Album Reviews

First off, UMe touts this reissue as "...newly remastered from the original 1949 analog tapes for the first time since 1957." That's nonsense: Bernie Grundman cut this from the original analog tapes for Classic Records back in the 2000s. And I believe the RVG CD did as well (correct me if I'm wrong). Facts matter.

In addition, the producer of this sonic abortion (who should lose his or her job in my opinion over this wilful piece of PVC turd) goes the lazy, cheap route of cutting from a digital file when the tape is obviously perfectly fine and could have instead been used. I'm assuming this tape was stored at Iron Mountain downtown Los Angeles and so was not involved in the Universal fire, because were that the case, they'd have just remained mum about the source. Instead they tout the original tape's use. I believe them.

I bet the person in charge here said to him or herself "it's from 1949, it doesn't matter how bad it sounds, they won't know the difference because of the date." Digital is not transparent to the source. Period. Though a good digital transfer and lacquer cut can and should sound much better than this lifeless, dynamically compressed, distant, smothered mess. And then to compound the crime, the press release uses the obfuscating language that suggests that the lacquers were cut from tape. "Remastered from tape" means cut from tape, period. Any other "interpretation" is a LIE. Is "false and deceptive advertising" and it's time to shut down the use of "newly remastered from..tape" to mean anything other than CUT FROM TAPE.

Precision Record Pressing, now part of GZ Media pressed a very good record here. The lacquers were cut at absurdly low levels at Capitol by the unknown to me Robert Vosgien from files produced by we don't know whom. The double LP set called The Complete Birth of the Cool includes at best CD resolution air checks available on YouTube, but if you want them on vinyl, I'm not here to discourage you. With this second record at least, there's probably no tape.

As for the music, why dignify this sonic disaster and purposeful slop by talking about the great music. Let's wait for a serious reissue before doing that. At a time when the Blue Note part of UMe among others is doing great reissue work really sourced from tape, who allowed this crap out the door? Let him or her come forward and explain why Miles and others were given such shabby treatment. They surely deserve better as do you. Do not buy this record in either version. It's not just "not quite as good" as the Classic or an original, it totally sucks. Don't believe me? Listen to these files sourced from Classic's Bernie Grundman cut and the new version

File "BG"

File "UMe"