The Sonny Stitt album came as a complete surprise to me. Totally blown away by it musically and sonically. Thank you for all that you do Scott! Looking forward to your reviews in 2025.
Yes it’ a great one and my two top picks from this batch are it and the Johnny Hodges. I love the sound that Verve captures at this time. Sounding better than ever on these beautiful reissues. Now onward to 2025!
Thanks Scott, lots of great vinyl! Good to know about your storefront, just bookmarked it. Bought the Mofi Bookends on your recommendation and greatly enjoying it, much better than my Sundazed version. Hope you get some holiday time off!
That's awesome! Thank you! Wait til see the jacket of the Hodges record. So beautiful as is the sound that Bernie drew out of the tape. I think you'll love Moonbeans too. Classic Bill Evsns, surprisingly good!
@@ThePressingMatters Just Saturday I got Bill Evans "Sunday At The Village Vanguard" and four Donald Byrd albums I haven't listened to yet. I had to check my Discogs because I thought I had that Johnny Hodges but then I remembered I had it in my wishlist but every time I went to order it was sold out. You can't dilly dally on these things, lol. I got another Rafael Puyana harpsichord album from Acoustic Sounds. It was from one of their used collections but cost $45. It's "Baroque Masterpieces For The Harpsichord" Mercury Living Presence #SR90411. That man could make the harpsichord sound like nothing I ever heard, and I hope I can find more originals.
There are some gems in that late Mercury catalog! That is one of them. Sunday at the VV is a classic. Did you get the last Craft OJC? Someone just gave me a copy of a vintage German press of it. I have to clean it up and play it!
Yep, the over wins the day! Still, not as bad as the hurt felt after the RCA Living Stereo video. The rewards have been amazing. I’ll check out the storefront
Great video! I’m impressed to know that you put your videos together in your two days off. I think I have a sense of how much time, careful thought and planning goes into them, plus editing. I’m one of very many subscribers who are grateful for all your hard work. I hope you get some pure downtime, too. Except for the John Lee Hooker, Evans’ Moon Beams, and the Michelangeli, I have all the records you mentioned here, though some are different pressings. For example, I have Blues-A-Plenty as a 2x45 AP/QRP pressing, which is great, though my friends who own the Verve Acoustic Sounds series version say it sounds amazing and approaches the 2x45 version in SQ, for a lot less money. Oh, about Bookends. I’m happy to know there’s a standard-price version that sounds fantastic. But your earlier video review convinced me it’s worth having the Mofi 2x45. I put it in my cart after watching that video of yours, and just haven’t checked out yet. I’ll get it as a Christmas present to myself. Thanks again for the great work you for this 11,800 strong community you’ve built these past few years in this little corner of the UA-cam-verse. Best, Ron C from Kenosha
Hi Ron, I wanted to thank you for you support of my channel! I really appreciate it! Quickly, the MOFI Bookends is a Supervinyl 33, not a 45. I'm at work now so I'll respond to the rest of your comment later tonight! Take care and thank you!
Hi Ron, You likely are all set with Blues a Plenty, if my other Verve 45s are anything to go by. I think yours was cut by George Marino. Its still pretty attractive to get the much better jacket, a 33rpm for musical flow, and of course Bernies take on it. I've never had the opportunity to compare them. If I had to guess, the Marino might be a touch more forward than Bernie’s. Maybe your friends can describe what they heard. I'd love to know! If we don't talk again before the holidays, I wish you the very best. Scott
All the Bluesville releases are stellar, but I am so taken with the new Rev. Gary Davis, finally a great recording where I can finally hear this most influential of acoustic blues artists. Thanks for the Johnny Hodges shout out, I have the Classics version, I can listen to anything he’s done anytime, got the Moasic sets, his RCA OGs, his Verve OGs. Everything but his album with Lawrence Welk! But promise to pick it up next time I see it. Just got the Stitt, the Vaughn (got to see her at Blues Alley 40 years ago), would love to get the Callas (I have all her operas on EMI OGs). Oh, well.
Scott, I haven’t purchased a vinyl disc since 1986 (I get by on CDs and You Tube), but you’re inspiring me! The tone arm for my turntable is dysfunctional, but hey, the record jackets alone are worth the price on many of these. Great to display! By the way, I love the lead-in music to your videos.
Thanks for your comments! Its a bit of a financial investment to go back into vinyl, but I find it a rewarding pursuit. Maybe collect you favorites why there in print for your future vinyl set up. I'll be covering more equipment soon. Used is the best bang for the buck! Yes the jackets are frame worthy! Such a luxurious look and feel!
I'm glad you mentioned the lead in music. At one point, I thought I wanted a fresh lead in video but it just wasn't the same. The original music works really well.
I was at the Festival Hall last month to see a Max Richter rendition of his “The Blue Diaries “ and Tilda Swindon was actually there to reprise her spoken word contribution. Mesmerising afternoon.
You just brought forward every true, diverse audiophile's ultimate dilemma. There are too many great records and not enough time to hear them all and own them all. Most of what you covered in this video are top tier artists. It must have been painful to not be able to cover them this year. It is time to get your blues mojo on, Scott! 💪👊 Johnny Lee is a great start, but there are so many truly great blues artists. 😻 I often recommend that people start with the electric blues artists first and then work their way back to the folk acoustic blues artists. Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, John Lee Hooker, Elmore James, T-Bone Walker, and "The Three Kings" (BB King, Albert King, & Freddie King) would be a really good start for electric blues. 😻 Some of these artists also played acoustic blues too. If you like acoustic blues and roots music, start with Robert Johnson, Blind Willie Johnson, Mississippi John Hurt, Skip James, Lonnie Johnson, and Son House. One of my very favorite, if not favorite, blues artists is Lightnin' Hopkins. With the look and the extraordinary talent, he was the epitome of cool among blues artists. He played both acoustic and electric blues.😻 I really hope that you get your mojo on by covering a few blues albums in 2025. 🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸
Thank you for all the wonderful blues suggestions. I picked up a couple of from the Prestige series. I actually like the acoustic stuff so far. I'll get some more and do a video on it from my beginner’s perspective. Yeah it hurt not to be able to do Sonny Stitt and Johnny Hodges, especially as I have really beautiful thumbnails done for those. Perhaps I'll revisit for full reviews!
@@ThePressingMatters When it comes to blues vinyl records, it's really pretty tough. I was just talking to a guy I call Jazzy Jeff. He's a used vinyl record seller. He doesn't see blues records very often. Finding OG copies of great blues records in NM condition is very difficult. If you find them in that condition, get ready to pay some really big bucks. We're very fortunate to have people like Chad Kassam who are reissuing blues records to get over these hurdles. You're about to discover some truly great music. Though not as musically complex as jazz, it is full of emotion and can be so soulful.
@@ThePressingMatters This is a cover of the Skip James Great Depression era classic Hard Time Killing Floor Blues performed by Larkin Poe: ua-cam.com/video/nsAUvYn97eo/v-deo.html. I actually like this version better than the Skip James original. The lap steel guitar slide on this version is absolutely heavenly blues. 😻 I saw them perform it live in concert at the MJF in Monterey years ago. 😻😻😻😻😻
I think Verve Acoustic Sounds Series is doing John Lee Hookers Serve You Right To Suffer in the new year. I was close to buying the AP 45 a couple years ago but held off but glad it's finally getting a really good 33rpm mastering
So many records, too little time (and money!). At least I can live vicariously through your video. Several of these are on my list. How is the sound on the Ella?
I know! It's getting crazy. I'm trying to be more selective, and I've had some success. The sound on the Ella is good. It's not quite audiophile quality. You get a good sense of the size of the venue, audience is slightly back, so not distracting. The voice is clear but a touch distant. It's one you'd want for the performance over the sound, though it's very good.
@@ThePressingMatters Kinda what I expected to hear... but sure is tempting.(I'm a HUGE Ella fan). My priority right now is to pick up as many of Chad's classical titles as possible before they go OOP. Fortunately I like the Classic versions of all but the earliest Living Stereo blockbusters - but still it's a lot of records!!!
I noticed the Rubinstein Rachmaninoff Concerto is now gone. Not sure if you said you were going to grab it. I wish we could know which ones are running low.
I think so. That is the impression I got when talking to him. Maybe the best strategy is to pick from the more obscure titles first. Or just go with your next must-have.
Thanks Scott, for these reviews, I was thinking of getting the Ravel as I love that piece , but less than 30 minutes of music is not worth it imho. Interestingly you can find the performance in you tube, some of the others are quite cheap, but your store doesn’t seem to work in Oz Amazon unfortunately.
The Ravel was taken from a video performance. I'd love to see it. I don't think the record is worth the cost either. Its just not a great value at $60?
@ here u go ua-cam.com/video/5YGxbA0WJ0k/v-deo.htmlsi=j7KqP5s7qNfoAO35 , not bad video for 1982 . I like the AMB biopic at the start lol very bbc Celibidache claps his playing at the end !
Your 1st John Lee Hooker LP? You are indeed just getting started with the Blues. You should put it on your 2025 New Years Resolution to listen, review and learn more about our great American Blues Traditions. Good Lord what the Blues has contributed to everything we listen to today and the RICH RICH Blues History and Culture in our country. It's obvious to me that the Blues in the UA-cam Vinyl Review Community seems not only to be ignored but to a certain extent looked down on. But this has always been the case by the Jazz snobs. We had some great reissues this year from Lightnin Hopkins (The Greatest Bluesman Ever,) Albert King, Skip James and Jimmy Reed just to name a few.
I am totally with you brother! Never has any music spoken to me and moved me more than the blues for the reasons you mentioned and for other more personal reasons. It is what I strive to play on guitar more than anything else. As Eddie Van Halen once said, "Everything begins with the blues anyways." Thank you for your comment, and I hope that the blues continues to be a joy to you. 👍👍👍
Yes, I'm very excited to have something like this to explore! Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll be picking up more from this and the Prestige series.
The Sonny Stitt album came as a complete surprise to me. Totally blown away by it musically and sonically.
Thank you for all that you do Scott! Looking forward to your reviews in 2025.
Yes it’ a great one and my two top picks from this batch are it and the Johnny Hodges. I love the sound that Verve captures at this time. Sounding better than ever on these beautiful reissues.
Now onward to 2025!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on John Lee Hooker's Burning Hell. Glad you enjoyed!
It was fantastic. Was it Matt Luthans who mastered it? Love his work. Great classic stuff, wonderful jacket. Looking forward to try another.
Loving your positivity Scott!
Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed the video!
Thanks Scott, lots of great vinyl! Good to know about your storefront, just bookmarked it. Bought the Mofi Bookends on your recommendation and greatly enjoying it, much better than my Sundazed version. Hope you get some holiday time off!
Fantastic! The MOFI is awesome. The one I showed today is good if one doesn't want to splurge on the MOFI.
I just ordered the Johnny Hodges and Bill Evans through your Amazon links. Thanks for the tips.
That's awesome! Thank you! Wait til see the jacket of the Hodges record. So beautiful as is the sound that Bernie drew out of the tape. I think you'll love Moonbeans too. Classic Bill Evsns, surprisingly good!
@@ThePressingMatters
Just Saturday I got Bill Evans "Sunday At The Village Vanguard" and four Donald Byrd albums I haven't listened to yet. I had to check my Discogs because I thought I had that Johnny Hodges but then I remembered I had it in my wishlist but every time I went to order it was sold out. You can't dilly dally on these things, lol.
I got another Rafael Puyana harpsichord album from Acoustic Sounds. It was from one of their used collections but cost $45. It's "Baroque Masterpieces For The Harpsichord" Mercury Living Presence #SR90411. That man could make the harpsichord sound like nothing I ever heard, and I hope I can find more originals.
There are some gems in that late Mercury catalog! That is one of them. Sunday at the VV is a classic. Did you get the last Craft OJC?
Someone just gave me a copy of a vintage German press of it. I have to clean it up and play it!
@@ThePressingMatters
Yes, I got the Craft Recording and I'm going to give it a spin this evening. Life is good, lol.
It certainly is! I love whats happening with the reissue market these days.
Yep, the over wins the day! Still, not as bad as the hurt felt after the RCA Living Stereo video. The rewards have been amazing. I’ll check out the storefront
Thanks! The Living Stereo topic is coming back soon with two more titles to review, and an interesting update. Thanks for checking out the storefront.
So far La Mer and the Brahms Heifetz violin concerto have been favorites, but they’re all fantastic. I’ll be watching
I need both!
The Heifetz really slaps!
I bought the Sibelius Concerto for my next episode. I do have the Classic and original for the Brahms.
Great video! I’m impressed to know that you put your videos together in your two days off. I think I have a sense of how much time, careful thought and planning goes into them, plus editing. I’m one of very many subscribers who are grateful for all your hard work. I hope you get some pure downtime, too.
Except for the John Lee Hooker, Evans’ Moon Beams, and the Michelangeli, I have all the records you mentioned here, though some are different pressings. For example, I have Blues-A-Plenty as a 2x45 AP/QRP pressing, which is great, though my friends who own the Verve Acoustic Sounds series version say it sounds amazing and approaches the 2x45 version in SQ, for a lot less money.
Oh, about Bookends. I’m happy to know there’s a standard-price version that sounds fantastic. But your earlier video review convinced me it’s worth having the Mofi 2x45. I put it in my cart after watching that video of yours, and just haven’t checked out yet. I’ll get it as a Christmas present to myself.
Thanks again for the great work you for this 11,800 strong community you’ve built these past few years in this little corner of the UA-cam-verse.
Best,
Ron C from Kenosha
Hi Ron,
I wanted to thank you for you support of my channel! I really appreciate it!
Quickly, the MOFI Bookends is a Supervinyl 33, not a 45.
I'm at work now so I'll respond to the rest of your comment later tonight!
Take care and thank you!
Hi Ron,
You likely are all set with Blues a Plenty, if my other Verve 45s are anything to go by. I think yours was cut by George Marino.
Its still pretty attractive to get the much better jacket, a 33rpm for musical flow, and of course Bernies take on it. I've never had the opportunity to compare them.
If I had to guess, the Marino might be a touch more forward than Bernie’s. Maybe your friends can describe what they heard. I'd love to know!
If we don't talk again before the holidays, I wish you the very best.
Scott
@@ThePressingMatters Thanks, same to you too, Scott!
All the Bluesville releases are stellar, but I am so taken with the new Rev. Gary Davis, finally a great recording where I can finally hear this most influential of acoustic blues artists. Thanks for the Johnny Hodges shout out, I have the Classics version, I can listen to anything he’s done anytime, got the Moasic sets, his RCA OGs, his Verve OGs. Everything but his album with Lawrence Welk! But promise to pick it up next time I see it. Just got the Stitt, the Vaughn (got to see her at Blues Alley 40 years ago), would love to get the Callas (I have all her operas on EMI OGs). Oh, well.
Thank you for your recommendation! I'll check it out. Just getting started on that genre. I'll have more coming up soon!
Yo Mr Wilson.
I concur on every front. And If your pal John concurs then you know your in good shape‼️
Nicely done vid as per usual.
JD
Thank you John!
Scott, I haven’t purchased a vinyl disc since 1986 (I get by on CDs and You Tube), but you’re inspiring me! The tone arm for my turntable is dysfunctional, but hey, the record jackets alone are worth the price on many of these. Great to display!
By the way, I love the lead-in music to your videos.
Thanks for your comments! Its a bit of a financial investment to go back into vinyl, but I find it a rewarding pursuit. Maybe collect you favorites why there in print for your future vinyl set up. I'll be covering more equipment soon. Used is the best bang for the buck!
Yes the jackets are frame worthy! Such a luxurious look and feel!
I'm glad you mentioned the lead in music. At one point, I thought I wanted a fresh lead in video but it just wasn't the same. The original music works really well.
I was at the Festival Hall last month to see a Max Richter rendition of his “The Blue Diaries “ and Tilda Swindon was actually there to reprise her spoken word contribution. Mesmerising afternoon.
That sounds wonderful!
You just brought forward every true, diverse audiophile's ultimate dilemma. There are too many great records and not enough time to hear them all and own them all. Most of what you covered in this video are top tier artists. It must have been painful to not be able to cover them this year. It is time to get your blues mojo on, Scott! 💪👊 Johnny Lee is a great start, but there are so many truly great blues artists. 😻 I often recommend that people start with the electric blues artists first and then work their way back to the folk acoustic blues artists. Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, John Lee Hooker, Elmore James, T-Bone Walker, and "The Three Kings" (BB King, Albert King, & Freddie King) would be a really good start for electric blues. 😻 Some of these artists also played acoustic blues too. If you like acoustic blues and roots music, start with Robert Johnson, Blind Willie Johnson, Mississippi John Hurt, Skip James, Lonnie Johnson, and Son House. One of my very favorite, if not favorite, blues artists is Lightnin' Hopkins. With the look and the extraordinary talent, he was the epitome of cool among blues artists. He played both acoustic and electric blues.😻 I really hope that you get your mojo on by covering a few blues albums in 2025. 🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸
Thank you for all the wonderful blues suggestions. I picked up a couple of from the Prestige series. I actually like the acoustic stuff so far. I'll get some more and do a video on it from my beginner’s perspective.
Yeah it hurt not to be able to do Sonny Stitt and Johnny Hodges, especially as I have really beautiful thumbnails done for those. Perhaps I'll revisit for full reviews!
@@ThePressingMatters When it comes to blues vinyl records, it's really pretty tough. I was just talking to a guy I call Jazzy Jeff. He's a used vinyl record seller. He doesn't see blues records very often. Finding OG copies of great blues records in NM condition is very difficult. If you find them in that condition, get ready to pay some really big bucks. We're very fortunate to have people like Chad Kassam who are reissuing blues records to get over these hurdles. You're about to discover some truly great music. Though not as musically complex as jazz, it is full of emotion and can be so soulful.
@@ThePressingMatters This is a cover of the Skip James Great Depression era classic Hard Time Killing Floor Blues performed by Larkin Poe: ua-cam.com/video/nsAUvYn97eo/v-deo.html. I actually like this version better than the Skip James original. The lap steel guitar slide on this version is absolutely heavenly blues. 😻 I saw them perform it live in concert at the MJF in Monterey years ago. 😻😻😻😻😻
I'll check it out! Thanks!
Thank you for your time & trouble
My pleasure!
Good morning.
Good Morning! Thanks for coming by!
I think Verve Acoustic Sounds Series is doing John Lee Hookers Serve You Right To Suffer in the new year. I was close to buying the AP 45 a couple years ago but held off but glad it's finally getting a really good 33rpm mastering
Yes I saw that too! I'll definitely give that a try!
Good late afternoon from Oxfordshire
Good Evening! Thanks. For checking out this video!
So many records, too little time (and money!). At least I can live vicariously through your video. Several of these are on my list. How is the sound on the Ella?
I know! It's getting crazy. I'm trying to be more selective, and I've had some success. The sound on the Ella is good. It's not quite audiophile quality. You get a good sense of the size of the venue, audience is slightly back, so not distracting. The voice is clear but a touch distant. It's one you'd want for the performance over the sound, though it's very good.
@@ThePressingMatters Kinda what I expected to hear... but sure is tempting.(I'm a HUGE Ella fan). My priority right now is to pick up as many of Chad's classical titles as possible before they go OOP. Fortunately I like the Classic versions of all but the earliest Living Stereo blockbusters - but still it's a lot of records!!!
I noticed the Rubinstein Rachmaninoff Concerto is now gone. Not sure if you said you were going to grab it. I wish we could know which ones are running low.
@@ThePressingMatters It was on my list, alas. Do we know if he's keeping any of the hardcore favorites in print?
I think so. That is the impression I got when talking to him. Maybe the best strategy is to pick from the more obscure titles first. Or just go with your next must-have.
Some very good titles there , I have my eye on the John lee hooker title and the Simon and Garfunkel sounds interesting at the price 👍😁
The John Lee Hooker is very nice for the price too. Bookends was a great surprise too!
Thanks Scott, for these reviews, I was thinking of getting the Ravel as I love that piece , but less than 30 minutes of music is not worth it imho. Interestingly you can find the performance in you tube, some of the others are quite cheap, but your store doesn’t seem to work in Oz Amazon unfortunately.
Yes the store could be international but there's too many tax issues that I didn't care to deal with. So unfortunately it's US only.
The Ravel was taken from a video performance. I'd love to see it. I don't think the record is worth the cost either. Its just not a great value at $60?
@ here u go ua-cam.com/video/5YGxbA0WJ0k/v-deo.htmlsi=j7KqP5s7qNfoAO35 , not bad video for 1982 . I like the AMB biopic at the start lol very bbc Celibidache claps his playing at the end !
Oh, great, thanks!
Your 1st John Lee Hooker LP? You are indeed just getting started with the Blues. You should put it on your 2025 New Years Resolution to listen, review and learn more about our great American Blues Traditions. Good Lord what the Blues has contributed to everything we listen to today and the RICH RICH Blues History and Culture in our country. It's obvious to me that the Blues in the UA-cam Vinyl Review Community seems not only to be ignored but to a certain extent looked down on. But this has always been the case by the Jazz snobs. We had some great reissues this year from Lightnin Hopkins (The Greatest Bluesman Ever,) Albert King, Skip James and Jimmy Reed just to name a few.
I am totally with you brother! Never has any music spoken to me and moved me more than the blues for the reasons you mentioned and for other more personal reasons. It is what I strive to play on guitar more than anything else. As Eddie Van Halen once said, "Everything begins with the blues anyways." Thank you for your comment, and I hope that the blues continues to be a joy to you. 👍👍👍
@@audiophileman7047 Indeed my fellow Blues Brother 😎😎
@@scottadams7523 💪👊😎
Yes, I'm very excited to have something like this to explore! Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll be picking up more from this and the Prestige series.
i think the Bill Evans Moonbeams is a digital reissue if it was rereleased in the ninetees on OJC. 😮
Probably so. Still a nice sounding record. Looking forward to a nice all analog reissue.
Ok… I wonder how much money this video will inspire me to spend. I’ll set the over-under at $142.50. lol.
Focus on the Sonny Stitt! Its well worth it!
If you like your rock in the heavy psych variety check out Magick Potion
I do, and I will check out your suggestion. I have never heard of the band.
you do'nt like Nico?!😮
Nico?
@ part of Andy Warhols crowd.
Yes, I thought that what you meant. Yeah, a Nico album would be cool!