Top Artists – Oliver Nelson

Pee Wee Russell and Oliver Nelson – The Spirit of ’67

More of the Music of Oliver Nelson

  • With solid Double Plus (A++) sound from first note to last, this vintage Impulse! pressing is doing just about everything right – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • Both sides here are big and lively, key elements for any album arranged by the-bigger-the-better Oliver Nelson
  • This is fun, swinging Sixties Jazz with top quality sound (from an unknown engineer) – we knew as soon as we dropped the needle on a copy a number of years back that this was a record that deserved a shootout, and finally, here it is again after a twenty-eight month hiatus
  • 4 stars: “…joined by a big band arranged by Oliver Nelson…the charts are colorful and complement Russell well during what would be his swan song.”

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Oliver Nelson – The Blues and the Abstract Truth

More of the Music of Oliver Nelson

  • Oliver Nelson’s Masterpiece (one of only a handful of copies to hit the site in close to three years), here with solid Double Plus (A++) sound or close to it from first note to last – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • Clean, clear and present with a solid bass foundation, as well as the big stage this big group of musicians needs (particularly on side one)
  • If all you know is Van Gelder’s original cutting, you will surely have your eyes and ears opened by this wonderful reissue pressing (also particularly on side one)
  • The knockout pressings we discovered many years ago are ones with very particular markings that are very hard to find, which is explains why this musical Masterpiece comes to the site only once every three years
  • AllMusic gives it 5 stars (of course) and calls this album “…his triumph as a musician for the aspects of not only defining the sound of an era… but on this recording, assembling one of the most potent modern jazz sextets ever.”

The sound is tonally correct, Tubey Magical and above all natural. The timbre of each and every instrument is right and it doesn’t take a pair of golden ears to hear it. So high-resolution too. If you love 50s and 60s jazz, you cannot go wrong here.

For those record lovers who still cling to the idea that the originals are better, this record will hopefully set you straight.

Yes, we can all agree that Rudy Van Gelder recorded it, brilliantly as a matter of fact. Shouldn’t he be the most natural choice to transfer the tape to disc, knowing, as we must assume he does, exactly what to fix and what to leave alone in the mix?

Maybe he should be; it’s a point worth arguing.

But ideas such as this are only of value once they have been tested empirically and found to be true.

We tested this very proposition in our recent shootout, as well as in previous ones of course. It is our contention, based on the experience of hearing quite a number of copies over the years, that Rudy did not cut the original record as well as he should have. For those of you who would like to know who did, we proudly offer this copy to make the case.

Three words say it all: Hearing is believing.

(And if you own any modern Heavy Vinyl reissue we would love for you to be able to appreciate all the musical information that you’ve been missing when playing it. I remember the one from the 90s on Impulse being nothing special, and the Speakers Corner pressing in the 2000s if memory serves was passable at best.)

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Looking For a Top Quality Jazz Record? Skip the OJC of Screamin’ the Blues

Hot Stamper Pressings of Excellent Jazz Recordings Available Now

If you see this OJC pressing in your local record store, best to skip it.

The sound is dry and bright. It’s passable, but it’s certainly not very good, and even the CD might be better, assuming you are willing to go through a number of discs until you find one that is mastered properly, assuming that there ever was such a thing.

Finding good sounding pressings of classic albums has never been easy. Here are some tips that may help you make more progress.

Original Jazz Classics

Some OJC pressings are great — including even some of the new ones. Some are awful. And the only way to judge them fairly is to judge them individually, which requires actually playing a large enough sample.

Since virtually no record collectors or audiophiles like doing that, they make faulty judgments – OJC’s are cheap reissues sourced from digital tapes, run for the hills! – based on their lack of rigor, among other things, when comparing pressings.

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Oliver Nelson – More Blues and the Abstract Truth

More Oliver Nelson

  • With two solid Double Plus (A++) or BETTER sides, you’ll have a hard time finding a copy that sounds remotely as good as this original Impulse pressing (only the second copy to hit the site in years)
  • The sound is everything that’s good about Rudy Van Gelder‘s recordings – it’s present, spacious, full-bodied, Tubey Magical, dynamic and, most importantly, alive in that way that modern pressings never are
  • It typically takes us at least many years to get a shootout for this album going (our last one was in 2019), and that’s with searching the web everyday, hoping that a clean copy with the right stampers will pop up for sale
  • 4 stars: “… there are some strong moments from such all-stars as trumpeter Thad Jones, altoist Phil Woods, baritonist Pepper Adams, pianist Roger Kellaway and guest tenor Ben Webster (who is on two songs).”

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Oliver Nelson’s Masterpiece – So Much Better Sounding on the (Right) Reissue

Hot Stamper Pressings that Sound Their Best on the Right Reissue

For those of you who still cling to the idea that the originals are better, this Hot Stamper pressing of the album should be just the ticket to set you straight.

Yes, we can all agree that Rudy Van Gelder recorded it, brilliantly as a matter of fact. Shouldn’t he be the most natural choice to transfer the tape to disc, knowing, as we must assume he does, exactly what to fix and what to leave alone in the mix?

Maybe he should be; it’s a point worth arguing.

But ideas such as this are only of value once they have been tested empirically and found to be true.

(more…)

Oliver Nelson and RVG – Mastering Better than the Master?

More Music and Arrangements by Oliver Nelson

The sound of this Shootout Winning reissue is tonally correct, Tubey Magical and above all natural. The timbre of each and every instrument is right and it doesn’t take a pair of golden ears to hear it. So high-resolution too. If you love ’50s and ’60s jazz you cannot go wrong here.

For those record lovers who still cling to the idea that the originals are better, this pressing will hopefully set you straight.

Yes, we can all agree that Rudy Van Gelder recorded it, brilliantly as a matter of fact. Shouldn’t he be the most natural choice to transfer the tape to disc, knowing, as we must assume he does, exactly what to fix and what to leave alone in the mix?

Maybe he should be; it’s a point worth arguing.

But ideas such as this are only of value once they have been tested empirically and found to be true.

We tested this very proposition in our recent shootout, as well as in previous ones of course. It is our contention, based on the experience of hearing quite a number of copies over the years, that Rudy did not cut the original record as well as he should have. For those of you who would like to know who did, we proudly offer this copy to make the case.

Three words say it all: Hearing is believing.

(And if you own any modern Heavy Vinyl reissue we would love for you to be able to appreciate all the musical information that you’ve been missing when playing it. I remember the one from the ’90s on Impulse being nothing special, and the Speakers Corner pressing in the 2000s if memory serves was passable at best.)

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J.J. Johnson – J.J.!

Living Stereo Titles Available Now

200+ Reviews of Living Stereo Records

  • J.J. Johnson makes his Hot Stamper debut with this SUPERB copy of J.J.! – Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound from start to finish
  • The sound is big, lively, open and clear with Tubey Magical richness that only the best of the best vintage pressings can show you
  • Features a lineup of top-notch talent, including Clark Terry, Oliver Nelson, Hank Jones, as well as quite a few others – plenty of reeds, a French Horn, a tuba and more are here
  • 4 stars: “J.J.! is considered to be J.J. Johnson’s first big-band album, at least as a leader… The music is solidly played,… modern forward-looking mainstream jazz that features Johnson in excellent form.”

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Oliver Nelson’s Big Band – Live From Los Angeles

  • An incredible sounding copy and the first to ever hit the site; Triple Plus (A+++) sound on the first side, Double Plus (A++) on the second
  • If you love the swinging sounds of Oliver Nelson’s Big Band arrangements behind Jimmy Smith, Frank Sinatra, Monk and others, you can’t go wrong here
  • Fairly quiet throughout with both sides playing Mint Minus to Mint Minus Minus
  • “Here’s a driving high flying record from start to finish. It’s jazz at its exciting best as Nelson’s arranging conducting and zippy sax work lead real quality playing…” – Billboard 

What do we love about these vintage pressings? The timbre of every instrument is Hi-Fi in the best sense of the word. The unique sound of every instrument is reproduced with remarkable fidelity. That’s what we at Better Records mean by “Hi-Fi,” not the kind of Audiophile Phony BS Sound that passes for Hi-Fidelity these days. There’s no boosted top, there’s no bloated bottom, there’s no sucked-out midrange.

This is Hi-Fidelity for those who recognize The Real Thing when they hear it. I’m pretty sure our customers do, and whoever picks this record up is guaranteed to get a real kick out of it. (more…)