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Verve Acoustic Sounds Series Reissues

mikechadwick said:
I’m starting to think that buying from Amazon may not be the best option? Which is crazy as they receive stock from the same distribution centre but maybe their storage is suspect? I’ve not had a single problem with this series buying from my local indie store.
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Yes, I wonder what the story is. I think Amazon are possibly using a number of different outlets though, judging by the variation in the time it take to receive them - I'm not sure they're all sitting in Amazon warehouses. As Tony's pointed out, the best thing about buying from Amazon is the return process - very straightforward, and I don't feel like I'm creating a problem, as I do when I return things to indie shops. (Pretty sure the reasoning here is faulty, thinking about it, but...)
 
Given so many are seeing warps on this specific title my guess is Amazon got a dodgy box/batch of them. Whether they were pressed warped, or whether something went wrong in transit, it does seem limited to a a title, and likely one delivery to their warehouse network. As such I’ll buy this particular one elsewhere if I can find a good price, but I don’t blame Amazon for an issue that is likely upstream. These things do happen.
 
i do tend to find I get quite a lot of warped records from Amazon. Both of the latest two titles in this series were warped, both replaced and only one of the replacements is flat.

As mentioned above, the returns process is easy and they seem prepared to take back quite a few records on a single account. That said, I'm only really fussy about slight warps on these higher quality pressings. There are other records where I've tried several copies over the course of a year and they all had similar warps, so I just end up keeping them as long as they are not too major.

When I used to return every warped record to them a few years ago, I was banned from using them for a while!
 
Replacement arrived very quickly, but same ripple warp, maybe worse, and also off-centre, with a divot/dent to the edge of the vinyl and a split seam on the sleeve to boot (reminding me that my Ballads from this series, which I didn't get from Amazon, also had a split seam). So definite bad batch. No point going for a third. Don't know whether to stick with the first one or return both and get it from Honest Jon's and hope for the best.
 
Disappointing. I played the CD earlier as I couldn’t remember much about this one. I’d forgotten how good it was and how nice a recording, so I would rather like a copy. Where have people who have got good flat ones got them from? The eccentricity is worrying too, far more so than warps for me as my arm/cart will track pretty much anything, but I can hear pitch issues with off centre pressings. I may sit this one out as the CD sounds great!
 
I've been inspired to dig out my 1981 Japanese Victor pressing - I don't think I've played it for a decade and it's a great record.

Plus I love the photo of Sonny and his VW Karmann-Ghia!
 
Tony L said:
Disappointing. I played the CD earlier as I couldn’t remember much about this one. I’d forgotten how good it was and how nice a recording, so I would rather like a copy. Where have people who have got good flat ones got them from? The eccentricity is worrying too, far more so than warps for me as my arm/cart will track pretty much anything, but I can hear pitch issues with off centre pressings. I may sit this one out as the CD sounds great!
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Good to know the CD's good, I might just go for that: this might be a reality check. What's yours, an Original?
 
There has recently been some shifting around of the Verve reissue release dates at AS that I posted in this thread back in April. Bill Evans 64 and 65 now seem to have disappeared from 2021*.

October will be an expensive month for any buying people buying all of these reissues. Luckily I am only looking for 3 or possibly 4 from this list.

Christmas has now officially been moved to September for Verve people or October for Blue Note Classic people - or you could celebrate Christmas early twice now I suppose? :p

Coming October 29, 2021

• Charles Mingus – The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady (Impulse!, 1963)
• Charles Mingus – Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus (Impulse!, 1964)

Coming September 10, 2021

• Ella Fitzgerald – Ella Wishes You A Swinging Christmas (Verve, 1960)

Coming October 22, 2021

• Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong – Ella & Louis (Verve, 1956)
• Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong – Ella & Louis Again (Verve, 1957)

Coming October 22, 2021

• Bill Evans – At Town Hall, Volume 1 (Verve, 1966)
• John Coltrane – “Live” At The Village Vanguard (Impulse!, 1962)
• John Coltrane – Crescent (Impulse!, 1964)

Coming November 19, 2021

• Duke Ellington & Coleman Hawkins – Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins (Impulse!, 1963)
• Oscar Peterson – Night Train (Verve, 1963)
• Oscar Peterson – We Get Requests (Verve, 1964)

Coming December 10, 2021

• Duke Ellington & John Coltrane – Duke Ellington & John Coltrane (Impulse!, 1963)
• John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman – John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman (Impulse!, 1963)
• Roy Haynes – Out Of The Afternoon (Impulse!, 1962)

*Just seen that Bill Evans Trio 64 is still saying August 27th release on Amazon and Trio 65 they are saying 22nd April 22. I'm interested in 65, but have a decent copy of 64.
 
Annoying the price seems to be creeping up to £40 a throw. I definitely want Crescent as it’s possibly my favourite Coltrane album and whilst it sounds great my Org 2x45 issue winds me right up as it spoils the side A/side B flow, as all 2x45 albums do. This one will be a free swap as the Org is worth more. I’m also interested in the Evans 64 and We Get Requests as I’ve not got those on vinyl (got very good early Japanese CDs of the Evans).
 
Woodface said:
The Armstrong/Peterson album is a masterpiece, my £5 CD copy sounds amazing with no distortion at all. I have a couple of Armstrong Verve reissues on vinyl & they sound really good but both of the above were probably bought before the bonfire.

Audiophile repressing are a bit of a racket.
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Mine is an illegal copy of a library CD I think. Like you say it’s a masterpiece. He sounds like he’s swallowed the mike anyway. If there is distortion ive been too entranced to notice. Sadly I will listen for it at next listen just because it’s been mentioned….
 
MUTTY1 said:
Mine is an illegal copy of a library CD I think. Like you say it’s a masterpiece. He sounds like he’s swallowed the mike anyway. If there is distortion ive been too entranced to notice. Sadly I will listen for it at next listen just because it’s been mentioned….
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Incredible record, done in a couple of sessions with head arrangements. Armstrong just a complete genius who made it all look so easy.

The first Ella & Armstrong record was done in a single session; they knew what they were doing.
 
Anyone get the Blues and the Abstract Truth? Streaming the version Spotify has, most of it’s very in-the-speaker. Presume this is the recording?
 
The recording is superb, I’ve got a Japanese vinyl copy. I’d assume the Acoustic Sounds issue would be very good.
 
Tony L said:
The recording is superb, I’ve got a Japanese vinyl copy. I’d assume the Acoustic Sounds issue would be very good.
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Cheers. How’s the stereo, in particular? On the version I’m streaming it’s very left-right-centre, with instruments layered on top of one another in the same spot. Spoils things for me and I wonder if I might be better off with mono here.
 
I've got the Acoustic Sounds and the Impulse CD. The vinyl is, on my system, the equal of a Tone Poet in terms of tonality. On my kit the sound stage is quite wide and spacious with soloists in front of the ensemble but keeping their place in terms of the width of the sound stage - it doesn't all go to the middle. There's a lot going on at times buta sense of a line of instruments rather than them being layered: I can follow each instrument in its space but it all holds together as a piece.

Its more controlled than the CD - warmer and clearer ( again on my kit) and the instruments on the CD sound closer together than on the vinyl.

That's to my ears anyway - YMMV of course. I'd be interested to hear what others have found.
 
Seanm said:
Cheers. How’s the stereo, in particular? On the version I’m streaming it’s very left-right-centre, with instruments layered on top of one another in the same spot. Spoils things for me and I wonder if I might be better off with mono here.
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It’s wide, but there is certainly depth and space. I love this record, one of my favourite Impulse albums. I’ve been very tempted to take a punt on the Acoustic Sounds just to see if it beats my (80s I think) Japanese copy, but it just feels too extravagant/obsessive really. The Japanese copy is great. FWIW I like the CD too, that’s how I first heard this album.
 
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