Electric Recording Company Announces Next Leonid Kogan Reissue

The Electric Recording Company announced today a third Leonid Kogan reissue.

ERC as it's known, reissues only from analog tape using a restored all-tube playback and cutting chain, reproducing the cover art with startling accuracy to the original. Most of what ERC reissues are long out of print, highly collectible and expensive to buy recordings.

The reissues, pressed in limited numbers, quickly sell out and become collector's items themselves.Yes, they are expensive but far less so than the originals, and sonics are superb. Whenever I bring one of the Kogans to in-store events, inevitably, a few people upon hearing, want to buy.

Credit card in hand, disappointment results when they find out the records are now out of print. This one will surely sell out quickly so....

COMMENTS
JR465's picture

Call me crazy, but I would love to hear these guys reissue the Beatles. And while they are at it Kind of Blue from the original master wouldnt hurt my feelings either.

Michael Fremer's picture
I'd like to hear them do Abbey Road on the 50th anniversary (no slight to Sean Magee).
Jack Gilvey's picture

Who killed it at MetLife on Sunday. Amazing. I love to be in a room ( stadium, whatever) with him!

drdarkfish's picture

I've always wondered why no one has done a 45rpm Beatles press..

Surely there would be merit on an album like Abbey Road?

Michael Fremer's picture
Break up side two!
drdarkfish's picture

I've never not listened to the entirety of Side B...

McFaden's picture

Then you've never listened to Abbey Road.

But for sure a 45rpm treatment would not do that album justice. Just keep it in the original format and make the best version possible.

M-Sevs's picture

"never not"

Double negative, bro.

McFaden's picture

Totally misread, I guess that is why they say you should avoid double negatives. Anyway, I am glad he has indeed heard Abbey Road, would be hard to believe someone hadn't. Thanks for setting me straight.

Super chill.

JR465's picture

Im in on that one too. Ive not heard one of ERCs LPs, but based on your descriptions I have a pretty damn good idea what one sounds like, which is full of emotion and rich musical detail presented in a way seldom heard since the 60s. No slight to Sean intended, but to hear The Beatles cut with tubes from start to finish as was done in the 60s would be of great interest to me.

No slight to Sean intended,

Bigrasshopper's picture

Johanna Martzy & Ida Haendel - Mozart: Violin Concertos Nos. 3 & 4 and others.
180-gram audiophile vinyl pressed at Pallas in Germany
Cut at Emil Berliner Studio and mastered from the original tapes of SWR Music!
$45. Not sure it's the same recording, but I've been considering sampling these.
If there from the same tapes, it's a nice alternative.

As for Abbey Road, the least they could give us is one cut directly from the tapes, like the monos's. The omission is really glaring ! Instead their releasing all this BBC stuff, and making me keep my hope afloat for another two years. Oh the pain, the pain...

Dpoggenburg's picture

How about 2017? We're looking at the 50th (!!!) anniversary of Pepper: how about a multi-channel remix, ALONG with an all analogue stereo reissue? Apple has pooched plenty of opportunities, but if they don't do something special to acknowledge this landmark anniversary, then I give up all hope!

Razorball's picture

Dear Michael,
What classical music titles/labels are worth owning from the 60s?

J. Carter's picture

But I can't understand spending this much on 1 record. I have a hard enough time spending over $100 on a record (I have only done that twice). I wonder if their process will beat the new process (from a sound perspective) that Mofi is doing with the Ultradiscs that they are creating? It will be interesting to see, even those are selling for under $100 and I would think that process might be more expensive.

volvic's picture

I am a little late to this party but why is it limited to only 300, wouldn't economies of scale brought the price down lower if they decided to issue 1000 or better yet 2000?

isaacrivera's picture

But it seems to me they are not interested in holding stock for months. Instead, it appears they are trying to release true collectors' editions that sell out in a few weeks.

volvic's picture

But have been very interested in reissues done properly and with care and would be willing to pay a reasonable amount to acquire some of these old recordings.

J. Carter's picture

I think $100 is a great price point for a superior reissue. It is still 2 to 3 times what a typical audiophile release costs and should cover any aditional costs involved with the production and pressing of the premium records.

This almost feels like they are price gauging a little bit charging $300+. I understand the quality is supposed to be first rate but so are Analogue Production and Mobile Fidelity 45 RPM releases and those don't go for more than $55 unless the original release was a double album.

volvic's picture

Mr. Fremer can chime in as I believe he knows better but I believe this company spent a lot of time and money refurbishing old machinery most notably the lathe, cutting machine, tape machines etc were all from the 50's and in bad shape, all of these contribute to the magnificent sound these recordings generate so a higher cost is warranted to recoup the investments. Not all Mo-Fi recordings have been a success, this is a cut above what Mo-fi produces. I just wish they produced more so that mere mortals like myself could buy one.

volvic's picture

There is a great article I read a while ago in the Guardian about the Electric Company, I think they mention that future releases like jazz and rock music might be cheaper as the company gathers more steam and publicity, which is good news. Sadly, those original re-issues were ones that I coveted, oh well!

J. Carter's picture

$100 is almost double what Mofi charges so you would still be charging a hefty premium over any Mofi release (the new Ultradisc process excluded).

volvic's picture

If you look at the degree of care these records have been made, and at the general level of attention to detail, you are indeed getting something very difficult to find anywhere else, although not necessarily impossible, that I think not even Mo-Fi offers. There art work and covers are generally better than Mo-Fi. However, I believe you are right these improvements for me are pretty minute and for me, not worth the extra asking price. But that's me, record buying at such a price is anything resembling rational criteria . . . but then, the heart has its reasons, whereof reason knows nothing. So if you must go for it, I will not pass judgement. I just wish they pressed 2000 rather than 300.

isaacrivera's picture

Tracking down the technical manuals, the parts and restoring those vintage tube decks took decades and hundreds of thousands of dollars. It is unlikely there is another one in that condition anywhere else in the world. After a sold out dozen reissues, they are probably still in the red.

volvic's picture

The owner mentioned in that aforementioned Guardian article that it will take years to break even, which begs the question why not press more. I would like to know the reason why it is locked at such limited pressings.

Grant M's picture

I'm not afraid of 'premium' price reissues, but holy moly!

charliepress's picture

I just went to their website. The least expensive record I saw was 300 GBP, which is almost $400 USD, not including shipping. To me, it doesn't matter what originals cost--it simply cannot cost that much to manufacture a new record, no matter what the technology, to make that price point reasonable. And quite a few of their releases are still available, suggesting that quite a few people agree with me. I'd live to hear these, but I'm not part of the 1% that can afford to do so. https://electricrecordingco.com/releases

Blue Note's picture

If you peruse the website, "milestomozart", you will see that they are big fans of HMV and EMI records, and for good, sonic reasons. And, from their experiences, the early pressings done on all-tube equipment have a sound unlike any later pressings done on solid-state equipment. As such, if you want that special sound that only the HMV/EMI records give and are not willing to pay mega-money for them, the ERC reissues are really the only game in town, and the market would seem to bear that out as well.

Anton D's picture

Veblen recordings is going to be the first label to hit us with 4 figure LP release prices....

Oh, wait, these guys did it with Mozart in Paris!

For that price, do I get a pair of Yeezy shoes?

Mikeymort's picture

Kind of Blue has been remastered enough. Perhaps some of the earlier Davis recordings...(Workin' Steamin' etc. Likewise, I think some of The Beatles earlier works, (Rubber Soul, Help) would benefit more from all-tube mastering than Abbey Road.

vinyl1's picture

...that despite all the care taken, the ERC reissues do not sound nearly as good as the originals. This could be due to a number of factors, such as deterioration of the master tape or incorrect mastering techniques - if this is in fact the case.

I would really like to see a review by a professional reviewer who has a very high resolution system, and is able to compare the reissue to a clean original.

Over to you....

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