Kind of Blue 50th - 4CDs?

Thank you!

That info makes the new box seem enormously more worthwhile.

Has anyone compared the 50th CD to the 2006 Japan DSD CD?

 

Maybe this helps, track 1 waveforms from the 2006 DSD and the Legacy CD. I don't have the 50th KOB box ... yet

 

whats in the book?

 

No...it wasn't. I think I lucked out. It did arrive within 48 hrs. though. Not bad for free shipping.

 

Hm... are you sure about that Classic Records 45RPM set? Here is what the last one went for on Ebay...and that's if you can locate one!


CLASSIC RECORDS MILES DAVIS KIND OF BLUE SEALED 45RPM

End price:
USD
483
End date:
2008-03-17

Start price:
USD
40
Start date:
2008-03-10


Number of bids:
23
Auctioned at:
ebay



Country:
USA



Good luck!!!!


Rick

 

I got this recently, and, yes, the CDs and DVD were scratched, and YES, the DVD skips ... right in the middle of the Gil Evans stuff on the Robert Herridge Special. I have no intention of returning it though ... the doc plays fine and the vinyl is great. But Sony is again displaying total incompetence (or maybe just utter contempt for consumers) with their packaging ...

It's off topic, but I have read reviews on Amazon.com for the new Cheap Trick Budokan! box set and it is averaging about a 2 star review from customers. Why? Becuase the discs are crammed into tight cardboard sleeves and arrive scratched! A friend of mine who was going to buy this decided not to after I showed him the reviews ... he was with me in the store when I got the KOB box, so he knows my tale of woe!

It is too bad, because, other than that, the KOB set is fantastic!

 

My local FYE, has this priced at $62.

 

$62 at tower.com with free shipping

http://www.tower.com/kind-blue-miles-davis-cd/wapi/112395918

 

Well well well... I bought the box today. Guess what... the CD mastering is not the same as the 2006 DSD made by Wilder & Triana. Quite impressive... how many times did Wilder (and other people with him sometimes) remaster KOB in the last 2/3 years? I'm speechless... Remastering KOB is a full time job!


Here are the waveforms for the Japanese DSD 2006 transfer (Miles 80th), and then for the 50th Anniversary Box, first disc, first track. The new and latest remaster is quieter.

Will give it critical listening tomorrow.

The box is GORGEOUS! Get it now! I'll have to buy a turntable just to play that blue, big, round thing

 

I will comment on that, when I get a chance to listen to it properly... when I arrived home it was already past midnight... no more music today

Listening with my lousy headphones connected to my PC... it sounds great! Really balanced and natural... I suspect it might be near perfect, but I need to listen to this on my main system to be sure

Anyway, it is without doubt better than the standard Legacy CD (that one sounds a bit loud and compressed on any headphone/system). This box is a must buy!

 

I think I will wait for the 2-disc Legacy edition due in Jan.

 

Man, this is a tough call... they sound almost exactly the same and it's almost impossible to find a difference other than the slightly higher sound volume on the 2006 DSD...

I believe they have the same tape hiss, same mix, same overal tonality...

If I'm really pushed to point out some differences... I'd say that in the new Box CD all instruments are more balanced, like the cymbals are a little bit more laid back in relation to the trumpet/saxes, which makes the music sound more in balance because nothing really stands out much, although maybe less realistic (it's not easy to define)...

Maybe the new Box CD makes for a more easy and relaxed listen, which is a good thing most of the time

They are both great sounding CD's, the 2006 DSD and the new Box CD, and it's impossible to go wrong with any of them.

I'm finding it very interesting to see how KOB remasters have been evolving and how different they sound every couple of years. These latest remasters clearly show that someone up there is listening to the "loudness wars" complaints and it does seem like the loudness curve is going way down on some CD's remastered by the same engineers as before. Which is even more interesting!

 

Did more critical listening, both CD's (2006 and 2008) in their entirety...

I keep my opinion:

I would like to add to the above that when actually enjoying the music, the 2006 CD sounds more real, more "live", never EVER being loud or sounding digital. I mean, the trumpet sounds more like a trumpet sounds... with some "bite" when Miles pushes it, and the drums actually have some presence and "natural impact" to them.

The 2008 box CD seems to be deliberately toned down to make it sound more like what most people (regular people, not fanatics like me) identify as "analog", just because it is not loud and lacks a bit of top and bottom dynamics (this is how most people remember vinyl). Which is fine, sounds really great and it's even more comfortable to listen to than the 2006 DSD... but it does not quite make it better.

I keep my original opinion that the 2006 DSD is still the best digital version of KOB with corrected speed As far as I can tell it has the best balance of dynamics, loudness (or lack of it), detail and natural sound. A really great job!

 

I bought the set a month ago. Finally opened it, cleaned the vinyl and put it on the TT.
It was to put it simply completely aweful. The first 30 seconds on side 1 were like playing on sandpaper. I gave up listening to "all blues" on side 2 after 2 minutes as it was the same as if playing on top of sandpaper.

Considering what this set is supposed to represent and the cost in some place (I paid $125 CAD), it's simply unacceptable and inexcusable. I think my dealer will take it back but it's very sad. I really expected this to be something very good.

-- Sanjay

 

I finally listened to the cd from the 50th Anniversary set on my home system (using my Rega Planet 2000) and I must say that it sounded fantastic. Although I did not do a direct comparison with the SACD or the '97 Legacy remaster, my initial impression is that I like this cd better than the '97 remaster and that it is definitely competitive with the SACD. While the Classic 45 RPM and original 6-eye vinyl remain my go to copies for this record, I suspect that a good deal of the variation we hear is system dependent and that this 50th Anniversary edition will continue to sound better as one's digital rig improves. Mark Wilder should be commended for his effort.

 

I am going to wait for the 2disc Legacy Edition coming out later.

 

Has that been officially announced?

 

Yes, it was announced on Musictap.com a few weeks back. Here was their announcement :

"The expected prize comes on January 13 from Legacy and Columbia. It is then that they will release a 2CD Legacy Edition of Kind of Blue by Miles Davis. Kind of Blue is perhaps one of the greatest Blues/Jazz album ever released. It has certainly received a lot of attention in 2008 (Sept) with the release of the Super Deluxe Collector’s Box setup (LP,CD,etc). In celebration of the album’s 50th Anniversary, and for the sake of those folks who did not pick up the higher-priced release in 2008, this reissue may do just the trick. This package contains the same two CDs found in the Collector’s Box as well as a booklet that contains all of the photos found in that set and the Francis Davis essay.

Kind of Blue was originally released in 1959 (Aug) not knowing it would become the revered classic it became. Disc One will contain the original album in its re-mastered form and will add an alternate take of “Flamenco Sketches,” the false start rarity from “Freddie the Freeloader,” and in-studio dialogue pieces from the original sessions. Disc Two contains various tunes that were released around the time of the Sessions including a selection from the first session of The Miles Davis Sextet (Coltrane, Adderley, Evans, Chambers, Cobb, and of course, Miles Davis himself), all in all, more than a half hour’s worth of material. There is also a Live track, “So What,” from 1960."

 

I got my box finally today - unpacking it I felt like a kid at Christmas.

 

I recently received the KOB boxed set.

I listened to the blue vinyl first, then compared it to the 200g Classic Quiex SV-P vinyl. Overall, the blue vinyl LP is a good mastering - from the same 1997 2-track analog mix used on the Classic Records reissue (which, somehow, has its bass goosed up a little in the mastering/cutting). I expected an extremely crappy pressing from Sony/Legacy - but aside from a few ticks on Side 2, this is a pretty good pressing.

I have yet to compare the two vinyl pressings to my original 6-eye stereo and mono pressings. Nor have I listened to any of the CDs in the boxed set yet (but that day will soon come).

 

An original 6-eye stereo pressing is on my turntable now. Compared to the newer reissue vinyl pressings in my possession, the original stereo vinyl sounds somewhat splashy and a tad shrill. However, the brightness of Columbia's stereo vinyl mastering (or more precisely, mixing) of the late '50s and early '60s isn't as bad on this album as it is on many of the other Columbia stereo LPs of the era. (And I did acknowledge that Side 1 of all stereo vinyl pressings of KOB into the '90s were at the slightly fast speed - they were mixed from the three-track tape which ran slightly slow at the recording sessions for Side 1.)

 

Finally, I revisited my original 6-eye mono pressing. The mono live studio recording is "warmer" than any of the stereo mixes - and nearly as detailed as the modern stereo "remixes". Different machines, different EQ settings...

However, I have realized that both of the original pressings are slightly "squashed" in their dynamics compared to the two modern remasterings (even though all are analog). This is due to the limitations of the prevalent vinyl playback technology of the time - and the original mastering engineers had such limited-performance equipment in mind when they made the original cuttings.

 

I just picked up the Kind of Blue box set at Borders today. On the plus side, the vinyl is not warped. On the minus side, the two CDs and one DVD had some scratches right out of the box. Either the discs were mishandled at the plant before being packaged or it happened when the discs were placed in the slots. In any case, the scratches appear to aesthetic. I have disc one playing, and it's fine.

As for the sound of disc one, I have not compared it to anything, but I find it to be "hot". I've had to turn the volume down a bit because trumpet and sax parts were a a bit harsh. The sax solo on "Blue in Green" (track 3) was unpleasant at higher volumes, for example. I've heard worse on CDs before, but it's still harsh in my opinion. I've never had to turn the volume down on the Japanese 35DP mastering or the SACD of Kind of Blue.