A few more of those dubious mono Japanese 200g Blue Notes:

 I have previously written critically on the new series from Disk Union in Japan of mono Blue Note titles on 200g vinyl. Quite a few comments received on that, questioning the sources used, even going so far as to quote remastering engineer Kevin Gray - who should know definitively - that the sources are truly the original RVG mono Blue Note tapes.

As with everything else on the internet, believe what you care to. It's all too easy to find flat out false claims online and it's populated with shills and phony experts, and even decent people trying to sell a dubious product in a very tough economic climate. Don't believe what you read online, believe what you hear.

I've been pretty clear - I find these records pretty good sounding, a tribute to the skills of Gray. But they are nowhere near the Music Matters series, and my ears tell me they are not sourced from true mono masters. Case in point - Sonny Clark's "Cool Struttin". This one has all the telltale signs of the RVG digital remasters of a decade ago. Deep, wide soundstage with plenty of room ambiance, and a thinness on top and lack of power that reeks of a fold-down of a digital file. Nowhere near as good as the Classic Bernie Grundman mono, challenged though that series was (through no fault of Grundman) by an inferior cutting chain.

On the other hand, the recent Joe Henderson "In 'N Out" is much better, and while still nowhere near the Grundman Clasic monos (that were sourced from true Blue Note mono masters), on it's own it stands up fairly well. And it's a great record, not part of the Music Matters series.

Let's be fair, though. These are by far the most expensive 33rpm product out there - by a wide margin. Upwards of $50-60 plus shipping. They should be FABULOUS - awesome - mind boggling. And they are fairly ordinary at best. I don't blame Kevin Gray at all - in my business, I have lots of situations where a client wants a job done and it's not anywhere near optimal conditions - often not right at all, and I have the choice to stick to my standards or to leave the money on the table, knowing there are plenty of others who will gladly take the money and do the job, often not as well as I could. Gray has done the best possible here.

These are for collectors to own, frame, and never listen to. Make your decision accordingly.

POSTSCRIPT: I listened to the Classic Records pressing of the mono Donald Byrd "Fuego" right after listening to the Japanese Joe Henderson.  Much as some wankers like to jump all over Grundman's Classic mono Blue Notes, the Byrd blows the Henderson away with a huge walking bass sound that is just so right, that sense of space Grundman does so well, and the punchiness and vibrancy of mono that just comes strutting through. The Japanese monos sound two dimensional, weak, and lifeless by comparison.