John Coltrane on Atlantic, new vinyl reissues from WEA, June 2010

Who is mastering the four John Coltrane titles for vinyl (due June 15 2010 from WEA, $24.99 each)?

• Coltrane's Sound
• Coltrane Jazz
• Plays the Blues
• My Favorite Things

Since Kevin Gray did Giant Steps for Rhino, perhaps he's doing these too?

 

Are they just doing four titles? sure would like to see Ole' remastered.

 

Are these any different from the ones in the Heavyweight Champion boxset?

 

Most of the Atlantic titles have been available as inexpensive reissues for a while. But at $24.99 I'm assuming these are new pressings. Since the Giant Steps title was $17.99, it points to these four being a premium approach (possibly a name mastering engineer and pressing plant).

The only info I see is the preorder date on Elusive Disc and Acoustic Sounds (probably others too).

 

The online retailers are only listing these four titles.

 

It looks like the mastering engineer is Bernie Grundman "and Mastering Lab" (?) with a new date of June 22. Do they mean Bernie Grundman "at the" Mastering Lab, as in "TML"?

Here's a link for Plays the Blues.

 

Bernie Grundman and Mastering Lab... very interesting.

I think the versions in the Heavyweight Champion boxset sound fantastic. Anyone know who mastered those?

 

These appear to be shipping now. Anyone heard these Rhino vinyl reissues? I'm interested in comparisons with originals and prior reissues:

• Coltrane's Sound
• Coltrane Jazz
• Plays the Blues
• My Favorite Things

Features:
• HQ-180 Premium 180 Gram Vinyl Pressing
• Pressed at R.T.I. (Record Technologies, Inc.)
• LPs Cut from the Original Analog Masters
• Lacquers Cut by Bernie Grundman
• Packages Replicated to the Finest Detail
• Manufactured with More Care Than Ever!

 

So, it sounds like Plays the Blues and Coltrane Jazz have been out for more than two weeks. I have the stereo Atlantic LPs from the 70s with the Red and Green labels, which I listen to all of the time, but do not consider sonic masterpieces ... I am betting that these new ones will sounds pretty good.

Thrilled they decided to redo four of the these wonderful albums ...

I hope to pick up at least one of them this weekend ...

 

I found two of them yesterday (Jazz and Plays The Blues), and bought them.
I have no vinyl comparison to make (I only have the Heavyweight CD box) but I do like the sound of them, nice warm presence, not bright, an overall balanced sound, as much as my system allows. But I have discovered that these pressings are made in the E.U. (as written on the label), therefore not at RTI. Does anybody know where the European pressings are made? One side of Jazz is a bit ticky on one channel, otherwise discs are quiet...

Doc

 

I wonder if there are two Rhino editions, European and US, as the Elusive Disc website credits the pressing (perhaps just for US) to RTI. Does your version credit Bernie Grundman, and show a date of 2010? There are various other reissues that have been available in recent years in the US and Europe for these titles. Not sure of the company, but one of the lower end ones like Scorpio.

 

The ones I've bought are true Rhino indeed, and yes Bernie Grundman is credited on the sticker, also on the run-off groove you can see BG hand written. The only credit on the sticker which is missing is the RTI pressing.
doc

 

Has anybody else heard these?

 

I bought Coltrane Plays the Blues about a week ago and am quite happy with it. Not up to the standards of the MM Bluenotes in terms of sonics, but probably 80-85% of the way there at a very reasonable price. Definitely a nice, analog sounding product; my pressing is both dead flat and dead quiet, one slightly off centre label that I can live with.

A good deal as far as I can see, at least in terms of me trying to track down a pristine original on the first go at a reasonable price. I would expect a pristine original to better it in some areas but not necessarily all. Ultimately there's a bit of compromise involved in the re-issue game but overall, I thought this was money well spent and I'm pretty picky.

 

I'm glad to read a positive report.

Has anyone had an opportunity to compare any of the four titles with earlier versions?

 

Geoff Sykes Bill Inglot, Gene Paul/dB Plus, Bob Fisher

And I agree with you re: the sound of the HC box. I have 0370 from the first 3000 run in 1995 and really don't yearn for anything else!

 

Thanks - are those names in the credits somewhere? My boxset is missing a couple of albums so I need to fill in some holes. But I got it for about $40.

 

Surprised there's not more discussion of these.

I picked up 'My Favorite Things' yesterday. The packaging alone is worth the price, the cover is really a work of art, very very very nicely done. The vinyl is warm and detailed, sounds analog all the way, and much better than my 70's pressing or my CD.

 

Please provide specifics of the 70s pressing (label, matrix) that you compared it with.

Now we're getting direct comparisons of pressings (what I'd hoped for when starting the thread).

 

Green/Red Atlantic label, ST-A-60303. Most likely a late 70's/early 80's pressing, on wafer-thin vinyl.

 

It's worth pointing out that the 80s CDs are (with the possible exception of Plays the Blues) "forum-approved" flat transfers.

 

I have just ordered Plays the Blues in hopes that it will beat my 70s lp pressing and the original cd ... Will post impressions.

 

Credits in the booklet, although all of mine were mastered by Sykes, as identified by his initials in the dead wax.

 

Warner/Rhino normally presses its more popular vinyl titles in the EU for Europe and at RTI for the US, using exactly the same stampers. I don't think we've ever established exactly which European pressing plant they use but in my experience the standard is extremely high, arguably better than RTI, so possibly it's Pallas. I'm surprised you've got some ticks but it can happen, I guess, even with the best pressing plants.

 

thanks for your reply, and yes, a few ticks are ok after all... the music sounds wonderful anyway.
doc