AudioNervosa
Music Ward => Album Reviews => Topic started by: tmazz on May 13, 2011, 10:03:36 PM
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Our friend Chad Kassem of Acoustic Sounds has purchased a record pressing plant and will soon be manufacuring his own high quality LPs. The first project to come out of the new plant will be a 200g audiophile reissue of Cat Stevens' "Tea for the Tillerman." It is due for release in mid-June but they are taking pre-orders now @ $30 a copy (feel free to get in line right behind me.) I own the MoFi UHQR version of this album and will be very interested in seeing how Chad's effort stacks up.
Sometime thereafter they will also be releasing LPs of Ben Webster's "Gentle Ben". I pre-ordered that one as well. :thumb:
Here is a short YouTube video about the whole process:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uby5-HinbGU&feature=youtu.be
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I'm really glad to hear about the new plant, Tom. But I can't say that I am excited by the debut title. Tea for the Tillerman has been reiussed a number of times already. It's hard to get pumped up about a record that I have bought on four other occasions. What's next? Another reissue of Aja? Please tell me it ain't so!
I really hope that Chad uses this as an opportunity to reissue titles that have been pretty much ignored in the reissue market and are generally hard to find on original vintage vinyl pressings. I know there's a business side of this as well and they need to produce runs that will sell, but as someone who funnels a large chunk of his discretionary vinyl buying income to Acoustic Sounds, I would like to see something different. Taking a title that was previously issued on a high quality 180g vinyl pressing and doing it again on their own label is a big non-starter for me and my money will stay in my wallet.
I would love to see reissues of some alternative and underground rock titles, for example, and I mean something other than Sonic Youth. Why not reissue some Throwing Muses LPs? Some of those albums are tough as nails to find. The Real Ramona is begging to be pressed on 180g vinyl. What about Butthole Surfers? Or Swans? I would snap up a 180g pressing of Children of God or The Great Annihilator in a cold minute. On the traditional side I think some Leon Russell albums would be welcome, as would Fleetwood Mac before Buckingham and Nicks. Who wouldn't want a nice audiophile pressing of Then Play On? There is so much great stuff out there that hasn't seen the light of day since its original release date. I would rather see some of that get pressed on high quality vinyl rather than another Cat Stevens record that world just doesn't need.
Note to Chad: the video was pretty cool but please spare us from another video with Fremer prancing about and singing out loud to the music. It absolutely made me cringe.
--Jerome
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I'd like to see re-issues where they took the original unmolested tapes and didn't add distortion and compression to an unbearable point... like Coldplay, Nirvana, etc. There is so much layering and 'creativity' added after the fact that it's tough to recognize the studio production as something produced by a human.
Recording engineers are making music based on what they think the future should be, to make their mark, rather than allowing the artist to make theirs... And all this is happening at a time when the music industry is struggling to stay relevant... which they aren't... but that's another digression...
In any case... Re-issues of good music from the 90's would be sweet... I'll sit over here and not hold my breath... because, like light bulbs, I'm in the minority on enjoying the quality of what is produced...
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Give me reissues of music from the 60s-90s that...
a) means something to me
b) I haven't already purchased 4 times already (think Beatles)
c) that offers a substantial improvement in sound quality
Hey, I'm a baby-boomer with disposable income, a 'my music' collectors mindset, and a desire to relive my youth via the music of those times. Surely I represent a vast market that is just marginally being tapped.
I'll give Chesky/HDTracks, Kassem/Acoustic, etc... a ton of credit for what they've already done, but there's lots more (I hope) to be had and far more effort needs to be spent on the original tapes and not just repackaging of what has already been repackaged several times.
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I'm really glad to hear about the new plant, Tom. But I can't say that I am excited by the debut title. Tea for the Tillerman has been reiussed a number of times already. It's hard to get pumped up about record that I have bought on four other occasions. What's next? Another reissue of Aja? Please tell me it ain't so!
I really hope that Chad uses this as an opportunity to reissue titles that have been pretty much ignored in the reissue market and are generally hard to find on original vintage vinyl pressings. I know there's a business side of this as well and they need to produce runs that will sell, but as someone who funnels a large chunk of his discretionary vinyl buying income to Acoustic Sounds, I would like to see something different. Taking a title that was previously issued on a high quality 180g vinyl pressing and doing it again on their own label is a big non-starter for me and my money will stay in my wallet.
Jerome,
I understand what you are saying about Tea for the Tillerman, but I paced my order for one for the most part because of the fact that it has been reissued several times before and I want to see what kind of chops this new plant has.listening to an album that I know well and have several other versions of will I hope give me some insight as to what we can expect out of this venture in the future. But if it wasn't the first thing out of the new plant I would have in all likelihood have just looked past it as well. (OK, my curiosity got the best of me. :roll:)
I do though think I understand part of what is going on with the re-re-issues. There has been a pretty good resurgence in vinyl over the last five or so years and therefore there a quite a few people out there who are spinning records now that did not have a TT when a lot of these titles were originally re-issued. And since most of the early re-issue titles were small limited edition runs many of them are unavailable to this crop of new users except at largely inflated collector prices. (Try to find a copy the Classic records reissue of Led Zepplin IV) So while some of us hard cord vinyl audiophiles grabbed these releases in there earlier incarnations, there is still a good amount of pent up demand for some of these titles from the new born-again vinyl lovers. So I can see from a business perspective why some of these tiles will be hitting the shelves yet another time.
That said I do think that Chad has really been on the forefront of bringing back a lot of lost gems, especially in the jazz and blues area. as I said earlier, one of his next releases will be Ben Webster's "Gentle Ben", something that has been scarce and demanding premium collector's prices for quite some time now. I don't know about you, but as far as I'm concerned if Chad needs to sell a bunch of over -released pop albums like Tea for the Tillerman in order to be able to bring us more Ben Webster and similar LPs, that's a tradeoff I'll make in a heartbeat.
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Give me reissues of music from the 60s-90s that...
a) means something to me
b) I haven't already purchased 4 times already (think Beatles)
c) that offers a substantial improvement in sound quality
Hey, I'm a baby-boomer with disposable income, a 'my music' collectors mindset, and a desire to relive my youth via the music of those times. Surely I represent a vast market that is just marginally being tapped.
I'll give Chesky/HDTracks, Kassem/Acoustic, etc... a ton of credit for what they've already done, but there's lots more (I hope) to be had and far more effort needs to be spent on the original tapes and not just repackaging of what has already been repackaged several times.
I agree with one exception - I would really like to hear what the new Beatles remasters would sound like on vinyl. As part of the remastering process the original tapes were converted to digital using the 192/24 format. While I am not a big fan of Redbook CD, 192/24 copies should sound exceptional.
I listened to library copies of the latest remastered CDs and chose not to buy them because I did not think that the CD represented enough of a sonic improvement over the CDs that I had to warrant laying out the cash. But vinyl copies of the 192/24 masters would be a different thing all together. I wouldn't buy them until I could confirm that they did indeed sound significantly better, but at least on a theoretical basis the potential is certainly there.
I keep hearing rumors that the project is in the works (look at all the recent Paul McCartney vinyl releases) and I'm just keeping my fingers crossed. [-o<
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Yeah Tom, I hate to admit it, but if the quality is good, I'd likely buy more Beatles albums as well.
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I do though think I understand part of what is going on with the re-re-issues. There has been a pretty good resurgence in vinyl over the last five or so years and therefore there a quite a few people out there who are spinning records now that did not have a TT when a lot of these titles were originally re-issued. And since most of the early re-issue titles were small limited edition runs many of them are unavailable to this crop of new users except at largely inflated collector prices. (Try to find a copy the Classic records reissue of Led Zepplin IV) So while some of us hard cord vinyl audiophiles grabbed these releases in there earlier incarnations, there is still a good amount of pent up demand for some of these titles from the new born-again vinyl lovers. So I can see from a business perspective why some of these tiles will be hitting the shelves yet another time.
While I agree that audiophile lables need to find ways to attract new listeners, I disagree that reissuing the same stuff over and over again is the way to do it. The market and demand for collectible vinyl is what it is. I have no sympathy at all for someone having to pay $200 for an OOP Classic Records reissue of Physical Graffiti, and apparently neither does Acoustic Sounds -- nor should they. No one took pity on me when I paid hundreds of dollars for a minty original Riverside pressing of Waltz for Debby. An original copy of Overseas by The Tommy Flanagan Trio recently sold for over $2,000 on eBay.
I just hope that Chad doesn't forget the customers who helped make his business successful. Reissuing the same records over and over again comes dangerously close to what people have long accused the major labels of -- milking a title for every last red cent it was worth and not really offering customers anything new.
That said I do think that Chad has really been on the forefront of bringing back a lot of lost gems, especially in the jazz and blues area. as I said earlier, one of his next releases will be Ben Webster's "Gentle Ben", something that has been scarce and demanding premium collector's prices for quite some time now. I don't know about you, but as far as I'm concerned if Chad needs to sell a bunch of over -released pop albums like Tea for the Tillerman in order to be able to bring us more Ben Webster and similar LPs, that's a tradeoff I'll make in a heartbeat.
I agree that Chad has done well with the Blue Note, Riverside, and Prestige reissues. I have bought a ton of them. Though I have to admit that I was a little disappointed with the Verve 45 RPM announcement. For the most part they are all titles that were issued on 45 RPM vinyl by Classic Records. That makes sense because of the acquisition, but I still think an opportunity was missed to put other Verve recordings on the table that have never been reissued. There's the Dizzy Gillespie Big Band sessions, or Lester Young's recordings for Verve, or Anita O'Day, or the Norman Granz jam sessions. There is a huge reservior of material that we have never seen on audiophile vinyl that could have made that list. I'm hoping they will expand the Verve offerings.
I don't believe for a second that a tradeoff is necessary. If you look at Analogue Productions releases over the years, there have been just as many jazz as rock releases, if not more, especially on 45 RPM LPs. I still enjoy and listen to rock, but I am spinning jazz and classical titles much more often. I have no idea what Chad's target demographic is, but it stands to reason that it is probably people in their 40s and 50s, who are at the height of their earning power and can afford to induldge their record collecting hobby with audiophile vinyl pressings. I would also suggest that many of these folks have musical interests that go well beyond rock.
Don't get me wrong, I really like a lot of what Chad has done with Acoustic Sounds and Analogue Productions. I'm definitely a fan and loyal, repeat customer. But no one is beyond critique.
--Jerome
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The cost to make an audiophile quality LP is <$5 each for 1000 units. 180g, audiophile process, 4 color shrink wrapped, poly sleeve, everything.
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Rich- I think this was the album Fremer brought to the Axpona show mid April, right? ( not Chapin ? as you thought ). It was the room with AMR electronics, monk audio phono, Dr feickert TT/ Lyra Helikon and you and Fremer were yackin' it up about professional trumpet playin'. He was saying something about this reissue as being the 3rd or 4th off the press. It had some issues with clarity or static every so often. I don't think it had a label on it. Do you remember what he said about it? Hope the reissue comes out better than his sample.
Rob S.
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Though I have to admit that I was a little disappointed with the Verve 45 RPM announcement. For the most part they are all titles that were issued on 45 RPM vinyl by Classic Records.
I wonder if as part of the acquisition Chad took possession of the original stampers and/or lacquers for these albums? If this is the case he wouldn't so much be re-issuing what Classic had done as much as just switching the production of the same release from their facilities to his. Just a thought.
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Rich- I think this was the album Fremer brought to the Axpona show mid April, right? ( not Chapin ? as you thought ). It was the room with AMR electronics, monk audio phono, Dr feickert TT/ Lyra Helikon and you and Fremer were yackin' it up about professional trumpet playin'. He was saying something about this reissue as being the 3rd or 4th off the press. It had some issues with clarity or static every so often. I don't think it had a label on it. Do you remember what he said about it? Hope the reissue comes out better than his sample.
Yes, it might have been Cat Stevens. I get the two voices confused. In fact now that you mention it I think Fremer did say the title "Tea..." He said it was made at a new plant which was being started up by the old employees from Wakefield Manufacturing in AZ, where I printed my records in the 80s. They did a quality job back then on small orders, which is what audiophile releases are. Anyway, he said the disc he had was a defective test print due to the stamper being not hot enough or not calibrated or something that caused tiny imperfections on the grooves which were audible, but the sound under that noise was excellent. The Avatar Audio guy was afraid to say anything about how bad it sounded, he was worried his system had broken, he didn't hear Mike tell him the record was noisy before he spun it. I guess he was thinking why would Mike Fremer spin a fucked up record in a show demo? hehe Despite the noise it was the best sounding TT system at the show. If this is the record you ordered Tom, you're in for a treat!
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The cost to make an audiophile quality LP is <$5 each for 1000 units. 180g, audiophile process, 4 color shrink wrapped, poly sleeve, everything.
That's just the cost to press LPs. You have to factor in the cost of licensing the actual content, the bond you have to put up to get access to the master tapes, the cost of cutting lacquer masters, making stampers, printing, etc, etc.
Still, there is no doubt that it is a lucrative business because there always seems to be plenty of audiophools such as myself eager to spend $30 to $50 on the next big reissue. All that having been said I still think they are a good value, otherwise I wouldn't buy them. With certain titles the chances of buying a vintage minty record for anything approaching a sane price are not realistic. So I have no regrets whatsoever in buying all of the Blue Note and Riverside reissues that I have, and I will keep buying them as long as titles that I want are on the release schedule.
--Jerome
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I ordered mine, and because I was there I also picked up the following
- Sach plays King Oliver
- Santana - Moonflower
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I want more Motown, Atlantic, Chess. Soul baby soul. Spinners, Styleistics, Four Tops, Supremes James Brown etc.
charles
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I want a bigger allowance, so I can afford them! :thumb:
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The release has been delayed for a month until mid-July. :(
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Funny - I was just on the site today to find out where my order was and all I saw was "back ordered" with no indication of the new date.
Thanks for the update Tom.
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Funny - I was just on the site today to find out where my order was and all I saw was "back ordered" with no indication of the new date.
Thanks for the update Tom.
I get a new release newsletter from them and got the news from there. The new projected ship date is 7/14/11. Here is the page on Chad's web site that mentions it:
http://store.acousticsounds.com/d/75015/Cat_Stevens-Tea_For_The_Tillerman-200_Gram_Vinyl_Record
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On Acoustic Sounds weekly email they say Aug. 1.
I guess the July date is for folks who already paid.
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Just received my copy today. I guess the delay is for new orders.
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Just received my copy today. I guess the delay is for new orders.
Bob, who did you order yours from? I spoke with customer service at Acoustic Sounds this afternoon and they told me that they wouldn't be shipping any until at least the 14th.
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The release date was pushed out again. Aug 1st is now Aug 11th. :(
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After all the wait the LP finally arrives early last week and to took me until last night to get the time to sit down and actually listen to it.
Well Chad was right , it was worth the wait. I compared it to my former standard for this album, the MoFi UHQR pressing and Chad's version was clearly better on many fronts. In general everything was just cleaner and more detailed. The soundstage was deeper and there was a more apparent spacial separation between the lead and back-up vocals. The bas line while a bit lower in volume was much cleaner and tighter. All in all it just sounded more natural and real and less like a recording than the UHQR did. Work seems to be slowing down a bit so I should have some more listening time over the next few weeks and will compare the new LP to some of then other versions I have collected over the years. For only $30 this is a clear winner. (I wonder what this will do to the resale value of the UHQRs. Chad has a used one listed on his site for $250. My gues is that they were issued in such a limited quantity that the collector demand may keep the price up even if the ausiophiles demand switches over to the new pressing. It will be interesting to watch anyway.)
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I very much doubt that the Analogue Productions release will have any affect on market prices of MoFi UHQR vinyl. There are a lot more people who know the MoFi brand than are familiar with the Analogue Productions brand. Out of print MoFi reissues still fetch top dollar despite the fact that in numerous cases there are better sounding reissues available -- I don't think that will change in the foreseeable future.
--Jerome
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That is kind of what I was thinking, however in the years since the 30th Anniv. Darkside of the Moon LP came out (which was clearly superior sonically to the UHQR), the price of the UHQR has dropped from about $1200 down to $800 - 1000 for a mint used copy while the Sgt Pepper UHQR has more than doubled in price and is now passed DSOTM to be the highest priced UHQR (there is no audiophile vinyl alternative for Sgt Pepper except the regular MoFi pressing). Was the price drop caused by a drop in demand because audiophiles had a cheaper source for a better pressing of DSOTM leaving only collectors to fight over the UHQRs? Who knows? It is really hard (at least for me) to figure out exactly what drives the prices in the collectors market. (Of course in the case of Sgt Pepper anything rare and Beatles automatically demands big bucks from collectors.) It's not like I'm looking to buy any of the UHQRs, but it will be interesting to watch what happens to the prices in reaction to Chad's release.
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I think price fluctuations are normal for any collectible. I have noticed that vintage and collectible LP prices are down across the board, but I believe that to be a product of the tough economic times we are in. Talk of another recession coming right on the heels of the one we just lived through is no doubt going to depress prices even further. Record dealers need to eat too and they can't sit on expensive inventory forever.
I recently bought a MoFi set of The Beatles in minty condition for $400. I have seen prices average about $1,000 and saw one sealed set sell for $3,500 about 3 years ago.
--Jerome
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I recently bought a MoFi set of The Beatles in minty condition for $400. I have seen prices average about $1,000 and saw one sealed set sell for $3,500 about 3 years ago.
:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
I picked up one of those sets in 1985 from a dealer that was clearing them out and when I opened the box I found that every one of the LPs was dished. The dealer had kept them laying on their sides in his storeroom which left the reords with no support in the middle since the sit in the box in between those plastic spacing fingers, which do a great job keeping the records straight when they are standing up vertical, but cause them to warp when you lay the case down on its side. The dealer said I could either have a refund or try one ome set, but if I took another set it would be non-refundable. (He didn't want me to open any more boxes that the then would no longer be able to sell as new.) Well, I looked at the rest of his stock and he had a dozaen more copies all of which were stored in the same way, so I opted for a refund. Looking back the dishing was not that bad and if I had owned my VPI bak then the clamp might very well have flattened them out, but the Thorens I owned at the time had no clamp so back they went. ABout a year after that the price spiked up and I have never found a reasonable priced set since. Like everything else with collecting, you just have to be in the right place at the right time with cash in your pocket.
Someday............ [-o<