Comments on: Give Me Liberty . . . For a Lot of Money

By: Woody

Woody — Thu, 08 Jun 2017 21:39:43 +0000

rl1856 – The classic Blue Note “Sound” was created and refined through the years by Rudy Van Gelder. If you listen to the first NY non “P” sequentially they have the same RVG mastered ambience. I’ve compared original Mono DG 63rd St titles to their Mono Liberty “fake” 63rd St pressings that have a RVG stamp and the audio quality was far better than the later non RVG Mono United Artists releases. You just can’t go wrong with the Rudy Van Gelder stamp of approval.

By: Aaron

Aaron — Thu, 08 Jun 2017 17:49:23 +0000

The “ear” mentioned in that Kenny Burrell auction must be a typo or left over from a template.

By: rl1856

rl1856 — Thu, 08 Jun 2017 14:27:57 +0000

And a followup- Are the high prices for NY labeled Liberty reissues, or across all Liberty blue white pressings ? Also the linked Kenny Burrell is from a notable seller and includes the following in the description: “rvg, ear” If this is a Liberty pressing, why is an ear present ?

By: rl1856

rl1856 — Wed, 07 Jun 2017 22:52:23 +0000

RE: Blue Note Liberty Pressings.

Are the high prices for Liberty- VanGelder pressings, and are sellers making a distinction between VanGelder and non RVG pressings ?

How much of the phenomena may be due to new buyers responding to “Blue Note” without understanding pressing history ?

As a practical matter, is there any audible difference between a NY Plastilyte and non “P” pressing of the same title in the same condition, assuming both are RVG ?

I have long held the opinion that a clean later pressing often sounds much better than a poor first pressing. I have had great luck in acquiring mint Liberty pressings that sound wonderful. But I also agree that a clean first pressing possesses an audible quality that is hard to duplicate in later (re)pressings.

By: geoffrey wheeler

geoffrey wheeler — Thu, 01 Jun 2017 05:09:50 +0000

The Misterioso label mentioned above consists of four 12-inch bootleg LPs of recordings by Wardell Gray, Leo Parker, Al Haig, and others, with complete sessions from a well-known American jazz label, including alternate takes. The masters were taken to Italy where unequalized pressings were made. They were then sleeved and sold as such to another company in another country where they were put in printed jackets. To my knowledge, they have never been advertised and are not listed in any discographies for the respective artists. The sound is fine.

By: geoffrey wheeler

geoffrey wheeler — Wed, 31 May 2017 20:38:33 +0000

Thomas, you do what my son-in-law does. He shops stores, flea markets, and estate sales, and sells what he does not personally want. He does quite nicely with the re-sales. Thus, he finances record buys he wants with no out-of-pocket expense. I have only personally sold a few records: Charlie Parker with Strings ($100), a mint four-disc set of Prestige bootlegs on the Misterioso label ($150), an unknown 78 aircheck of Basie and Lester Young ($100), and a 78 E+ 1926 copy of Erskine Tate’s Vendome Orch. with Louis Armstrong: Static Strut/Stomp Off, Let’s Go ($950).

By: Thomas

Thomas — Wed, 31 May 2017 19:03:59 +0000

I’ve personally found some solace in the absurdity that Blue Note prices have been reaching online. Many of the BN records I’ve amassed over the years were later pressings or OGs in less than great condition, and are now going for collectible prices on eBay. That certainly helps decision making when an opportunity to upgrade comes around. And when I do come across a clean Liberty (or even UA) of a collectible title at a decent price, I jump on it. Most of the time I’ll auction it for 3-5 times as much and finance records I really want that way.

Re: WFMU, I went for early bird on Friday and for the last 2 hours on Sunday. Ran into sellers I knew, met some nice folks, and picked up a few nice pieces I’d been searching for. I also bought a decent amount of 2nd or 3rd pressings and some rougher OGs of records I already own or am not too interested in. Of the 30 or so records I got, I sold over 20 the following week, practically hedging the cost of the few I really wanted to keep. I’ve lost track of how many UAs or Coltranes on Impulse I’ve found for $15-20 and sold for closer to $50 in the past few years, but they start adding up when you’re going after clean original 1500’s and 4000s.

So (at least for me) there’s fun to be had digging for records one already owns and appreciates. And it definitely can’t hurt to be thrifty when embracing such an expensive hobby!

By: DaveS

DaveS — Wed, 31 May 2017 16:51:41 +0000

Agreed. My new rule of bidding thumb is that for anything in my presumed price range, it will close for twice of my max bid. I seem to be accurate 80% of the time.

By: JOK

JOK — Wed, 31 May 2017 16:35:53 +0000

The prices these BN’s are getting is just silly. Half the time, I don’t even like the BN music, and when I do, I find these so far out of my reach I don’t even bother contemplating a BN. I mean, when a record that isn’t even rare costs more than my entire stereo configuration, it’s time to shift focus. Personally, I like digging much better than auction watching, and I am always amazed I can find a valued record for less than $10, and when I mean a “valued record”, I am talking about my own personal holy grails. I find searching for Modes, Liberty, Riverside and Tampa labels gives me a great deal of satisfaction, and in these rarified times, that is as good as it gets.

By: Juancho

Juancho — Wed, 31 May 2017 05:17:48 +0000

Over the past year and a half (and with the research help of a lot of great resources, first and foremost this very website), I’ve acquired a lot of Liberty Blue Notes…in Stereo. It’s probably 4 or 5 to 1 in terms of Mono for a ratio of what I have in my collection. I’ve had some plans to start selling it on Ebay soon, and I’m going to be quite curious to what it fetches. I have no doubt I’ll make my money back and then some, but some of the things I found recently are just crazy. I didn’t think I’d ever see them on Mono, let alone in Stereo.