April 2008
The Music Matters LPs -- a pair of beautifully pressed 45s -- take that great Blue Note sound and ratchets it up a notch or two, while the Acoustic Sounds 45s seem to spit-shine the master tape with the technological advances engineers enjoy today. Which are better? I give the nod to the Music Matters LPs, as they offer a greater sense of space along with more organic wholeness to go with the clean, clear sound. The Acoustic Sounds LPs are very fine, as long as you like the original Blue Note sound but with a cleaner signature. They seem to spotlight the individual instruments a bit more too, almost as if the musicians were recorded in sound booths. (They werent, of course.) And when you toss in the packaging, well, its no contest: Music Matters gives you a product that makes you happy you spent the $50 entry fee (if thats possible). Whats interesting is that Steve Hoffman, who is handling the mastering of both reissue series, claims hes doing nothing different. All I can say is that there is definitely a sonic difference that is easily heard, at least between these two releases. But no matter which you choose, 45rpm playback makes the music come alive in ways 33 1/3 never could. GO BACK TO: |