Good video again :) Herbie Hancock Maiden Voyage and Dexter Gordon Go! are my favorite BN classics so far! Off-topic: who is looking forward to the next Acoustic Sounds Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series, especially John Coltrane Crescent 🔥🔥🔥
Great choices! I too have been "lucky" quality-wise. All 7 titles I've bought have been flawless. They're musically and sonically fabulous. A real value on historic releases. Chicken Shack, Ready for Freddie, and Cool Struttin' are as cool as the other side of the pillow. The 1st batch is loaded with great choices.
I've loved the classic series and have bought them all thus far. I do think eight over two months is a bit much, but I'm sure I'll get them all. It's a good time to be a jazz vinyl lover.
Agreed that they would easily sell a ton for the next batch is selected objectively and subjectively big titles that are not in these series: Blue Train, Empyrean Isles, Free for All, Let Freedom Ring, No Room for Sqaures, True Blue, Our Man in Paris, Mode for Joe etc. But at the same time I think they are worried that big volume will cause again QC issues at Optimal, so BN is playing safe now until plants can trully handle big capacity to make big sellers.
@@Michael45RPM Indeed! Of the next batch I would only consider 4 to be classics. Horace Silver 5 Pieces of Silver. Art Blakey The Big Beat. Jackie McLean Destination Out and Joe Henderson Inner Urge. Those last 2 are brilliant albums!
@@jeremiahdrueke2610 I agree, but I get them anyway on account of it takes pressure to get OP's off my back. Plus, I like to have complete collections if I can get them. I just finished collecting the entire 80 series and I feel like I accomplished something.
Great list Michael. I must totally agree with your opinions on these Classic albums. I have all the BN 80th series and all but one of the classic series and they are fabulous recordings for sure. Kevin Gray has really knocked the later ones out the park. The 2nd batch I one see about 8-9 that Ill be getting. Keep up the great work Michael. I appreciate you my man.
Yeah, my copy of “Moanin’” came out of the sleeve when I opened it looking rough, and I’ve heard similar stories from others. But great list! Love that Horace Silver, especially.
Would love to see an update on this - maybe Batch 2. Etc. Also, would love to see an updated Tone poet Top 10, 15 or 20. Lots of new releases in the last year. Thanks Michael. Hello from NYC
Art Blakey - Indestructible has been my favorite but I only have five of the releases. I think that was 80th anniversary and not the classics series but it was absolutely perfect sounding.
I've also had luck with my Classic Series releases, haven't had any real major issues, besides two warped copies of Cool Struttin', that got fixed with a friend's machine (it sounds awesome). I'd put in the list Hank Mobley "Soul Station", of which, as far as I remember, you also said it was almost on par with the MMJ. Another great releases for me are "Somethin' Else" and "Page One". I'm getting my "Ready For Freddie" copy tomorrow, can't wait! All the best from Chile Michael!
Hi Michael, enjoyed this video! I have a couple of the titles you mentioned (Grant Green and Horace Silver) as I gradually build my jazz collection. There is just so much out there and every month there seems to be an ‘essential’ release but I am enjoying taking my time to pick these up! As an aside I wanted to thank you for always delivering your videos in the English language. It must increase the effort involved and doubtless there are times where you reach for a word and cannot find it, or would prefer to use German vocabulary to make your point. But your efforts to use English are truly appreciated and doubtless help you to reach a wider audience.
Thank you Michael - an excellent review. Overall I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the Classic series & have purchased them all so far… whether that continues with the new titles is another matter.
Yeah!! Well, regarding Black Sabbath Paranoid, the original UK 1. burns the Kevin Gray RE from 2006 in any ways. Sometimes you have to go for the originals…
Brilliant series from Bluenote . I have them all except the holiday one. Might give it a try. I may have got very lucky with Moanin as I missed it first time out and got the re press a couple of weeks ago and it is perfect . Optimal may well be sorting out there inconsistencies. Ps I would have had Joe Henderson Page One , Sonny Clark Cool Runnings and Wayne Shorter Speak No evil in my top 10. Thanks for another fun video
Great review! I do agree, the later versions of the BNC seems to have better pressing. It looks like the pressing is improving. BNC ‘Cool Struttin’ is as good as the Music Matters 33.3 version. Thank you Don Was!
I've stayed away from vinyl because of the ridiculous prices being asked for some albums and for how hard it is to get good sounding quality LPs secondhand. Instead, i focused on hi -res digital, 24/96, 24/192, and DSD, along with dacs that gave digital a more analog sound. (Hint: tube dacs do give digital a more analog sound!) But vinyl has always been a want, and when I heard about the quality of these new releases and the affordability I made the decision to purchase a turntable and phono amp, and plan to start collecting these and other good releases in my favorite music genres. Let's hope they can keep it up at these great prices!
Michael, you always do a remarkable job in expressing your thoughts on the quality of the records. Kudos! What are your thoughts on the Fondementa Lost Recordings?
"where is blue train?" I have wondered about it's conspicuous absence from the series (and commented on your channel) for some time. Then as I watched this video it hit me... Could the master tapes have been lost in the Universal Music fire?
Definitely possible. They still don't have a complete understanding of all that was lost in that tragedy. They may simply just get to the point where if they can't find something they have to assume it was included in the fire.
I've had great luck except my IDLE MOMENTS had a lot of non fill on side 1. Haven't had a single issue with Tone Poets and I've gotten a few 2nd hand. Great value all around.
Hi Michael-- I've been watching a lot of your videos recently and I'm trying to figure out what makes a release a good one. What do you look for when you listen to, say, Maiden Voyage?
Thanks for this it’s helpful. Two questions: do you have caramba? My version is gatefold which I thought the classic series wasn’t?? Second question: how do they compare to the XRCD yoshida remaster? Not so many in common.. but would be good to know if the mastering is on par.. thanks
i can answer my own question on the comparison to XRCD for Soul Station. I think the XRCD mastering is better, it's clearer, more separation, less boomy. The vinyl has too much bass and too much highs, and also very boosted mid range somehow. It sounds nice on speakers, but switching from one to the other on headphones, i prefer the XRCD. Both are nice though, and miles away of other editions
I just noticed on the Blue Note website, they have removed the "80 series" name for the 80 series records they still stock, and renamed them "Classic series" in the descriptions... I wonder what the reason for that was?
My only complaint with this series is the no-fill issue. I waited 8 months to reorder Song For My Father and still it came with the no fill issue but less than the first copy. An email I sent to Don Was & the Dir Ops at Optimal regarding the ongoing issue received no reply.
I picked up the Duke Pearson album but have not played it yet because it's too early for Christmas music! It's strange buying an album and just letting it sit there.
I have a few classic and tone poets series all fantastic but the luck ran with Midnight Blue. Both copies I received (the original order and its replacement) had scratches on track 1 Have not been able to get another copy so far.
I think they fell short. I purchased 2 tittles and I was very disappointed. I thought something was wrong with my stylus. I tried them on 3 different turntables and all sounded like shit in the same spots. Are they taking them back?? I purchased from a local dealer and not sure how they will handle it. Great video’s keep up the amazing work!!
I called my local record store and they took back my copy with no problem. Let’s hope round two produced better luck. Record In question was Kevin Burrell. And of course if picked up another class is series release during my visit. Ready for Freddie
Horace Silver - 6 Pieces of Silver - Classic (for some, the best album of the great Horace Silver after Song For My Father. In any case, absolutely a hard pop classic) Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers - The Big Beat - Classic (what a record! As Michael might say FAN-TAS-TIC). One of the classics of the magnificent lineup with Morgan, Shorter, Timmons and Merritt. Jackie McLean - Destination Out - Classic (one of the best Blue Note Avant garde releases) Lee Morgan - Caramba (not one of Lee's best, but, to me, it's a classic) Joe Henderson - Inner Urge - Classic (amazing record!) Cassandra Wilson - Blue Light ’Til Dawn (I know that many people love this album and would not hesitate to say that it is one of the Blue Note classics of the last decades) From several other records on this second batch I have read wonderful things. I do not think it is difficult to consider them "classics". I think that the first batch of the Classics series were not just "classics", but iconic albums (not just the best of Blue Note or jazz, but the best of recorded music in history). Of course, the grouping by "themes" is reminiscent of the releases of the 80s series.
The one I didn't like is the Grant Green. Very typical Blue Note sound and frankly just boring. Was returned due to pressing issues. Out To Lunch is rather too 'out there' for the more casual Jazz fan. I picked up a copy in a cheap bundle of De Agostini jazz titles so will probably stick with that one. Agree on Kenny Burrel, Ready For Freddie and Horace Silver especially. Could not get a clean copy of later after couple of tries (kept best) so hope this is repressed eventually. The general standard of pressings is going down, even had issues with latest Eagles One Steps. Signs of improvement maybe with these BL Classics?
