Kenny Burrell Midnight Blue Blue Note 75th vs Black B non RVG cut.
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I'll get this out of the way this album is incredible and everyone should have a copy of this album no matter what pressing it is. I chose these two pressing to duke it out because both are considered less desirable of course the 75th pressings were looked down for being digital cuts and the Black B are considered one of the lower tier reissues especially when it doesn't have a Van Gelder stamp.
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I used two songs from this album to really check the difference in pressings, those two being "Chittlins Con Carne" and "Midnight Blue". Lets start with the 75th pressing, right off the bat this album is cut much softer than the 70s pressing, to me it lacks punch. It does though have a better sound stage and more clarity in general to the whole band, I think the bass and drum kit are more well defined and don't get buried in the mix as they do on the 70s press. That clarity comes with a price though as the drive is taken out of this record and the guitar and congas feel stale and a little lifeless, for some reason though the sax sounds great big and full but everything else falls flat.
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The Black B pressing is close to the opposite of the 75th pressing, the album is cut much hotter, the guitar really pops on this pressing full of life. The congas and sax also really pop on this one they feel full and dominant the mix, the bass and drum kit fall way in the back and unless it's a bass solo or quiet part you really can't hear the bass. The Black B also has a pretty good sound stage not as open as the 75th but you still get pretty good separation between the hot instruments in the mix (ie guitar, sax, congas).
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The winner for me to my ears is the Black B pressing what it lacks in low end and clarity it makes up for in energy and drive and when it comes to a guitar driven album you want the guitar to sound good and ultimately the guitar sounds better on the Black B than the 75th. I think if you were looking for a more accurate overall picture of the session go for the 75th it has more clarity more low end but just feels too sterile for my taste.
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Do you have these pressings? What do you think?