Wayne Shorter - Night Dreamer, BN/Classic Series (2023)
Another excellent Optimal pressing as good as the Tina Brooks both are bargains. Again Lee Morgan is on top form as is Wayne and what a line up McCoy Tyner , Elvin Jones and Reggie Workman.
Compared to the Bernie Grundman 75th Anniversary from 2015 the Classic Series is superior but not the night and day I’ve heard reported I’ve enjoyed the 75th up until now and if the new reissue didn’t exist I’d continue to do so.
I would say that the Music Matters is pretty definitive, followed by Classic Records 200g, unless you are prepared to spend £3000 for an original !
I thought the recent Kevin Gray Classic sounded great - certainly up there with the best of the Tone Poet/Classic series. I don’t have any others of this one to compare though.
You Get More Bounce with Curtis Counce! A typically superb Roy DuNann recording, albeit also with typical early hard left and right localisation. I’m not sure how much this one betters my earlier OJC copy, probably not by a huge amount, but this one is very nicely pressed by QRP.
Maybe better using the mono button if you have one?
It’s fine, I know some don’t like it but it doesn’t bother me so much.
Personally I prefer the mono mixes when I can get them. For example I have the excellent AP Stereo of Art Pepper Meets The Rhythm Section but the Craft Mono betters it imo.
As ive joked here before, on the Mono Art does meet the rhythm section rather than playing somewhere down the road from them
We are certainly spoilt these days with vinyl of ‘True Blue’. Until about 1990 virtually nobody over here had heard it - it was mythical. I first heard it on a NYC jazz station circa 1991 on a car radio and I was straight down to Tower Records - or maybe Sam Goodys - to pick up a copy of the just-released Conn CD put out by Blue Note. Worth every penny.
I digress !
Or a minimum of £120 plus import taxes for either a Classic Records or Music Matters so a little over £20 inc postage for a Classic Series Blue Note is pretty definitive.
Yes, the cost/benefit equation is pretty well definitive.
I think I paid around £30 for the Classic Records facsimile reissue but that was around 15 years ago. The King issue from Japan is also really good.
Is that Marty Feldman on the right? 
It is. Well spotted.
Indeed, the brilliant Marty Feldman
I have the original pressing and thought it sounded great. I did not notice any hard left/right issue. Will listen to it again over the weekend.
50th Ziggy is OK-ish - if you don’t have it already in an early copy - I sold my 50th as I didn’t think it brought anything that bettered my old UK and Japanese originals.
Unlike Hunky Dory in that fine EMI 100 release that Richard has (lucky man, wish I had a copy), avoid the EMI 100 Ziggy - it’s not great, from what I read.
I have the 2016 repress of the 40th anniversary package which is remastered from an analogue source
you will get for 20 GBP and the sound is really nice
I am not a Bowie expert but I love to listen to this edition
Thanks for the feedback @QuickSticks @krautnaimie @steviebee
Just for clarity its this one, half speed mastered from HR digital source
The one advantage is that the 50th is easily available and cheap.
The 40th as @krautnaimie posted is also good (I have the gold 45th reissue of it which is the same mastering).
I believe that the green label International is good too, but I’ve never heard that.
Personally, I’d look for an older copy than the 50th - but of course, condition and price is key. Depends also if you’re into checking matrices: I have the first press UK and a later repress (6E, iirc) both great, both different.
