I just want to say that I so much enjoy your channel - the super relaxed style, the objectivity and nonetheless absolutely stunning collection. Please, please don’t change your presentation style, don’t make it more “trendy”, just keep it as it is. Absolutely a safe heaven in the world of CZcams!
Yes 2020 was a great year for Jazz especially for starting a jazz collection. Where so many awesome albums are either readily available again or will be at least in the foreseeable future. Once again, Thank you for the great recommendations.
Muchas gracias. Todos sus vinilos recomendados, tienen un gran sonido y son excelentes exponentes musicales del género. Los estuve escuchando y seguiré degustando uno por uno👍💿🎧🎶
Hello Michael. New to your channel and new to jazz. Quarantine has allowed me to open and expand my ears beyond Marshall amps turned to 11. I enjoy your videos and and begun my collection by purchasing, The Cooker, My Point of View and Oblique. The Tone Poet series certainly has the WOW factor in both construction and production. I look forward to sampling from the BN80 and upcoming Classic series too. Merci, Danke, Thank-you.
Missed the Mingus record....dealer sold out....hope I can get it....biught so many this year....even though I stop working since March of this year.....not easy being a professional musician at this time....hoping for a better New Year 2021....but at least we can enjoy these beautiful recordings.....😎
Another very interesting list - many thanks for taking the time to do this. I agree that 2020 has been a wonderful year for audiophile jazz reissues both for newcomers to Jazz and the older fans like myself! I also agree that the Mingus One Step in number 1 but in a very good year I would add Miles / Porgy and Bess MFSL 45rpm, Nathan Davis Sextet / Peace Treaty Sam Records and Ahmad Jamal Trio / At The Pershing But Not For Me AP 33 as three very beautiful additions to your list.
Thanks for this. I really enjoy your laid back presentation style and your enthusiasm for audiophile recordings. Looking forward to what’s in store for 2021.
2020 was an amazing year for me! Discovered jazz, the tone poets, Bill Evans etc etc...my upmost love and gratitude to you and Mike at the Ingroove and Mazzi... look forward to 2021..Best wishes to you my friend.. Mark
Danke! Awesome video. Liked the Captain Picard reference! "Sells out quicker than Captain Picard ask for Warp speed!" Very true! Share how you get these records so quickly please!.
I am learning so much, a lot of this is new music to me (and I’m cheating with high res downloads). I am amazed at your knowledge and enthusiasm of music of different genres. I’m an 80s kid so 70s, especially post punk 80s with a lot of sprinkles of other stuff (yes I have jazz, classical, blues, folk, country etc etc), but what I’m learning here is ear popping. That TT of yours gets a real workout. Everybody calls you Michael, so Michael, best to you and yours for the season. Joyeux Noel et pour nous tous une meuilleure année 2021, de Montréal.
I don’t have any SRX’s or ERC’s but I was fortunate enough to get a lot of the others this year. Definitely agree with Mingus at the top spot, it’s stunning how good it sounds, even on my modest system. Also I hope Music Matters isn’t done yet, I think they could do a few more SRX or there’s also rumors of them doing another label like Riverside, guess we’ll see in 2021
Thanks! What a great list you have here. I agree, we have seen some amazing releases in 2020! Still looking for the Nina Simone, now it's going to be harder to find! :)
You need to listen to: Wycliffe Gordon, Arturo Sandoval, Erick Miyashiro, Elmer Churampi, Lake street drive, Takuya Kuroda, Kurt Edelhagen, Roberto Fonseca, Doc Sverinsen, James Morrison (Australian trumpetist), Ramón Flores, Bryan Culbertson, Rafael Méndez, Wayne Bergeron, Dante Vargas, Buddy Rich, Maynard Ferguson Shirley Bassey, Phill Collins Big Band, Roberta Gambarini, Dizzy Gilespi,
hard to argue with your list. i would put chet baker sings up a little higher - i still think that's my favorite tone poet release so far on that series. so curious to see what 2021 brings from the audiophile reissue world. i hope some big news soon! cin cin.
Ok, just ordered Bill Evans at the Montreux on 45. Thanks for covering this excellent topic! I *might* have to order one more off your list. Decisions, decisions.... 😁 🤔
MIchael, would you be so kind and show us around your vinyl shelves? It looks so awesome your background, and whenever I watch your videos I am wondering how do you organize the disks. Everything seems to be so neat, so nice - would be amazing to have a “private tour”. Thank you so much in advance considering my request!
Michel!!!!!!!!!!!! great 2020 list. with much respect you are a bad influence because i have been buying many of your collection ha ha ha ha. anyway thank you for every video you have done for us this year .
Great stuff, really enjoy your channel. My copy of Louis Armstrong and Oscar Peterson had some distortion which I believe was on the original tape, great music though. Bang for the buck and actual availability you can't beat the Tone Poet series.
I know it was just a slip, but most of the UMe Verve Series were remastered by Ryan Smith @ Sterling, at that moment showing #20 and #10 you mentioned Kevin Grey.
Another great video, thank you! By the way, my wife ordered your #1 album of 2020 a few weeks ago, as a christmas gift for me, could only find it on Discogs.
Nice list. Some unexpected surprises in there for sure. May I suggest, Eva Cassidy Nightbird, 7LP Boxset 45 RPM boxset. It’s my go-to “unexpected” demo album.
No arguments-maybe some slight jockeying on the positions, but all phenomenal albums. I have about half of them and agree about their merits, but I don’t have any of the SRX or ERC releases so I can only judge those by the pressings I have. I really covet the SRX Maiden Voyage, as it is one of my very favorite albums from one of my very favorite artists. I can’t wait for its Classic Series release. I have enjoyed your description of the sleeves you use to protect your jackets, but wonder what do you use for the Mofi One Steps? Mine have ridiculous, oversized baggy sleeves. Thanks!
How do I know if the pressing is of good sound quality before I buy it? For example: I stand before the record shelf and see like 5 different pressings of Kind of Blue. Any tip on how I know which is good?
Although the CD release was fine, MGM was not the company to buy an LP from. Thus, the soundtrack to Mickey One suffered. That recording changed my world in the late 1960's. ( I hadn't heard Mingus yet) It still deserves a special LP release. It is extraordinary.
I’ve bought some jazz lps on your recommendations so thanks for that. The sidewinder is my fav so ta for that too. I love your enthusiasm and love for music. It rubs off on people so keep in keeping on.
It would be nice to post a list in the description. Sometimes I have to rewind a video a couple of times to hear the label/ publisher good. Great "ranking", though!
GAH! how did the Maiden Voyage gatefold get split on the inside? Threw up a little in my mouth when I saw it. Just kidding- I love your channel! Learning so much
Great video as always, thanks for your content. I was wondering; what are you mentioning regarding ‘the first batch’ of Satchmo meets Oscar Peterson ? I can’t quite figure what you are implying (like quality issues on 1st batch ?). Many thanks for your help, Cheers and kudos again
I like your channel, but I think you could bring more value to it if you were able to express *why* you think these albums and/or pressings are good. I don't really collect audiophile represses generally, but I'd love to know why you think they are better (or different) from other audiophile pressings, regular recent pressings, and/or-especially-how they stack up against earlier pressings (say, Liberty, Liberty UA, or even black or white "b" UA pressings. Does a Van Gelder-stamped pressing sound different than a non-Van Gelder-stamped pressing? What about the mono UA represses from the 70s? You have a top-notch audio system-do you think these recordings sound different (better?) in your likely highly-resolving system? Why? Do you think these audiophile pressings would sound different with a high-end solid state amp rather than the valve monoblocks that you own? For instance, with Inventions and Dimensions, what do you like about this recording vs. Herbie's previous or following recordings? There was clearly a strong Latin influence within US Jazz at this time, how do you think Herbie reflected this differently than other Jazz artists? I am saying all of this with respect (we have enough stupid infighting within this community anyways...) You have the gear and the passion to present a much higher-level audio review, I'd love to hear it! Peace-
Hi Michael, great list. I discovered your videos recently, this week, to be exactly. I also live in Germany, bavavaria, i type in english so everbody can understand the comment. I have question: Where do you buy your records/ which onlineshop do you use (except discogs)? Freue mich auf den neuen content!
@@Michael45RPM Ok, da kommt man wahrscheinlich nicht drum herum bei gewissen audiophilen Pressungen. Bisher haben mich die Liefer-und Zoll/Steuer-kosten abgeschreckt.
@@Michael45RPM Nachtrag: Ich habe auf Discogs gesehen, dass es von Music Matters ebenfalls Neupressungen aus den Jahren 2010-2015 gibt. Hast du Erfahrungen mit Pressungen aus diesen Jahren? Diese sind teilweise relativ günstig.
I will say the truth, i really din't think on Mingus #1 but I said it...when I sw A love supreme as #2 I said it got a be MOFI the #1 and I hit it....YEEEESSSS, now I got to admit, I feel sad due I thought I will see my Fave trumpeter of them all Lee Morgan On the Top 3, unfortunally was in the Top4
Über die sonny rollins version von electric company hat der youtube kanal von "the in groove" ein video gemacht, dass mich etwas verwundert, er behauptet, dass diese version nicht das geld wert sei und die orginal pressung besser und gümstiger sei. Wie stehst du dazu? Kennst du das video?
Ja das habe ich gesehen. Ich frage mich halt, was ih dazu bewegt hat, er ist halt ein Plattenhändler, so ein Video könnte man häufig machen jedes Label hat mal Probleme oder defekte Cover... ich glaube das ist die Reaktion darauf, das er sie in seinem Laden nicht verkaufen darf.
@@Michael45RPM Aus diesem standpunkt habe ich das noch nicht betrachtet. Er hat allgemein ein grosses flair für erstpressungen, wenn man seine videos zum thema "welche version von ... klingt am besten" anschaut, ist die erstpressung häufig in dem top 2. Vielleicht gefällt ihm der klang dieser pressungen mehr oder vielleicht hat er jeweilige pressungen an lager zum verkaufen/handeln.
Michael I thought you would pick MoFi's 45 rpm of "Kind Of Blue". How would you rank that one, is it even on your list? Great videos, by the way. I'm going broke trying to keep up!
So annoying how he keeps putting the albums down only to show them again (and again) 😡 It's an outstanding release, we get it. Can we move on to the next one?
I’m sorry to say that I have some difficult feedback to give you, because although I like what you do and I appreciate the lists you create, I think your videos are a missed opportunity for you to pass on the deep knowledge you have of this subject for which you have such a passion. My issue with your videos is best explained by my former English teacher, who advised us to avoid using the word ‘nice’ whenever possible, because it’s a meaningless word. For example, if I say one wine is ‘nicer’ another, it clearly means I prefer one over the other, but the listener receives no information about my reasoning, because ‘nice’ relays nothing about the differences in their qualities that I am using to judge them. These differences represent both knowledge and skill in my being able to discern and differentiate their qualities...valuable to any student of the field. My inability to convey this to my listeners is a missed opportunity. The same can be said of your favourite words: ‘beautiful’, ‘outstanding’, ‘fantastic’, ‘gorgeous’...these are no more informative than ‘nice’. Just try substituting them for ‘nice’ in your commentary and see if it loses anything...I don’t think it does, because there was nothing there to begin with. [I’m truly sorry for being so harsh, but if you reflect on what I’m saying you’ll realise it’s true]. Your introduction was perfect, because you defined the terms by which you judged the albums in this Top 20 list. You explained that it was not just about sound quality, but also packaging and rarity. The problem is you didn’t follow through by explaining how each album faired in your judgement against these criteria, so that we could gain an insight into their differences. Take the following three albums. You describe all of them as outstanding, so why are they ranked the way they are? Two are described as gorgeous, but that doesn’t separate them. Using logic I would guess that you think XRS is better than Tone Poet given they rank 11 and 12 respectively, but why should I be forced into guessing games? Much better for explain what you’re thinking. If I didn’t know better, it sounds from your description like you are more keen on 12 and 13 than no.11. 6:48: No.13 - “Great quality, great mastering, great pressing. Outstanding cover recreation always from Sam Records. And a very very special record...it’s not your typical kind of jazz you’re used to. Try this one out, it’s outstanding....Highly recommended...I really love it...great work from Sam Records to bring this back on the streets back into our record shelves. Gorgeous.” 7:56 No.12 - “My favourite Tone Poet so far...outstanding, outstanding.” 8:32 No.11 - “Both XRS’s are fantastic, fantastic releases...outstanding, outstanding pressing, my favourite pressing on the XRS’s so far. Gorgeous.” [You make a big deal about how one pressing is better than another, but what are the qualities that make a pressing superior? What elements of sound quality are you listening to in order to make a judgement on which pressing is better? In the next segment you mention how expensive the recordings by the Electric Company are, but you fail to explain why....what a tease and missed opportunity!] 12:22 - “Terribly expensive because those Electric Company Recordings are gone faster than Capt. Picard gets warp speed with his space ship. But I think they are worth it, because they are quite special releases.” [Finally, you’re quite adamant that you prefer the stereo pressing of no.7, but again fail to say why...even though I’m sure it would have been valuable to hear you explain the different sonic qualities that bring you to this decision.] 13:07 no.7 “...I like the stereo pressing much more than the mono release. The stereo pressing when it comes to my taste at least with my Hi-Fi equipment I like to hear it the most. This is for me the most beautiful remaster of A Way Out West. Outstanding beautiful album...gorgeous.” When I reflect on what I gained by spending 20 mins watching your video, I’m sad to say that all I came away with was a list of 20 records that I know you adore, but have no inkling why, which leaves me with lots of research to work out which ones are worth buying. I’m sorry that my comments here are so highly critical of your good intentions, and I hope you don’t take them the wrong way. I’m hoping that you may be able to use them to your/our advantage in future videos. If I might suggest: perhaps you might try and use fewer adjectives by replacing them with nouns such as: sound stage, imaging, clarity, midrange, etc as these better lend themselves to a comparative analysis between albums than do adjectives. You might also consider making a video about how you define the term audiophile record, because it can mean different things to different people. Some want to hear a performance of musicians playing live in a room to with a minimal mic setup. Others don’t care about a live performance but want every instrument mic-ed and the art for them is in the mixing. Some value the sound of the room/venue in the recording. What is you consider important in records you buy? Without an understanding of this, then we have no clue what you mean by the sonic virtues of a record.
p.s. I’d like to expand further on your criteria for buying a given album. There’s clearly a sonic component relating to its pressing, mastering, and the inherent sound qualities of the recording in terms of soundstage, imaging, etc; There’s a question of taste (i.e. how much you like the music); There’s its collectibility; its rarity; its production value in terms of materials used, attention to detail, etc. And I’m sure there are other criteria that I’m completely unaware of. I think people would find it helpful to hear which of these are most prominent in your decision about a given album, so that we have a better idea of whether it’s something for us. Me, for example, I’m all about the sonic qualities of the recording...I don’t care about anything else and sadly with most of your videos I’m left guessing as to whether the album is worth my attention or not. Other viewers may place an emphasis on collectibility, others the aesthetics and quality of the packaging, but none of us will come away with a clear picture of what you think other than it being: beautiful, gorgeous, outstanding....nice. I think you could make a few videos explaining your views on this topic alone.
p.p.s. Here’s my final and probably most concrete/useful comment on this topic. Your preference for using adjectives (e.g. beautiful, fantastic, gorgeous, etc) to describe the qualities you perceive in an album are (by the very nature of adjectives) subjective. That is to say they describe perfectly how you feel about these albums, but our feelings and therefore our interpretation of these adjectives will be different. I put it to you that a reviewer MUST get away from subjectivity as much as possible by expressing his/her feelings in an objective way. And it’s not that hard - one must simply has to expose the elements of the album that are the root of those feelings. This is where nouns come in (e.g. soundstage, imaging, noise floor, etc), because they are concrete and tangible descriptions of physical characteristics and as such are more objective, which makes them by definition less subjective. Take your comparison of the Grateful Dead MOFI vs Vinyl Me! Editions. You said the soundstage on the MOFI version was wider, which is tangible and relatable in an objective way by your viewers. More than this, we can test this for ourselves by playing the same albums on our gear and hopefully we hear the same thing. In this narrow sense it is an objective comparison and its reproducibility constitutes knowledge that can be shared. I hope that my harsh criticism will persuade you to be more objective in future videos.
@@GodfreyMann ...wow, Anthony ...you really put in a lot of thoughts and typing work for your (constructive) criticism. I do appreciate that and hope Michael and his channel can do so as well. You’re not (simply) bashing what he does but you give detailed advice and suggestions. And you are right to some degree.... I do like Michael‘s channel and would also like to hear his more differentiated thoughts/ listening experiences of pressings, sound quality and a few words about what he thought about the music when listening to it/ if it suits his taste etc. NOT in the way of „dancing your name“ ... 😂. How he rates the album in comparison to maybe one other from the same musician... Constructive reviewing so that we get a better picture if this kind of album is something for us to acquire...👍🏼.
Great list. I sent an email to MM asking if their were plans to Maher more SRX records. Here is the reply: “Hi Mark, Not anytime soon. It's a very difficult medium to work with. Cost prohibitive to produce. RTI won't do it anymore either, as far as I know. It's kind of a nightmare. Too much waste of vinyl.” So your assumption is right.
2020 nach maine mainung das war ,,golden year of jazz vinyl,, und ich hofe 2021 were noch besser... uberashung fur mich das The Sidewinder war nicht Top 2... 😉
I can listen to some songs by artist like Nina Simone, Diana Krall etc.....but when it comes to Coltrane, Miles Davis etc, I just can’t stand it! Saxophone och trumpets must be the worse sounding instruments ever created! It really makes me want to kill myself. I have tried over and over again to listen to it.....but its terrible! I have no understanding how anyone can enjoy it. And yes.....pretty much all music that doesn’t have human vocals, kind of sucks!
Niklas, maybe you’re „newer“ to this genre. And your personal journey regarding music is not (yet) at that point. One can compare it in a way to when you first (as a teenager) tasted a quality red wine you probably didn’t like it because it didn’t taste sweet like the Softdrinks you were used to... it sur is a somewhat acquired taste and I personally think it needs a high quality Hi-Fi system (or HighEnd..) to better „get“ it. You also have to be in the mood for it and need a calm, relaxed mind. It’s nothing to listen with Apple AirPods sitting in the traffic in my opinion. And (I don’t know your age) it’s probably easier when you’re a bit matured as a person. When I was a teen or Twen this kind of Jazz (hardbob) for me also was horrible...some things get better with time and listening experience. But maybe you never get to like it. That’s also fine...
I just want to say that I so much enjoy your channel - the super relaxed style, the objectivity and nonetheless absolutely stunning collection. Please, please don’t change your presentation style, don’t make it more “trendy”, just keep it as it is. Absolutely a safe heaven in the world of CZcams!
Yes 2020 was a great year for Jazz especially for starting a jazz collection. Where so many awesome albums are either readily available again or will be at least in the foreseeable future.
Once again, Thank you for the great recommendations.
It’s so great going back through all your videos. This is brilliant
IMPECCABLE TASTE ...20 minutes enjoying your TOP 20 in 2020...danke!!
Muchas gracias. Todos sus vinilos recomendados, tienen un gran sonido y son excelentes exponentes musicales del género. Los estuve escuchando y seguiré degustando uno por uno👍💿🎧🎶
Oh boy,3am here and I have 20 minutes of education to watch,bless you Michael!
U and I would get along fine listening to music, great taste.
Wonderful list. My wife is buying me the Bill Evans Montreux one so nice to see it on your list.
Inspiring video Michael. I went and ordered the 2 Herbie Hancock LPs and also The Cooker which arrived yesterday and is fantastic.
Hello Michael. New to your channel and new to jazz. Quarantine has allowed me to open and expand my ears beyond Marshall amps turned to 11. I enjoy your videos and and begun my collection by purchasing, The Cooker, My Point of View and Oblique. The Tone Poet series certainly has the WOW factor in both construction and production. I look forward to sampling from the BN80 and upcoming Classic series too. Merci, Danke, Thank-you.
This is such a wonderful list. Impeccable taste. I have learned so much from this channel!
Hutcherson- Oblique is in HEAVY rotation here! And so is Tina Brooks - Minor Move. Nice one, Michael!
Great countdown & review, Michael. Happy listening & best wishes
Missed the Mingus record....dealer sold out....hope I can get it....biught so many this year....even though I stop working since March of this year.....not easy being a professional musician at this time....hoping for a better New Year 2021....but at least we can enjoy these beautiful recordings.....😎
Very enjoyable. Keep the recommendations coming. Thanks
Another very interesting list - many thanks for taking the time to do this. I agree that 2020 has been a wonderful year for audiophile jazz reissues both for newcomers to Jazz and the older fans like myself! I also agree that the Mingus One Step in number 1 but in a very good year I would add Miles / Porgy and Bess MFSL 45rpm, Nathan Davis Sextet / Peace Treaty Sam Records and Ahmad Jamal Trio / At The Pershing But Not For Me AP 33 as three very beautiful additions to your list.
I think some of your additions are from 2019
@@Michael45RPM I think all 2020 according to Discogs but some were early in the year- just goes to show a great year for audiophile jazz reissues 😊
Fantastic selections! Thanks for sharing !!
Nice list Michael! Thank you
Thanks for this. I really enjoy your laid back presentation style and your enthusiasm for audiophile recordings. Looking forward to what’s in store for 2021.
Thanks for this! Cheers from Nova Scotia Canada!
I was looking forward to this and again you didn’t disappoint! Great list. I don’t think anyone with a brain could argue that.
I am impressed by the order and the way to store your vinyls, I missed my vinyls because i put all them on the trash and i convert to digital
Thats harsh :-)
Another amazing video my friend
Always great stuff, mr. Michael!
Great video Michael , amazing releases , I have most of them and agree are amazing
2020 was an amazing year for me! Discovered jazz, the tone poets, Bill Evans etc etc...my upmost love and gratitude to you and Mike at the Ingroove and Mazzi... look forward to 2021..Best wishes to you my friend.. Mark
Thanks Mark all the Best to you too :-)
Great list. Glad to agree with you regarding the top 2, as I also have those releases. Fantastic sound and pressings.
Love your channel 🥰🎵🎶🎵🎶🎵🎶
Danke! Awesome video. Liked the Captain Picard reference! "Sells out quicker than Captain Picard ask for Warp speed!" Very true! Share how you get these records so quickly please!.
I had a feeling that would be your no 1. Great records.
I am learning so much, a lot of this is new music to me (and I’m cheating with high res downloads). I am amazed at your knowledge and enthusiasm of music of different genres. I’m an 80s kid so 70s, especially post punk 80s with a lot of sprinkles of other stuff (yes I have jazz, classical, blues, folk, country etc etc), but what I’m learning here is ear popping. That TT of yours gets a real workout. Everybody calls you Michael, so Michael, best to you and yours for the season. Joyeux Noel et pour nous tous une meuilleure année 2021, de Montréal.
I don’t have any SRX’s or ERC’s but I was fortunate enough to get a lot of the others this year. Definitely agree with Mingus at the top spot, it’s stunning how good it sounds, even on my modest system. Also I hope Music Matters isn’t done yet, I think they could do a few more SRX or there’s also rumors of them doing another label like Riverside, guess we’ll see in 2021
Another great video.
Great list! I've been looking for the Herbie Hancock Maiden Voyage but no luck. You just have to jump on these right when they are released.
No worries - they'll be plenty when Blue Note releases it in July as part of their classic series.
Thanks! What a great list you have here. I agree, we have seen some amazing releases in 2020! Still looking for the Nina Simone, now it's going to be harder to find! :)
You need to listen to:
Wycliffe Gordon,
Arturo Sandoval,
Erick Miyashiro,
Elmer Churampi,
Lake street drive,
Takuya Kuroda,
Kurt Edelhagen,
Roberto Fonseca,
Doc Sverinsen,
James Morrison (Australian trumpetist),
Ramón Flores,
Bryan Culbertson,
Rafael Méndez,
Wayne Bergeron,
Dante Vargas,
Buddy Rich,
Maynard Ferguson
Shirley Bassey,
Phill Collins Big Band,
Roberta Gambarini,
Dizzy Gilespi,
Thats quite a list, thx for the recommendations
hard to argue with your list. i would put chet baker sings up a little higher - i still think that's my favorite tone poet release so far on that series. so curious to see what 2021 brings from the audiophile reissue world. i hope some big news soon! cin cin.
Good Lists
Ok, just ordered Bill Evans at the Montreux on 45. Thanks for covering this excellent topic! I *might* have to order one more off your list. Decisions, decisions.... 😁 🤔
MIchael, would you be so kind and show us around your vinyl shelves? It looks so awesome your background, and whenever I watch your videos I am wondering how do you organize the disks. Everything seems to be so neat, so nice - would be amazing to have a “private tour”. Thank you so much in advance considering my request!
This will come give just some time for it please
@@Michael45RPM Thank you so much Michael!
My pleasure
Michael, please make a 45 RPM Audiophile T-Shirt that says “Gorgeous!” on it.
Michel!!!!!!!!!!!! great 2020 list. with much respect you are a bad influence because i have been buying many of your collection ha ha ha ha. anyway thank you for every video you have done for us this year .
Danke
Great stuff, really enjoy your channel. My copy of Louis Armstrong and Oscar Peterson had some distortion which I believe was on the original tape, great music though.
Bang for the buck and actual availability you can't beat the Tone Poet series.
I know it was just a slip, but most of the UMe Verve Series were remastered by Ryan Smith @ Sterling, at that moment showing #20 and #10 you mentioned Kevin Grey.
Another great video, thank you! By the way, my wife ordered your #1 album of 2020 a few weeks ago, as a christmas gift for me, could only find it on Discogs.
Nice list, sir! Great video 👍
Nice list. Some unexpected surprises in there for sure. May I suggest, Eva Cassidy Nightbird, 7LP Boxset 45 RPM boxset. It’s my go-to “unexpected” demo album.
No arguments-maybe some slight jockeying on the positions, but all phenomenal albums. I have about half of them and agree about their merits, but I don’t have any of the SRX or ERC releases so I can only judge those by the pressings I have. I really covet the SRX Maiden Voyage, as it is one of my very favorite albums from one of my very favorite artists. I can’t wait for its Classic Series release.
I have enjoyed your description of the sleeves you use to protect your jackets, but wonder what do you use for the Mofi One Steps? Mine have ridiculous, oversized baggy sleeves. Thanks!
Amazing list thanks!!!
« Chapeau ! « Michael. Bonnes fêtes de fin d’année.
How do I know if the pressing is of good sound quality before I buy it? For example: I stand before the record shelf and see like 5 different pressings of Kind of Blue. Any tip on how I know which is good?
Although the CD release was fine, MGM was not the company to buy an LP from. Thus, the soundtrack to Mickey One suffered. That recording changed my world in the late 1960's. ( I hadn't heard Mingus yet) It still deserves a special LP release. It is extraordinary.
Love your reviews. Great channel too!
Thanks Paul :-) and welcome to the Channel
I’ve bought some jazz lps on your recommendations so thanks for that. The sidewinder is my fav so ta for that too. I love your enthusiasm and love for music. It rubs off on people so keep in keeping on.
Interesting Tone Poet selection , I would have selected The Cooker, Poppin’ and indeed Chet Baker Sings
Excellent video. Could you please tell me what type of lp outer covers are you using? Those are cool!
It would be nice to post a list in the description. Sometimes I have to rewind a video a couple of times to hear the label/ publisher good. Great "ranking", though!
GAH! how did the Maiden Voyage gatefold get split on the inside? Threw up a little in my mouth when I saw it. Just kidding- I love your channel! Learning so much
Great video as always, thanks for your content.
I was wondering; what are you mentioning regarding ‘the first batch’ of Satchmo meets Oscar Peterson ? I can’t quite figure what you are implying (like quality issues on 1st batch ?).
Many thanks for your help,
Cheers and kudos again
Chet Baker Sings is a phenomenal album. That pressing looks beautiful!!
Can't wait for the repress of this. #patientlywaiting
Great video. No argument. Lol
I like your channel, but I think you could bring more value to it if you were able to express *why* you think these albums and/or pressings are good. I don't really collect audiophile represses generally, but I'd love to know why you think they are better (or different) from other audiophile pressings, regular recent pressings, and/or-especially-how they stack up against earlier pressings (say, Liberty, Liberty UA, or even black or white "b" UA pressings.
Does a Van Gelder-stamped pressing sound different than a non-Van Gelder-stamped pressing? What about the mono UA represses from the 70s? You have a top-notch audio system-do you think these recordings sound different (better?) in your likely highly-resolving system? Why? Do you think these audiophile pressings would sound different with a high-end solid state amp rather than the valve monoblocks that you own?
For instance, with Inventions and Dimensions, what do you like about this recording vs. Herbie's previous or following recordings? There was clearly a strong Latin influence within US Jazz at this time, how do you think Herbie reflected this differently than other Jazz artists?
I am saying all of this with respect (we have enough stupid infighting within this community anyways...) You have the gear and the passion to present a much higher-level audio review, I'd love to hear it! Peace-
May I know what is your equipement to hear all those precious pressing?
look here:
czcams.com/video/iF2Qr8OpNxs/video.html&t
Would you pleased to list the detail information of the 20 Editions, including repressed record company name, records no., and so on.
Nice compilation. Which shelves do you use for your records and where can you get the outer covers for the gatefold sleeves?
Look here:
czcams.com/video/TkCvf7B-cv8/video.html
Vielen lieben Dank! Grandiose Idee.
Hi Michael, great list. I discovered your videos recently, this week, to be exactly. I also live in Germany, bavavaria, i type in english so everbody can understand the comment. I have question: Where do you buy your records/ which onlineshop do you use (except discogs)? Freue mich auf den neuen content!
Ich bestelle in den USA bei Acoustic Sounds, das lohnt sich bei größeren Bestellungen un d die Auswahl ist super
@@Michael45RPM Ok, da kommt man wahrscheinlich nicht drum herum bei gewissen audiophilen Pressungen. Bisher haben mich die Liefer-und Zoll/Steuer-kosten abgeschreckt.
@@Michael45RPM Nachtrag: Ich habe auf Discogs gesehen, dass es von Music Matters ebenfalls Neupressungen aus den Jahren 2010-2015 gibt. Hast du Erfahrungen mit Pressungen aus diesen Jahren? Diese sind teilweise relativ günstig.
I will say the truth, i really din't think on Mingus #1 but I said it...when I sw A love supreme as #2 I said it got a be MOFI the #1 and I hit it....YEEEESSSS, now I got to admit, I feel sad due I thought I will see my Fave trumpeter of them all Lee Morgan On the Top 3, unfortunally was in the Top4
Über die sonny rollins version von electric company hat der youtube kanal von "the in groove" ein video gemacht, dass mich etwas verwundert, er behauptet, dass diese version nicht das geld wert sei und die orginal pressung besser und gümstiger sei. Wie stehst du dazu? Kennst du das video?
Ja das habe ich gesehen. Ich frage mich halt, was ih dazu bewegt hat, er ist halt ein Plattenhändler, so ein Video könnte man häufig machen jedes Label hat mal Probleme oder defekte Cover... ich glaube das ist die Reaktion darauf, das er sie in seinem Laden nicht verkaufen darf.
@@Michael45RPM Aus diesem standpunkt habe ich das noch nicht betrachtet. Er hat allgemein ein grosses flair für erstpressungen, wenn man seine videos zum thema "welche version von ... klingt am besten" anschaut, ist die erstpressung häufig in dem top 2. Vielleicht gefällt ihm der klang dieser pressungen mehr oder vielleicht hat er jeweilige pressungen an lager zum verkaufen/handeln.
👌
Michael I thought you would pick MoFi's 45 rpm of "Kind Of Blue". How would you rank that one, is it even on your list? Great videos, by the way. I'm going broke trying to keep up!
That’s a 2015 release
@@gtaylor3350 Oops 😬 yeah, my bad!
What are those Gatefold outer sleeves U got?
Schau mal durch die Videos habe 3 über doe SLeeves gemacht (Vinyl Storage Solution)
So annoying how he keeps putting the albums down only to show them again (and again) 😡 It's an outstanding release, we get it. Can we move on to the next one?
🔥🔥🔥👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
I’m sorry to say that I have some difficult feedback to give you, because although I like what you do and I appreciate the lists you create, I think your videos are a missed opportunity for you to pass on the deep knowledge you have of this subject for which you have such a passion.
My issue with your videos is best explained by my former English teacher, who advised us to avoid using the word ‘nice’ whenever possible, because it’s a meaningless word.
For example, if I say one wine is ‘nicer’ another, it clearly means I prefer one over the other, but the listener receives no information about my reasoning, because ‘nice’ relays nothing about the differences in their qualities that I am using to judge them.
These differences represent both knowledge and skill in my being able to discern and differentiate their qualities...valuable to any student of the field. My inability to convey this to my listeners is a missed opportunity.
The same can be said of your favourite words: ‘beautiful’, ‘outstanding’, ‘fantastic’, ‘gorgeous’...these are no more informative than ‘nice’. Just try substituting them for ‘nice’ in your commentary and see if it loses anything...I don’t think it does, because there was nothing there to begin with. [I’m truly sorry for being so harsh, but if you reflect on what I’m saying you’ll realise it’s true].
Your introduction was perfect, because you defined the terms by which you judged the albums in this Top 20 list. You explained that it was not just about sound quality, but also packaging and rarity.
The problem is you didn’t follow through by explaining how each album faired in your judgement against these criteria, so that we could gain an insight into their differences.
Take the following three albums. You describe all of them as outstanding, so why are they ranked the way they are? Two are described as gorgeous, but that doesn’t separate them. Using logic I would guess that you think XRS is better than Tone Poet given they rank 11 and 12 respectively, but why should I be forced into guessing games? Much better for explain what you’re thinking.
If I didn’t know better, it sounds from your description like you are more keen on 12 and 13 than no.11.
6:48: No.13 - “Great quality, great mastering, great pressing. Outstanding cover recreation always from Sam Records. And a very very special record...it’s not your typical kind of jazz you’re used to. Try this one out, it’s outstanding....Highly recommended...I really love it...great work from Sam Records to bring this back on the streets back into our record shelves. Gorgeous.”
7:56 No.12 - “My favourite Tone Poet so far...outstanding, outstanding.”
8:32 No.11 - “Both XRS’s are fantastic, fantastic releases...outstanding, outstanding pressing, my favourite pressing on the XRS’s so far. Gorgeous.”
[You make a big deal about how one pressing is better than another, but what are the qualities that make a pressing superior? What elements of sound quality are you listening to in order to make a judgement on which pressing is better?
In the next segment you mention how expensive the recordings by the Electric Company are, but you fail to explain why....what a tease and missed opportunity!]
12:22 - “Terribly expensive because those Electric Company Recordings are gone faster than Capt. Picard gets warp speed with his space ship. But I think they are worth it, because they are quite special releases.”
[Finally, you’re quite adamant that you prefer the stereo pressing of no.7, but again fail to say why...even though I’m sure it would have been valuable to hear you explain the different sonic qualities that bring you to this decision.]
13:07 no.7 “...I like the stereo pressing much more than the mono release. The stereo pressing when it comes to my taste at least with my Hi-Fi equipment I like to hear it the most. This is for me the most beautiful remaster of A Way Out West. Outstanding beautiful album...gorgeous.”
When I reflect on what I gained by spending 20 mins watching your video, I’m sad to say that all I came away with was a list of 20 records that I know you adore, but have no inkling why, which leaves me with lots of research to work out which ones are worth buying.
I’m sorry that my comments here are so highly critical of your good intentions, and I hope you don’t take them the wrong way. I’m hoping that you may be able to use them to your/our advantage in future videos.
If I might suggest: perhaps you might try and use fewer adjectives by replacing them with nouns such as: sound stage, imaging, clarity, midrange, etc as these better lend themselves to a comparative analysis between albums than do adjectives.
You might also consider making a video about how you define the term audiophile record, because it can mean different things to different people. Some want to hear a performance of musicians playing live in a room to with a minimal mic setup. Others don’t care about a live performance but want every instrument mic-ed and the art for them is in the mixing. Some value the sound of the room/venue in the recording. What is you consider important in records you buy? Without an understanding of this, then we have no clue what you mean by the sonic virtues of a record.
p.s. I’d like to expand further on your criteria for buying a given album.
There’s clearly a sonic component relating to its pressing, mastering, and the inherent sound qualities of the recording in terms of soundstage, imaging, etc;
There’s a question of taste (i.e. how much you like the music);
There’s its collectibility; its rarity; its production value in terms of materials used, attention to detail, etc. And I’m sure there are other criteria that I’m completely unaware of.
I think people would find it helpful to hear which of these are most prominent in your decision about a given album, so that we have a better idea of whether it’s something for us.
Me, for example, I’m all about the sonic qualities of the recording...I don’t care about anything else and sadly with most of your videos I’m left guessing as to whether the album is worth my attention or not. Other viewers may place an emphasis on collectibility, others the aesthetics and quality of the packaging, but none of us will come away with a clear picture of what you think other than it being: beautiful, gorgeous, outstanding....nice.
I think you could make a few videos explaining your views on this topic alone.
p.p.s. Here’s my final and probably most concrete/useful comment on this topic.
Your preference for using adjectives (e.g. beautiful, fantastic, gorgeous, etc) to describe the qualities you perceive in an album are (by the very nature of adjectives) subjective. That is to say they describe perfectly how you feel about these albums, but our feelings and therefore our interpretation of these adjectives will be different.
I put it to you that a reviewer MUST get away from subjectivity as much as possible by expressing his/her feelings in an objective way. And it’s not that hard - one must simply has to expose the elements of the album that are the root of those feelings.
This is where nouns come in (e.g. soundstage, imaging, noise floor, etc), because they are concrete and tangible descriptions of physical characteristics and as such are more objective, which makes them by definition less subjective.
Take your comparison of the Grateful Dead MOFI vs Vinyl Me! Editions. You said the soundstage on the MOFI version was wider, which is tangible and relatable in an objective way by your viewers. More than this, we can test this for ourselves by playing the same albums on our gear and hopefully we hear the same thing.
In this narrow sense it is an objective comparison and its reproducibility constitutes knowledge that can be shared.
I hope that my harsh criticism will persuade you to be more objective in future videos.
@@GodfreyMann ...wow, Anthony ...you really put in a lot of thoughts and typing work for your (constructive) criticism. I do appreciate that and hope Michael and his channel can do so as well. You’re not (simply) bashing what he does but you give detailed advice and suggestions. And you are right to some degree.... I do like Michael‘s channel and would also like to hear his more differentiated thoughts/ listening experiences of pressings, sound quality and a few words about what he thought about the music when listening to it/ if it suits his taste etc. NOT in the way of „dancing your name“ ... 😂. How he rates the album in comparison to maybe one other from the same musician... Constructive reviewing so that we get a better picture if this kind of album is something for us to acquire...👍🏼.
@@bikemike1118 thanks your comment is great, because it’s fantastic...simply out-standing! :)
Great list. I sent an email to MM asking if their were plans to Maher more SRX records. Here is the reply:
“Hi Mark,
Not anytime soon. It's a very difficult medium to work with. Cost prohibitive to produce. RTI won't do it anymore either, as far as I know. It's kind of a nightmare. Too much waste of vinyl.”
So your assumption is right.
So is the SRX vinyl the same as the MFSL super vinyl? They both came out of RTI and MFSL is still using it for the one steps.
I am not sure.
2020 nach maine mainung das war ,,golden year of jazz vinyl,, und ich hofe 2021 were noch besser... uberashung fur mich das The Sidewinder war nicht Top 2... 😉
Los que citan a la marcha se sienten mas comodos y se identifican con los cementerios......eso ya lo sabemos
The distortion on the vocals of the Louis Armstrong album makes it unlistenable to me.
Absoluter Quatsch, sämtliche Firstpress vinyls klingen besser als jede analog productions
Träum weiter :-)
I can listen to some songs by artist like Nina Simone, Diana Krall etc.....but when it comes to Coltrane, Miles Davis etc, I just can’t stand it! Saxophone och trumpets must be the worse sounding instruments ever created! It really makes me want to kill myself. I have tried over and over again to listen to it.....but its terrible! I have no understanding how anyone can enjoy it. And yes.....pretty much all music that doesn’t have human vocals, kind of sucks!
🤣
let me guess...horn speakers?
@@Carrera6rennsport hahahaha...😂
Niklas, maybe you’re „newer“ to this genre. And your personal journey regarding music is not (yet) at that point. One can compare it in a way to when you first (as a teenager) tasted a quality red wine you probably didn’t like it because it didn’t taste sweet like the Softdrinks you were used to... it sur is a somewhat acquired taste and I personally think it needs a high quality Hi-Fi system (or HighEnd..) to better „get“ it. You also have to be in the mood for it and need a calm, relaxed mind. It’s nothing to listen with Apple AirPods sitting in the traffic in my opinion. And (I don’t know your age) it’s probably easier when you’re a bit matured as a person. When I was a teen or Twen this kind of Jazz (hardbob) for me also was horrible...some things get better with time and listening experience. But maybe you never get to like it. That’s also fine...