Search - Cannonball Adderley :: Somethin Else

RVG is destroying great jazz masterpieces

Max-Factor | Los Angeles, CA USA | 09/21/2009

(1 out of 5 stars)

"This is a MONO recording ! UPC 2434953292 shows EMI Music Distribution recording mode as STEREO which may actually be the case, however this RVG Edition is remastered in MONO and not a very good one. Presents a narrow sound stage with instruments on top of one another. I have some very well mastered "MONO" recordings but this is not one of them.



Clearly feel cheated on this one, as I have to buy the original Blue Note release.



Please do not buy into the hype about 24 bit analog to digital transfer because the results are borderline amateurish, like someone was messing around with their laptop software.



This is not the only landmark recording RVG has ruined. "Moaning" by Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers is another one to be avoided."

The older, 1990 remastering is in Stereo

German Artist | California | 04/26/2010

(3 out of 5 stars)

"
The number of the stars doesn't rate the music, nor the quality of this RVG remastering. I just wanted to draw your attention to something:



Other reviewers who own this new 1999 RVG remastered album have stated that it is in Mono, although from what I read, Rudy van Gelder supposedly originally recorded the album in Mono as well as Stereo.



I ordered the the 1990 remastering (by Ron McMaster) and it is in Stereo.



Currently, Amazon does show the search result under the album title for the old remastering, which is OOP, but available cheaply by scores of Marketplace sellers. Up to a few days ago they did not show it in the search results.



When I originally searched for "Somethin' Else", or "Cannonball Adderley Somethin Else", Amazon only showed search results for the 1999 or later RVG remastered (Mono) versions. After a while, I found out I had to search for "Cannonball Adderley" only, no album name. When I flipped through the pages of search results under his name, I found, toward the end, the OOP 1990 remastered release, which I bought. I like the sound of the old release, it is (I think real, not manuctured) Stereo.



Some Jazz conoisseurs prefer the older, Ron McMaster remasterings of classic Blue Note CDs over the new (especially 1999 - 2003) RVG remasterings, in spite of the fact, that the latter are remastered by Rudy van Gelder, the original recording engineer of those classic Jazz performances.



My comment is not supposed to be critical of the RVG remasterings. Reading some of the critical reviews may help you make a decision. I just want to assist you in finding the 1990 release, in case Amazon chooses again to hide the results. Try to search for "Cannonball Adderley" only. Don't give up, that album does exist."