Blue Note Classic Vinyl Reissues

I've just paid £24.50 for the new Classics. Same for San Francisco last month - that's the going rate now it seems.

 

You won’t regret it Tony.

 

I agree with Gavin as I said before. We are unlikely to see these under £24 now from anyone except the Blue Note store (£20.99 on these two) and they have plus. £3.50 postage, plus they are a pain to deal with. If Universal limit distribution on these as well as reported with the Tone Poets then they maybe difficult to get unless unless you preorder. Neither these or the Tone Poets are supposed to go out of ‘print’ / pressing, but with extended back orders at record plants and sleeve printers they are unlikely to see a repress in the near future. Most of the few in the Classic series that have been repressed do not seem to get much of a distribution beyond the US.

 

It's all a bit odd. DOL/Doxy/Waxtime/etc are able to flood the shops with pirated vinyl but Universal are limiting supply to a few hundred copies because they can't get enough pressed?

 

I’ve got Bluesnik on a TDK SA C90 that i recorded from a Fishies Music Matters 2x45rpm and it sounds fantastic. Can’t wait for postie to deliver the Classic tomorrow.

 

You've reminded me of the good old days. How wrong they were:

 

Cheers, just got it. Not happy about it though. Agree, these should be £20. I’m being very selective now. Trouble is there’s a load of good one’s just out or coming up.

 

My copy of San Francisco turned up earlier. The recording is a touch agricultural, but the music is great so it's no matter. Track one on side two has some stitching, though. I'll listen again tomorrow before deciding whether its bad to enough to initiate the hassle of getting a replacement.

 

I just got a re-run copy of Somethin' Else, one of the early Classics. It did come in a polylined sleeve which I hadn't been expecting, however, it's going back. The slight warp I'd normally accept but non-fill affects both sides and even the inner tracks.

 

My copies of San Francisco and Bluesnik arrived this w/e. Both seem pretty perfect on first play.

Its seems I got lucky ... or maybe I need a better turntable so I can detect the faults?

 

Mine are fine too. The Somethin' Else was pretty bad

 

Mine generally was fine as well, but it did have a poorly trimmed edge like Tony’s copy.

 

My first impressions of Bluesnik is that it is more background music than for focused listening - but pleasant enough. I'm hoping it will be a grower over a few more listens.

As @JustJohn said, San Francisco doesn't sound like its one of the top notch BN recordings but is simply great music​

 

It's different certainly. Produced by Duke Pearson, I think and recorded on the West Coast.

 

I admire your forbearance on this. Listening again, I have six – yes, I counted them – very brief moments of noise, like a minor scratch, near the start of the first track on side two. The stitching can be seen clearly under a light. Otherwise, it's flat and perfectly round with good edges. The cover is flawless too. I might just follow your example and leave well alone.

As for the recording, though it does have a lo-fi feel, the mix is well-balanced, which is not something I always hear with RVG at the controls.

 

I suspect that DOL/Doxy/Waxtime aren’t queuing at the same pressing plants as Blue Note are.

 

The replacement Somethin' Else is a great improvement. Not flat though, my least flat Classic I'm pretty sure but probably also the quietest. I bet they placed a large order for this one and they've been hurried...