Record Store Day 2024!

Happy Record Store Day 2024!

I hope that you all had a chance to go out and support your local independent record shops!  I showed up a half hour before opening time at one of the stores I frequent and found that a line had already formed outside and wrapped around the block.  How often do you see that at a record shop these days?

Truth be told, although Record Store Day had its inauguration in 2007, I have actually never participated in a RSD event prior to today. I guess I've been asleep all this time, because it turns out that many record labels celebrate RSD by releasing special limited edition vinyl pressings and CDs, and these albums can only be purchased on RSD at participating record stores around the world (and not online). Hence, collectors and music lovers line up outside their favorite record store(s) on RSD with the hopes of being one of the few lucky ones to walk away with a limited edition record. While waiting in line, I spoke to a couple next to me who had been hopping from record store to record store all morning looking for a special Remy Wolf vinyl release of Live at Electric Lady.

My hope was to land a copy of the Craft Recordings limited mono edition of Bill Evans' classic Riverside record Everybody Digs Bill Evans, cut from the original master tapes by Kevin Gray and pressed on 180-gram vinyl (Craft Recordings CR00751). I have an original stereo copy that I've already described before, but I've not been able to find an affordable mono copy in really good condition. Luckily, I managed to grab the last of two available copies of the Craft Recordings pressing at the store.

Production quality appears to be very good and similar to that of a handful of other Craft Recordings jazz reissues I own.  I was pleased to see that the record came in a glossy, thick, Stoughton Tip-on jacket, which gives the product a more luxurious feel than, let's say, the Original Jazz Classics (OJC) stereo reissue.  The record comes in an anti-static, higher quality inner sleeve.

Soundwise, this mono pressing is quite good, and I didn't find myself missing the spatial separation of stereo. The record surfaces are  quieter than those of my stereo original, although I did note a few scattered very, very light crackles or pops here and there; these didn't take away from my overall listening enjoyment. I suspect a quick clean on the VPI would probably remedy this.

The sound of Bill Evans' piano is warm and full-bodied throughout. Philly Joe Jones' sharp hits on the drums really snap on tracks such as Minority, Night and Day, and Oleo, while his tasteful brushwork is well captured on What Is There to Say?. As it is on the original, Sam Jones' bass is clear and defined but could benefit from a bit more depth and heft. Compare it to the way Scott Lafaro's bass is richly reproduced on the Alto Edition audiophile reissue (or Analogue Productions 45 rpm reissue) of Bill Evans' Sunday at the Village Vanguard, and you'll know what I mean.

I just checked on Amazon and saw that a "like new" copy of this RSD limited edition release can now be purchased from MovieMars for $72, about twice the price of what it cost today in the store.