Blood On The Tracks UD1S. £90 plus £40 shipping from the USA. I hummed, I hawed, I pulled the trigger. I cannot justify the expense but I have number 3995 of 9000 on the shelf. The packaging is second to none if the contents (records aside) a little disappointing. The records are a thing of beauty, transparent and beautifully weighted. The moment you drop the needle you get that ‘bump’ and then nothing until the music begins. This is where the problems began for me. Setting aside the issues around what was committed to tape and focussing on what UD1S and the super vinyl bring to the party... Every flaw from vibrating string and bum note are brutally exposed and brought to the fore. You can hear things going on in the room that leave you distracted and wondering what’s going on. I spent the first couple of listens critiquing and longing for the muddiness that masked. There were moments though when the technique and format just allowed the music to soar and it was exhilarating. Closing my eyes I could imagine being in the studio with the band. So as you can tell I was genuinely feeling very mixed and conflicted about the box set until last night when something just clicked. I got past the whole format and resolution stuff and I just reconnected with what made me love this album when I first heard it on cd through my wee Sony stereo with 15 watt speakers all those years ago... as you know it’s a truly fantastic album, raw with emotion and lyrically beautiful. Do you need to own UD1S to enjoy it? Definitely not but I will keep my copy.
Crucially, will I buy more? Yes. Monk and Mingus are scheduled for release (don’t hold your breath I’m told) and I think these will be better examples for the method and higher quality vinyl.
