Hot Stamper Pressings of Blue Note Albums Available Now
Robert Brook wrote a scathing review of the Tone Poets pressing of One Flight Up in 2023, much to the dissatisfaction of some of his readers. I was the first to leave a comment as I thought he hit the nail on the head when he said:
Overall, the Tone Poet is closed, distant and frankly boring to listen to. Where is the energy of the music? Where is the presence of these musicians? Where is the studio space?
The snare sounds muted. the piano weak, the horns, especially Gordon’s saxophone, resolves poorly and becomes increasingly tiresome to listen to. On my first listen I lasted about 3 minutes into side 1, mostly because I couldn’t stand the way the sax was sounding.
I posted the comments below on Robert’s review. (I have taken the liberty to rewrite some of my comments for the purposes of clarity, along with some additional thoughts.)
Robert,
Another great post. I have many comments to make, so here goes.
When audiophiles prefer records which are clearly second-rate, more often than not I chalk it up to their lack of a better record to play. In order to hear what they are missing, they have to have a record that somehow makes clear to them precisely which aspects of the sound are failing, or at the very least, not up to par.
You could give out the stamper numbers for your Blue Note reissue — I would be surprised if it does not have VAN GELDER STEREO in the dead wax — and those who like the Tone Poets release of One Flight Up could easily find one on Discogs or Ebay and do the comparison for themselves.
But you know what? I would bet you dollars to donuts they will never do that. They simply won’t bother.
To some audiophiles who collect records, collecting is simply not about sound quality.
It’s about collecting the right audiophile pressings.
These folks don’t want some old Blue Note reissue from the 70s. They want a fancily-packaged remastered record on high quality vinyl that’s made by a label that really cares. If it’s a numbered limited edition, even better!
If these people wanted to find out what is wrong with the sound of the Tone Poets pressing you played — thanks for laying it all out in detail so no one can doubt that you listened carefully and heard what’s really in those grooves — they could easily find a vintage copy of the record that would make a mockery of the one they own.
Twenty years ago I wrote something about this very subject:
Most audiophiles are barely getting started. They just don’t know it. If they work really hard on their systems for the next five or ten or twenty years, they will eventually, slowly, with the passage of time, come to realize how little they really knew back in [insert old date here].
If they don’t work hard — and let’s be honest, most won’t — they will never see but a tiny fraction of the progress that is possible. Those of us who have done the work know just how much is possible, and no one who has not done the work could possibly begin to understand what we are on about.
You rarely learn much from experiments you haven’t run.
Of course, by not doing anything, you get to keep all your evidence-free opinions and half-baked theories, so why rock your own boat and make an effort that may result in proving yourself wrong?
Robert, I’ve watched you put a great deal of time, effort and money into your system. Your blog is proof of that. Consequently you have reaped the benefits.
Your system is now operating at such a high level that the vinyl remasters some audiophiles rave about are not only not impressive, they are practically painful to listen to. It’s simply too obvious on your system what is wrong with them now. That may not have always been the case, but it’s indisputably true for you now.
Those with modest systems who revere these Tone Poet LPs and other reissues like them will never put in the effort to take their systems to the next level the way you have.
Why would they? All their Heavy Vinyl records would stop sounding as good as they used to.
Nobody wants that.
They’re not curious about better sound, like our friend ab_ba. They’re fine with the sound they have.
The sound they have allows them to keep collecting the records they enjoy collecting. Anything that interferes with the collecting side of being an audiophile is simply not going to be welcomed in their world.
You and I, however, see things very differently. We don’t care about any of that collecting stuff. We want to play records that make us feel that we are in the presence of live musicians.
If Rudy was heavy-handed in screwing around with the tapes to get the sound he wanted onto the record, fine by us. We don’t care. The proof of the pudding is in the eating. Many of his records are delicious.
All we want is to hear the power of live music in our home. Everything else is irrelevant — a distraction, if not downright misleading.
The folks who have commented on your disdain for these reissues never talk about having that live music experience. They can’t talk about it because the records they have and the equipment they own cannot produce the effects you describe.
They don’t know what you are talking about because they have never heard that kind of sound coming out of their speakers, and, sad to say, likely never will, for all the reasons discussed above.
As you say, the subject has now become a bore. You’re talking to people who don’t speak your language. You have no shared experiences with them. You’re not even after the same things.
These Tone Poets guys and their Heavy Vinyl collector mentality will never understand what you are writing about.
Keep on the path you’re on. Audiophiles with good stereos and open ears will find you. You’re writing for them now.
There are other blogs where the Tone Poets reign supreme. Your critics should find one of them and stay off yours.
Best, TP
P.S.
Our review for the ridiculously bad Tone Poets pressing of One Flight Up is now active on the blog. Anyone with even a halfway decent system should be able to recognize its many faults. But halfway decent is a standard that many audiophiles are apparently failing to meet. We graded both sides NFG, as in hopeless. Beyond the pale.
Beginner audiophiles who deem the sound of these records satisfactory are putting up a barrier to their success in collecting better records and achieving audiophile quality sound in the home.
Our advice, and no doubt Robert’s, is to stop wasting money on these awful reissues and figure out what needs to be done to get your stereo to a higher level.
At the very least to a level where these records’ shortcomings begin to be audible.
Further Reading