A Tale of Two Blue Notes
We were quite interested in those two Curtis Fuller Blue Notes from the same seller. Look at this one: Curtis Fuller, The Opener, Blue Note 1566. This was listed as a “rare mono pressing,” which it may be, but it still a pressing from the 1970s or 1980s with the United Artists labels. We’ve seen these often in the $20-$30 range. This one sold for a pretty whopping $91.10. A new pricing trend or just a creative listing and a gullible buyer? You make the call. Perhaps someday this UA pressings will be worth hundreds or thousands. You never know, perhaps this is a good investment. I’d rather pay $500 or so for the original, but that’s me. Speaking of which . . . from the same seller came: Curtis Fuller, Volume 3, Blue Note 1583. This one looked to be an original pressing in VG++ condition for the record and M- for the cover. It sold for $500. We’ve seen this one sell for more than $1,400 before, so that’s quite a comedown. Karma?
i also like the Mono United artist pressings… if you can’t have the original, the mono U.A pressings come close, in the sense of, they are mono, have the original front and back cover( only the adres on the bottom of the back cover is different… But 90 dollars….pfffoe…
Yeah,I’m a fan of the mono U/A pressings,too.I find the sound to be pretty good,overall. I think people-perhaps some of the “newer” collectors-are finding the UA issues nearly as impossible to find as the originals! In which case,it matters little what you’d “rather” own:you buy what you can find(and afford).
The UA pressing fill that gap nicely,I’d say.
It was always kind of a miracle to me, why UA turned back to almost originally looking covers and labels after the very unique styling of Liberty.
But the UA pressings are definitely nicer than Liberties. But does anyone know, if there were only certain records being pressed and up to what quantities?
Would this explain why ebay item 120728667728 is listed at $395? Its a UA pressing although described as mono its actually stereo…
I’ve never seen this record as UA pressing. Altogether it’s a mixed bag, because the jacket has the Liberty logo.
I would say, that the seller doesn’t have an idea what the record’s really worth.
I couldn’t see where it says mono.
Katharsis,
You have me thinking about UA pressings vs Liberty. I have somewhere between 15-20 UA pressings and a good bit more libertys but I’m pretty sure I don’t have one of each to do a direct comp of. I’ve found that the UA pressings have less Bass and are a bit brighter. They do have a bit less surface noise as well. Do you find this or something else? Anyone else have an opinion, I’ve never put much thought into which are the best late pressings.
To be honest, if I can’t get the original or a pre-liberty pressing I go for an audiophile repress. They are usually priced around the same, and don’t carry much collectible value but I love the sound of most of them.
Katharsis: yes this was my feeling also. I cant see anyone paying that sort of money for a UA pressing…
I have a UA pressing of Blue Train. The only pressing I had of that title since I was 14 (some 30 years ago!). I always held it up as one of the better recording sin my collection and could not fualt the sound.
Last month I got hold of a NY pre-liberty pressing and was very nicely surprised to enjoy the different and overall better presentation it offered. Now I go to the NY pressing every time.
So in summary I guess what I am saying is that post-liberty pressings can be nice, but dont hold up to the originals… Not that I have heard so far anyway.
I don’t have any UA pressings, but I cannot imagine that they are better than Liberty pressings. Liberty mono pressings are almost as good as NYC pressings. I have Kenny Burrell, Midnight Blue, as a NYC pressing (original) and as a Liberty mono pressing. Both sound almost the same. Only earlier deep groove pressings are significantly better.