Vinylla fudge.(The Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall)(Greatest Hits)(The Experience Sessions)(sound recording review)(Sound recording review)

The Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall (Mosaic Records 231-MR-LP)

So much has been written about the CD version of this release that I feel a bit silly writing about the album myself, but there might be a couple of folks out there who haven't heard about this yet. Or maybe not. But what I can't understand is why every person with even the slightest interest in this period of jazz hasn't already picked up a copy yet. And if your thing is vinyl, there is every reason in the world you should get yourself a copy of this platter, not only for the improved sonics but for the improved packaging.

I was a little afraid of the mono insignia, but that was for naught, since they really did a fine job of restoring this recording to a level that it probably never saw before. One could easily forget it is a mono record it sounds so good, but there is no doubt that it has more to do with the performances on this date. The telepathic interplay between Monk and Coltrane is scary, as is the interplay between the entire ensemble, really. But that's just a small part of the story. An aural voyage back to NYC during Thanksgiving season of 1957 has now been made so much easier thanks to the Library of Congress and the fine folks who pressed this record.

Neil Young--Greatest Hits (Reprise/Classic Records 48935-1 2LP plus 7" 45)

I don't think I'm the only guy around my age that's held on to his records and has every single Neil Young album from that era. Maybe I'm missing a few of them, but it at least seems like all of them. Then why pick up a greatest hits record? For the convenience, right? Well, if you're talking about a double LP and a separate 7" single, there goes the convenience angle. Plus, if we've been listening to all ...