Farewell Footlight Records, hello bargains

Footlight Records just closed their doors today after 30 years in business. Along with all the other vinyl vultures, I was there for the 75% off sale. But it was a sad moment too. Particularly for fans of soundtracks on vinyl, since this collection was comprehensive. I'd been selling review copies of soundtrack CDs to the store for nearly a decade, but never actually bought anything there due to the high prices. But take 75% off, and that's a different story.

Currently spinning is Count Basie & His Orchestra's Best of Basie [Roulette, 1960], a deep groove, first pressing, from the "Birdland Series". The cover boasts "full dimensional sound", and these glorious mono swing numbers are full, warm, foot-tapping fun. Scott Yanow's AllMusic.com review pans the record as redundant revival work without the original soloists. I have a 1950s Decca compilation that covers much of the same tunes from around 1938, with the vaunted soloists (need to check that since liner notes don't list the players). This LP is the gold on black "microgroove" label, so should be a decent comparison. But straight away I know the sonics from twenty years back, are most likely not going to have the satisfying quality of the Roulette LP.

Much as I'm a fan of those soloists (Lester Young et al), a lot of great Basie recordings can be found outside his supposed golden era. Particularly his autumn years on Pablo records (another audiophile bargain). I've found older Roulette titles crackly, and the reissues not so impressive, so it was a pleasure to find a clean, flat (as in, not warped), heavy platter on this label [50c].

Next up, Duke Ellington and His Orchestra At His Very Best (RCA mono LPM-1715). Certainly a stronger pedigree than the Basie, with more vaunted side-men, this late 1959 pressing compiles a few 10" discs from 1940-1944. The stamper is "1S A1 I", and it certainly doesn't get much better than that (first stamper, first matrix, and pressed at the pernickety Indianapolis plant). The collection includes a couple of my favorites, "Black, Brown and Beige", "Creole Love Call" (somehow from 1927), and "Transbluecency". This copy was $3.75, which is on the steep side, but the stamper info hooked me.

Well, there were almost a dozen discs in all. Some hits, some misses, but a good haul. Thanks Footlights.

My opinion of Chicago Transit Authority is forever changed

My opinion of Chicago Transit Authority is forever changed after an evening of listening to sides 3 and 4 of their debut. This electric jazz freakout suited my late night work session, and warranted repeat plays for a few hours.

Next stop, Speakers Corner's reissue of Argenta's Espana (Decca). My expectations were high given the audiophile credentials, but while pleasant, it couldn't really draw my attention from emails.

Ian & Sylvia's Four Strong Winds (Cisco/Vanguard reissue) was so attention grabbing that I couldn't possibly write emails. Hard panned stereo with Ian in one ear and Sylvia the other make it a curious experience on headphones.

Currently spinning is Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet (Mercury Living Presence). An FR1 pressing (that's the first stamper), $1 from a thrift store. This title was just reissued by Speakers Corner, so it is satisfying to have the original. Despite the occasional tick and mucky appearance, this plays well enough. Romantic, and now commanding most of my attention, since I've stopped with the work emails.

The prospect of only five hours of sleep is sending me bedwards, but this has provided a pleasant wind down.

The Grateful Dead - American Beauty [Green label original]

Ahhhh. After a long, long work week, the Grateful Dead's American Beauty hits the spot. Does the pressing play a part in this warm bath of analog bliss? Well, the choices are broad: The DVD-Audio in 5.1 or stereo, Rhino Records recent repress, the Warner Bros' 80s reissue, and that sonic holy grail of American Beauties, the WLP (white label DJ promo). I can only claim to have compared the 5.1 mix, and the original stereo pressing. Both are delightful, but the original has the edge, and I'm still scouring eBay for the WLP.

Chicago Transit Authority

I've moved on from Rubber Soul this evening, to a first UK pressing, Island pink rim label of Richard and Linda Thompsons' I Want To See the Bright Lights Tonight. This has been on heavy rotation since acquiring it from a Canadian eBay seller a few months back. After I asked for a play grade, the seller listened to it, and actually requested that I not buy it, since he enjoyed it so much. He gave me the history of his copy of the LP, buying it in London in 1973, and it evoked that era for him (when I was still in diapers). Anyway, of course I insisted he send it (he had also sold me a first UK Track press of Quadrophenia, so we'd already had a lengthy correspondance about that LP). I offered to send him a CDR of my US Hannibal CD, but he preferred to sulk, and regret having ever listed the LP.

The Thompsons' album never grabbed me on CD, but this pressing lured me into the performance, and I've been eager to revisit their vignettes on a regular basis.

Next up, Chicago's debut, Chicago Transit Authority. The pressing is a Columbia Stereo 1A/1A/1A/1A in near mint condition. $2. The "1A" indicates a first pressing from a first stamper, which typically gives a clearer sound, closer to the test pressings that the artists approve.

Often I'm lured by the vinyl's matrix credentials, a mastering engineer, or record label, rather than the actual music. Sometimes this pays off. In this case, Stephen Malkmus of Pavement referenced this album in an interview, so it had a few things going for it - low investment, solid vinyl credentials, and hipster cred, particularly because later material by the band is held in such low regard. Admiring an album by a reviled band is satisfying for its provocative quality.

I'm warming up to the music. Sonically it delivers, but the jazz-rock thing takes a while to get into. Not sure if I'll listen to all four sides before the prospect of waking up in five hours for work motivates me to try and sleep.

-David

Mono Rubber Soul rocks!

Just $15 from a seller in Australia, and with a matrix number that tells me its from a tube cut stamper! I'm listening to the mono 1982 pressing of The Beatles' Rubber Soul, and its sonic nirvana.

After ten years of writing record reviews for magazines and books with tens of thousands of readers but no feedback, I've started a blog with the intention of just saying whatever comes to mind about records I pick up from local dollar bins, win on eBay, or read about on my favorite audiophile forum Steve Hoffman's Forum.

I'm hoping that I'll start a dialogue about stuff I care about. It all comes back to the music, to the journey I take when I put on headphones, spin a record and hit the web for nuggets of info, and the hope of finding common ground with fellow travellers. But there's a heap of trainspotter treasure-seeking that can either lead me closer to the music, or down rabbit holes. This includes formats (vinyl, SACD, DVD-A, DTS) and vinyl matrix numbers, pressings, cleaning/restoration, and countless other sciences of the audiophile.

Full disclosure: My job requires that I understand the medium of blogs. So the blog is driven in part by the desire to better understand blogging by writing my own. I never had the commitment to keep a diary. Typically my creative writing depended on deadlines at school or in workshops, so whether I maintain the regular postings of a credible blog remains to be seen.
-David