I found the most DYNAMIC record I've ever heard! + VCLT from viewers

[@timkimware3537]

Hah! I just snagged this LP in great condition on Ebay and... You're so right! It seriously kicks *ss. Thanks so much, Michael, for giving this amazing LP a shoutout and I hope all's going well for you in Colorado Springs. I hope you find the time to make the occasional video, as your recommendations etc. transformed my classical collecting. Take care & good luck!

[@saltech3444]

Your reaction to the percussion on the Basie album reminds me of a recent experience I had. I was listening to "Driva Man" from the Freedom Now Suite of Max Roach, the clear RSD pressing of 2022. This track consists of a recited poem about slavery and surviving the "driva man" (slave driver). Every now and again Max Roach smashes a drum really loudly during the track, presumably to represent the whip. When I listened to this track a couple days ago, I could hardly believe it was recorded sound. The drum whacks were just so loud and in the room. And given the meaning behind it, it was quite hair-raising too.

[@MrRom92DAW]

About a decade ago another collector sent me a short sample of a private recording of the count Basie band, dating back to about 1961 if I recall… it was one of the most astounding recordings I’ve ever heard. Simply mic’d stereo, all tube electronics, straight to 2 track tape… Super dynamic and lively and there was tons of atmosphere, not just from the band but also the big glitzy Hollywood party they were performing at! I thought it had some serious potential for a wide release. Unfortunately I was never able to get put in touch with the collector that he got the copy from.

[@RickMolinaro]

Started buying just about every Pablo record I see at record shops since watching Chad Kassam's KZbin video on them. Found a copy of this one in October and felt the same way you did when I played it. Don't sleep on the Pablo label - they are some of the best sounding pressings in my collection. Not sure about everyone else, but I consistently find these for no more than $5.00.

[@poetryonplastic]

Really excited to explore more of the label.

[@michaelkaplan22b]

Been buying these for 25 years. Norman Gantz hit on "late career" recordings of the greatest 20th century jazz musicians.

[@davidchan8108]

Thanks Michael. Try Ravel Alborada del Gracioso by Reiner/CSO, hidden in album Debussy Ibéria, RCA Living Stereo LSC2222, in print at Acoustic Sounds by RKS. First reissued by Classic Records earlier in both 33 and 45 (both BG). I remember the late HP (TAS) once said it’s the most dynamic recording he heard.

[@chrisl5156]

Not a big fan of big band music, but I listened to the Count Basie record on iTunes and it really does sound great. Also, just fyi, Google translate can read Japanese characters including Kanji and translate to English. Quite amazing really.

[@simonossitt2541]

Hi Michael,, just had to stop by to say a big THANK YOU. A minty copy of Me and You arrived from Japan today. You are 100% correct, it sounds wonderful. I have a ton of Pablo's, almost all very good, but this is outstanding. Those drums, particularly on Mr Softie, hit you in the chest hard, wow. So thank you, keep up the good work.

[@hifitommy]

hey Michael, Nivico is a JVC brand, there are some Nivico stereo components. i just realized it's derived from Nippon Victor Company. speaking of the Telarcs, my favorite Pictures at an Exhibition is by Maazel and the Cleveland on Telarc. others to look for are Ein Straussfest by Erich Kunzel, Big Band Hit Parade, also Kunzel but a host of other great jazz artists, and California Project by Papa Doo Ron Ron, a Beach Boys music spectacular with one or two of the Beach Boys on it as well. the group used to play this music at Disneyland. ....hifitommy (Jimmy Kaplan knows me well.)

[@anahatatutu]

Oooh! NHOP is the very next one in the Pablo series. I have that recording of Nocturnes. I only played the piece in my youth orchestra. I don't think it has been done in Tucson. Great piece! ... We'll miss you this season, Michael.

[@michaellourie4252]

Holy Crap!! that big band hit was amazing...I jumped out of my seat!! Great video. Thank You. No vinyl on ebay and no US copies for sale on discogs!! I was able to scored a nice German copy. Eager to hear it on my stereo!! Thanks for the tip!!

[@heifetz6382]

Nice selection of newly received LPs. Milstein's Prokofiev recordings of the two violin concertos in stereo are hors concours! The first concerto is particularly fantastic. My favorite pressing is a French one: Columbia CCA 1089, better than the Angels and EMI SXLP 30235! Unfortunately I don't own the original edition: Columbia SAX 5275 - very expensive! By the way, your pronunciation of Milstein's name is absolutely correct!

[@jfm0830]

After watching your video I was compelled to put on my Mint - copy of "Me and You", which sounds as good as any modern day pressing. Even knowing the passage you were describing in "Moten Swing", it still startled me a bit and made me sit back in my chair. The drums are often like a gut punch. You can clearly hear all of the instruments interacting to make this incredible wall of sound. The follow up to this block buster song is their beautiful, soft and subtle rendition of "She's Funny That Way. I love how you can often plainly hear Freddie Green's acoustic rhythm guitar, right down to hearing the detail of the vibrating guitar strings on the louder passages. I have 90 Pablo titles and I find it interesting how the engineers at Pablo always seemed to be able to get a quite realistic piano sound especially vs. RVG. I know you say you are not so much a fan of Big Band. I've got another one you may really like. If you haven't heard it, I highly recommend you try out The Syd Lawrence Orchestra - "Big Band Spectacular !" on Chasing the Dragon Records. Not too easy to get, but worth the hunt. It is a 2 disc set which features the same session on both discs. One LP is cut Direct-to-Disc and the other LP is a version which is a 24 Track Mixdown To ½" Tape @ 30 Ips. The sound is simply stunning and you can clearly hear all of the instruments as they are playing together to create this beautiful sound. One of the best things about the performance is the Syd Lawrence Orchestra. They were were an actively performing English big band orchestra. I have about a dozen D-2-D big band records from the 70's and 80's and they often tend to sound overly tentative. No one wants to make a mistake and the session men sometimes are accomplished players, but not necessarily in the big band genre. So they lay back and play it safe. Not so with this LP. From the first track the Syd Lawrence Orchestra swings for the fences and really leans into it. There is a real sense of joie de vivre in their performance. The session reminds me of many classical LPs in that you hear the musicians turning over their sheet music between numbers. I am a big fan of your work. I really enjoyed your contributions to the recent livestream about the Origin Source Series with Sidney Meyer.

[@analogueanorak1904]

Hi JFM,I’ve also got the same Syd Lawrence record and was thinking of recommending it too. I must admit despite it being great I always feel it’s a shame they put Sing Sing Sing on first as it’s such a hard track to follow. If you want the motherload of all D to D jazz for me it has to be For Duke I’ve done a video on it if you’re interested. I’ve only recently got going on KZbin and it shows but it sounds like you might enjoy. If you are based in the states there is another legendary big band recording which is on London records and much easier to get in US than in the UK which is Ted Heath Swings in Stereo it’s legendary because of the link with the Decca classical music stereo team and equipment involvement, recorded in Kingsway Hall and recorded by Ken Wilkinson and Arthur Lilley using the same microphones they used on the Decca tree for recording classical music. I’m still trying to track down an early copy myself as it’s meant to have a gloriously powerful tubey Big Band sound that’s unbeatable.

[@jfm0830]

​@@analogueanorak1904 Hello analoganorak1904. Thanks for the comment and your recommendations. I was not familiar with either one, although I do have several LPs by Ted Heath. I shall keep an eye out for both of them. I watched and enjoyed your For Duke video. I too like the earlier Duke the best, and the Blanton-Webster years are my favorite. I have several of the other LPs you spoke about such as Duke's Big 4 and Claire Teal b/w Syd Lawrence. I also love the Analogue Productions version of Masterpieces by Ellington. When I returned to vinyl in 2018, I wanted to try just one audiophile LP and I chose that one. Big Mistake! Now I can't stop. As for your comment about Sing, Sing, Sing as the lead off track, at first glance the location surprised me a bit. I figure they did that to avoid problems with the wide dynamic range. Putting it in the outer grooves allowed them to maximize the dynamic range they were able to capture on disk.

[@analogueanorak1904]

@@jfm0830 Hi JFM glad you liked the video, did you find the Claire Teal album a little bit of a let down compared with BBS? For me I struggled to stop mentally comparing with Ella for the whole album and I felt they didn’t quite get the vocal balance right despite the awesome microphone they used for CT. I’ve nearly finished my next video which is another classical then will start working on the next Ellington. It will likely be either a deep dive into Newport 56 or an overview of pros and cons of Blanton/Webster options for listening from the 78’s through the French RCA boxsets and the issues about the reprocessing. I love Masterpieces and have the AP as well as a very well survived original but likely will not do a video on it as already covered well by others on KZbin. Regards Simon

[@jfm0830]

@@analogueanorak1904 Hi Simon. Oh my goodness yes RE: Claire Teal LP. Great sound, but she nor anybody else are Ella Fitzgerald and one should never expect them to be. Recipe for disappointment. Newport '56 is definitely worth a deep dive as the are so many back stories involving that performance. As for the Blanton-Webster years I have a few LPs and will try to find more. My best source for those is an RCA CD collection which unfortunately tends to be way over processed. I will look forward to whichever course you decide to take. Jim

[@analogueanorak1904]

@@jfm0830 Thanks Jim, thanks for the subscription and feedback. I try to get out content out once a month, so will soon start making a few notes and it usually becomes clear which one will work. I just wish I could talk fluently for as long as Michael without totally losing my thread, he did a epic huge overview about Decca records that would probably have left me bed bound for a week if I had ever tried that one!

[@cjay2]

Regarding that Saint Saens Symphony no. 3, the best reading is the original 1953 Mercury Living Presence recording, Paray, Dupree, Detroit. The 2nd movement will evoke tears, and the 4th (final) movement is beyond words. The bass on the 2nd movement also goes down to the fundamentals. Dupree and Paray were childhood friends and this recording is really the definitive reading of the work. Not too difficult to find in near-mint condition. It shows up occasionally. Love from Italia.

[@EddieJazzFan]

I never paid attention to the stamper numbers, but now I see how they can affect the sound on some of those RCA LIV Stereo records. I have two copies of the Fritz Reiner Respighi and they appear to look the same, but one sounds much better. After closer examination, the stamper numbers told the story. Now I have to check all my LSC records to see what the stampers are. The madness never ends LOL.

[@markblock8659]

I think "Tall Cotton" from "Basie Big Band" (also on Pablo, but from a few years earlier) is even more dynamic. Take a listen.

[@victorsvorinich1595]

Those Pablo Basie records are all great. The most famous, at least in my circle is 88 Basie Street. Farmers Market BBQ is great too. Chad reissued them, but originals can be had for a few bucks if you track them down.

[@jasonwhiton174]

Fun! I lived in Japan in the 80s and early 90s (great time to collect Sakamoto, YMO, Sylvian, etc). I was happy to see your new Japanese batch, but then I got even more excited to see that stack of RCA records! I've been collecting the original mono and stereo pressings heavily and it's cool to see those NM copies of so many faves, many of which I'm still looking for. Don't you think the golden age of RCA classical album covers would make a great Taschen art book? I wish someone would do it.

[@poetryonplastic]

Agreed, they need a coffee table book along with the Mercury's

[@sully1296]

Ok, I bit and picked up a minty copy. Count Basie delivers the goods and the music is enjoyable. There are some excitable drum hits that strike fast and punch you in the face 😂. A demo disc no doubt! Thank you for the recommendation Michael!

[@fantasyoverture]

Ooh as a diehard Basie fan I'll definitely be on the lookout for that one, I enjoy his stuff on Pablo. Also it's funny that you mention that track, Moten Swing; there's two Count Basie-recorded versions of that tune I'm familiar with and both have that full-band hit 30 seconds in that startle the shit outta me. 1st is off his 1959 "Chairman of the Board" album, which is just a pretty good recording but a really iconic big band session. 2nd is off his awesome double LP of modern rearrangements of his 30s and 40s hits, "The Count Basie Story" (1960/61?), which, like this Pablo record you're talking about, has a really impressive recording quality-to-cost ratio. Thanks for sharing Michael!!

[@poetryonplastic]

I'll have to hunt down the Count Basie story, seems like a good place to start to expand my Basie collection!

[@fredericmorris2931]

Agree there are so many great Pablos. Memories of Thelonious Sphere Monk/Milt Jackson in London has amazing sound. I think you will enjoy the Haitink Debussy recording you received, very fine performance.

[@retohofmann5878]

The Kubelik-London...ayyy...cool! The Gurrelieder by Schönberg are not that easy to follow, but worth a try. I have the same record by the way, with a nice booklet in mint condition. And you're absolutly right about Telarc...digital in its best. And all these Living Stereos...wow! Greetings from a jealous Swiss guy!

[@traviscoopermusic8812]

Had to share a story maybe only you can appreciate… a year or 2 ago, I managed to find an original 6 eye Shostakovich Concerto For Cello/Symphony #1-Ormandy album… the record is still sealed in the Columbia plastic! I’m STILL trying to bring myself to open it and enjoy it…but the idea it’s been sealed for 60 years… I know, records are meant to be played… but what a find! 😄

[@boogiewoogie9770]

Yep I have a few Basie live recordings and they all spectacular in regards to dynamics. Another that I love for it's dynamics and huge soundstage is Modern Jazz Quartet and Orchestra. Seek it out. Always cheap.

[@Muttonbird]

I'd like to see and hear your shootout of The Sea and let us know how it sounds on those Harbeths!!

[@RocknRonni]

Just got 88 Basie Street today. got a mint copy off of eBay. All I can say is OMG made me cry. thanks so much Michael, this record has made me so happy. video fourth coming

[@comeon9796]

Thanks for the hint, the Basie is extremely fantastic!

[@jasonarsenault3791]

Awesome video. Super cool you got the Japanese wax. Must be having fun digging into those.

[@deadquietvinyl]

In the last 6 months I’ve purchased several Japanese Telarc pressings. Basically any Telarc I find it the local store I buy. 🙃 About the Prince Igo, I had the opportunity to buy a spectacular recording of a Japanese boxset. It sounded special, with Balshoi etc. But, I did not had the guy to take the boxset at home and hear those voices under the current situation at the border man. I still think about it though… great video!

[@mikeroeder]

Seeing that London Dvorak, I'm curious about what version of Dvorak's Symphony No. 9 on vinyl you recommend. I bought a CD of it in the 90's-- an "EMI Laser" CD of it conducted by Carlo Maria Giulini. It happened to be the only CD of it at whatever store I purchased it back then. I have the Bernstein Columbia Masterworks MS 6393 which is okay, but I feel like there could be a better performance of it.

[@analoguecity3454]

I'm a huge fan of your channel, I find you are a very intelligent young man especially in our field! Without getting too "mushy" , I enjoy your videos and your work with HiFi/vinyl! Cheers buddy!🎉🍻🍷🥃

[@poetryonplastic]

Thank you!

[@jasonsmith2032]

I will now sell 3 copies of "Me and You" by Count Basie... 😅 no more on Discogs now!

[@Markymarkvinylnut]

I'm a huge gan of Pablo...beautifully recorded and the records sound amazing...oh, and they're cheap even here in the UK. Thanks Michael

[@jennifermartin8628]

YOU'RE IN L.A. now???? Cool! Let's go shopping! And yes, the Pablo Basie recordings are great!

[@flamingroove]

thanks for the shout out. I did run all those records through my degritter. now I'm gonna have to make anothe video before my 94 subscriber leave me. Just got my box fro Mazzy!

[@henrikbanghansen2069]

Your knowldge is amazing and your channel is good to watch. The pablo records are for the majority good sounding. The founder is no other than Norman Ganz. Analogue Productions have reisussed a few of the Pablos also in 45, they sound great as well. The jazz on the Pablo label is easy to listen to and a good start if you want to start listening to Jazz. Ella Fitzgerald, count basie etc. at the end of their career but sounding so good and still big stars.

[@retromusings]

Pablo records are great. I think they are under-rated. I have some jazz albums that I bought for next to nothing several years ago. They sound pretty good. Enjoyed watching this video

[@RocknRonni]

Thanks bro just picked up a near my copy off of eBay around 20 with shipping can't wait thanks so much for the recommendation always enjoy your videos

[@revelry1969]

I love those Telarc disks. Try star tracks. That sound stream system was good!

[@poetryonplastic]

I agree, they really approached the technology in the right way!

[@TheGlawton]

Hey Michael - I've been listening to your input on vinyl in a number of VC sites but not on your own - so I just subscribed. I have a question - do you know if the DG Original Source LPs will be repressed? I missed the Stravinsky and really would like one but perhaps I missed that boat. Thanks for all your knowledge - really appreciated.

[@damianp564]

I haven't seen anything by Dead End in many years. Very cool. Ever check out 80s Japanese metal/rock band EZO?

[@jackneidinger9544]

You want to hear drums? The debut album of the db's. Or the super snare throughout Zenyatta Mondatta.

[@michaelb8171]

I keep looking at those Harbeths. I'd probably have to get an older model. Have the 30.1 currently in a small office, but I bet the HL5 would work in my larger living room with a couple of RELs.

[@poetryonplastic]

Have you tried the 30.1/30.2 with a sub or two? I use a single t7x with my 30.2 and I think the combo works great for a full range system. A bigger room you could definitely go for a pair of Rels.

[@michaelb8171]

@@poetryonplastic oh yeah have the 5 in here. Has worked great.

[@DanRobin-t2f]

A wish, a request.. would be nice if you listed/wrote the names of these records in the description or comment section(or better integrated as text in the video stream), specially some of the Japanese records where it difficult to figure out the spelling of the band and/or the record name.. Thank you!

[@Drackleyrva]

I found the song on Spotify and checked it out---I jumped too!!!! Wow!

[@markh.9822]

The 3rd album is by Sachiko Nishida and the 4th album title is Black and Red Blues based on the cover

[@poetryonplastic]

Thanks! Seems Sachiko Nishida does a little bit of swing style stuff!

[@djapache2326]

What made you change from 30.2? And what is it you have now? Thanks!😊

[@victorsvorinich1595]

Pablo Records was founded by impresario Norman Granz. The name is an ode to his friend Pablo Picasso.

[@doodahdavesrecords4319]

How old are you? Just curious very informative you took me back as I played clarinet and my teacher played in the Radio City orchestra back in the 60’s

[@bobsoldrecords1503]

Nivico was actually Japan Victor Co. before they were called JVC

[@itsjim2875]

Oh Wow! Is that the Pure Fidelity Horizon turntable you have there? I've been seriously thinking of getting one.

[@poetryonplastic]

Good eye, yes I've had this table for about two years and I adore it!

[@itsjim2875]

@@poetryonplastic Thank you!

[@calvinwazoo]

I never knew about the "S" stamps on Living Stereo pressings and found that interesting, so I paused the video and went to check mine. I have three Living Stereo releases, all shaded dogs, but only one had an "S" stamp, it was a 10S for Prokofieff "Alexander Nevsky" by CSO/Reiner conducting. The other two I failed to see an S stamp, the numbers were etched, but on both I could see Bernie Grundman's mark. One is Finlandia LSC-2336 and the other Faust/Carmen LSC-2449. So did they only do the stamped runouts with the "S" runs for a limited time?

[@poetryonplastic]

The numbers like 10S, etc are only for the original pressings from the 50s/60s. Your Bernie Grundman pressings were done by Classic Records in the 90s and 2000s.

[@calvinwazoo]

@@poetryonplastic Thank you!

[@iamwoteveriwanttobe]

A bit of a hyperbolic opening statement there. 😉

[@analoguecity3454]

I think 45rpm records are the most dynamic I've ever heard! Imagine if they thought to cut double 45s back in my day, woohoo!😊😮

[@bradleykay]

Do you think there’s typically a noticeable sonic difference between the 1s, 6s, 16s, or 24s cuts on those Shaded Dogs?

[@poetryonplastic]

That seems to be the consensus of serious RCA collectors, but I havent done the comparisons myself as I don't typically have multiple copies of the same title.

[@YKsfo]

Bang on on Richter

[@notmanatee2445]

Any show tunes vinyl that's the most dynamic??

[@larryshaver3568]

i have Pictures at an Exhibition but in mono

[@audiotomb]

Dynamic range? Rock King Crimson Larks Tomgue is Apic I

[@larryshaver3568]

i know what you mean about Moten swing i have the album it was on originally

[@continentalgin]

You pronounced Richter's first name correctly. Congrats!

[@continentalgin]

That Copland record is great. I listened to it a lot when I was a kid in the late sixties. I still have it.

[@erickgreen2361]

What's the name of the song played for the intro?

[@poetryonplastic]

Plaster Zodiac by For Hours and Ours (local austin band active around 2008-2012. I used to see them play shows at a UT Austin student co-op back in high school)

[@erickgreen2361]

@@poetryonplastic Thanks been searching for them through Shazam but no dice

[@Muzik20]

The new Telarc reissues, especially that Firebird one, have been less than impressive, so the originals must be the good ones.

[@poetryonplastic]

I've also heard that from a few people.

[@Muzik20]

@@poetryonplastic Though I'm very careful and picky with my classical re-issues, only the recent Telarc and Clearaudio releases have disappointed me beyond all hope. CDs sound better than those. (...and surely you've seen what a Clearaudio of Argerich costs!).

[@diamond_marimba]

you've sold about 20 copies of the basie on discogs today, no joke

[@simonemurray1345]

It's wild how much of a following mentality there is with records. I guarantee atleast half never even listened to big band stuff. You see the same thing when people die. Now when the sellers catch on it'll be ridiculously overpriced and will just sit there. The downside of discogs.

[@tonydeniro284]

This record is not easy to find...0 on ebay, discogs, mostly from italy.

[@Tojazzer]

I have never liked Basie; so much schmaltz with that droning sax wall and Glenn Miller swing. No real jazz within a mile. This record is no different. The quality of the vinyl and engineering notwithstanding, I just can't make it through even half of one side. Sorry but he was the black Lawrence Welk.

[@AlanSenzaki]

Too much talk. Just show the records!

[@love2spinvinyl]

6 minutes into your video and I’ve had to pause it quickly to check Discogs for Count Basie, found one copy here in Australia and its VG+ $18aud +$12 postage. Its now on its way to me. Thanks for the recommendation.

[@arieraaphorst1998]

😒

[@love2spinvinyl]

@@arieraaphorst1998 ?