First, as is well documented, the tapes are running at correct speed – something that wasn’t noticed for several years (1992 or so I believe). As we set out to make our UHQR series the world's best-sounding vinyl records, we have also used Clarity Vinyl, which is free of any carbon black pigment which might introduce surface noise. It follows more or less the overall Columbia evolution – Guaranteed High Fidelity becoming <-360º SOUND -> MONO (white print); and <-360º SOUND -> STEREO first in black print then white print. The simple reason being that this tape does exactly what any music lover and huge fan of an artist / album would want: it takes you closer to the original stereo release – but on tape! Even the very best turntables (and I’ve had the great fortune, through 30+ years in the audio industry, to hear some of the word’s best) are left wanting in this respect compared to studio-quality tape.

When Coltrane’s solo starts he leaps into the soundstage, positioned left as we’ve already established with the reverb just as we know it. I have a standard cd, a hi res copy and a Japanese cd all 3 have some kind of annoying distortion in different parts of the saxophone. High value auctions were more likely to provide matrix codes in the description, and better quality photos, though not always. Long held as the jazz album that even non-jazz fans will own, 'Kind Of Blue' not only changed the way people regarded Miles, it changed the very face of music itself. Beginning with the Byrds, the Doors, Carlos Santana, and the Allman Brothers, most rock improvisation has been modal.

Anyway, back to the listening… here, the sense of realism again shines through in spades – microdynamics, intimacy of shape and colour. Adderley’s sax solo sails out of the left and then Coltrane follows him on the right, the pair are mesmerising. In other words, my ‘ultimate reference’ here is still the original vinyl release, though the UHQR versions (remixed and remastered by Bernie Grundman) really do sound astonishingly impressive! No copies at all with a 1AA/ 1AA were found in my mono sample, so if it is mono, it is an exception for which there is some other explanation. Designed to bring the focus back on the groove and bottom-end frequencies, the funk-loaded On the Corner revolutionized jazz.

LJC says: please feel free to weigh in if you think I’ve got something wrong (which you can put straight), or you can add something to the story, speak up, perhaps your promo doesn’t fit with my m.

In fact, this is something that this tape brings out more than any other version of the album that I’ve heard. All inserts are printed on high quality art board and include a track and information sheet for each reel, and a technical specification and quality control sheets for each reel, which even going as far as including the original Recording the Masters tape serial number labels. LJC: so 1G and 1H would be the 2nd cut from Santa Maria) “That way they could easily keep track of how many replacements were needed for each plant.

At least, not legally, which is a key consideration – not only in terms of legitimacy and ethics, but also (importantly) the quality of what you’re getting. I have two copies of Miles Davis – Kind of Blues Lp’s but don’t know how old they are, here are the numbers on both Lp’s if anyone can help me date them.however I’ve since had the good fortune of being slightly re-educated on that position by a number of professional recording engineers whose knowledge of their art is, of course, far greater than mine. Didn’t seem to bother “Cannonball” that much, he’s no cissy worrying about a misprint, he’s bigger than that. I don’t know anything, sifting for clues and evidence, just a vinyl detective, maybe jumping to wrong conclusions.