They only held it for like three years, no? Session was 1964, my OP is 1967. Not that long, especially considering how much music those guys were putting out.
Oh I meant the Tone Poet series waiting this long to release it!! Ironically, BN held it for less time from recording date to release than BN had been releasing Tone Poets.
My copy of Life Time is finally here. But every single time I've tried playing it, a family member/neighbor/our dog asks me to do something that forces me out of the room for extended periods of time. I think my turntable has played Side A three times and I've only actually heard the first 30 seconds each time. But once my daughter stops watching TV, this album is so on....
Hell yeah! Your system is what I aspire to. At this point I’m just curious on “what I’m missing” if analog can go even deeper than what I have today. Something to look forward to each year.
Sonny Rollins came today. The package was half open and the record was peeking out. I was very worried. But none of the corners were bumped. After cleaning it, I listened to the album. A couple of beers with it. The minutes passed quickly. What can I say? Wow. The records are flawless and flat. The triple cover in staughton quality is high class. For a live recording from 57, it's spectacular. All the instruments sound fantastic. The booklet and photos and interview are great. The content has kept me entertained for three records. I am very happy with the release. It's a milestone in the Tone Poet catalog. It's a release for the ages. I am blown away.
It doesn't end. LOL. I've spent the last two weeks with a Boulder 1108 phono-stage on home audition, and now I really want it. As good as my Naim phono is, the Boulder smokes it on bass response and soundstage, among other things, and that is huge for all the classical I like to play. My wife noticed that in about 30 secs with NHSNHS. She's always against these upgrades at first, until she hears what they bring to the table (she enjoys music nights). Now I'm trying to figure out how to buy it. I don't have the cash for it (and I only buy gear when I have the cash to pay for it), so I'll have to save what I need and sell my Naim phono-stage. I have a smallish Apple position for discretionary pruchases, so I might use some of that, but now I have to wait for the AAPL to get back to a better market. 3rd world problems. I think this might have to be a 2025 upgrade.
I finally got a good price on the Joe Lovano "Trio Fascination" Tone Poet. Really enjoying this one. I bought the CD when it was originally released, and a quick comparison suggests that somehow Mr Gray and Mr Harley have given the Tone Poet more weight and balance and that something special. It sounds very good. My copy is pretty much perfect in terms of pressing quality. No pops/clicks/non-fill and very quiet. Loving the music of course. Joe Lovano, Dave Holland, Elvin Jones! Thanks @Joe Harley for selecting this one for the series!
Life Time is one of this season's Gems for me. Sounds better to me than my OP - really benefits from the lack of compression. I also appreciate the TP jacket, given that someone drew little faces with devil goatees all over my original (sounds cooler than it looks). Peacock, Hutcherson and Rivers sound phenomenal on this. I know the music isn't everyone's bag, but I really like it. I really appreciate that Joe and BN gave this album the grand treatment - Lord knows that Chad wouldn't have touched this with a 10-foot pole.
Curious to know if you heard any differences in these qualities in your comparisons of the Rollins' Village Vanguard. In most of my comparisions, the TPs win out on spread, depth, and tone.
well i for one appreciate when somebody puts the time and effort into a thoughtful comparison. No, i don't have the same system, but that's fine, it was still interesting to read. And it's just one point of data - he wasn't trying to be the final word. To tell him it's irrelevant is frankly rude.
I didn't say he was trying to be the last word. I said those kind of comparisons have problems and are irrelevant as a generalization. And you're the rude one to dismiss my dissenting opinion about it. I was quite clear about it. It's a open forum for opinions. I stand by what I said. You don't have to agree with it. Feel free to ignore my posts.
To me they’re just two completely different recording types, listening for different things. Mono vs stereo, live vs studio, ‘57 vs ‘64 engineering equipment, etc. the Rollins VV didn’t have a wide soundstage (mono) but had good ambiance and dynamic attack. It’s a good recording, great considering the circumstances! But then in my shootout it didn’t offer a killer improvement over the 2013 hi res digital which is also really well done. Some TPs are head and shoulders above previous masterings. To me, for this release, it just wasn’t. I don’t want to rain on people’s parade. It’s great release, but I just couldn’t “spot the difference “ on this one like I could on others.
FWIW: despite all my awful rudeness to you Chris [sorry] I am playing the TP with a dedicated mono cartridge, and my wife and I love it. The soundstage sounds real enough to us.
I find VV to be a very different presentation, on this new 3 lp edition, than any previous edition I’ve heard. Though the only other version I have on hand is a somewhat beat up second pressing of the original vinyl. Still, I think it’s safe to say that the new set is very different. The over driven cymbals remain from the old RVG pressing. The bass is much more clearly defined as are Elvin’s drums. Both are more dynamic. The original has a sharp focus on Sonny’s horn. The new mastering adds more detail and clarity to everyone, maybe the horn recedes a bit in comparison to the original pressing though. Either way, it’s a stunning reissue!
I’m hoping what I’m hearing streaming from Qobuz and Apple Music isn’t a true representation of this new Rollins Tone Poet. Because the van Gelder version sounds so much better to my ears from the same sources. Hate to buy this and find out my worst fears are confirmed.
The new vinyl version is a worthy companion to the RVG vinyl. As I state above, it is different, perhaps refreshingly so. Different sources, btw. A 15 ips copy tape for the RVG and the original 7 ips tape for this new reissue.
I got my copy of the Sonny Rollins yesterday and Amazon put it in a large box without any packing material to protect it. The hype sticker was bleached out/faded and there was a minor ding in the bottom right hand corner (not too bad). So I called and complained this morning and they gave me almost $50 off of it. So I got my copy for $25.97...the records look great so for that price I'm keeping the copy I have. Will listen to it today as we watched our Braves win again last night. Enjoying the feedback from you folks on it and heard from Joe that it's getting great reviews regarding the sound and everything about it, plus the #1 jazz title on Amazon. @Chakana I mentioned to Joe to check out your awesome post #58576...
FYI the UMG30 code is still active on UDiscover and works on Sonny Rollins Village Vanguard. Just ordered it this morning (I’m in Canada, so I did use it as an excuse to also buy Ben Webster - Soulville, Roy Haynes - Out in the Afternoon, and Herbie Hancock - Speak Like A Child for 30% off, too!).
It is indeed a milestone in the Tone Poet catalog. I didn't have the complete masters of Blue Train, but I ordered it straight after listening to A Night at the Village Vanguard. Oh, that's awesome, Scotti! It was truly a magnificent first listen. I'm going to wait for the perfect moment to give it another round on the turntable. The booklet is also AWESOME! Btw are you posting what you're spinning on Instagram as well? I like the "little" vinyl community in there. There's always a lot of great inspiration to find. If so, my profile is @WaxForDinner EDIT: Can one of the Mods change my Profile name to "Wax for Dinner" on here?? I should make a new profile with that name, if it's not possible.
Here’s the link to the Qobuz download (2024): A Night At The Village Vanguard (The Complete Masters), Sonny Rollins - Qobuz . The Apple Music version is dated 2013: The Complete Night At The Village Vanguard by Sonny Rollins on Apple Music I couldn’t find a 2024 version on Apple Music. There’s also a BN85 CD: ヴィレッジ・ヴァンガードの夜[完全版]【CD】【UHQCD】 | ソニー・ロリンズ | UNIVERSAL MUSIC STORE EDIT: Via Japan, I found the 2024 Apple Music version of this thing: A Night At The Village Vanguard (The Complete Masters) by Sonny Rollins on Apple Music
Went in for VV but saw a copy of Eddie Henderson’s Realization and Wayne Shorter’s Native Dancer. I love those two records, so I couldn’t resist! I don’t often buy used records since most stores in Seattle won’t let you listen to them first, but they were placed on the floor yesterday and would have been gone fast unlike VV. Still want VV though because the streaming version sounds fantastic.
I have 50-100 Japanese produced Jazz titles from the 1970's-1980's and can say that play great. Maybe a clinker or two but mostly great using that SuperVinyl from the era and mastering well(and releasing some titles years ago that are just now being brought into the Marketplace but many times still not having a US pressing.)
