If you collect jazz LPs from the 50s and 60s, you have surely noticed the flood of new reissues by labels like DOL, Doxy, Jazz Wax, Green Corner, Jazz Images, Jazz Time, and many more. In the past ten years or so, these new EU labels have begun offering repressings of often hard-to-find classic jazz albums at bargain prices. They offer hundreds of brand new LPs originally issued on Blue Note, Prestige, Riverside, Columbia, Verve, and many other labels, pressed on 180-gram vinyl with nicely reproduced jackets, all for around $15.
In a previous post I talked about a trip to Spain where I bought a few of these EU repressings. My preliminary reaction was that they look great and sound pretty good, especially for the price. But there has been so much debate about these releases in the various online music and vinyl discussion groups, I thought it might be useful to take a closer look.
But alas, no. After intense lobbying from the US recording industry, record labels, artists, and other rights holders (and because everyone realized with a shock that the first Beatles recordings were about to enter the public domain), in September of 2011 the EU parliament in Brussels voted to amend the law to increase copyright protection to 70 years. But the decision was not retroactive and only applied to sound recordings originally released after January 1, 1963. As a result, any sound recording originally released by the end of 1962 is in now in the public domain in Europe. The Beatles' first hit single, "Love Me Do," which was released in October, 1962, is now in the public domain. The Beatles' first album, Please Please Me, released in March, 1963, was saved for the time being.
Despite the fact that these new public domain vinyl releases are completely legal, a number of online commentators have opposed them on moral grounds, comparing them to bootlegs because artists and their heirs will not benefit from sales. However, it is worth noting that only a relatively small percentage of artists own the rights to their albums. The vast majority of rights holders are record labels, licensees, or other corporations. And as this article in the UK's Guardian newspaper from 2011 reveals, the EU decision to extend copyrights will actually harm some artists. The reason is that a lot of artists who signed away their rights in one-sided contracts in the 50s and 60s (and never made a penny from album sales) could have repackaged their recordings and sold them themselves if the albums had become public domain. Now, only the license holder continues to profit. But I digress.
While these new public domain pressings are legal in Europe, I wasn't able to find an explanation for how they can be sold in the US, where sound recordings are protected by copyright for 95 years. Nevertheless, they are readily available at countless brick-and-mortar stores and online sellers in the US, including the likes of Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Not being an international copyright lawyer, I can only speculate that there is some sort of legal loophole (first sale doctrine?) or a trade arrangement that allows them on the US market. Otherwise, I would have expected to see lawsuits and injunctions filed by the US rights holders, which does not seem to be the case.
In my search for EU labels that are repressing vinyl copies of public domain jazz recordings, I came up with a list of ten different labels. They are listed below. Following the name of each label is the country of origin, and in parentheses are the year the label first began releasing vinyl albums and the number of albums they have released to date, as compiled by Discogs. I didn't include any labels where I couldn't find at least one public domain jazz reissue, which I define as an LP originally released before 1963 that does not list the copyright holder or other licensing information on the jacket or label. I also did not include labels that produce only compilations or best of collections. Here you go:
Jazz Workshop |
but Russian owned]
-Jazz Images, Spain (2016, 139)
-Pan Am Records, Spain (2011, 71)
-Vinyl Passion, Holland (2007, 279)
Elemental Music |
I will mention one more label, Elemental Music, that occasionally appears (erroneously) in lists of public domain producers. Based in Spain, Elemental Music's releases include licensing and copyright information on their jackets and labels. They have reissued nearly 50 classic Blue Note titles in Europe, as well a growing list of "new archival discoveries" -- live jazz recordings of (mostly) European radio and concert dates that they have unearthed. One of the co-founders of Elemental, the American producer Zev Feldman, was recently hired by Blue Note as a consulting producer to dig through the archives for unreleased materials from their vaults.
Online opinions are decidedly mixed about the sound quality of public domain reissues. Some posters dismiss all of them out of hand as junk sourced from MP3s. Since the public domain labels are notoriously tight-lipped about their sources, I'm doubtful that anyone knows for sure. (The only on-the-record information about sourcing I could find is an interview with Jordi Pujol by noted jazz writer Marc Myers, which you can read here. Pujol, founder of Fresh Sounds Records, also several public domain labels, including Jazz Workshop.) And while it's probably a safe bet that EU reissue labels don't have access to the original master tapes, claiming that they use MP3s as a source begs the question of why a label that presumably wants to sell more records wouldn't bother to at least use an easily obtainable commercial CD or high-resolution digital file as its source.
Regardless of the source, the proof is in the listening. I obtained at least one LP from all ten of the reissue labels listed above. For each title, I have a fully licensed CD, digital download, or SACD with which to compare them. I did A/B comparisons of the two different copies with levels matched. I don't claim to have golden ears, and I wasn't trying to identify every minute difference. I just wanted to get a feel for the quality of the public domain releases and see how they measure up to licensed copies. And I wanted to see if there is any justification for the many online suggestions to avoid public domain releases because they sound "horrible." Of course this is a limited sample, and it may well be that the quality level of the releases is uneven. No doubt if you were to do similar comparisons using your system and your ears, your mileage would vary. But we have to start somewhere.
Each label is followed by the catalog number, the LP title, the original pressing info in parentheses, and my listening notes:
Jazz Images 37053 |
Vinyl Passion 807823 |
Jazz Workshop JW-081, Gigi Gryce And The Jazz Lab Quintet (Riverside RLP 1110)
I compared this to OJC CD-1774-2, which was remastered in 1991 by Phil De Lancie at Fantasy. The CD is cleaner with more energy in the mids and high end. However, the LP has better bass definition and better overall balance. Switching back and forth, the difference between the two versions is easy to hear. It's really the difference between a more digital sound and a more analog sound. They are both excellent but I'll take the analog LP every time.
General Notes
All of the ten public domain LPs are pressed on 180-gram vinyl. All are flat and extremely quiet. None of the records is off-center or has a warp. There are a few ticks across the 18 sides, but nothing out of the ordinary, and all of them are as quiet as the average audiophile US pressing. Except for the Pan Am release, which comes in a plain white paper dust sleeve, all the albums have white, poly-lined dust sleeves. All of the jackets are printed on medium to heavy stock. Seven of the ten labels reproduce the original jackets. All of the jacket images are clear and sharp, and the type is clear and legible on all of the releases. Eight of the ten disks were pressed at gzvinyl in the Czech Republic. The Jazz Workshop disk was pressed at MPO in France, and The Vinyl Passion disk was pressed at Record Industry in Holland. Six of the ten (Green Corner, Jazz Wax, Pan Am, Vinyl Lovers, Wax Time and Vinyl Passion) say they were made using Direct Metal Mastering (DMM).
Conclusions
This is a limited comparison with a lot of different sources. I'm not sure that I was always comparing apples to apples. But my experience with these public domain releases is overall pretty positive. One was not so hot, three were meh, and six were excellent. I wouldn't describe any of them as terrible, although the Jazz Wax reissue of Duke Pearson's Hush! is not going into heavy rotation.
Are public domain reissues worth buying? Well, I paid an average of $15 each for the public domain titles (and two of them were two-fers). As long as you know what you are buying and realize it's a little bit of a crap shoot, then they can be a very good value. With a lot of searching and some luck, you might find a US or Japanese reissue of some of these titles for $15. But not in mint condition.
You can probably buy a licensed CD of any of these titles for less than $15. But then you won't get the same tactile experience of playing vinyl and enjoying the album art while reading the liner notes.
My advice? Don't overthink it. These are very nicely packaged, affordable pressings, including many classic jazz albums that are almost impossible to find at a reasonable price. Buy one and see what you think. If you like it, buy more. If you don't, don't.
Enjoy the music!
Hi Tom,
ReplyDeleteI discovered your blog through https://www.discogs.com/forum/thread/772717, and I've spent my afternoon reading all your posts.
Great reading stuff. Even though I've no special interest in Jazz or Labels, I couldn't stop reading...
Your drive for finding wonderful music is very inspiring. I'm from 1955 and have probably enjoyed the same music as you when growing up. Where Jazz is your passion, mine is Robert Wyatt. And I do have
all Tim Buckley's studio albums (Goodbye is favourite).
Thanks for a afternoon well spent.
Arie,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your kind comments. I'm very glad that you enjoyed reading my posts. Even though many of my articles are about jazz, about half my collection is classic rock from the 60s and 70s. You have a couple of years on me (1957 for me), but if you are a Tim Buckley fan, I suspect we have lots of other artists in common as well. Best regards, Tom
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting read! Thanks 😎
ReplyDeleteGreat read. I came across your blog while researching the DOL label and reading some alarming posts on Discogs.
ReplyDeleteI recently pick up a new copy of Chet Bakers 1959 LP “Chet” at a record fair. I’m no audiophile or indeed jazz expert, but I thought it sounded amazing when I played it and continue to do so.
I’ve just ordered another DOL release on vinyl, Miles Davis’ “Milestones”. Hopefully I will be as happy with that.
Anyway, looking forward to reading more of your blog posts 🤙
To whom it may concern,
DeleteHello, like you, I too came across this blog while researching the DOL. The reason why I am replying to your comment is, your mention of the record "Milestones" by Miles Davis on the DOL label.
I have several jazz records on the DOL label, and they all sound great. From Cannonball Adderley, Miles Davis, Chet Baker and to John Coltrane, they have not disappointed me when it comes to the sound quality of the records Or even the surprisingly fantastic packaging. And I cannot forget to mention the quality in the vinyl itself.
Even though I have an "official" copy of this record, I would love to have the DOL variant. Ever since I saw your comment regarding this record, I've been trying to track down a copy of the DOL release myself, but to no avail.
I was wondering if you could please assist me on this matter in obtaining this particular record? I have looked on Discogs, but it is not available to purchase. I have searched on eBay, but was unsuccessful. I have also looked in other places on the internet, but have come up empty handed.
There were a couple of places that I was able to find a copy, but stated that it was "Out of Stock."
If you know where I might be able to buy a copy of the DOL variant of "Milestones" by Miles Davis, please to either reply to this message. Or, you can reach me through my personal email address: spaceboy33@gmail.com.
Any information you can provide would be greatly appreciated. Thank you once again, and I look forward to hearing from you.
Best regards,
Van
Not sure why my post is “Unknown”? I am logged in, but anyway, thanks for the post again.
ReplyDeleteRob,
Dublin, Ireland.
Rally helpful — thanks!
ReplyDeleteInteresting post. I haven't been so lucky with recordings from DOL (truly awful) and have had mixed results with Wax Time. As my appreciation for well-recorded music has grown (and my equipment has improved), I've pretty much sworn off these cheap-o reissues. The difference between one of these pressings and something from Analogue Productions, Speakers Corner, Chesky, Music on Vinyl, or Pure Pleasure is really night and day. Then again, so is the price. But the enjoyment I get from a well-recorded, well-pressed record is definitely worth the investment compared to the frustration I get from a poorly pressed one.
ReplyDeleteHi, Shug,
DeleteI agree that the sound quality of the audiophile labels makes them worth the price, and I've bought way too many of them. Still, there are some titles that will never be reissued or are just crazy expensive on the used market, so I'm willing to make do with a public domain copy for now. And even though the sound quality can be iffy, overall I've had pretty good luck. Thanks for reading.
Awesome, awesome, awesome post. I own a few of these and have ALWAYS been satisfied with every aspect of them. Sleeve art, pressing quality, mastering quality, attention to detail with inner poly lined sleeves....the works! These things are a true bargain. I'm of the camp where if it sounds good then I'll buy it, no matter the source. Might be sacrilege to some folks, but when you're on a budget for your record collecting, that rule can come in handy quite often.
ReplyDeleteHi Tom
ReplyDeleteIt was very refreshing to come across such a balanced and unprejudiced analysis of reissue labels. I have read too many biased (if not snobby) reviews that are based on limited experience with such labels.
At the end of the day, we can only let our ears and aesthetic sensibilities do the judging; rather than rely too much on others' opinions, we should train our ears and listen for ourselves.
And if we find a few bad examples from a particular label, that is no reason to assume *all* their reissues are bad, for sources vary depending on availability and a multitude of factors.
Of course, if a label consistently releases poor quality reissues, their quality control standards may be put into question.
But it also depends on the target market of the reissues: some people just want an example of a rare album on vinyl (with the original design and notes, etc), which they otherwise wouldn't be able to obtain. Others may just want a cheap example to be able to play over and over again without worrying about the vinyl deteriorating with wear.
Labels like Analogue Productions are of course examplary in quality, but they are not cheap. Music on Vinyl puts out very collectible limited pressings (with a great focus on soundtracks) of very high quality too. Sometimes, it is possible to find them quite cheaply.
I like to keep an open mind when it comes to collecting vinyl; there are lots of little gems to be found, often in the most unlikely of places. Specialist, independent, or small obscure labels offer a cornucopia of possibilities too.
Thanks for your note. I completely agree with you that we need to keep an open mind when it comes to collecting and listening to vinyl. Sometimes it's worth the price for an audiophile remaster of a favorite album by Analogue Productions or Music Matters. But other times a modestly priced repressing will do just fine. I've picked up quite a few more of the public domain reissues in the last year, and overall I continued to be very pleased with the quality. Maybe I'll do a second shoot-out for an upcoming post.
DeleteYou are right about Music On Vinyl. I have 10-12 titles, and they are uniformly very nice. I particularly recommend Beach Boy Dennis Wilson's great solo album Pacific Ocean Blue. Gorgeous.
Regards, Tom
Hi Tom
DeleteI have been perusing your blog; your passion and knowledge on the subject is amazing. I'm curious if you use any sort of software to manage and catalog your collection. Do you often cull or do you just keep adding?
My collection is not large, so I don't have a problem managing it. But it is starting to take up a lot of space, and like books records are heavy (that tactile aspect is a big part of their charm).
I have a very broad taste in music and am regularly exploring new genres and styles. Some can seem esoteric, but it is nice to understand the qualities of a genre that makes it appealing. I find that if my mood or frame of mind is right it's possible to enjoy virtually any kind of music.
Of course I have my preferences which I return to over and over again: music with rich sonorous tones, large full orchestral works, expansive choral pieces, strong vocals (Edith Piaf, Shirley Bassey, Nina Simone, Maria Callas, Mahalia Jackson...), strings (especially double bass), woodwinds (especially clarinet and bassoon), brass instruments, some percussion, and so on. I also like electronic and hybrid compositions. So as you can see, the list is quite extensive.
Cheers,
Chih
Melbourne
Chih,
DeleteI can relate to your comments about choosing music to fit your mood. As I mentioned in my last post, even things like the weather have a lot of influence over what I feel like listening to.
Regarding a cataloging program to manage my collection, about 10-12 years ago, I tried all the programs I could find to see what would work best for me. Most of the programs are (or at least were) focused on cataloging CDs or MP3 files. They really weren't set up for record collections. After trying a bunch, I finally found a great program called Orange CD, which despite the name, is perfect for cataloging LPs. Orange CD's great advantage is that it interfaces directly with Discogs to allow you to chose the exact version of the LP that you own and then imports all the data from Discogs automatically, including the cover art. And crucially for anyone with a large collection, it allows you to export the entire collection as a text file, so that you can keep an updated copy on your phone for when you're shopping. Otherwise I'd constantly be buying things I already own.
Orange CD is still available: http://www.firetongue.com even though it is mostly no longer supported. The last update was about four years ago. However, it still works great, and the user forum remains active to help resolve issues. I think you can download a free trial if you're interested.
Cheers, Tom
Hi
ReplyDeletejust a comment about the "Jazz Workshop" series. I have 18 or 20 of these titles - mostly records that I could not obtain in original pressing form due to their rarity. From multiple sources I have discerned that the likely source of these albums is analogue. I am not suggesting that they are even close to being derived from the original master tapes - but, when compared side by side with the CD - there is no digital edge/brightness - just a very smooth analogue sound. In addition, the covers are excellent and the records are pressed on flat virgin vinyl. In some cases, it is almost impossible to locate a CD copy (thanks Qobuz). The owner, who runs a large music operation - Fresher Sounds - explains the provinance in the following article: https://www.jazzwax.com/2011/11/interview-jori-pujol.html
Thanks a lot for your post. I've bought many of these records and they sound fine to me. As you said, I don't claim to have golden ears, so I can't notice the difference if there is any. My only complain is that sometimes they change te original cover and I don't know why. As long as you know what you are buying, everything's fine.
ReplyDeleteGood article I had been waiting for someone to do a comparison. I have had quite a few of the "public domain" reissues from Europe and my experience is close to yours. I haven't had any that were as good as an original or as good as one of the audiophile reissues, like Mobile Fidelity, Analogue Productions or Blue Note's Tone Poet series. But then there is a huge difference in prices.
ReplyDeleteIn my experience Waxtime and Jazz Wax sounded the worst, not even worth what I paid for them. They sound as if they were poorly mastered from a CD. I have a pretty good system and sound quality is everything to me so I stopped buying the cheap reissues anyway.
Why are you comparing these with CDs rather than other vinyl editions?
ReplyDeleteHi, Billy,
DeleteThanks for your note. As I mention in the blog, the reason I and a lot of people are interesting in public domain reissues is because it's almost impossible to find decent, affordable copies of some of these classic albums -- even reprints. So the question is whether the quality of the public domain vinyl copies is good enough to make them worth buying, or are you better off just getting a digital copy?
My experience is that most public domain releases are well done and sound pretty good. I'm never going to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars for a rare original Blue Note, and even a used repressing is often two or three times the price of a new public domain copy. It would be great if someone who owes original vinyl copies or clean reissues would do a vinyl to vinyl comparison, but if you can afford the originals, you probably wouldn't be interested in the public domain reissues to begin with.
Regards, Tom
I am just coming across this article and I must say that it is excellent. Are there any subsequent purchases from these labels (or similar new ones that have popped up since then) that would change your mind here, whether positive or negative?
ReplyDeleteThanks for your note. Since the original post, I have picked up a lot more public domain releases and now have around 75. I did another shootout in April of this year, comparing another 10 albums to digital sources (there is a link at the top of the page.)
DeleteAfter the second shootout, my conclusion hasn't changed: Public domain reissues are a great choice for people who want to own vinyl copies of classic jazz albums that are difficult if not impossible to find in good condition and at a reasonable price. The sound quality of the public domain releases is very good, and the production values (jacket, liner notes, dust sleeves, 180-gram pressings) are overall excellent.
That said, if you can afford $25-30 for Blue Note's 80th Anniversary and Tone Poet reissues, or $40-100 for high-end reissues from Analogue Productions, Music Matters, Mobile Fidelity, or Classic Records you will not be disappointed. I have dozens of those, and they are almost all outstanding. (However, I would avoid Blue Note's 75th Anniversary reissues, particularly those pressed by United Record Pressing. In my experience, the quality control is so bad that about half are unlistenable.)
Regards, Tom
Yes....Tom I agree the Blue Note 75 anniversary suck...sorry about that....the Tone Poem are the best then the 80th anniversary....I do have some of the Jazz workshop reissues....some better than others....my favorite the Fox by Harold Land with the original cover...next on my list is Roy Brooks Beat....rare album....but I still prefer Analogue Production Jazz reissues...thanks again for a great article.....Ed in New York
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThanks, very interesting, well-written and useful. Have some of these EU knock-offs and most sound fine. Sometimes not having the original cover art and notes is a minus though.
ReplyDeleteWonder about the ethical issue though - presumably if you buy, for instance, a Blue Note reissue, a few cents go to the descendants of the artists but not if you buy an EU public domain knockoff?
My experience with jazz pressings fom Europe as also been very positive . But I tend to disagree with the comments about the Blue Note 75th anniverary issue Jazz releases - these sound great. The only really poor pressings I encounted was the org reissue on Moodsville of Coleman Hawkins Nighthawk pressed in the USA- unplayable.
ReplyDeleteI have been piecing together opinions about the quality of new jazz vinyl records. The problem is how to know who is pressing the record you want to buy. Amazon, Ebay, and other sellers don't give this information. Example - Jazztime and Waxtime generally get a thumbs down but you might be buying them unknowingly. I might add that Sony has control of Columbia and their issues are superb.
ReplyDeleteAmazon usually lists the label in their "product details" down near the bottom of the page. On Ebay if there is a photo of the disc it's usually easy to tell the label. The real problem is you can't say that all the releases from "X" public domain label are good while all the releases from "Y" public domain are bad; it's not that simple. I have some very good and some not so good releases from nearly all of the public domain labels. I think it mostly comes down to the source used for the release.
DeleteIf you actually mean who is physically "pressing the record," then it's almost certainly GZ Media (formally GZ Vinyl) in the Czech Republic. As I mention in the post above, eight of the ten albums I compared were pressed there. And that holds true for the dozens of other public domain pressings I have. (A much smaller number are pressed by Record Industry in Holland or MPO in France.) While GZ Media aren't audiophile quality, in my experience they are usually pretty good.
For what it's worth, I've had very good luck with releases from the Jazz Workshop label. They press their discs at MPO in France, and they all sound very good to me.
Cheers, Tom
Hello Tom,
ReplyDeleteJudging from the date when this blog was originally posted and the subsequent comments that were made, it seems that I'm "a little late to the party." But, as they say, "better late than never."
First of all, excellent article! Thank you for posting your thoughts on this subject. I too came across your blog while researching the DOL label. Like you, I have quite a few records in my collection from "audiophile" labels such as Analogue Productions (The Doors, Dave Brubeck, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Patsy Cline, Nina Simone), Mobile Fidelity (Billy Joel, Bob Dylan, Miles Davis, Beck, Elvis Costello, even Megadeth) and God-only-knows how many Blue Note Tone Poet releases.
But, I also have several releases from DOL (John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, Miles Davis, Chet Baker). And I found that the sound quality of these releases have been surprising good, given the (negative) view of them.
I have a DOL copy of "Somethin' Else." It is a 2LP set, that comes in both stereo and mono. And the album jacket is a gatefold (which is what I prefer). Both records when played are dead quiet. And the sound quality is really good.
However, I have a DOL copy of Charles Mingus' "Mingus Ah Um" that is a 2LP set, that contains the original (full length) versions of those tracks and has four bonus tracks. Plus, the album jacket is a gatefold. But, the sound quality is OK.
Authors note: I do not have an "audiophile" system by no means. It's decent at best. Also, I'm not a "jazz guy." I'm more of a rock n' roller. But, I do enjoy good music.
I do agree with you when it comes to the cost of these audiophile recordings. For me, the price tag is a little out of my reach. Which is why I don't have a problem with buying them. I would love to own the MoFi One-Step of the Mingus record. But, I don't have a couple of hundreds (at minimum) lying around.
Will I continue buying records on the DOL label? Yes. But, I will also continue to buy releases from Mobile Fidelity, Analogue Productions and Blue Note. Especially the Tone Poet series (because they come in a gatefold album jacket unlike the Classic Series).
Thank you once again for the article!
Thanks for your note. I'm glad you enjoyed the article. The vast majority of people that I've heard from agree: We'd all prefer a great high-end reissue from Analogue Productions, MoFi, or Tone Poet. But when they aren't available, and original releases cost in the hundreds, then public domain pressings are a great option.
ReplyDeleteRegards, Tom