is there a good current CD of miles davis "kind of blue"?

I don't have time for that!

 

That is a cool site. Thanks!

 

the studio chatter section is interesting.

There is another Japan pressing of "Kind Of Blue" not listed on that site. It is part of "The CD Club" series. IIRC the catalogue number begins with FW**-**** (I have "My Way - Frank Sinatra's Greatest Hits" which is FWCP-30201).

 

I like the CD layer of the 2007 hybrid Japanese SACD (Sony SICP 10083), which has the same DSD mastering as the OOP 2006 Japanese mini-LP sleeve CD (Sony SICP 1206). To my ears it sounds a bit "softer", more analogue than earlier remasters. The often sharp/edgy sound of Miles' muted trumpet has been tamed a bit.

 

Thanks, Hans. I'll keep my eyes opened. I have the SACD with the 5.1 mix which doesn't have a redbook layer. I dont listen to SACDs anymore and need a redbook layer. I'll have to sell the SACD in the classifieds one of these days.

 

Thanks, Darcy. How old are those CD Club discs? When you say "The CD Club", is it something like Columbia House or BMG?

Regarding this web site, two copies of Kind of Blue are listed with catalog number SRCS 9104. One is the mini-LP disc, and one appears to be in a jewel case. I have never seen a jewel-case version with that catalog number. Is it rare?

I have a jewel-case disc from around the same time with catalog number SRCS 9701.

 

The hybrid SACD is readily available on eBay for around $33. I'm sure you could find it easily enough in Japan.

 

It's cheaper from CD Japan or Hiroshi Tanno's Early Records in Fukuoka City, Japan.

 

Thanks. I'll find one in a used CD store one day. No rush. I also have an original mix CD to listen to.

 

That's true for the stereo issues. There were also two further mono tape machines running at Columbia's 30th St studio. These never had the speed issue, and so neither did the mono LP releases.

I do agree that Miles didn't care much for meddling in the final form the LPs took. He left track sequencing and such to the producer, and was already thinking ahead to the next project.

However, he did at least care enough to check up on the final release. It was Miles who brought up the fact that they had mislabeled the tunes "All Blues" and "Flamenco Sketches". He would have had to, at the bare minimum, listened to the two tracks to find that out.

Possibility that Miles only had a mono setup at the time, this was after all 1959. In that case he would not have noticed the speed issue, as all mono LPs were correct speed.

 

The consensus seems to be that for redbook, the mastersound and the cd layer of the 2007 sony hybrid are best. I wish I had both to compare, as I haven't seen a comparison between the 2.

Overall i think the 2007 hybrid is the definitive because the SACD layer supposedly sounds better than all the past ones, so you get 2 competent layers on the hybrid.

 

I did some analysis of the frequency balance, comparing one KoB mastering to others. Same as we were doing in the '80's King Crimson thread if you saw that? One can clearly see how the miles/trane boxset was rolled off, just the way Mark Wilder said he did. A frowney-faced EQ, if you will.

Turns out the SICP 1206 min-LP is rolled off even more then that. About 2dB down at both ends of the spectrum. And, guess what, the 50th anniversary is rolled off even more then that! About 3dB down on the top end, only with a boost to the bottom octave. These are all from the same exact tape source, mind.

Not that this in any way tells you what to like, of course, but I find it interesting none the less.

 

Let's see, I have seven clips I used to generate the spectral charts I mention. These pretty much run the gamut of known KoB CD masterings, and include the two you reference. Would posting the clips and charts help, or hurt at this point . . . ?

 

I wouldn't say there is a concensus for the 2007 Hybrid as Hans has only recommended it and some of us, yourself included, want to hear it. Steve says the likes the 1997 release.

 

Some other folks have praised the Sony SICP 1206 mini-LP from '06, which Hans says is the same. I would also stop short of calling it a consensus. (Do we ever get that here? ) But, it's more then one.

 

The 2007 Hybrid (and maybe the 2006 mini LP - the obi is in the way) have the reverse track listing like the original 35DP Japan CD releases.

"Flamenco Sketches" is the slow song at the end, right?


It says on that KOB site there are mono and a stereo Mastersound CDs. Is this correct?

 

Correct. And as far as I know every release has this as the actual last tune. (Excluding bonus tracks.)

Original LP pressings wrongly listed "Flamenco Sketches" as the first track on side two, and "All Blues" as the second. Miles caught the error, and the next round of LP pressings had it fixed on the label. That's one indication of an early LP pressing. Covers had it listed wrongly for years afterwards.

The mini-LPs may be replicating the error due to the fact that they tried to reproduce the original exactly? The way the Japanese often do. . . .

I have the same CK-64403 disc they show here in front of me. It is definitely not mono. Matter of fact, it has the widest stereo spread of any KoB CD in my collection. Wilder says the Mastersound gold CDs were direct to digital from the three-track, no two-track analog mix-down. (The only KoB release done this way.) Which would account for the wide stereo spread.

I do not have the other Mastersound releases listed there, just the US one. So it's possible one was mono, but my guess would be they are the same as the US ones.

 

That's why the SICP-1206 sounds so good, it has the best balance between sharpness (not as edgy and loud as the 1997 Legacy) and softness (not as soft and quiet as the 2008 box)... right on target!

 

I would not say that there is the consensus at all. Many folks like the original CBS/Sony mastering best (catalog numbers 35DP 62 or CK 08163). It's still my favorite.

 

I thought he was talking about the remix. I treat that and the original as two different things.

 

I can only speak for myself, of course, but I was indeed talking about the remix. I also have the Japan-for-U.S. version with the original mix (35DP 62 matrix) and, like Darcy, I see the remix and the original as two different things.

By the way, I did not recommend the 2007 Japanese hybrid SACD; all I meant was that I like it compared to others (remixes that is ).

 

Do these two differ at all? Or was it all pretty much the same mastering before the '86 purple alternate cover hit?

 

The 35DP 62 and CK 08163 (with 35DP 62 matrix) have the same mastering.