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Tone Poet Blue Notes

The Blue Note Store is saying both Passing Ships and One Flight Up in the more stock coming soon category which doesn't bode well.

Given that, like others, put my order in just under 2 months ago I wonder if they've prioritised non sale customers? There can't have been that many queued up behind us....

During their sale, I bought and paid for Passing Ships on March 15th at the Bluenote UK store. I will not be happy if they have distributed copies to retailers but not fulfilled their orders from online customers who have pre-ordered and paid in advance. I have sent them an email enquiring into the current status of my order. I will be exceedingly unhappy if they have already sold out and I have to wait until they re-stock.
 
I too ordered a few LPs from the BN store back in march during the sale. One of them was the latest Gordon Dexter, so I imagine (hope) they have held everything until it was released last week, so everything would ship together. No word yet though on whether its coming or not.
 
@hermit and @Mignun Out of interest - did they taken the payments for these when you ordered?

I ordered Passing Ships and One Flight up and another record that was in stock. The one on stock came a couple of days later and the cost was taken from my acc. I've not yet been charged for the pre orders.

UPDATE: my order has now been processed and the payment has been taken from my account. Its good to see they no longer take the payment at the time you order and but only when records are ready to be dispatched.
 
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Passing Ships has just docked here from the River and One Flight Up arrived yesterday. Hopefully I will be able to give both of these a spin this afternoon.
 
Well it might have been a bit of a prolonged wait but these last two Tone Poets were well worth waiting for. I or my system may be having a good day, but these sound absolutely supberb. I have never heard a version of either that is anywhere close to these. Joe Harley and Kevin Gray have 'knocked it out of the park' with these. Wonderfull musically and made even better by demonstration quality, in the best possible sense, sound. Perhaps a nod should also be made to the contributions by Jacques Lublin who engineered 'One Flight Up' in Paris rarther than the usual Van Gelder and Malcolm Addy who did the analogue remix of Van Gelder's recording of 'Passing Ships'. Leonard Feather refers to the musical participants on 'One Flight Up' as having moved one flight up in creativity. I think Joe and Kevin may have moved these Tone Poets one flight up as well. :)
 
I’m very much looking forward to comparing One Flight Up to the Cisco audiophile cut. I’d not normally go to this length, but it is probably my favourite Blue Note, and I do have a record shop for the other copy! I’d be surprised if there was much in it as the Cisco is a real high-bar to jump.
 
I haven't heard the Cisco one, but this one is really good. Up there with the best of the Music Matters 2x45rpm's. This one is not Music Matters of course, but I play Dexter Gordon's 'Doin Alright' on 2x45rpm at the moment.

I'll be interested in your findings when you have compared.
 
I have a US 1980s issue of One Flight Up which sounds ace and thus convinced me not to bother with the TP…I can feel myself weakening now…
 
I’m very much looking forward to comparing One Flight Up to the Cisco audiophile cut. I’d not normally go to this length, but it is probably my favourite Blue Note, and I do have a record shop for the other copy! I’d be surprised if there was much in it as the Cisco is a real high-bar to jump.
I have been having a look at the SH forum Tony Poet thread and a couple of the posters there that I respect (and that can't be said of quite a few there) have compared the TP 'One Flight Up' with the Cisco version and found the TP better. Comments such as "TP version has a lot more weight, better dynamics, and greater resolution across the range. This is very nicely done". One said he would now sell the Cisco.

That is not to suggest that you will agree with them when you compare, but the TP is excellent.

Lots of favourable comments about 'Passing Ships' as well that seem to be saying what I am also hearing from this. If anything this is the better of the two given the difficulty with the complexity of the composition, number of musicians and doubling or more on instruments. Joe Farrell plays five on this. The soundstaging is terrific, dynamics amazing. At a close to realistic volume (think loud) this fills my room with sound, but all the instrumentation remains clear.
 
I’m very much looking forward to comparing One Flight Up to the Cisco audiophile cut. I’d not normally go to this length, but it is probably my favourite Blue Note, and I do have a record shop for the other copy! I’d be surprised if there was much in it as the Cisco is a real high-bar to jump.

I agree: the Cisco pressing is a great sounding disc. So much so, I'm not bothering with the TP.
 
Lots of favourable comments about 'Passing Ships' as well that seem to be saying what I am also hearing from this. If anything this is the better of the two given the difficulty with the complexity of the composition, number of musicians and doubling or more on instruments. Joe Farrell plays five on this. The soundstaging is terrific, dynamics amazing. At a close to realistic volume (think loud) this fills my room with sound, but all the instrumentation remains clear.

I’ve just caught up on the SH thread. It is very interesting that Passing Ships is one of the very few 8 track VanGelder recordings. There was no stereo mix, so they did a fresh mixdown from the multitrack. I suspect this is why people are hearing it as different. I’m very much looking forward to hearing this one, I’ve had dispatch confirmation from the BN store so hopefully it should land today or tomorrow.
 
I’ve just caught up on the SH thread. It is very interesting that Passing Ships is one of the very few 8 track VanGelder recordings. There was no stereo mix, so they did a fresh mixdown from the multitrack. I suspect this is why people are hearing it as different. I’m very much looking forward to hearing this one, I’ve had dispatch confirmation from the BN store so hopefully it should land today or tomorrow.
It seems that Van Gelder may have possibly done some sort rough mix from the multitrack in 1969 that he was using by then, but Alfred Lion decided not to release it then and Malcolm Addy did the analogue stereo mix around 2003 when the CD was released and that master tape is the one Joe Harley used and Kevin Gray cut the acetate from.

EDIT: Although I said Alfred Lion decided not to release in 1969 I had forgotten he sold Blue Note in 1965 and retired from it in 1967, so it was probably Francis Wolff (credited on the back as producer) who was still there. Possibly in collaboration with Duke Pearson who took over A&R after Ike Quebec died?
 
Got my Blue Note order, but horribly packed (crap mailer, no corner protection) so they’ll be getting them back, OFU has a scratch right over side 2 too. Passing Ships is ok though.
 
Currently sitting here somewhat gob-smacked at the title track of Passing Ships! Crikey it’s good isn’t it?!
I think that track may be my favourite. I love the very tiny low level trumpet additions in parts of this track, but all the tracks are great and I love all the different time signatures that Hill uses in these compositions. Given the Music and the sound quality I think at least as a Tone Poet version this is better than Point of Departure.
 
Got my Blue Note order, but horribly packed (crap mailer, no corner protection) so they’ll be getting them back, OFU has a scratch right over side 2 too. Passing Ships is ok though.
Sorry to hear that you would think they would take more care. Was it two seperate mailers? You may want to ask for a refund and purchase elsewhere as reports are that Blue Note store returns result in an extended wait for a replacement copy.
 
Sorry to hear that you would think they would take more care. Was it two seperate mailers? You may want to ask for a refund and purchase elsewhere as reports are that Blue Note store returns result in an extended wait for a replacement copy.

Just one really crap mailer, no stiffeners, no corner protection, no padding. The problem with asking for a refund is I got a really good discount on this order when I placed it ages ago, it was the sale offer. I got Passing Ships, Tone Poem and One Flight Up for £106 (badly) delivered. I’ll take a refund rather than keeping damaged goods, but I’ll wait for them to fulfil if they can. Passing Ships is acceptable as it was in the middle, just a tiny squish to a spine corner. I’ll keep that one.

I do get wound up by this sort of thing as I’m a record dealer and I know I’d knock at least a fiver off for a corner ding, maybe more depending on the eventual value, so I’m reluctant to accept it on brand new vinyl. One Flight Up has a surface mark right across side 2 too, likely wouldn’t sound, but I resent paying for damaged goods.
 
Well as you have the Cisco Of OFU I suppose there is not any need to rush for a second copy. I got a further refund from Amazon based on lowest price so this one cost me about £30.

My two came from Amazon this time just in one large box just a bit paper packing only, no mailers, but luckily no damage.
 


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