Riffing on Kind of Blue
I’m at my home in The Berkshires and it is snowing. Will winter ever end? Other than my work and my records, there is also eBay to keep my pre-occupied, to wit: For some reason I was watching three copies of Miles Davis, Kind of Blue, Columbia 1355. I must have been doing so for a Jazz Collector post, such as this one, since I don’t have interest in the record for my own collection in that I am already in possession of three copies, and three copies of Kind of Blue is probably a more than somewhat reasonable number for any collection. Anyway, this first copy of Kind of Blue was a mono pressing with the six eyes logo and the white label and, if I were to be interested in a copy of Kind of Blue, it would be a promo pressing because that is one I do not happen to own. This would not have been the one, however, in that there were small scratches and, as described by the seller, “occasional light background noise,” a flaw that I am finding increasingly irritating as I get older, for some reason. The cover was also far from perfect and was graded in VG+ condition. The final price was $500, but not for me.
The second copy of Kind of Blue was also a promo copy with the white label and 6-eyes logo and this one would have probably been more to my liking, as the seller graded the vinyl as M- and the cover as VG+, although the seller was not very generous with his words, and not all that accurate either, referring to Kind of Blue as a “blues masterpiece,” which I guess is not completely inaccurate when you really get down to it, as the record is certainly a masterpiece and the word “Blue” is in the title. But it does seem a bit of a stretch nonetheless, don’t you think? In any case, this one sold for $585, which is not unreasonable at all if the record is truly M-, although it is still out of my personal comfort zone, particularly as a price for a fourth copy of any record.
Finally there was this copy of Kind of Blue, which was an original Columbia 8163 Stereo pressing. This one was listed in Ex condition for the record and the cover and sold for $255.10. In that Kind of Blue is, to my knowledge, the highest selling jazz album of all time, it would be interesting to know how many copies Columbia printed in that first mono run, in which the order of Flamenco Sketches and All Blues is reversed on both the cover and the label. I don’t suppose anyone reading Jazz Collector would have the answer to that question, or would you?
SO WHAT…..sorry but I couldn’t resist !
Love it Mr. Art. My sentiments exactly. First pressings possessions may be fine, however mineminemine obsessions can subvert the mind.
(Just my opinion now, coming from someone who’s selling it all off)
I was watching the white label one, myself. And like you, not sure why, as there are multiple copies on my shelves, as well! I don’t have an answer to your question, but I have noticed KoB’s eBay prices to be trending upward recently, and was thinking it was just me. Maybe not.
Very nice, Art.
Coincidentally I heard “So What” on streaming radio today. Really helped improve my mood at the time. I too have several copies, early pressings, both mono and stereo. Mono with reversed titles. I always buy this title (and a few others) whenever I see it. I know the FMV, and unlike other titles, the value for KOB is known to non collectors, thus a copy also has value in trades, barter, resale etc.
I still don’t have an original KOB for some reason. I’ve got the Classic Records reissue. Anyone interested in selling me an original mono? Seems like some of you have extras laying around 🙂
I have a question and would appreciate feedback. Since many LPs posted here date from the 1950s, would you expect a vendor to play-grade completely through each side for you? I recently encountered this for the first time from a prospective buyer of a M-/M- first-pressing of Miles Davis’s album “Cookin’.” Thank you for any help you can provide.
Whenever I sell a valuable LP I always playgrade the entire album.
I’ll play in it’s entirety any record I expect to fetch over $100. I do this to ensure there aren’t any issues not discernible by visual grading alone.
Hello Al,
Love the column and it’s a challenge to keep up.
And, yes, winter will end. Enjoy the country life!
(Is that what you wanted, Alfred. -Miles)
goeffrey – No I would not expect a “complete” playgrade but it sure is appreciated! I often wonder why sellers with expensive collectible LPs to sell sometimes just give a very basic visual grade for LPs in. A gamble for sure as a buyer. I mean if you expect big money back on a sale why not give it a spin?
But of course sitting by the speaker or playing an LP through with earphones listening for imperfections is very time consuming and maybe should be reserved for higher end LPs. I myself when I am in a store and checking condition I maybe generally spend about 5 minutes to check if an LP is good enough for me – it very seldom takes any longer. This is roughly what I do:
1. Check the LP visually. Soemtimes I use my iPhones flashlight since many stores have dim lights….
2. If it is deemed OK and have promise I put it on the TT and play from start each side.
3. If no problem I check between the soungs to get a feel for the background noise of an album.
4. I also play some latter part of each side to check for groove wear since it often is most prominent further in on an LP.
5. If there are any scratches or marks I try to play them through to see if they make noise.
Thank you, Mark, I appreciate the input. I will adopt that method.
Whenever I sell or trade a collectible LP I play grade the record. It’s only right to do so! I know that different audio set-ups make a difference so I try to note that to the buyer.
I also play-grade completely when I sell higher-end LPs.
Thank you everyone for sharing your experience in play-grading. I’m impressed with your knowledge and discipline.
A seller that sells a fair number of lps can’t play grade them all. For example, what I consider expensive someone else might consider inexpensive or vice versa. In this case what is the cutoff in value of an lp that gets a play grade? Also, what if the seller is selling 500 lps in a week: at 40 minutes of listening per lp that’s 20,000 minutes of listening, or 333 hours or, about 14 days. That’s just not going to happen for 40 hour work weeks. Finally, and I’ve raised this issue in the past, there are huge variations in equipment. Some buyers might think what I have in my playback system is overkill while others might think my playback system is junk. Of course, there is no accounting for how much surface noise two different people will find tolerable. When I sell I never play grade except to identify skips and other major issues. Goldmine only!