The Blue Note Thread

I hate that 20% extra though!!! 😂😭

Yeah, you’re right in saying that it’s a good excuse to go to more authentic restaurants! I do like going to all kinds of restaurants though (ethnic, fancy, hipster, cheap, unpretentious, fusion, homely etc).

Where do you live by the way if you don’t live in a city! I’m so curious to know where you live now! I’m guessing your home is surrounded by/is really close to a lot of beautiful nature?
I like the same, but in the hip spots there is always a higher price even if it is only due to them often being in areas of higher real estate prices.

I live right outside of Charleston, South Carolina. It is technically a city, but it's not like Atlanta or even Charlotte, much less the really big ones like NYC. We don't have any big skyscraper business districts or much in the way of high density housing. It is mostly suburban sprawl and even though downtown Charleston is cool and has really great American Fine Dining restaurants, it is extremely expensive to live in. Unfortunately we are off of the common music tour routes, so we don't get a ton of great shows (that I'm into) coming here. We also don't have a ton of options in terms of great food from other countries because we don't have large concentrated immigrant populations like large cities tend to. There are some gems though!

We do have a beautiful coastline and I live only a few miles from the beach, which is nice. I really love visiting the mountains but it is a good 4 hour drive.
 
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Y'all need to take this to Cafe.

Back to Blue Note, I bought 2 from Music Matters last night. I got Tina Brooks' Back to the Tracks since it was down to 5 on hand and Horace Silver's The Stylings of Silver. I figure I'll wait a bit on other MM records though I'd like True Blue. I was hoping that would make the BN Classics 80 list.
 
Sorry, since I'm off topic spamming this thread, I will at least say I am super excited about the upcoming reissues. Many of those were on my "to-buy" list for MM titles when I was picking them up back when they were reasonable but even so I could only grab a couple at a time. Unfortunately that list went in the trash when they went nuts.

I'll almost definitely be picking up Song For My Father, Speak No Evil, and Maiden Voyage. I have several others already as MM, but might also pick up Somethin' Else and Out To Lunch. I'll revisit the rest as it has been a while.
 
Yeah, just from what I’ve heard from a lot of people that have travelled to the U.S. They said takeaway food/junk food is cheaper than in Melbourne in general, but dining in is actually more expensive. It might have to do with the Australian dollar however.

But yeah, they said like the meals at restaurants are close to the same price to Australia in dollars regardless of currency, then there’s the tipping/tax on top and then the conversion.

Melbourne is an expensive city to live in, but food/dining is pretty affordable in my opinion, especially for how much you earn. I’d have to go to the U.S. and live there and work in warehouses and factories to compare. I’ve worked at the Amazon warehouse in Melbourne. I remember how much I got paid per hour. I’d have to compare that to the wage in the U.S. and then look at a lot of restaurants and their menus!

I’ve heard clothes is much cheaper. Concerts are cheaper too in the U.S. I know for sure vinyl is cheaper in the U.S. too, and junk food is as well, but I hear that restaurants/dining in is expensive.

Restaurants are not as expensive as you may think. It just depends on where and what you eat. I actually like the "tip thing" but it should be given on top of a normal salary. If you feel you were welcomed, well treated, the food was great or the service was better than expected, I think it's normal to give a good tip. In France there is a different system. If you give a close look at the menus, you will read a "service compris" at the bottom. It simply means that the tip is already included. How many percents? I have no idea. I also means that even if the waiter treats you like shit or if the food was awful, it's included anyway. Is this a better system? I don't know.
 
I'm just thrilled they're doing Classics with the heavy hitters and saving Tone Poet for the releases that are harder to find or have never had a legitimate release like The Kicker. In looking over Tina Brooks very short run at Blue Note, there's an album with Jackie McLean that has never had a US release called The Street Singer. I'd love to see a Tone Poet of that as the only vinyl of that are Japanese releases from the early 80s. I think I'll throw that up on Joe Hartley's Instagram.
 
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Y'all need to take this to Cafe.

Back to Blue Note, I bought 2 from Music Matters last night. I got Tina Brooks' Back to the Tracks since it was down to 5 on hand and Horace Silver's The Stylings of Silver. I figure I'll wait a bit on other MM records though I'd like True Blue. I was hoping that would make the BN Classics 80 list.
I have to imagine that will be in the next batch of BN80. Probably the second half of 2021. I have both of those MM releases by the way and they’re fantastic. I love that Horace Silver album.
 
I'm just thrilled they're doing Classics with the heavy hitters and saving Tone Poet for the releases that are harder to find or have never had a legitimate release like The Kicker. In looking over Tina Brooks very short run at Blue Note, there's an album with Jackie McLean that has never had a US release called The Street Singer. I'd love to see a Tone Poet of that as the other vinyl of that are Japanese releases from the early 80s. I think I'll throw that up on Joe Hartley's Instagram.

I would have preferred these classics to have the TP treatment but what you say is interesting. If I really want a premium reissue of one of these classics, I can go with a MM or AP reissue (which price may decrease thanks to this new serie). The TPs haven't been properly reissued (some are on vinyl for the first time) and will probably not see a different reissue for a while. So let's do these the best possible way.
 
I hear you but I think classics as Tone Poets was a non-starter for Joe Hartley since they just did all the SRX releases. I think it's also more of a challenge for him to do releases like The Witch Doctor and other BNs that aren't as well known.
 
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Who knows how much time it may take to remaster a record (on average)? Considering how many BN records have been reissued and remastered by Kevin Gray, he may have spent more hours on BN records than some BN employees.
 
Back to Blue Note, I bought 2 from Music Matters last night. I got Tina Brooks' Back to the Tracks since it was down to 5 on hand and Horace Silver's The Stylings of Silver. I figure I'll wait a bit on other MM records though I'd like True Blue. I was hoping that would make the BN Classics 80 list.
That Tina Brooks is wonderful. I picked up a Japanese promo copy last year and I love it.
 
One possibility on the new Blue Note Classic releases, they would make more money by releasing BN80 quality classic albums first, then do a TP style remaster/reissue later down the line.

Makes more business sense to avoid going straight to Tone Poet quality.

I'd even get a few coloured variants out there after this run, too. Some of these classics would look pretty cool if coloured (and not vmp)...!
 
One possibility on the new Blue Note Classic releases, they would make more money by releasing BN80 quality classic albums first, then do a TP style remaster/reissue later down the line.

Makes more business sense to avoid going straight to Tone Poet quality.

I'd even get a few coloured variants out there after this run, too. Some of these classics would look pretty cool if coloured (and not vmp)...!

Yeah trying to sell two premium series at TP range price would have been dangerous for the original TP serie. It's the right move from BN imo.
 
Yeah trying to sell two premium series at TP range price would have been dangerous for the original TP serie. It's the right move from BN imo.
Yea, agree with that. Just a question tho, would you pick up the Classics if you already owned the Japanese King version?
 
ThoseJapanese versions are known for being amongst the best reissues of BN records. If your records are in good shape, I would probably not buy those Classics.
Cheers, that might save me some money. I've near mint King versions of six of those Classics, although I'd heard the Kings were mastered so they weren't too bass heavy, so just wondered...!
 
Cheers, that might save me some money. I've near mint King versions of six of those Classics, although I'd heard the Kings were mastered so they weren't too bass heavy, so just wondered...!
I don't have any Japanese Blue Notes, but if I did, I'd be interested in picking up a couple favorites to compare precisely because I have seen a lot of love it or hate it comments around Japanese mastering choices.

Edit: or at least try to find some comments from someone else who has compared them.
 
Cheers, that might save me some money. I've near mint King versions of six of those Classics, although I'd heard the Kings were mastered so they weren't too bass heavy, so just wondered...!

@tvham and @dhodo made a point. Considering the records are quite cheap you can always buy a few, compare, keep the version you prefer and sell the other.
 
I don't have any Japanese Blue Notes, but if I did, I'd be interested in picking up a couple favorites to compare precisely because I have seen a lot of love it or hate it comments around Japanese mastering choices.

Edit: or at least try to find some comments from someone else who has compared them.
I have a couple thousand Japanese pressings, maybe 30 BN, and to be honest King pressings are not a world apart from Toshibas, in fact some Toshiba series are superior.
MM, TP, BN80 will all be much superior.

Thing to remember about Japanese pressings is that they were made for the Japanese buyer, not you or me.

Japanese home construction is very different from Western homes. The materials are different, lighter, and not at all sound absorbent. So for the typical Japanese home or apartment, heavy bass is a real problem. Hence Japanese mastering tends to go lighter on the bass.
Also, the high end Japanese listener often listens on tube gear and/or horn loaded speakers, which can amplify the bass and roll off the highs. My full range open baffles do both, so I often prefer Japanese pressings.

For BN, any Japanese pressing is going to be very good, and given that most are in excellent shape whereas domestics are not, will be a good choice.
 
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