Chesky classical LP's

I just ordered the 7.50 ones,,are those the ones that didnt get the good reviews?lol

The Brahms/Beethoven is very good; I think the Freccia may have been one of their early ones (The Pines of Rome definitely was one of the criticized ones), but hey, for $7.50, it's worth the "gamble"! Besides, I always felt there was some snobbism involved here with Freccia, who was a fine European opera conductor whose work was not as well-known here in the States; his interpretations that I've heard are pretty good. Too bad you didn't order them from Chesky itself when they were cleaning house a number of years back, the prices were lower still (says the guy with the Lt. Kije/Scheherazade/Reiner Sound six-packs!).

Are the regular priced Chesky's worth it?

I am kind of leaning towards testing these, and Sheffield, and the classical MFSL's instead of always buying the DGG tulips, RCA LS, and Mercury LP, etc etc....

I will refrain from commenting on the MFSL classical offerings, except to note that I think they did some manipulation to the frequency response in their remastering. As far as the Chesky/Classic/Speakers Corner/Testament reissues vs. originals, there is plenty of debate among enthusiasts on both sides. There is no question in my mind, having heard comparisons between originals and the reissues, that the reissues are cleaner with deeper and better defined bass, and more low-level detail and somewhat better dynamics (not as big a difference in that area as you'd think, though, on most recordings). Mike Hobson made the observation that they were closer to what the master tape sounds like, and I would not doubt that. However, they do lack the warmth of the originals in most cases, and on some of these recordings you might not care to hear what's on the master tape, but would rather prefer the sound of the original record, which might sound more like what you remember nostalgically or, more importantly, what a live performance might have sounded like. For example, I have an EMI recording of the Saint Saens Symphony No. 3 (Organ), Fremeaux and the City of Birmingham Orchestra, both an EMI Greensleeves version and the Cisco/Klavier reissue. On the reissue, the massed strings sound thin and wiry; they're lush and full on the original. I prefer to listen to the original, even though the reissue has more detail and better-defined bass--it sounds too much like a CD. On the other hand, comparing the Classic reissue of the Beethoven Violin Concerto (Heifetz) to the original, the unveiled ambience from the recording venue and the overall clarity of the reissue made it a clear winner to my ears (and those of the guy who brought the original to my house as well), despite a slight loss of overall warmth. I'd say that the reissues can be viewed in some respects as new views of old, some famous, performances, and are worth getting if only for that perspective. So the Chesky's are worth it (remember, new they cost $15, so I wouldn't call their current price full price) in my view.

Rcprince has covered it well. I am much more enthusiastic about the Speakers Corner reissues than his comments would suggest -- they are uniformly excellent in my experience.

One of the Chesky resissues that truly deserves special attention, if you can find it, is the Stravinksy/Petrouchka with Danon and the Royal Philarmonia, Chesky CR42. This is an incredible recording of an orchestra (another J. Kenneth Wilkinson wonder), and a very interesting interpretation/performance as well.