Yes it was. One of my favorites and I’m not really a jazz guy. It’s also in the Stan Getz box set, which is really good.
Definitive Audiophile pressings
- Thread starter Mrjay07
- Start date
Mather
Unknown Member
@bdm105I haven't heard either but a cheaper option might be the 50th anniversary Chris Bellman cut. I've heard good things about this and it can still be picked up pretty cheaply. Someone else on here might have a clearer idea of how they compare?
The Band - The Band
View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 2019 Vinyl release of "The Band " on Discogs.www.discogs.com
Edit-
There is an analogue planet review & comparison of the big pink mofi vs 5oth anniversary, I'm not sure if the same thinking stands for s/t. His conclusion seems like a close call, MoFi edges it, but buy both if you can
"Music From Big Pink" Gets Double 45rpm Remix For 50th Anniversary Reissue
Startling when first released in 1968, The Band's debut continues to evoke mystery, grandeur and an abundance of musical depth that few rock records achieved then or now. Books have probably been written about the album and certainly have been about the outfit known as The Band, the members of...www.analogplanet.com
Yeah, I own all the Mofis and also this Big Pink Bellman remaster. Here's my brief thoughts.. The Mofi sounds like The Band, for better or worse. It's got that kinda dirty, slightly muddy recorded in the back of a cabin in the middle of the woods in 1968 sound. All the band members standing in a small room jamming... It's the Band sound but smooth as silk and warm. I very much like the Mofi.
The Bellman 45 is clean, like... insanely clean... So clean that to ME it doesn't sound like the band anymore. It sounds like a bunch of incredibly talented session musicians playing The Band. I'm glad to own it, because I think it's interesting, but I don't spin it very often simply because I just don't feel like I'm listening to the same group when I play it. Now, I can totally see how others absolutely love this pressing, and I wouldn't argue (much) with anyone who said they did. But just be aware that it's a very different experience than you're used to. This one has veered into the category of going so clean that it's actually changed the group's signature sound, which me no likey.
Okay and the second part is the 45s are all pressed at Precision, which is GZs local plant and they are almost universally horribly warped. I don't mean a little warp, like massive. Both my copies were so jacked I couldn't even play them with my clamp. And all the reviews online indicate the same thing. So just keep that in mind, it is VERY likely you will not get a flat copy. Because Precision are in fact the complete antithesis of their name, when it comes to actually performing their job.
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MikeH
Well-Known Member
I agree with this. I have the new MoFi of The Band and an 80s MoFi of Big Pink and both sound awesome to me. I downloaded the newer remaster and it does sound VERY different to what I was used to. Not necessarily bad like you said, but just very different. I didn't not like it, but it did just make me want to listen to the MoFi.
Good insight. I should have picked up a copy of the MoFi.
(Mather receiving a warped record? I don't believe it).
Mather
Unknown Member
Look, I know, I know me saying warped is like Chicken Little screaming about the sky at this point... But go look at the cogs reviews for Big Pink and the ST 45, everyone is saying the same thing...
MikeH
Well-Known Member
I was never a HUGE fan of The Band but after starting to listen to The Dead earlier this year, I've been in a more for more 70s laid back tunes. I threw the self-titled MoFi into my cart about 6 months ago to get free shipping on another MoFi at Music Direct and I'm glad I did haha. Didn't know it was so close to being OOP. Music Direct then did the douchey move of selling their last few copies at like $100 or somethin crazy.
I'd keep an eye on ebay. Might not be able to find as many in the UK but every once in awhile people still sell it there for close to the original $35 price tag.
Selaws
Well-Known Member
There are a LOT of unhappy people on Instagram today that have missed out of the Craft One-Step. I've seen a lot of stories of people complaining that it sold out too quickly. I posted a photo on my own story and had replies to it saying its unreasonable to have only pressed a small amount. I imagine they could have added an extra 500 to the numbers, or even doubled it, and it would have still sold out. Dont even get me started on these embarrassing eBay listings, im going to send a £50 offer to fuck with the guy (it is second hand after all!!!)....
dhodo
Well-Known Member
$29.99
MikeH
Well-Known Member
MD ripped me off then! Jerks!!$29.99
Mather
Unknown Member
I can't for the life of me understand why they went with only 1000. The whole plan seemed pretty seat of your pants. What with them removing the pressing number from the site initially, then adding it back, then cutting the max order from 2 to 1 halfway through the morning then also retroactively disabling the discount code three quarters of the way through the sale. Odd.
dhodo
Well-Known Member
You're right that was the MoFi MSRP when you bought it, but back when they first put it out, it was 29.99 along with all of their other single disks. Just being cheeky since you said "original."
MikeH
Well-Known Member
I've had lots of conversations about this over at Hoffman...this thing might reach Santana Abraxas levels of resale value if the pressing is good.
I know that people wanted them to press way more but Craft has to be opening a bottle of champagne after how the release went yesterday. They are still a relatively unknown label who sold $100,000 of records in under 3 hours. The site didn't crash. It went relatively smoothly. They realized early on that this was selling way quicker than they expected. Whether or not that's naive is a different story but I don't mind that they changed it from 2 per customer to 1. They likely did that because assholes immediately started putting their extra copies up on ebay for prices like this.
It's easy for everyone to say "they would have sold 2,000 of these no problem!" but nobody really knew that, especially at the time in which they likely started pressing this. Craft has some AAA jazz titles that were $25 limited to 1,000 that took years to sell out by artists like Joe Henderson. I know Coltrane is in another level but still. There was some cause for hesitation from Craft. With this shipping next month and with how long MoFi says that the One Steps supposedly take to produce (around 8 months or so), I wouldn't be shocked if this started being pressed over a year ago. Craft selling this out immediately is way better for them from every aspect than pressing 2-3000 and maybe having them sitting there for weeks. Look at Impex's One Step. Again, I know it's not Coltrane, but they pressed 5,000 of their new One Step series and those are just going to sit on the shelf and nobody even really knows about them.
This is no different than MoFi doing 1,000 copies of Desire on supervinyl. It drummed up a TON of publicity about it and for a new product line that's all you can ask for. I don't doubt for a second that the next Small Batch will be 2,500+ copies and sell out in a similar amount of time.
jamieanderson1968
ninniest jackaninny
This is exactly it. I think this give Craft a better idea of what the market wants. Dip their toe in to test the waters. I am fairly sure they will do additional pressings. Also good on them pricing it at a decent price. Too rich for me but does not seem out of line for similar titles and it being their first one. Of course we still have to see what the pressing quality is.
Selaws
Well-Known Member
Yeah I personally think it was the right move. They are dipping their toes in the water to see how well received it was, and obviously will be very happy with the response.
There is a certain hype around the Mofi's which I don't personally buy into. To me, its a similar level of Fomo as the music matters releases seem to have in the US. The fact that the Craft sold out so quickly (with so many people missing out) will end up tapping into this and as long as the quality is there when they get sent out, I imagine people will look to buying the next one regardless of what it is. So hopefully they do increase the numbers going forward, otherwise the demand is going to start ramping up when they announce the next set.
MikeH
Well-Known Member
I'd be shocked if the don't up the pressing amount. The MoFi One Steps started off at 2,500 copies I think for Santana. They would be leaving too much money on the table to only do 1,000. The name "small batch" though has shoehorned them a bit haha.
MoFi has been going a bit more of the MMJ route (and even raising prices on the last copies of albums over at Music Direct). But it's kind of hard for these companies not to do that. There's a sweet spot of pressing numbers where it's limited to induce FOMO but not so many copies that it doesn't sell out.
I think there is going to be some resale fatigue on the MoFi One Steps. I have already seen it happening. You can still get the last few One Steps for around $200, which is still a decent flipping profit, but they aren't selling in resale as often it seems. Tons of copies have been on ebay for $250 and they just are not selling. Santana, Donald Fagen and Evans Vanguard still sell for crazy money but I think those are more limited and harder to find and a lot of those purchases are for people who just want to have every One Step but missed the boat on the first few. I saw someone pay $1,400 or $1,500 on a facebook record auction not too long ago. I could see this Coltrane fetching that potentially if the pressing is great.
TenderLovingKiller®
Well-Known Member
I actually prefer the new mix to the originals on both the The Band and Music From Big Pink the new mix are also cut at 45 rpm I never had the MoFi’s but I had some early pressings of each and have since given those away.
wmeugene
Well-Known Member
I agree. Realistically, what is the number of vinyl buyers who can and are willing to spend $100 plus on a single/double LP. 25,000 total? 50,000? And then narrow that down to people who are interested in a particular title.
For example, the Dylan BOTT was a pressing of 9,000 and was around awhile before selling out. Resale doesn't seem super high on that as of yet. And I'd say he is easily the most popular artist who has gotten one of these and his fans are diehards too.
I think for jazz and others, the sweet spot is probably around 5,000. Where there is demand and there will be a healthy resale market, but the titles are obtainable.
TenderLovingKiller®
Well-Known Member
Both mine are flat but I’m not you so that’s not super surprising.
MikeH
Well-Known Member
I know that the Impex One Step is way more of a niche title (Patricia Barber Cafe Blue) but they pressed 5,000 and it doesn't seem to be moving at all so I think the 1,000 on this first press was a super smart on Craft's part. No doubt they could have sold more, but as I said, I don't think this could have gone any better for Craft. Hoping it will sound great but Fremmer's sneak peak review got me real excited about it.
I completely agree with you that if they keep this to around 5,000 it will still sell out relatively quickly especially if they pick some good titles.