Upcoming Verve SACDs from Analogue Productions

The new SACD of Soulville does not have any of the extra tracks, but it sure sounds nice. Monophonic bliss.

 

This is my first time with Smokin' At The Half note.

 

A couple of notes about the Verve SACD series. First of all, the newest shipment brings the total number of released titles up to 19, as of Sept. 2013. Another thing; the SACD of Soulville by The Ben Webster Quintet indicates that it was remastered by George Marino, although the Copyright says 2013. I wonder how many unreleased titles there are in the can that Mr. Marino mastered before he passed. The mastering information on the Wynton Kelly Trio SACD simply states that it was mastered at Sterling Sound, but it does not mention George Marino by name.

Also, as a side not, this series has a picture of the tape box under the tray of each release. I like that; you can actually see with your own eyes which tape was used to master these discs from. So far the tape box pictured in each release seems to be the original master tape for that title, except for one disc. The tape box pictured in the tray underneath the Soulville disc clearly states, "FLAT DUB OF CLIENT'S TAPE." I assume that all of these pictures are actual scans that Analogue Productions makes of the tapes that they are using, so I guess that there is no original master tape for Soulville. It still sounds real nice though.

 

How is Smokin' At the Half Note? Worth buying?

 

I actually listened to this title kind of loud. Man, it has a nice organic sound. It has a real deep bottom end with out any thump, just a nice, natural, deep bass. But the mid-range is so real, it is three-dimensional. Like I posted, this is my first exposure to this title, but I really am diggin' this new SACD.

 

I have almost all of the Verve SACDs (I get them with several weeks delay, when they appear on the Amazon Marketplace), and they are usually the best digital version of the album, lacking the artificial upper treble boost that is present on many Verve remasters. I haven't compared them to the Speaker's Corner LPs yet.

The "Jazz Samba" SACD (which I don't have) received poor reviews here though, compared to the DCC.

 

I just received my first title in this Verve series, Empathy, and before playing it I was totally prepared to hate the mastering. In fact, I was sure of it and I'd already consoled myself since I'd feel ok selling it NM for half price on the forum.

But then I sat down and hit play. Holy cow! Wow.

So now I'm mad at myself all over again.

Could a few of you with picky mastering tastes fill me in on which titles I'd be most likely to enjoy in this series? Are there a few good ones and mostly mediocre? Or the opposite? Appreciate the advice.

 

I just received the Empathy SACD and did not know what to expect either. Mostly I was surprised that there is minimal talk about this SACD as the dedicated thread has only five posts in it. I only listened to a few tracks but what I heard I enjoyed. Bill Evans' piano is to the left and Shelly Manne's drums are to the right with the bass centered. I'll have to sit down and take the time to give it a good listen in a day or two.

Bill

 

Rocky,

Thanks for your thoughts on the Smokin' At the Half Note SACD. I've had my eye on this one for awhile and I'll have to grab it when my wallet recovers from importcds latest 10% off sale .

Bill

 

Yeah, it does have the left, right, center but the images are pretty good sized and reverb is well done. Near demo quality I'd say.

As others give this one a listen, then I'd appreciate some opinions as to which others in this series compare favorably from a mastering quality perspective.

 

Sorry, but are you talking about Shelley Manne's 2,3,4?

 

No, he's talking about Empathy (see posts 107 through 110).

 

Thank you.

 

Just ordered Soulville and Smokin' at the Half Note. These will be my first titles in this series and I am really looking forward to them.

 

I just received the "Back To Back" SACD and it sounds fabulous! So far I have four titles out of the Verve series as SACDs, some I won't upgrade because they sound perfectly fine to me as 80's pressings from West Germany and mastered by Dennis Drake, such as "Getz/Gilberto", "Jazz Samba" and "Coleman Hawkins Meets Ben Webster".

 

Is it a fact the George Marino (R.I.P.) mastered all of the Verve SACDs? Did he finish all the work before his untimely passing? So far, only one of my Verve SACDs indicates he was the mastering engineer (Bill Evans / Empathy), the others only have the quote "This is why I got into this business" on the fold out booklet, but no specific info on whether he did it or not. Isn't it possible Kevin Reeves is finishing the series, wouldn't that also explain the delay?

 

I have asked this before and I am still wondering.

 

One of you might pick up the phone and ask.

 

I actually called Sterling about another question (the Cat Stevens SACD) and they are very rude and very belligerent. I actually called to ask a simple question and the lady that answered the phone berated me and threatened me. It was very odd and I felt intimidated.

 

Wtf? I'm sorry to hear that. I know it's none of my business, but would you mind telling us what happened exactly? I must confess I don't usually call Acoustic Sounds & Elusive Disc (and certainly no mastering studio) because it might get very expensive (from Europe).

 

Although I am generally not a fan of George Marino's mastering and was hesitant after the review of the SACD of Jazz Samba compared to the DCC Gold CD, I figured I would try out the SACD of Soulville since most of these titles have received good reviews.

Although some members might like the extra detail, I found it to be too bright. The sax sounds way more natural to me on the old Verve CD. I am assuming the rest of these titles are mastered similarly? If so, I will definitely stick with my old Verve CDs.

 

I don't find the SACDs to be bright all, at least not artificially bright. But, yes, they're very detailed. I compared two of them to the Dennis Drake CDs from the 80s and they just sound a little bit better, but not brighter. If you have all titles in the Verve series as original CDs from the 80's, upgrading makes the least sonical difference compared to the Blue Note or (to a lesser degree) Impulse SACDs, since they (the 80's CDs) sound already THAT good to my ears.

 

Yes, I have most of the titles on the original Verve CDs already. I don't have Sonny Stitt, Illinois Jacquet, the Soul of Ben Webster and the John Hodges titles. Were these titles released on original Verve CDs? I am not seeing them on discogs/Amazon.

 

Hi, I just got Soulville (Ben Webster), and Coleman Hakwins encounters Ben Webster, and both are an improvement over the Verve CD's for me. The saxophone is more natural sounding, the separation between instruments is better. The mastering is quieter than the Verve, and the tape hiss is gone. I will say that the drums are further in the background in the SACD version. Not a good thing in my mind.

 

I know the Soul of Ben Webster has been released, I think it's in a two-fer now. I've got it, but can't find it right now. Very fiery playing from Ben. The Johnny Hodges and the Billy Strayhorn Orchestra is on the Verve Master Edition, still in print. I think it sounds very good as is. But am hoping for improvement whenever the SACD is released. I am a huge HODGES fan.