monkboughtlunch

And what about the Lou Donaldson Argo / Cadet sessions? Some of these were issued by the Japanese on CD. But other dates did not make it to CD from the master tapes. For example, Musty Rusty (with Grant Green) was issued on CD by a bootleg label in Spain, but they just did a needledrop. So will Musty Rusty never make it to CD from the master tapes?

The scary thing is that 40% of Jamal's Argo masters recorded between 1956-1962 are DESTROYED by that damn fire. That doesn't bode well for the impact on other Argo artists. Truly depressing. They probably knew what they had in an Excel database -- but figured the ability to monetize those assets were low and therefore treated the tapes accordingly with ambivalence and neglect. .

Remember the 2008 Universal fire? Universal came out and did damage control and downplayed the incident. But more and more evidence is surfacing suggesting the Argo jazz catalog may have been significantly destroyed. Take the fantastic and much anticipated Jamal Mosaic. This is a must purchase. But the verbiage of the product description on the Mosaic web site got me wondering how many other Argo artists had their tapes burned besides Jamal: I reached out to Michael Cuscuna and asked if the Jamal set had to use any needle drops. Fortunately the answer is no. I also asked about the possibility of a Ramsey Lewis Argo Mosaic. Mr. Cuscuna said: So great news that a Ramsey Lewis Argo set was being considered. But it's frustrating that Universal didn't take more precautions with respect to their tapes. I wonder how many Argo master source tapes were destroyed in that fire; it seems to be much higher than Universal cares to admit. You would think the record labels would have learned from the Atlantic fire in the 70s. Really sad that Argo appears to have sustained such a hit from the fire. I wonder if Cadet masters were destroyed too. Remember that curious unreleased Baby Face Willette CADET session (in the Ruppli book) recorded in 1965 (Willette's final studio session, never before heard by the public)? If that Willette session was still in the Universal vault, I wonder if it was destroyed too? The Japanese released two Sam Lazar Lps on CD: Space Flight and Playback. But one more Lazar album never made to CD: Soul Merchant. I wonder if the Soul Merchant master was destroyed in the fire too.

Vault's owner was Jack Lewerke, who died in 1977. His son Greg is a well known manager of many rock acts and, according to his email address at the bottom of this web page (www.ronrainey.com), has still something to do with Vault. Maybe you can ask him who's the current owner. Hi Thanks for the tip! I emailed Greg Lewerke and asked who currently owns the Vault catalog and the Jack Wilson album "Ramblin.'" Greg's response: Does anyone have a contact at Warner Brothers who we can reach out to and ask if a "Ramblin" reissue is possible? The "Fresh Sounds Spain" CD version of this title published in Spain is a needle drop bootleg dubbed from an old Lp. This fantastic date deserve a legal release from the master tapes. Someone please help!!!

Why would Michael no longer be working for Blue Note? EMI cost cutting?

Kevin, Since you are in dialogue with Mr. Cuscuna, do you know if Blue Note plans to reissue any more titles on the EMI label? Or is everything at a standstill due to EMI's financial woes?

I've picked up an XRCD and 3 of the AP SACDs (mastered by Hoffman and Gray). They both sound great and trump the RVG CDs and old McMasters. The XRCDs are both detailed and warm with an incredible depth to the instruments. The AP SACDs are even warmer and have a lush and smooth "vacuum tubey" sound. Both sound great!!

No. And the titles are available now from Elusive Disc. Link to the Mobley title: http://www.elusivedisc.com/prodinfo.asp?number=AWMXR0001 Features: • Mastered and produced by Alan Yoshida and Joe Harley from the Original Rudy Van Gelder Blue Note 2-Track Analog Tapes! • Highest Quality Analog-to-Digital transfers from tape to CD. • Deluxe Packaging with Hi-Resolution Black & White Session Photos. • Includes Original Album Liner Notes • XRCD24 is Compatible with ALL CD PLAYERS!

More info on the Blue Note XRCDs produced by Joe Harley. They are available online at Elusive Disc: http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=181862 Just received Soul Station XRCD. The packaging is beautiful. The detail from the hardbound gloss cover is phenomenal, doing great service to Reid Miles and Francis Wolff. From a sonic perspective, I'd say Joe Harley and Alan Yoshida hit the ball out of the park. I A/B'd the sound with the 1998 RVG CD. The XRCD has a wider stereo image and much greater dynamic freedom. Art Blakey's drum rolls soar free of the compressed/limited approach on the old 1990s RVG CD. The RVG CD has a near-mono (the stereo channels are panned inward ) image replete with "spitty" compression artifacts on the high hat. The instruments have a squashed, claustrophobic feeling. Blakey's drum rolls are smashed and clawed downwards with injudicious compression. This Soul Station XRCD is highly recommended. The music breathes on the XRCD version and sounds very natural. One of the best masterings I've heard of any Blue Note title. The mastering on the XRCD also trumps the 1980s McMaster master, as McMaster often juiced up the high hat and cymbals to an unnatural brightness level (does Ron have high frequency hearing loss?). Not so with the XRCD. Alan Yoshida's mastering approach achieves a very natural timbre for the high hat and cymbals. http://www.elusivedisc.com/products.asp?dept=1513

This web site is a great resource. You can hear samples of the 2009 remasters in mono and stereo and compare with different vinyl versions: http://www.beatledrops.com/

Help and Rubber Soul are not "new remixes." They are the same February 1987 DIGITAL remixes (using 16 bit technology and digital reverb) which Martin made for the original 1987 CDs. These were the only 2 albums digitally remixed for the 87 CDs. The others were made from the original tapes back in 87. Fast forward to 2009. The answer to your question: Politics. George Martin considered his 87 digital stereo remixes of these 2 albums "definitive." So perhaps the Apple reissue/engineering/remastering committee was afraid to say "the emperor has no clothes" and has instead opted to cow-tow to this internal political pressure, despite the absurdity of slapping new eq on a flawed couple of 16 bit 1987 digital reverb laden remixes probably stored all these years on U-matic videotape and calling them "remastered." The remastering team can sleep at night because they can say, "well the original stereo mixes are available on the mono box." That one has to fork over $200 plus dollars to get the original stereo mixes on the mono box is asinine. They could have fit both the original mono and original stereo mixes on a single cd in most cases. You really need both box sets. Because some of the mono mixes are superior - like the first two British Lps which were not recorded on 4 track, but rather twin track with voices in one channel and instruments in the other. Those 2 do sound better in mono. Also, Rubber Soul does sound better in mono as well. As for the others, I think the stereo sounds great and can go toe to toe with the mono.

Agreed. Beatles For Sale is by far superior in stereo. The mono mix of Beatles For Sale is flaccid, impotent and lifeless--no balls. A hyper-compressed, lifeless anemic sound. In contrast, the original stereo mix of Beatles For Sale is less processed, more dynamic and has better bass definition and the instruments can be heard in better detail.

Here's an audio interview with Dave Dexter Jr: http://groups.google.com/group/rec.music.b...9bd98647083c10b

Here's another one -- from All Music Guide http://www.answers.com/topic/dave-dexter-j...-artist-60s-70s

Another comparison of Dexter reverb vs the original master tape produced by George Martin. This time, "Things We Said Today": Dexter Capitol 1964 Lp (added reverb in right channel): http://www.beatledrops.com/HardDaysST/Said...N_ST2018_EC.wav 2009 remaster: Master tape as produced by Martin (slight reverb on in phantom center): http://www.beatledrops.com/HardDaysST/Said...ay_Remaster.wav

More about Dexter, from the New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/02/books/review/Kirby2-t.html

Here's an example of Dexter's so called "improvements" which he felt warranted him a producer credit on the back of US Lps. Capitol Dexterized reverb added on the Something New album: (And I Love Her (extra reverb in right channel) http://www.beatledrops.com/HardDaysST/Love...N_ST2018_EC.wav Original stereo mix by George Martin (And I Love Her) from the 2009 CD remaster of A Hard Day's Night (reverb is only in the phantom center): http://www.beatledrops.com/HardDaysST/Love_Her_Remaster.wav

Let's agree to disagree on that one. I can actually hear the band on the mono version. To the contrary, Harrison's Gretch guitar is almost inaudible in the mono mix, but clearly upfront in the right channel of the stereo mix. Bass response is much better on the stereo, despite it being panned hard left. Anyone who compares the two samples will notice this. Here's the 1987 CD - original 1964 mono mix: http://www.beatledrops.com/SaleM/Party_BFS_87_CD_M.wav Here's the 2009 CD - original 1964 stereo mix (first time on CD from master tape, 2009): http://www.beatledrops.com/SaleST/Party_Remaster.wav

It should also be noted about Dexter: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Dexter,_Jr. In addition to sonically altering the finished masters provided by the EMI/Beatles/George Martin to Capitol, Dexter included verbiage about himself on the back of US Lps:

Hi Oddjob, Have you heard the 2009 remaster of "Beatles For Sale?" The original stereo mix is by far superior, as the mono mix was heavily compressed and EQ'd very bright and thinly for AM radio and portable "Sears type" low fi record players. In contrast, the original stereo mix is less compressed, more dynamic, and has much greater detail. Here's the 1987 CD - original 1964 mono mix: http://www.beatledrops.com/SaleM/Party_BFS_87_CD_M.wav Here's the 2009 CD - original 1964 stereo mix (first time on CD from master tape, 2009): http://www.beatledrops.com/SaleST/Party_Remaster.wav

Hardcore Beatles fans often exhibit an inability or unwillingness to place anyone even remotely associated with their heroes into any sort of larger sociological, historical or artistic context. For Beatles fans, people's lives begin somewhere around 1962 and end somewhere around 1970. Any of their achievements or disasters occurring before or after these dates are ignored. This subculture's vilification of that "bozo" you reference is a prime example. Dave Dexter played a huge role in making Capitol Records the great label that is was in the 1940s and 1950s. He signed, among others, such has-beens as Duke Ellington, Frank Sinatra, Nat "King" Cole, Peggy Lee, and Stan Kenton. No other major mainstream pop label had a roster of artists as strong as Capitol's during this period; and Dexter's contributions far, far outweigh both his later degradations of - and improvements to - the Beatles' catalog. Whether you like what Dexter did with the Beatles or not, dismissing him as a "bozo" suggests a lack of understanding of pop music, and also perpetuates unfavorable stereotypes of Beatles fans. The Beatles and Dave Dexter both deserve better. Business sense and signing high value talent differs from poor post production audio skills and tampering with an artists finished master. From that perspective, I stand by the bozo comment. The frustration many have felt with the Beatles catalog is that the 1987 CDs sounded atrocious and the first four albums were available on CD only in mono, despite the 3rd and 4th Lps (A Hard Days Night and Beatles For Sale) being recorded on 4-track and true stereo mixes (with a phantom center) existing. Instead, the poor quality Dexter dubs with Capitol applied reverb and in some cases electronically processed fake stereo made it to CD several years ago, while the original stereo master tapes were not tapped (in the case of first four albums) until the 2009 remasters.

The "Capitol Albums" sets were the American releases, but were never (either the 60s Capital Lps or thes 2000s Capital CD box sets) sourced from the original master mixdown tapes. Instead, some bozo named Dave Dexter at Capitol took the dubs EMI provided Capitol in the 60s and then redubbed them adding reverb and sometimes fake stereo for the US market Lps. This is why comparing the new 2009 remasters (from the original master mixdown tapes) to the bastardized Dexter US Capitol Albums CDs (3rd generation with added reverb and sometimes fake rechanneled stereo on a couple of tracks) is an inappropriate comparison. Dexter also changed the songs and sequences on the US releases - so that they didn't match the way the Beatles intended the Lps to be released in the UK. Some say the infamous Beatles butcher cover, was their statement of disapproval to the way Dexter "butchered" their albums for the U.S. market. More info from Steve Hoffman on Dave Dexter: http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showpost...mp;postcount=14

Below is the new cover art for the audiophile LP version Joe Harley is producing. Steve Hoffman mastered the Lp. Joe said he planned to also make it an XRCD (compact disc format) as well, though it's unclear when this CD would be released. My guess is the XRCD of Matador would be mastered by Alan Yoshida

FYI. For those interested, I've been running a parallel thread on this topic on the Steve Hoffman forum in hopes of gleaning additional information: http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=190717

I asked Mr. Luf if he would be so kind as to provide me a bullet point list of the lead artists on all extant "Jazz" and "Mixed Bag" tapes. What's interesting is that Atwood didn't believe any of the "Jazz" programs were recorded due to union agreements. But the station archivist, Mr. Luf, said some had indeed survived. So my hope is: a) the Green performance COULD survive if the organist was the leader and Green was the sideman (e.g. the tape is filed under "John Patton" and Green's name wasn't listed on the tape logs since he was a sideman). Remember, Atwood said they didn't record the names of side personnel. b) even if the Green performance doesn't exist, the fact that the performances of other jazz greats may have been preserved from the "Jazz" show is pretty exciting. So hopefully Mr. Luf will share the full list of artists and we will know more perhaps next week.