Collecting Blue Note Jazz

I'd have to disagree with your opinion that the LPs don't sound that good. I've been enjoying the Music Matters and Acoustic Sounds 45rpm Blue Note re-issues very much. The biggest reason for is they sound great to me. I can't believe this stuff was recorded in the late fifties and early sixties!

While I don't think $50.00 is cheap I do think they will be worth at least that if I ever sell them or when they are passed on to my Family.

For me sound quality is the most important criteria. Is it possible that the original pressings at 33rpm sound better than the 45rpm? I'll let everyone else chime in because I don't have any of the originals. At least I know that these are new. One of the drawbacks I've found is that you never know what a used record will sound like, you don't know how it's been handled for 48 years. I haven't been disappointed with any of the re-issues yet and I've got around 23 so far.

I have a few original Blue Note LPs that sound very good. In fact, once the TT/cart was dialed in, LPs cleaned with Disc Doctor and steamed (that's a whole other thread) ... I was surprised at the high production quality. These were albums that hadn't been played in years - giving way to CDs and then SACDs. My opinion of Rudy Van Gelder's work had been tainted by what I was hearing on CD. I thought maybe my recollection may have been a little "cloudy" from the old days of Blue Note on vinyl. But when I put on Horace Silver's "Song For My Father" and Lee Morgan's "Rumproller" I was fairly blown away.

In comparison, the 45 RPM MM reissues - while an improvement over some of the brand new stuff - there wasn't IMHO enough of an improvement to justify the $50 price tag. Picked some up just to see what all the buzz was about. I concluded that perhaps my TT system wasn't resolving to the point of extracting that last bit of improvement.

BTW, the remastered RVG CD collection - is an improvement over his earlier CD engineering. I could hear a positive difference in the RVG version of Wayne Shorter's "Speak No Evil" compared to a CD I picked up about 15 years ago. Perhaps a more technical person can chime in here, but I think it has something to do with a much higher sampling rate. Having said all that, still if you can find some of the original LPs in good shape ... pick 'em up.

Finally, based on my personal experience, the folks that put out the 'hot stampers' aren't all bad. I picked up a nearly mint 'promotional' pressing of Miles' "Some Day My Prince Will Come" from that outfit (Columbia not Blue Note OK). It sounds fantastic, and I never get tired of it no matter how many times it's been played.

I am familiar with Arthur Salvatore's site, a great suggestion for LPs with top notch sound quality, and equipment recommendations as well. He has a ton of recommendations, but leans heavily towards classical, with just a handful of mostly offbeat Jazz titles, and no Blue Notes.

It really should depend on what your goal is. If you are building a collection of rare original records it might be worth your money to go after originals. If, on the other hand, you are buying records to listen to in a hi-fi scenario by all means buy the reissues. If you're trying to buy originals with any kind of hi-fi motive in mind you'll be disapointed. Most of what you'll find will be well worn and noisy. And if its in good shape it will be prohibitively expensive. Plus, a seller's M- on E-bay may very well arrive looking like it was cleaned with a garden rake. Most of the reissues, both 33 and 45 are really excellent and you won't be disapointed.

In fact I'm listening to a 33 of Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers right now. Sounds great.

Well, buying up hot stampers at $500 each was really never a financial option for me. But I visit local record stores, and buying up a few to keep the best and trade the rest is an option. Outside of Blue Notes, I bought a few copies of LPs by Joan Armatrading and Dionne Warwick and ended up finding some with distinctly better sound (some are WLPs). This effort did not cost much. I was intrigued by the example of Songs For My Father, as my two copies sound just OK (one blue label, one Liberty)...not bad, but I want to be impressed, as you seem to be with. Do you have any identifier in the deadwax on your version to identify it? Since some LPs sound fantastic on my system, I think maybe I just don't have a hot stamper, and you do. Otherwise, it could just be personal preference. I find the Blue Notes to be bright and less natural sounding than many Contemporary LPs. In comparison with the Columbia LPs, it seems the Blue Notes are quite a bit more expensive in general, and buying a few copies, again, seems worthwhile for favorite titles. On the reissues, I haven't tried Blue Notes yet, but I note that Aretha Franklin's original LPs on Atlantic sound (often blue/green label) much better than the reissues I have. However, I also have some good sounding reissues of other titles.