The Blue Note Thread

JohnnyCashFan said:
Keep and eye on Michael's (45 RPM Audiophile) youtube site the next day or so. He is doing a interview tomorrow (not live) with Joe Harley with some exciting Tone Poet news coming. Hopefully our resident jazz news watcher @MikeH can keep a eye and ear open.
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Joe Harley Announces A "Special" Tone Poet of John Coltrane Blue Train later this year, talks about his dogs, and answers questions from Michael's viewers.

Interesting Joe mentions they are going into Transition and Capitol

Chet is definetly being repressed, supply issues with cardboard and pressing plants are the issues with represses.

 
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Oldwhitelincoln11 said:
Hells yes!
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I don't watch this guy's videos, because I find him a humorless, obnoxious snob, who seems to be a well off retiree who just got into vinyl with big time OCD and money to burn.

That's it? All his hype for the big interview? Blue Train? That's all??

So what - Joe breaks his no-MMJ release rule for Blue Train - give me a break, it's not because he has some special, never before heard, big reveal reason to do so. It's because there's a TON of money to be made. Blue Note probably laid some pretty big pressure on him to do it, instead of in the Classic series.

There are no new outtakes. The ones that exist stayed in the vault for decades for good reason - they aren't good, and they were spliced to form the takes on the original. I can't see what more there is here, it can't be remixed, maybe a stereo/mono double but the mono is the way to go...but they will find a way to turn it into a premium product, because obviously people will pay.
 
RHANDMJ said:
I don't watch this guy's videos, because I find him a humorless, obnoxious snob, who seems to be a well off retiree who just got into vinyl with big time OCD and money to burn.

That's it? All his hype for the big interview? Blue Train? That's all??

So what - Joe breaks his no-MMJ release rule for Blue Train - give me a break, it's not because he has some special, never before heard, big reveal reason to do so. It's because there's a TON of money to be made. Blue Note probably laid some pretty big pressure on him to do it, instead of in the Classic series.

There are no new outtakes. The ones that exist stayed in the vault for decades for good reason - they aren't good, and they were spliced to form the takes on the original. I can't see what more there is here, it can't be remixed, maybe a stereo/mono double but the mono is the way to go...but they will find a way to turn it into a premium product, because obviously people will pay.
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tvham said:
Pot meet kettle
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Whatever. I would love to go to the guy's house and just put a few things out of place, just to mess with the whole perfectly in place and spotless thing he has going on.

Seriously...truth is, there is one reason this guy does this YouTube thing, aside from some obvious vanity.

TO GET FREE RECORDS.

He has wiggles his way into getting 16k subscribers and 2.3mm views, despite being a newcomer to this world.

OBVIOUSLY - the audiophile labels fall all over themselves to give him records, the exposure is priceless to these labels and the guy really comes through for them.

Pot and kettle? Sorry, no. Cynical - sure. Having spent time in this industry at the senior level, I do know the game. I'm sure he started out as a fan, but now is a monetized shill.

So, trust in what he says for me is less than zero.

I come on a forum like this to share, and hopefully help out if I can. I'm sure I get it wrong sometimes and right others. But I don't try to monetize or do something to be some YouTube influencer to get free products.
 
RHANDMJ said:
would love to go to the guy's house and just put a few things out of place, just to mess with the whole perfectly in place and spotless thing he has going on.
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I had a friend who had hundreds of VHS tapes of shows and movies. Standard 90’s nerd stuff Dr. Who, x Files, Twin Peaks. One of our friends “snuck” into his house while he was working and switched all the tapes.
 
Dtknuckles said:
I had a friend who had hundreds of VHS tapes of shows and movies. Standard 90’s nerd stuff Dr. Who, x Files, Twin Peaks. One of our friends “snuck” into his house while he was working and switched all the tapes.
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There was also a period where you couldn’t leave your drink unattended. My friends would spike it with vinegar.
 
RHANDMJ said:
Whatever. I would love to go to the guy's house and just put a few things out of place, just to mess with the whole perfectly in place and spotless thing he has going on.

Seriously...truth is, there is one reason this guy does this YouTube thing, aside from some obvious vanity.

TO GET FREE RECORDS.

He has wiggles his way into getting 16k subscribers and 2.3mm views, despite being a newcomer to this world.

OBVIOUSLY - the audiophile labels fall all over themselves to give him records, the exposure is priceless to these labels and the guy really comes through for them.

Pot and kettle? Sorry, no. Cynical - sure. Having spent time in this industry at the senior level, I do know the game. I'm sure he started out as a fan, but now is a monetized shill.

So, trust in what he says for me is less than zero.

I come on a forum like this to share, and hopefully help out if I can. I'm sure I get it wrong sometimes and right others. But I don't try to monetize or do something to be some YouTube influencer to get free products.
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This is quite a presumptuous take to have, I would be interested to know which records you say he gets free as a result of this?

Personally, I watch his videos from time to time but they are on the lower end of my preferences. I have heard before that he only started getting into records a couple of years ago and clearly has spent a staggering amount to get to where he is, but I don't think that makes his opinion any less valid than others. To say he's doing it simply to get free records when he has clearly spent several thousand euros (likely tens if not more) on his collection to date seems like a weak reason unless you are privy to information I'm not.

On a side note, I started a dedicated jazz vinyl Instagram a couple of years ago with the initial aim of creating a visual catalogue of my records, which I post daily. It then developed into much more than that and I now look forward to the discussions I have with other users and have managed to acquire and sell records this way, as well as expanding my knowledge and waitlist. Perhaps the 45 vinyl guy takes a similar approach, I'm sure he would soon get bored if he had no comments or discussions arise. I know I would enjoy posting less if that were the case with me.
 
Selaws said:
This is quite a presumptuous take to have, I would be interested to know which records you say he gets free as a result of this?

Personally, I watch his videos from time to time but they are on the lower end of my preferences. I have heard before that he only started getting into records a couple of years ago and clearly has spent a staggering amount to get to where he is, but I don't think that makes his opinion any less valid than others. To say he's doing it simply to get free records when he has clearly spent several thousand euros (likely tens if not more) on his collection to date seems like a weak reason unless you are privy to information I'm not.

On a side note, I started a dedicated jazz vinyl Instagram a couple of years ago with the initial aim of creating a visual catalogue of my records, which I post daily. It then developed into much more than that and I now look forward to the discussions I have with other users and have managed to acquire and sell records this way, as well as expanding my knowledge and waitlist. Perhaps the 45 vinyl guy takes a similar approach, I'm sure he would soon get bored if he had no comments or discussions arise. I know I would enjoy posting less if that were the case with me.
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I believe he's an engineer, so he certainly has the disposable income to afford it. It's all rather presumptuous. Watching someone on YouTube doesn't mean you know that person.

As an aside, some people have enough disposable income to do the things they enjoy. If they can afford to go into it without limitations, then why not? Is that supposed to be a bad thing? With the pandemic, I've helped quite a few people in the last 2 years get into the hobby since they are spending more time at home. These are working professionals and they can afford good gear and audiophile records. I kind of understand why they stay away from social media and forums in general. There's a lot of toxicity out there. You could be sharing your excitement about some gear or audiophile records you bought, and unbeknownst to you, a complete stranger an ocean away is fantasizing about ruining your seemingly perfect and spotless house by putting things out of place...lol
 
Selaws said:
This is quite a presumptuous take to have, I would be interested to know which records you say he gets free as a result of this?

Personally, I watch his videos from time to time but they are on the lower end of my preferences. I have heard before that he only started getting into records a couple of years ago and clearly has spent a staggering amount to get to where he is, but I don't think that makes his opinion any less valid than others. To say he's doing it simply to get free records when he has clearly spent several thousand euros (likely tens if not more) on his collection to date seems like a weak reason unless you are privy to information I'm not.

On a side note, I started a dedicated jazz vinyl Instagram a couple of years ago with the initial aim of creating a visual catalogue of my records, which I post daily. It then developed into much more than that and I now look forward to the discussions I have with other users and have managed to acquire and sell records this way, as well as expanding my knowledge and waitlist. Perhaps the 45 vinyl guy takes a similar approach, I'm sure he would soon get bored if he had no comments or discussions arise. I know I would enjoy posting less if that were the case with me.
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I've watched a fair few of his videos over lockdown, and tbh they did give something a lot of the others don't. He's been completely honest throughout. He definitley hasn't been just collecting records just for the last few years, but he's only been collecting Audiophile records fora few years. Sounds like he's been collecting records for most of his life, and he will have had different stages of collecting like most of us. He's mentioned numerous times about when he was younger, he moved and had to put half his collection in his dads garage, who then threw them out.

He started off the You Tube channel as his collection was primarily electronic music & decided he wanted to sell that and build out an 'audiophile' collection with much broader types of music. Some of his early videos where about his decision to do this. He sold or swapped a lot of his electronic music for Music Matters and such. He basically started again & started the videos to share his experience.

The clue's in the name 45 Audiohile, he's not about reviewing the music, he's more about fining the best pressings available. Which for me is interesting. I had a few thousand records in the early noughts (non audiophile), but stopped buying as I couldn't afford it. I always took the line the music was the most important bit, and I'd rather spend £50 on 5 albums rather than one 'good' pressing. I started buying records again properly about 5 years ago, at first trying to get vinyl of albums I'd loved but only ever owned on CD & to broaden my musical tastes. I always liked all types of music, but didn't have any British Jazz for instance.

Maybe it's because I improved my stereo & bought a fairly decent cart, maybe it's just that there was a lot of shit pressings dong the rounds, but I have have got sucked into looking for more audiophile pressings in recent years. I would never have bought a Mofi title 5 years ago. I'd read stuff on Hoffman previously that through experience knew was bullshit, maybe that put me off the Audiophile versions in the pat

I can't afford to buy all the titles, but it's good that someone can. I think some of his early videos helped me a bit. He always says if he's been given a record for free. He's also been honest about the money he makes through YouTube which then enables him to buy records to show on the channel. He'll buy them all & sell the ones he doesn't want to keep on cogs Which. TBH, if I didn't have a job to do, and had a more money & big house. I could see that being a fairly decent way to spend my retirement. It's quite a clever way of funding the hobby, but I very much doubt when he started that he thought he'd have more than a few hundred people watching

I do take all of these YouTube videos with a bit of a pinch of salt TBH, but he's probably less in for the money than the others (I think he already has plenty of money, he wouldn't be buying ERC titles if he didn't). Mike at the In groove is obviously selling records. A lot of the others do only show records that are sent for free. I find it amusing when they draw hate, as most of them are pretty shit amateur tbh. (But they are doing their best)
 
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Just to add to the discussion here….

@RHANDMJ

I got a lot of the same feelings you got when I watched this video. When you do a video with a huge stack of records behind you it’s hard not to get envious. Coupled with the obvious financial independence they guy has. But the real kicker is the giddy enthusiasm he has. I made it into about two minutes till I started hating myself and the life I am in.

But really how much time does he have to enjoy all those records and when he does put one on does he really pay attention. This though makes feel better about my modest collection that is probably in the mid hundreds.

Personally I don’t go in for discussion about pressing details and technical process (I’m assuming what they discussed). I’d much rather hear about why this record is important. How was it innovative musically? What is it’s importance culturally? Maybe I’m wrong but I don’t think a lot of vinyl people talk about that. It’s also interesting to hear from the musicians about process.

Also I don’t get what they hype for Blue Trane is all about. I can better records for both Trane and Morgan.
 
Dtknuckles said:
Just to add to the discussion here….

@RHANDMJ

I got a lot of the same feelings you got when I watched this video. When you do a video with a huge stack of records behind you it’s hard not to get envious. Coupled with the obvious financial independence they guy has. But the real kicker is the giddy enthusiasm he has. I made it into about two minutes till I started hating myself and the life I am in.

But really how much time does he have to enjoy all those records and when he does put one on does he really pay attention. This though makes feel better about my modest collection that is probably in the mid hundreds.

Personally I don’t go in for discussion about pressing details and technical process (I’m assuming what they discussed). I’d much rather hear about why this record is important. How was it innovative musically? What is it’s importance culturally? Maybe I’m wrong but I don’t think a lot of vinyl people talk about that. It’s also interesting to hear from the musicians about process.

Also I don’t get what they hype for Blue Trane is all about. I can better records for both Trane and Morgan.
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THIS.

Right, exactly.

But I'm not envious, at all. I really feel very sorry for him.

To me, and I'm sure I am exposing my biases here, he exemplifies the rocking chair amateur audiophile. In it to search for audiophile nirvana, sound for the sake of sound, not the music.

The music is exceptionally broad. The so-called audiophile seems to be absorbed in seeking the latest and bestest 'audiophile' pressings which revolve around repressing and remastering of a very, very narrow range of warhorse titles. That is contrary to my values - to seek out as much new/old music that is off-track, underexposed, hidden gems, the excitement of discovery, music that is fresh, transformative, transporting, important even if it never sold more than a few hundred copies.

So I feel sorry for him, for his self-imposed (and obsessive) limitations as to what he seeks out in his journey. He misses all the best.

And yes - that is the way the industry works. He has 15k subscribers - give me a break, he gets records shoved at him. That is influencer gold for a record label, particularly audiophile labels as they have a very narrow, harder to reach market.

Blue Train is a great record. But - know what? I listen to Crescent, Seattle, Village Vanguard Again, Transition and Stellar Regions far more often. It's great that it is being re-released for those who are new to vinyl, but for me, I'm done on Blue Train.

The new Gerald Clayton record is great, great, great. Master Oogway coming soon from Rune is a-fucking -mazing, as is the Rune Kjetil Muleid record. There's a new Rebecca Nash record coming this year - her first was just stellar - and fresh! Charles Tolliver's Live In Tokyo is getting a reissue. Junko Onishi has a new record - Grand Voyage - coming soon and she is a true modern innovator and master. Geri Allen's Twenty One is a much more exciting reissue than another Blue Train for me. Same with Stanley Turrentine's Common Touch and George Braith's Extension (BTW - the BN Classic series is WAY more exciting than what the TP series has become IMO). There's a killer Freddie Hubbard CTI period live record coming.

Phi-Psonics, Matthew Halsall, Chip Wickham, Amanda Whiting, Nick Walters, Diagonal, Elephant9 - all fabulous, innovators of today, exciting discoveries, great sounding.

Blue Train? Really? Move on.

So again, I'm not envious at all. I have 5000 records. Like him, I am at the point in life where I have more records than remaining lifespan to listen to. And, I am still on the discovery journey - rediscovering elements of the past that missed me at the time, and forward into new territories. Given that I am not a kid anymore, I prefer to spend my remaining listening time on continuing that discovery journey as far as I can get, rather than retracing the past repeatedly for an unfulfilling rabbit hole of incremental, often non-existent sonic gains. This guy, and presumably his 15k followers, is on an obsessive journey that I consider to be akin to sonic masturbation.

It's music first for me. To each his own, but I find there is a vanity and presumptuousness about such a YouTube influencer that grates on me. It seems to me like projecting your own obsessiveness and limited musical view on the world, and not really advancing the cause of great music.

All my opinion, of course.
 
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I don't really want to get into the middle of this. In fact, what I appreciate most about the N&G forum is its kind, supportive and (mostly) positive vibes.

That said, how about if you don't like the YouTube dude, just don't watch?

Or create a thread specifically devoted to debating the +/- of jazz reviewers?

I'm ready to get back to regularly scheduled Blue Note/Tone Poet/Classics convo.
 
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