I spent more time listening to the “Amazing Bud Powell Volume One and Two” then Hendrix. Somewhat similar in how both volumes of Monk’s “Genius of Modern Music” were issued on vinyl, earlier CD’s, then the RVG remasters.
I have the RVG’s, and the first thing you notice is several more alternate tracks that were previously unreleased. This leads to some reshuffling that actually makes for a better program:
On the old CD’s, Volume One covered the recording session on August 8, 1949, and the one on May 1, 1951. However, five tracks from May 1, 1951 were placed at the beginning of Volume Two, hence splitting the May 1, 1951 session on two discs. On the more recent RVG remaster, to make room for the ‘new’ alternate takes, all the May 1, 1951 tracks are placed on the RVG remaster of Volume One – there was plenty of room to begin with so no tracks had to be dropped. In fact, the RVG remaster of Volume One tops out at about 65 or 66 minutes.
Even better, the sessions on August 8, 1949 and May 1, 1951 were recorded to lacquer discs. The next Blue Note session wouldn’t come until August 14, 1953, and this was recorded to tape. Now with the new shuffling, the RVG remaster of Volume One has these first two sessions in their entirety, and Volume Two is basically the August 14, 1953 session in its entirety. So basically the RVG remaster of Volume One is entirely sourced from lacquer discs, and the RVG remaster of Volume Two is now entirely sourced from tape.
On the older CD’s, there’s a curious “Disc transfer” credit for Rudy Van Gelder. It’s possible he actually made disc transfers for those old CD’s, or he may have transferred the old lacquer discs years ago to tape and that’s what was used. After comparing EVERY single lacquer sourced track from one mastering to the other, it’s safe to say that regardless of what that “disc transfer” credit means, the lacquer sourced tracks on the RVG remaster sound MUCH better, no contest. You can hear some pops and disc noise on the older CD’s, but they sound so bad it’s possible the older CD’s used tape dubs of the old discs, or they used some really worn-out 78’s. On the older CD’s, most of these tracks also have a dose of echo that’s very obvious when there’s a momentary rest in the tracks. The RVG remasters are BONE-DRY. One curious thing about the older CD’s is that the master take and two alternates of “Bouncing For Bud” on Volume One seem to have a blistering top end boost to make the cymbals – and everything else – really POP. This isn’t seen on any of the other tracks which is why I mention it.
So, bottom line, if you want Bud Powell on CD, the RVG remaster of “The Amazing Bud Powell Volume One” is ESSENTIAL simply because it’s the best music he ever recorded and the RVG is the best you’ll hear it on CD. Bud’s one of the greatest, one of the two or three most influential pianists in jazz history.
As for the RVG of Volume Two, there’s a handful of alternates you’re not going to get anywhere, but as for the rest, they can be found on the older CD of Volume Two, and it’s basically the same story: the older CD uses probably the same sources as the RVG, but the RVG has a shot of compression and a harder, brighter sound. One thing you really notice, though, is there’s a TON of tape hiss on these tracks. It’s a little amplified on the RVG due to the EQ – even when you push down the volume to match it to the older CD’s – but it’s still loud on the older CD’s. Taking it down a few decibels at 16k didn’t seem to harm the music, but again, I’m listening on computer speakers. Good computer speakers, I think, good for comparing ripped tracks on your computer, but not to judge the correct tonality of what you’re hearing, like “Does this sound like this instrument if played in real life?”