HEADS UP - coming very soon - Takatsuki TA- 300B !!

Just arrived straight from Japan - the Takatsuki TA-300B, made in Japan 300B 2011 production. Just look at how these tubes are boxed and presented. I'll be starting to listen tomorrow and posting my impressions along the way.

All I can tell you for now is that they are indeed WE clones, the build quality is extraordinary, they are damn expensive but the wood box, brochure, thorough test results and the whole presentation reeks of utmost quality.

Hal Singer and David Murray on Marge CD:

I will get into this a lot more soon, but there is no doubt that jazz not only thrives, but has been moving ahead strongly as a vital art form in France, as well as to a lesser extent in continental Europe, while falling past the state of a stagnant art form into being a narrow dinosaur music in America.

France embraced jazz in the 1920's, and even more so in the 40's, and today great, great jazz recordings are coming at a steady pace in France, while jazz on record has largely died in the USA - all that's left is dinosaur warhorse reissues of a rather narrow taste, or formulaic smooth jazz that is at best polite background muzak. Not so in France. When jazz started it's death spiral in America in the 1970's, many great artists started recording in Europe, and in fact, most did by far their best work there, largely unnoticed back home. I'm talking about folks like Kenny Drew, Duke Jordan, George Coleman, Max Roach, Clifford Jordan, Andrew Hill, and many many others.

Of the next generation, there was also David Murray.

Released in December last year on the Marge label, who have been around for quite some time, here is a CD of the 2010 meeting of the aging veteran Hal Singer and David Murray, two tenors coming together very much in the style of the classic Griffin/Lockjaw encounters, with a fine rhythm section in a fine blowing session. Aptlt titled "Challenge", the session is sraight ahead, as is the recording. No frills or gloss here. Just the real goods.

Murray tends to downplay his fire and altissimo cries here in deference to the more mellow toned Singer, who is very much in the Von Freeman mold tonally and pitch wise. Singer is actually a fine tenor with over a half century behind him, tracing his lineage back to the giants of the 50's who were his contemporaries. In a lot of ways, he's freer than Murray and just as hot, and has come to the point where he doesn't need to prove his chops - and because of that, he can blow rings around Murray if he cares to.

If you want to hear what jazz is up to these days, this one is a must have.

Have you checked out the Gueressen label yet??

Unfortunately, on this side of the Atlantic, many assume that the best vinyl reissues are coming out of America, on labels like Analogue Productions, Audio Fidelity, MOFI, ORG and others. While there is a lot of great, fine sounding stuff coming out from these labels, it tends to not veer too far from the well travelled path of warhorse classic rock and jazz. Sundazed sometimes mines the roads less travelled, and there are a few specialty labels that do so also.

But the real treasures are coming out on European labels, and the Gueressen label is up for discussion today http://www.guerssen.com/empresa.html?idioma=eng - a fine label out of Spain producing very high quality, low run pressings of lesser known, highly sought after gems from both major label catalogs and highly obscure private pressings. Virtually all are analog sourced and the production values are very high.

July's self titled album from 1968, is a minor masterpiece of psychedelic pop/rock that has been well known to fans of the genre for many decades. A UK band that had a following overseas but never played America, Gueressen have given this one a faithful flipback cover, a superb pressing and a remarkable sound that brings this obscurity to life.


Irish Coffee is another little known European gem, early 70's in the vein of Purple and Heep, just a smoking hot guitar here, and another excellent sounding remaster. Great 180g pressing too.

NGC-4594, a Connecticut band whose 1967 psychedelic masterpiece "What Really Means" has been a deep cult rarity for decades, is a fine example of the labels' eagerness to search out the most obscure masterpieces that could only be reissued in Europe. It's hard to think that something so cosmic could come out of 1967 - this was really very far ahead of it's time, and the Guressen reissue sounds like it was recorded yesterday. A trip that you just must take.

Killing Floor's "Out Of Uranus" came out on the UK Penny Farthing label in 1970. The Gueressen reisue is outstanding. This is a sought after hard rock/blues rock record that gets into more trippy space on ocassion, the band were quite well known in the UK and on the continent at the time, but never were mainsteam enough to go anywhere. Excellent sound, faithful cover, interesting insert, an interesting piece of minor history.

There's more out there on the fine Gueressen label, all very well remastered from true deep music lovers and I understand fully authorized and licensed.

There are many other fine labels in Europe doing heroic work, and to start, I highly recommend you get on board the Gueressen trip.

A bit of ECM new vinyl - Matthias Eick, Nik Bartsch's Ronin:

The venerable ECM label has been putting out a limited, select number of titles on vinyl again over the last few years - all 180g Pallas pressings of exceptional quality. Some of the core titles are once again available - the Jarrett trio records, the Jarrett quartets with Garbarkek, most of Pat Metheny's ECM catalog, and a few others.

Tossed in there are select new titles on ECM released on vinyl. Nik Bartsch's Ronin "Llyria" is spread on two slabs of 180g black, and it is among the finer recent ECM titles. A fairly traditional horn led band playing very advanced, yet pretty inside originals that are quietly explosive and highly memorable. The playing and recording are exceptional.



Even better is Matthias Eick's "Skala", another more or less straight ahead configuration featuring the fine tenor of Tore Brunborg, dual pianos and dual drums and the excellent electric bass of Audun Elrien. Eick himself is a fine trumpeter who follows on from mid 60's Miles through Ian Carr, Kenny Wheeler and others to form a very unique, personal style. This fine musician is one to watch, and here he receives a fine pressing and recording that suits the sometimes introspective, highly expressive yet still gently swinging vibe. An excellent record that is highly recommended.

Don't dismiss those reissues on ECM either - the Jarrett quartets are very fine and easily outshine the North American pressings, and at least match the original German ECM's, as do the Metheny titles.

Emerson Lake and Palmer vinyl on Music On Vinyl:

I'll keep it brief on this one. The new Music On Vinyl reissues of the Emerson Lake & Palmer catalog on vinyl sound like absolute dog turds. They're awful.

Case in point - the self titled first album. I have a German Island pressing that is excellent (if not quite as good as my deceased Japanese Cotillion pressing was) and has everything the Music On Vinyl doesn't - air, transparency, delicacy in the top end, openness, tonality (particularly in the acoustic piano parts). The MOV sounds like it's been poorly remastered from a bad digital clone. It's dull, lifeless, closed in, tonally wrong.

Avoid these turds. I usually like MOV stuff, even though I'm fully aware their sources are always digital. But these ELP vinyl reissues are bombs. The pressings aren't all that great either. Let's put it this way - my copy went straight to the used record store and that's rare for me. I hate taking the loss, but in this case, I was happy to get the thing out of my house ASAP - it's presence was offending the adjacent records in the rack.

The Fleetwood Mac Rumours 45 vinyl controversy:

Once again, the self serving Steve Hoffman has deliberately stirred up a controversy that serves only his own interests, and hurts record companies and music fans everywhere in the process.

The subject of the controversy is the recently issued 45 rpm vinyl of Fleetwood Mac's Rumours, remastered by Huffness and Grey several years ago.

On his vanity board, Hoffman informed his followers that the European issue 45 Rumours is not mastered by him, and therefore should be avoided at all costs, dismissing it as inferior.

It's doubtful Hoffman even heard the European version, which from my understanding was more recently remastered that the Hoffman/Grey version, and by a renowned European mastering engineer who does not have a vanity board or the ego needs of Hoffman.

As a result, hordes of Hoffman lemmings and lurkers returned the copies they ordered from Amazon and elsewhere (Hoffmanites love to pick up music cheap at Amazon and then complain about it), which any way you slice it causes a fairly significant loss of real money for Amazon, Warners and other music retailers. Hoffman doesn't care. It's all about himself. Not about the music.

Speaking of which - I had a chance to compare the two directly over the weekend. Objectively.

They do sound different, but I could not say one sounds better than the other. As a broad conclusion, I suppose it's fair to say the Huff/Grey is warmer and smoother, favoring the mids as Hoffman followers prefer. The European 45 is perhaps more true, it has greater realism and transparency. Neither trumps the other.

Which in turn raises the question - is it fair or honest for a mastering engineer to trash another mastering of a title to promote his own?

Since the early days of vinyl, titles have been mastered locally in different regions - indeed, many on the Hoffman board are obsessive about comparing pressings from different countries.

In the vinyl heyday, it was unheard of for one engineer to trash another regions' engineer's work - unprofessional, at best, downright boorish and churlish at worst.

Yet here comes Hoffman again - known for trashing others far greater and more accomplished than he, like Bernie Grundman, Shawn Britton, Ken Scott, and so many others.

Look, I know that Hoffman is a shameless self promoter who plays very fast with the truth. He's the Sarah Palin of audiophile remastering - all he's got is a social media following of needy people who have disorders that make them attach themselves to him, despite his having rather little real knowledge and having a fairly sketchy resume and intellect. Like Palin, he knows how to play the social media following to suit his interests, and use it as a weapon when he cares to. And like Palin, there's little substance behind the social media facade - all there really is, is a group of rather odd, challenged followers who are cult like in their fervour for their master. Little is fact, it's all heavily controlled to suit a personal gain agenda, and overall it's verging on manipulating the weak and not too bright. It's all pretty sick.

But with Rumours, Hoffman is deliberately sabotaging the industry to suit his own agenda. It's a real shame, as that Euro Rumours 45 is really very good, and any who have attempted to say that on his forum have been quickly deleted. Audiophile totalitarianism at it's best.

A new Elton John vinyl reissue from Classic Reissues:

One of the three greatest Elton John records, along with Tumbleweed Connection and Madman Across The Water. Newly remastered from 24/96 source by the Classic Reissues label and mastered right here in Toronto.

Of course, I had an original UK pressing long ago, more recently, the best readily available reissue has been the European Universal pressing remastered very nicely and pressed at Pallas, as is this new version.

Don't be suckered into thinking that a high resolution digital source cannot give an outstanding result - just listen to Bernie Grundman's magnificent Doors vinyl for proof. Grundman's digitally sourced vinyl of Strange Days positively puts the earlier DCC vinyl, analog sourced, to shame, making it sound murky and dull. No breath of life in that platter. Now, more proof.

The Classic reissue, compared to the European Universal, is a whole different level. Breath of life in spades, a full, robust, dynamic sound that has deep transparency and air...and life...that the Universal just can't match.

The Universal is a fine remastering. The Classic Reissues is a positive reminder of how a great classic title can be given a new life, and is that not why we pursue this - to be able to hear a recording we know very well like it's the first time, once again?

That's the feeling I had listening to this. Like I was hearing it for the first time, again. That's what it's all about.

I know it's probably tough to get these outside Canada - it's not going to be a click on Amazon or a call to Elusive Disc this time. You'll have to make an effort, and you'll be rewarded for doing it. Hunt this down and get a copy, if you love this record, it will worth it.

The return of Simply Vinyl - John Martyn and T.Rex:

A very welcome return to Simply Vinyl out of England, returning with a remarkable reissue of John Martyn's "Solid Air". Unlike the variable Simply Vinyl of the past, and the very unfortunate low grade bootleg Simply Vinyl clones that flooded stores after the original SV's demise (and are still around in large quantities), it seems like the new incarnation is making every attempt to put out a real top end product. The mastering is superb, onviously analog, easily exceeding originals in tonality and transparency. It's a classic record, pressed with care, mastered superbly, and care has been taken down to the cover and original palm tree Island label. A great start for the new Simply Vinyl.

Second reissue from Simply Vinyl is T.Rex's "The Slider" and again, the values here are very high. Original and subsequent pressings aren't really all that great sonically, and in truth the original source isn't all that sterling. Here it's as good a sound as it's going to get, and that is actually very good.


The Slider's a fun record, very trippy, the bridge between the original Tyrannosaurus Rex and the Bang A Gong pop band. I would think it's my personal favorite T.Rex album and a great choice by Simply Vinyl.

Search around for these, or order them straight from the UK as they don't seem to have much by way of distribution over here. Worth it.

A Tale of two Turrentines - Mintons on Music Matters vs. Analogue Productions 45 vinyl:

I have previously commented that the sound on the Music Matters 45 rpm vinyl series is somewhat better on average than the Blue Note 45 vinyl from Analogue Productions, which has caused some minor consternation over at the Hoffman board (at least, until any mention of it gets censored there).

Finally, we have a perfect opportunity to see if that's a figment of my imagination or not, by comparing the Analogue Productions 45 of Up At Minton's Volume 1 to the Music Matters 45 of Up At Minton's Volume 2 - both recorded at exactly the same time on the same equipment by the same Rudy Van Gelder. Both remastered by the same team of Kevin Grey and Huf-huf-huffmann.

Should sound the same, right? Remastered by the same guys at the same studio on the same equipment. Same master tapes. How could they be different?

Well...they are, and that's just a fact. The AP sounds wimpier, Turrentine is a bit muted and further back, the top end is just a touch rolled back, and the bass is very softly pleasant.

Now turn to the Music Matters and Turrentine is punching out front and center, the bass has more punch and presence, and there is a snap on top. Not that the AP is bad - it's not. It's just much more nice. You know, it's more pleasant as in dinner party pleasant, nice and inoffensive, nice and easy to listen to, easy on the ears. The Music Matters is nice too - but it sounds more like a jazz record should, and how Stanley Turrentine should - more heft and punch to Turrentine, he cuts when he shouts and is far more out front, as he was on the bandstand the night this was recorded.

The Music Matters is up at Minton's. The AP is around the corner from Minton's, or maybe in the bathroom at Minton's.

Why the difference?

It's really pretty simple. Analogue Productions doesn't use a producer for their reissues. Chad Kassem gets the tapes shipped to whatever remastering engineer he is using and relies on that person's judgement. Music Matters has Ron Rambach and Joe Harley, the former and expert on Blue Note and the latter a renowned producer, in the mastering studio supervising.

That's the difference. The production team. That's why all other things being equal, as they are with Turrentine's "Minton" recordings, the Music Matters sound better.

Jerusalem vinyl reissue!

Picked this one up last month on a label I've never heard from before - Rockadrome. Reissue of a 1972 Deram record produced by Deep Purple's Ian Gillan.

Hell of a good record, very much in the Purple/Uriah Heep vein, very well played and sung, not exactly a lost masterpiece but more of a byway from an era where lots of great bands came and went, leaving behind minor gems like this one, that are now being resurrected by enterprising companies.

Excellent pressing. Excellent sound - whatever the source (I suspect analog) it's a very present, clear and warm sound that suits the music very well. I a way, records like this are far more interesting than another reissue of well tread material, and so I'm pleased to give this one 4 doobies and recommend the trip back 40 years.

WHITE HILLS H-P1

I have a fondness, or maybe even a passion, for space rock bands like White Hills, even considering bands that might otherwise be mis-classified as metal, like Pelican, Gnot, Red Sparowes and others, as part of the cosmic rock camp.

Just released on a beautifully pressed 2 LP set, H-P1 is a highlight of the year, and not just because it comes in such a well done package (the cover printing, colored vinyl, the whole thing is just really cool), it is a great, great record that bridges the psychedelic sixties, the fusion era Mahavishnu type genre, and the nu-metal ethic in a very compelling way. Closer to Mogwai, I suppose, more psych and out though, more cosmic in their vision as the pieces stretch out and build, a trasportation vehicle, a gate to fantastic visions. If I still did acid, this would be the one.

Actually, it should probably come with a tab sheet. Just kidding.

If you want one hell of a journey that has the feeling of being a modern piece but still, someplace you feel you have been to long agao, this is a trip worth taking.

A big five doobies. I think I paid about $18 for mine. A bargain. Up there on my list of 2011 revelations.

Black Market Clash reissue on Drastic Plastic

This may be the overlooked gem of the Clash catalog. Black Market Clash, here reissued by the excellent Drastic Plastic record on a 180g vinyl 10" platter that reproduces the Epic original straight down to the labels, features B- sides, dub mixes and the odd alternate on an EP that proves that more often than not, the best Clash was the B-side Clash.

Suffice to say - this is a fine reissue, that betters the rather mediocre sound and pressing of originals, and is a record that rocks straight through with a faithful remastering that has a clarity and depth not found on the original pressings. A major upgrade and a real keeper. A fantastic artifact of a pivotal period in music, from the pivotal band who were, at that moment, the best rock band in the world.

Highly recommended. Five doobies, and more. Limited press run that won't be around for long.

So far, Drastic Plastic has done the first Clash, Give 'Em Enough Rope, and this. Can we hope for London Calling (the Music On Vinyl reissue is merely ok) and even Sandanista? More likely Combat Rock, I'm guessing. Take them as they come.

MUSIC MATTERS ELVIN JONES 'GENESIS' - Best Music Matters so far!!

Just announced as coming in July, so I'll give my thoughts on the new Music Matters 45 vinyl of Elvin Jones "Genesis", from the test pressing shown in the picture on the left.

In a word - this is AWESOME. Without a doubt, this is the best sounding Music Matters reissue to date, and that is saying a lot in such distinguished company.

First - a note to Hoffmanites. There is ECHO on this record - yes!! Artificial echo!! Like they did in the mid 70's and such! So go crazy obsessive right now and get over it.

There's nothing Music Matters have done that sounds anywhere remotely like this one. Elvin positively thunders all over it. I've never heard him so powerfully rendered on record. The impact of his kick drum is physically tangible, and there has been no unfortunate attempt to take the sizzle off his cymbal work (and Elvin knew cymbals better than anyone). Gene Perla's bass is just so powerful and present, and tight, and full. It has a real bass power like no other Blue Note. And that three horn front line!

When I put on Side 1, opening with Frank Foster's alto flute solo, my 6 year old daughter came down two flights of stairs and stood in front of the speakers, transfixed, without saying a word.

Any record that can pull a six year old so totally under it's spell is a rare achievement.

I can't say enough good things about "Genesis" - you just simply have to get past any false notion that Blue Note in the 70's is in any way lesser than the grandpa stuff from the 50's and early 60's. Compared to the good, but rather staid and straight ahead "Putting It Together", "Genesis" is by light years a superior record.

I totally get the Music Matters model. mix it up with a fair bit of "classic" 50's and early 60's stuff to play to the old white male audience that stopped evolving musically around 1965 (if they ever really evolved at all), and throw in some more advanced material but of a very 'classic' nature, timeless early avant garde Blue Notes such as Point Of Departure, Inner Urge, Out To Lunch, and so on.

That's all to the good. It gets some stuff that the "base" probably wouldn't otherwise go for and expands the horizons, without going to far out. no one else would have the courage to do these titles.

The downside is that, of the artists that conservative base thinks of as being "out", like Sam Rivers, Andrew Hill, Elvin Jones, Larry Young etc., the titles are their most conservative - and not necessarily their best. Fuchsia swing Song is a great record, but Contours is much better. Point of Departure is impossible to argue against, yet Judgement and Smokestack are IMO superior. Unity may be a classic, but Peace On Earth is ultimately more satisfying. And on it goes, even into the 'staple' Blue Note artists - early Turrentine, for example, well mined by Classic, Analogue Productions and Music Matters - is nowhere near later stuff like Common Touch, or his CTI material. Turrentine simply didn't become a fully formed player until after Blue Note. Later Horace Silver is similarly more advanced and satisfying - In Pursuit of the 27th Man, for example, or Serenade To A Soul Sister. Wayne Shorter's best Blue Note is "Schizophrenia", but just the title may hit too close to home for the Hoffman forum types.

There are even some odd choices in the premium reissue business, again, presumably aimed at satisfying the conservative old guy limitations - Art Blakey's all time stone classic "Mosaic" is nowhere to be found, yet the rather weak "Like Someone In Love" is slated for reissue soon.

Yet here we have "Genesis" - and it stands out like a beacon, it is glorious, it transcends any limiting definition, it is essential.

Order it now. It will be the reissue of the year, and it will sell out fast.

Now - Joe and Ron - how about looking into "Polycurrents" and "Coalition" as well? Keep digging into the 70's Blue Note. It's sadly neglected and there are gems there that far exceed anything BN did before. Like "Genesis".

While I'm showing some test pressings of Music Matters material, I hope I'm not breaking any confidence by turning to the Music Matters 45 vinyl of Art Blakey's "Indestructible". Since I mention "Like Someone In Love" already, with a bit of mild disrespect as I consider it an inferior title ( "Mosaic" would have been a hugely better choice) I think it fair that I whet a little Blakey appetite for what may be his finest hour on record ( or 40 minutes or so, anyways) - "Indestructible".

If you want to hear thunder and lightning, look no further than the opener "The Egyptian". Blakey drops bombs, and there is a Curtis Fuller trombone solo that has so much color and tonal edge that it almost pops the left speaker. Hoffman's fear of high end cymbal sizzle is fortunately nowhere to be found here - Blakey's cymbals are sizzling hot, rightly so.

I'll have more on "Indestructible" when it gets nearer to release, but suffice to say at this point that "Indestructible" in many ways marked the end of a certain period for Blue Note, is a high point both for the label and for Blakey himself, was a new starting point for Lee Morgan and a point of departure for Wayne Shorter, and will definitely be a high point for Music Matters.