Blue Note 1584: A fine, affordable pressing of a rare but classic session

Blue Note 1584 

Here Comes Louis Smith

Louis Smith, trumpet
"Buckshot la Funke", alto sax
Duke Jordan, Tommy Flanagan, piano
Doug Watkins, bass
Art Taylor, drums

Pressing: Division of United Artists Records

Condition: NM-

Stampers: No Pastylite P, no RVG, an etched "ECK"

Date first published:

Performance: 10/10

Sound: 7/10

Price range: $20-1514 (mean $339) on popsike.com

Comments: This is one swingin' Blue Note session!  Trumpeter Louis Smith, who happens to be the only musician on this album who is still alive, recorded two albums as a leader for Blue Note:  this one, and Smithville (Blue Note 1594).  Both are superb, and both are extremely hard to find in original pressings.  If you do find a copy surfacing on the auction market, expect to pay a premium.  Knowing that I probably could not afford to land such a pressing, I opted to pick up this later, United Artists pressing for $20, and I'm really glad that I did.  If you read about the different Blue Note pressings, you will mostly read that the best sounding pressings are the "original" Blue Notes pressed at the Pastylite factory that bear the signature "P" and "RVG" or "Van Gelder" etchings.  Serious collectors tend to scoff at most Blue Note records made during or after the Liberty Records era (there are early Liberty pressings, though, that sound nearly identical to originals).  I'm here to say that while that may be true in many cases, one should not ignore these later pressings, especially if you are on a budget.  This UA pressing -- which does not even have the RVG or Van Gelder etching in the deadwax -- was excellent and, to my ears, hardly lacking in any sonic aspect when compared to similar era Blue Note original recordings that I have owned and heard.  For some reason or another, UA repressed a number of these rarer 1500 series mono releases (e.g. I have another UA pressing of Herbie Nichols Trio (Blue Note 1519) and a few 10" Blue Note releases), and this was luckily one of them.  The surfaces on this record were very quiet, which is not to be taken for granted, given how hard it is to find really clean Blue Note pressings these days.  (Don't get me started on the variability in sellers' grading scales on E-bay).  Now while such elements as soundstage and imaging aren't of quite as much importance on this mono album, a great sounding Blue Note usually shines with its clarity, dynamics, and punch.  This record has all of the above.  Naturally, the horns tend to predominate, but the rhythm section is still well captured and not relegated to the far background (I have heard a number of later Blue Note pressings for which this is unfortunately the case).  Piano and bass solos are distinct heard.  I won't say that this recording has a lifelike presence to it, because it doesn't, but it does have more of that "Blue Note sound" and you can feel the musicians standing before you.  Perhaps the only difference I can sense between this UA pressing and an original is that 1) the vinyl weight is lighter than that of originals, and 2) its playback volume isn't as jacked up as it is on original pressings.  However, I didn't have to turn up the volume much to get an enjoyable listening experience.

P.S. In case you were wondering who "Buckshot la Funke" is, it is none other than alto sax star Cannonball Adderley!