Explorations in Jazz Vinyl
I had some time a few evenings back to sit down and listen with The Lovely Mrs. JC. With my wife, I know I can’t go wrong with Bill Evans and I put one of my favorites, Explorations, on the turntable. The music was great of course, but there were some ticks and some static in my copy that were just a bit annoying. To me. The Lovely Mrs. JC didn’t care, or didn’t notice. Anyway, my immediate thought was this: I have to get a better copy. But you look on eBay and you’re easily talking $500 or more for a clean copy. I can afford it, but I still have some very old and some would say very dated notions about how much I am willing to pay for a record.
That was one issue. The second issue was about instant gratification. What if I wanted to listen to Explorations this weekend and didn’t have a copy? Now, I do have 8,000 or so other records I could listen to instead, or even a copy of Explorations on CD, or I could listen on Apple Music. But the mere possibility that I may not have that particular record to place on my turntable for even a moment was nagging at me. I can’t be the only one out there with this particular tic. So, I did a quick search on Google and found a copy of Bill Evans Explorations on Amazon produced by a company called WaxTime.
I realize I run the Jazz Collector site and should be an expert on all things jazz vinyl but, as careful readers know, I have always considered myself to be more of an enthusiast than an expert, although having written more than 2,000 posts during nearly 20 years, and having perused untold tens of thousands of records on eBay, I will admit that to a certain amount of expertise that has creeped into my being. Nevertheless, I was not aware of WaxTime and, based on the listing on Amazon, for about $20 and the promise of 180 gram vinyl and an extra track from the original session, I figured I had nothing to lose and I could even have a clean copy within days.
Right on time, it arrived and that evening I sat down once again with The Lovely Mrs. JC. Not telling her what I was about to play, I put the record on the turntable. It was not what I had hoped for. The sound quality wasn’t great, the pressing was in stereo, the bass was really pumped up and not all that clear. The piano seemed to be pumped up as well, and somewhat shrill, to the point where The Lovely Mrs. JC picked her head up from her iPad and said, “That’s not Bill Evans, is it?” And I replied that, indeed, not only was it Bill Evans, it was quintessential Bill Evans, captured at the height of his creativity.
Only then did I do a search of WaxTime records to discover that the pressings do not come from the original masters, but from CDs. I could have listened to the CD and had a better experience. So, I guess I’m back in the market for an upgrade to my copy of Bill Evans Explorations. Is my experience with WaxTime fairly typical among the Jazz Collector audience, or is it just me be being particularly picky and privileged because I have a collection full of original pressings?
If I’m not mistaken, Wax Time is one of a number of companies (DOL and Doxy are two others I see often) that “reissue” music that is in the public domain because the copyright has expired under European copyright law, which is 50 years for performances. They are crap pressings of mp3s.
I’ve never heard any WaxTime pressings so I can’t speak to that, but I’ve had good luck with original UK, Dutch and Japanese pressings of Riverside albums from this era. Almost always better quality vinyl and in some cases superior sound to the U.S. pressing.
Silly question – did you clean your original Explorations before putting it on the TT? If not…
As your experience confirms, Wax Time is crap like Joe L mentioned. It’s one of those bogus re-issue labels that advertise 180 gram vinyl as a way to confirm their audiophile bona fides. Just another rip off bootleg company.
you can listen to the music, or you can have an audiophile experience.. the first time i (1970) heard
coltrane, led zeplin, bill evans, david bowie was on the cheap radio of my parents.. and i was mesmerized
it’s the music that does it..
i have originals, cd’s, spotify, japanese, tone poet, you tube, .. for appreciating the music it is not interesting
i listened to nina simone on a iphone at night in a tent on a mountain in switzerland and i was in heaven
i would not like to mix my freaky – i-must-have-an-original-because-the-bass-is-so-deep-on-this-one-and-what-about-the-dynamics, with gettin’ moved by perfect music making
if you mind two pops and clicks on your record, …you forgot about the music
I agree with Joe L. I have a couple of wax time pressings and they sound pretty poor. Like a smear of vaseline over the whole sound . Doxy pressings are even worse , 180 grams of rubbish.
OJC reissue pressings sound much better.
DOL, Wax Time, Doxy are the spawn of Satan. Infuriates me when I go into a record shop to find this junk on the shelves – and being flogged for £20
hell yes, maarten!
Yeah, echoing what others are saying, WaxTime, Doxy, etc., are bootlegs to be avoided.
I do mind scratches and the clicks that result but if it’s a pressing issue not likely to be improved upon, I don’t really care.
You can always get a SugarCube to get rid of the clicks and pops…
https://sweetvinyl.com
I have the first generation, which I think is great. Unfortunately the price has gone way up since I purchased mine…
the sugarcube is an interesting idea, but i’d rather have clean vinyl, i suppose.
i mind noise, but one or two single pops? no, that never stopped anyone sensible. and you can’t even really avoid that entirely.
Horrid things those booties
I tried one a while back and it never went on the TT again.
Mr. Fish,
I agree. I bought it at a much lower price point to rip 78s and 45s (and a few lps). It does the job better than other things I’ve tried. For me it was worth it for the rips; the de-clicking is a bonus.