Here's your intrepid audiophile, tracking primo vinyl where ever the trail
leads.
This time I've found a Promotional Copy of "Mingus" in the local used record
store. Okay, yeah, there are a few crackles but vinyl does some things
better than the CD's limited specifications allow it to do.
(www.stereophile.com)
So, let's look at what we left behind when we entered the CD age.
There's an enhanced liveliness to her vocals that I don't remember hearing
on my regular issue LP version (although I loved the music!). This copy
presents her dynamic range better than anything I've ever heard except maybe
my Promo Copy of "For The Roses". (Are you there, Running Water?) When she
whispers, it just sounds like a whisper. This is hard to describe. It does
not sound like a "recording" of a whisper. It sounds like a lack of
compression, (Randy?) so I'm thinking that the Promos were made from lower
generation tapes. (Technospeak: Short signal paths sound better. See "The
Trinity Session" by the Cowboy Junkies. Hi Mark! I'm seeing Margo on
Saturday night- woo hoo!)
You can easily hear her breathing in places and the cymbals sound much
better than I remember on my standard issue.
Another example is at the end of "Sweet Sucker Dance" when Jaco is playing
his repeating figure. On all other versions I have, the band smears into
the bass as they take turns doing counterpoint, (is that the right word?).
Everyone's part is clearer here. This aliveness is also evident in the snap
of the brushes on the hi-hat on the same track.
In "Dry Cleaner From Des Moines", the cymbals of the tambourine and the
horns breathe better.
Significantly though, the real joy isn't analytical. It's just that this
copy
________________________________
gets out of the way of the music
________________________________
better than my CD copy.
Maybe someday "Mingus" will be available with this kind of quality in a
premium digital format like DVD-Audio for $30.00 list. It's not a given
though. Who's to say if the 30 year old two track master is in the right
hands, and if it was stored correctly? What if they decide to put Shorter
in the rear channels of a 5.1 mix? Or have him swirling around the room at
the end of "Dry Cleaner"? [Hey, "Wayne Swirled"! Hi David!]
For now, I guess I'll just have to make do with this wonderful vinyl for
$2.99. :)
Joan and me look up.
There's a sign up on the awning. It says,
' **USED VINYL**
swings hard! '
An', there's one reborn little vinyl junkie dancin' there..... tonight.
Lamadoo
P.S.
I love writing for you guys.
np: S&L version of Amelia, a form of mother's milk, no?
