case it's of interest/use (pretty sure it doesn't warrant it's own thread)...I've been getting my head around the various series of Japanese Toshiba-EMI Blue Note reissues and here's a summary...

Blue Note BLP 1500 - 99 titles, 1983 to 1984.
The Other Side Of Blue Note 1500 (unreleased "back in the day") - 17 titles plus 1 box set, 1984 to 1985.
The Hits Of Blue Note Part 1 - 11 titles, 1984.
The Hits Of Blue Note Part 2 - 11 titles 1984.
Blue Note Last Reissue - 80 titles numbered 1 to 80, 1989 to 1991.
Blue Note the 4000 Collection - 30 titles numbered 81 to 110 (so following on from previous series), 1991.

May well be more but they're the ones I've got titles from. No idea if there's any duplication just yet!

There are of course other BN's on Toshiba-EMI that weren't in BN only series e.g. the Jazz Right Now series from 1984.

Feel free to add/comment - I am no expert here apart from knowing that they're all damn good so far...
 
Gavried, I doubt that they pressed more than 1,000 sets in all, if that given how difficult it was to get one. OK that is 12,000 total records, but that is nothing in the scheme of things compared to runs companies including Universal might want for a hit making pop artist album. There are a few over run vinyl boxes back up for sale on Blue Notes US site, but not here.

RTI only seems to have 5 people working in the pressing plant, it's not a huge operation by any stretch.

https://www.recordtech.com/about-us
 
I'd put probably put most of that down to Jymie Merritt using his hybrid amplified Ampeg Bass that he helped to invent. I'm not a fan of uprights amplified via pickups and played through a 90 watt amplifier in his case.

That explains a lot! I just assumed it was a badly mic’d acoustic bass. I’ll listen again with fresh ears/knowledge.

PS I noticed quite a few folk (on Facebook etc) have been getting horribly damaged copies of the vinyl box, the BN Store’s packaging is terrible.
 
That explains a lot! I just assumed it was a badly mic’d acoustic bass. I’ll listen again with fresh ears/knowledge.

PS I noticed quite a few folk (on Facebook etc) have been getting horribly damaged copies of the vinyl box, the BN Store’s packaging is terrible.

As far as I can see, they just don't use a proper outer box. My set came from Amazon UK, but was shipped from Italy with the boxset inside an oversized Amazon box with a bit of paper thrown in. The bottom corner of the boxset is damaged deeply enough that the corner of each of the album jackets is slightly bent. Not a disaster compared to some of the others I've seen, but not really a suitable way to transport an expensive collectible item.

I recently bought the latest Metallica box and it couldn't be more different - the boxset itself sitting surrounded by foam in an outer black box, that outer box in another box to protect it further and that box then put into an Amazon one. That's complete overkill and not particularly environmentally-friendly, but the boxset arrived in perfect condition.
 
Well on balance it seems I did well to go for the CD box in the end. Perhaps they should have held onto those over runs to meet all the replacements they might need. :rolleyes:
 
I only have one Tone Poet duplicated on a Japanese pressing (Toshiba-EMI 1991 Last Reissue series), and that’s Lee Morgan/The Cooker.
So I did a comparison didn’t I…?

Both are “near mint” vinyl and look immaculate, the only difference being the heavier weight of the TP.
It’s a wonderful session, the sheer brilliance of the 19 year old Morgan, with the “bite” of Pepper Adams baritone is a superb combination (must research more of them!).
Rhythm section to die for as well.
Initially the pressings sound incredibly similar. Barely any surface noise on both, identical sound stage too. Swapping back and forth doesn’t glean much either, maybe just a little more clarity and focus on the horns on the TP.
Extended listening however and that almost impossible to quantify thing…swing or groove…comes through a tad more on the Toshiba-EMI. As if the TP is just a bit too “perfect” and the Tosh-EMI let’s the full feel of the session come through.
It’s incredibly close though. And if you tried getting me to confirm the above on a blind test…I’m not sure what would happen.
Anyway…enough of a useful experience to tell me I don’t need to “swap up” any Japanese pressings for recent Kevin Grays without driving myself mad or bankrupt.
Back to enjoyable listening now!
 
Extended listening however and that almost impossible to quantify thing…swing or groove…comes through a tad more on the Toshiba-EMI. As if the TP is just a bit too “perfect” and the Tosh-EMI let’s the full feel of the session come through.

Completely the opposite of my experience. As a generalisation, without directly comparing specific examples, I don’t hear the dynamic range on Toshiba/EMI BN pressings that I do on TP and MM, especially with drums. In fact the most recent Toshiba I acquired, Blue John Patton, is particularly lacklustre. Not what I was expecting at all.
 


advertisement


Back
Top