Comments on: Clap Hands, Here Comes Vinyl!

By: Nyles

Nyles — Fri, 10 Jun 2022 19:36:25 +0000

When I’ve compared different pressings to AAD CD’s the CD usually is just as good or better as regards stereo versions. Particularly compared to BN stereo albums released in the NY label era. Mono LPs sound different but not necessarily better. I’ll always enjoy vinyl, but it’s just overhyped at this point. Too high of prices. It’s hip, lots of money from the middle aged crowd that wouldn’t have been collecting 15 years ago thus inflating prices. Not to mention Discogs’ impact on inflating store prices.

I agree with Clifford Allen that CD is just much better for certain types of music. Electronic, metal, long pieces.

Vinyl is great, jazz vinyl is the “cool” thing. CD’s can also be pretty incredible too.

By: James Allen

James Allen — Thu, 02 Jun 2022 18:14:06 +0000

I do buy some modern LPs if that’s the only format available and I really want to hear the music but I must admit to feeling a bit uneasy about digital recordings being issued as LPs.Once in the digital medium it seems more sensible to issue the music as a CD.
Analogue recordings or expertly remastered analogue recordings sound much better on LP,the music’s natural home! Unfortunately modern analogue recordings of improvisation are few and far between and relatively expensive.

By: Clifford Allen

Clifford Allen — Thu, 02 Jun 2022 15:59:15 +0000

A lot of music just doesn’t work on vinyl, though, let alone exist in the format. Morton Feldman or Christian Wolff, and by extension ultra-minimal and lowercase composition — those pieces are just so spare or have dynamics that CDs/digital are meant for. Glitch-based electronics, also long form pieces that stretch out over an hour, I prefer that kind of thing on CD or digital.

And there’s just a ton of music recorded/released post-1985 that isn’t going to sound or present right on an LP, or that I don’t want to pay $50 to “upgrade” because someone decided they wanted it in some deluxe vinyl version for record store day. I’ve still got thousands of CDs and I’m fine with them (probably do need to do a cull) in principle, even if my first pull of the day is usually an LP.

By: JVK

JVK — Thu, 02 Jun 2022 02:02:23 +0000

As for why vinyl, add me to the “my sentiments exactly” column. Thanks!

By: Clifford Allen

Clifford Allen — Wed, 01 Jun 2022 18:49:13 +0000

yep, that is a great blog. His sports writing (and I’m not a sports fan really, beyond cycling, which I know is one of Williams’ areas too) is also well worth reading.

By: James Allen

James Allen — Wed, 01 Jun 2022 18:02:19 +0000

I agree completely with your comment about Richard Williams Clifford,one of the greatest music writers ever in my opinion.
His blog the blue moment .com is definitely worth a look,not all jazz by any means but always interesting and beautifully written.

By: Clifford Allen

Clifford Allen — Wed, 01 Jun 2022 17:17:45 +0000

Alun Morgan indeed. And of course Richard Williams, one of the absolute best ever.

I feel like I’m often tied somewhat to a device when listening (and when not). If there was one thing I could change about myself, that would be it. Glad you could get some unfettered listening time to a classic album — that Jean Dubuffet artwork on the cover always seemed like an odd companion to the music on the LP. I wonder if it was chosen as a tie-in with the 1962 MoMA exhibition, his first major US retrospective and an art world hit at the time.

We’ve been battling mild but annoying COVID in the household and at home/not going anywhere for a week. I asked my wife if I could throw on vinyl in the main room (she’s more of a tv/movie watcher when she’s ill) and chose Page 1 by the George Otsuka Trio (recently upgraded to a first pressing). I was surprised to hear her say she really liked the record a lot as it was playing, which doesn’t often happen with jazz albums… and it is a really lovely record, especially his drumming. I have to wonder what Al might pick were he to go through my shelves, or any of ours?

By: Mike Davis

Mike Davis — Wed, 01 Jun 2022 14:16:55 +0000

As a UK resident, I completely agree with your observations about Benny Green and those liner notes. To exclude mentioning the accompanying musicians is so ill-mannered. As a one-time friend of another (sadly deceased) British sleeve note writer, Alun Morgan (who wrote over 3,000 liner notes) I must point out that we did, and still do, have some quality jazz writers who compensate for the likes of Mr Green.
BTW – Thanks for your column, which is always informative and very readable.
Mike Davis (Shropshire, England)

By: Art Klempner

Art Klempner — Wed, 01 Jun 2022 13:55:52 +0000

What a great post Al ! I would have written sooner but I fell off my chair while reading about “listening to Jazz”…I was not prepared for your foray into non Blue Note recordings. So I’m hopeful that you might change the blog’s name to ; “Jazz collector and listener.com” …. the sheer enjoyment of this art form is not determined by the label it was recorded on.

By: gregory the fish

gregory the fish — Wed, 01 Jun 2022 13:08:41 +0000

“I like to listen to my records. Period.” <- This is it. This is all there ever needs to be. Kudos.

As far as pretentious and shitty liner notes, Benny Green is tough to beat. Sometimes he can barely even focus on what he is supposed to be writing about. See his word salad on the back on Joe Pass' otherwise amazing "Virutoso". Rivaled for pretentious stupidity only by Ira Gitler, imo. Example: Charles McPherson's "The Quintet/Live!" on Prestige. Such nonsense.