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Yes, that's the problem, it should be easy to get right. I'm sure my frustration is evident because this series could have been huge, these are all the titles anyone needs from Blue Note with the right mastering engineer at the right time and someone or something is scratching 3 out of 4 records by my count, how this doesn't show up on the radar is beyond me.
Universal is just a collection of individuals who as a whole don't seem to be able to organise a piss up in a brewery. They control one of the biggest legacies of music in the world and under their auspices many master tapes have been lost forever, check out 2008 universal tape fire.
In the past big labels were dealing with huge factories producing enormous amounts of records, unions controlled the factories and the factories took pride in producing a quality product in the time it took to do it. If you had a hit on your hands you could spread the pressing around, people worked a little overtime and LZII paid for a jumbo jet. Now there are only a few plants big enough to handle a release like this and they are all running at full capacity or a bit beyond.
These days tours make money, people stream hits a billion times. The industry wants to make money to fuel their coke habits but no one is checking the output of a quaint and only mildly profitable medium.
In the Third Man factory owned by Jack Black they give a toss what they make. QRP care, they understand mistakes can happen but they answer emails and put it right. Universal don't even publish an email contact. Everything's just WOW look at our shiny records, give us your money, ha ha you mugs. I'm not ordering from them any more because after a while you've only got yourself to blame.
As Einstein is credited with saying "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting a different result".
On the factory side of things, have a look at some of the footage from GZ Media in the bad old days, they treat the records so badly you would be surprised if one made it out of the factory without a fault.
My advice to anybody buying vinyl pressed at the moment is make sure you can return it if it's faulty. I have a bunch of great vinyl just arrived but the dud percentage has been and continues to be high.
Or just buy some from Hobo instead, although he will regret going all digital :)
Airhead-
This part of the reason I'm getting tired of vinyl. Prices too high with inconsistent quality. I have pretty mainstream tastes so most of the vinyl comes from mediocre factories and I've repeatedly been disappointed with what I'm hearing through my speakers. My digital copies simply sound better.
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Yes, that's the problem, it should be easy to get right. I'm sure my frustration is evident because this series could have been huge, these are all the titles anyone needs from Blue Note with the right mastering engineer at the right time and someone or something is scratching 3 out of 4 records by my count, how this doesn't show up on the radar is beyond me.
Either I've been lucky (or less fussy), but I've had no issues with Blue Note 80th Anniversary/Classic series or the Tone Poets. My main issue with the Classic series is actually getting hold of them.
Blue Note 75th anniversary stuff was appalling though.
Hobo
Ste_S
It is really quite incomprehensible that they should incur issues like poor handling at a factory. Surely if anything's avoidable, that is?