Search - Wessell Anderson :: Ways of Warmdaddy

Not So Hot

Karl W. Nehring | Ostrander, OH USA | 07/04/2009

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Saxophonist Wessell Anderson fronts quartets and trios on this outing, closing off with a solo performance on "Mood Indigo." Musically, this CD is pleasant enough, but it is the sound quality that compels me to write. This disk is HDCD-encoded, and played through a non-HDCD player, it sounded soft and rolled off--pleasant, but not very realistic. How much was microphone choice and/or placement and how much was HDCD encoding I do not know, but what I do know is that despite the claims that HDCD recordings are supposed to sound better than other recordings even when played back through non-HDCD decoders, I am beginning to consider the little HDCD notice a good reason to pause before deciding whether to spend my money. Add to that the dismaying news that this recording is barely over 40 minutes long, and I don't think too many people will go out of their way to buy it. My copy went back to the used-CD store where I picked it up."