2026-01-15 12:45:49 PM

Jeff 'Glotz' Glotzer wrote:

Nice list.. esp those that missed the MoFi Cooder's over the year. But I will lust mostly after the Van. Still love him...

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  2026-01-15 12:50:49 PM

  Jeff 'Glotz' Glotzer wrote:

  Over the years... they were out of print at MoFi for some time.

2026-01-15 08:00:43 PM

Josquin des Prez wrote:

I was kinda interested, until I saw it's 45 RPM, and the price has gone up. $65 a pop now.

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  2026-01-16 03:58:07 AM

  33Spinner wrote:

  You and me both. What is it with the 45rpm thing? Is it because AP cannot get rights unless they issue at this speed? Yes there might be a sonic improvement, but for me it's easily offset by the interruption to the music's flow wwhere the album was originally 2 sides. No to mention additional weight, cost and storage space....

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    2026-01-16 12:08:50 PM

    bwb wrote:

    agree completely. If that's what others want then no problem here, but $60 for the 45rpm 75 series and now an increase for these at 45 rpm puts me down as a non-buyer. The song sequence on many of these albums was carefully planned out to have maximum impact as the side develops. This is obviously ruined when you have to get up and turn the record over. $40 for a 33rpm and I would be interested in a few of them.

    I have the Music Matters 45 rpm series and rarely play them because of the hassle factor and the discontinuity of being on 4 sides.

2026-01-15 08:54:16 PM

db wrote:

It looks like the Gram Parsons – Grievous Angel is still available at the Rhino High Fidelity store (limited numbered edition of 5,000). 33 1/3 rpm, $40.

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  2026-01-16 12:02:19 PM

  bwb wrote:

  as well as Van Morrison – His Street Band And The Choir

2026-01-15 10:22:16 PM

Todd wrote:

Pretty much a Boomer list of boring titles. Still love you guys.

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  2026-01-16 08:57:31 AM

  Come on wrote:

  Even boring for some boomers. Didn’t we all evolve somewhat? But I also love the guys! And we all have our special memories, so the series will have its fans.

2026-01-16 12:11:19 PM

bwb wrote:

" bringing timeless music to life exactly as it was meant to be heard'

no, it was meant to be heard from 2 sides of a record, not broken up on to 4 sides

2026-01-16 01:26:34 PM

Todd wrote:

I just don’t see a 45rpm record as anything other than a museum piece.

2026-01-16 02:04:11 PM

Come on wrote:

Unlike most here today I prefer 45 RPM vinyl for very good recordings and whenever the 45 RPM makes additional sense in terms of sound... and in my experience, that's usually the case.

The exceptions for me are tracks where a continuous piece is split across several sides, such as the Reiner/Bolero release or Zarathustra, which is a no-go for me.

Of course it's also important that the clientele for a particular genre of music matches the 45 RPM preference. Chad surely knows best whether this is likely to be the case with these releases.

2026-01-16 02:50:42 PM

MrRom92 wrote:

I will say most of these titles are very, VERY boring to me. I could come up with a much more exciting list if I could mine the catalog Rhino has access to. I don’t understand why people are upset these are at 45rpm though. Haven’t you had 50+ years to buy these records at 33? Some of us are excited to get something better. Sometimes I wonder if any of you truly care about audio.

Ramones is a biggie. If there was one must-have in the lineup, that is it. I have no doubts it will be their best seller.

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  2026-01-16 06:02:09 PM

  bwb wrote:

  IMHO the major part of "something better" comes from going back to the original tapes, using better equipment to do the mastering and the rest of the production, and all that the people doing the work have learned over the years. It does not come from going up to 45 rpm.

  At the typical 50% premium to get a 45, I'll take 3 wonderful sounding 33 records over 2 that may sound slightly better at 45. Sometimes I wonder if any of you truly care about the music more than the audio.

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    2026-01-16 09:38:13 PM

    MrRom92 wrote:

    Yesteryear’s bog standard equipment and typical practices are today’s high end audiophile specialty treatment. What were these cut on 50 years ago? The same equipment they’re using today save for maybe some slight tweaks and wiring upgrades? There may be some marginal improvement from making EQ choices better suited to high end modern playback equipment, but the real difference will come from the expansion to a 2x45. At some point people either want the best or they don’t.

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      2026-01-17 01:46:06 AM

      bwb wrote:

      will have to differ, There have been too many recent re-issues at 33 rpm that are much, much better than older versions to agree with you. Pretty sure Kevin Grey would argue that his equipment is not just "marginally" better than the standard equipment of old. When the LP was the standard medium it was being mastered and pressed by a wide variety of people with various skill levels, pressed into vinyl of dubious quality, on equipment not always properly optimized, that were not focused on maximum fidelity every step of the way like the artisans of today are .

      Yes, there are great sounding releases that are 50 years old, but the fidelity of the average release was nowhere near what the artisans of today are consistently producing at 33. Impex, Cohearent, Rhino High Fidelity, Music Matters 33 series, Blue Note Tone Poets, Analouge Productions, and others are consistently re-releasing records at 33 rpm with way more than "marginally" better fidelity than the same titles from 50 years ago.

      finally. compare a 33 UHQR Kind of Blue to the 45 . I have both. The 33 is superb. The 45 version is where the marginal improvement comes in. Like many things, you pay a lot more to get a little better.

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        2026-01-17 04:24:38 AM

        Come on wrote:

        In my experience there are examples for both. Many of for example KG’s later 33 RPMs on his improved mastering chain are better and many worse than previous AP, MM or ORG 45s. Why so seems to be a matter of different influences. The public marketing machine certainly suggests newer is better and generalizes singular valid experiences. I make a lot of such comparisons and for me it turned out like the OG vs. reissue topic. There is no rule, it depends and varies.

        What’s for sure, but depending on the resolution of the setup:

        The same mastering of a high quality recording sounds clearly better at 45 RPM.

        Only valid for this example: Compare Chet Baker’s Chet from the earliest Doug Sax 33 to AP’s 45 to Craft’s 33. You’ll be surprised which wins. It’s one of the exceptions.

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          2026-01-17 11:12:20 AM

          bwb wrote:

          all valid points.. As you say, there is no rule

          one thing missing from these discussions is whether your enjoyment is more from the 33 or the 45. Are you listening to the sound or are you listening to the music? With my limited funds, would I get more overall pleasure from the Rhino 75 series paying $4500 for a 45 set at $60 each or paying $3000 at $40 a pop for a 33 set if there was one, and using the extra $1500 to buy 40 more records?

          Many of these recordings are less than audiophile quality in the first place. Do you get more enjoyment listening to a better sounding (more revealing?) version of a flawed recording, or does it just make you more aware of the inherent flaws (excess compression, lack of bass, rolled off treble, etc.)

          I have too many audiophile versions of records that really just piss me off when I listen to them because I spent premium money to hear how inherently flawed they are. For instance, the UHQR of "LA Woman." Some of the songs like "Riders on The Storm" sound really , really good. Others are just irritating. Many recordings from that era were intended to sound their best on cheap radios. They were never intended to have "audiophile sound" and they never will. I've listened to most of the UHQR Steely Dan titles. They may be the best sounding versions, but they are so processed to begin with they fall far short of what I consider to be a great recording. There is no way they realistically rate a 10 for sound in comparison to the best sounding recordings.. I sold the ones I had.

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            2026-01-17 12:30:13 PM

            Come on wrote:

            I understand your points.

            Most are just not relevant for me because I wouldn't buy such a whole set of 45s (or 33s) and no 45s of titles with mediocre sound. I perfectly understand what you mean with LA Woman. Not worth an audiophile pressing for me, too, but for some it still might be worth it. All the 45s (even all audiophile pressings) I have are worth the effort musically and sound wise for me because I selected them accordingly.

            Regarding Steely Dan I have all UHQRs except the flawed Pretzel (instead I use the OG) because they are musically so important to me that I wanted the best releases. I can tell, especially when having an active crossover to losslesly tweak tonality at will for less optimal recordings, a lot of limited sounding Rock gets near perfect with the right pressings. But take for example the Jimi Hendrix UHQRs...they are perfect sounding just the way they are, jawdroppingly so.

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  2026-01-21 07:14:25 PM

  Michael Kaye wrote:

  Agree about the Ramones. That LP is ground zero for so much that came after that it's hard to quantify. But I cant say I am thrilled about 45rpm. Vinyl is difficult enough sometimes with the cleaning, warm up and prep that to do that 2x as many times isn't worth it.

2026-01-16 03:20:38 PM

David Terry wrote:

I’m in the underwhelmed boat regarding these titles.

2026-01-17 09:34:32 AM

Jack Pot wrote:

I am firmly in the 33 1/3 camp. Having said that, I also firmly believe in the excellence of 1-step pressing (based on a sample of uh... 2). The price of 1-step 33 1/3 LPs at usd 75/LP is "reasonable" given the huge increase in production cost. I even prefer 1-step to D2D. Now, this new series offers "poor man's 1-step". The first 400 pressed vinyls will be numbered... I suspect something similar is happening with DG's hugely succesful The Original Source (TOS) classic music reissues on vinyl. TOS LPs sell for euro 55, TOS mysterious White Label LPs, restricted to 100, sell for almost triple(!) the price. Sonic improvement is dramatic. I have not yet received 100% confirmation - that is, from DG itself - of the way WL production differs from regular. WL is a hugely profitable marketing ploy. Why ploy? Because, imho, a special edition, luxuriously packed, LP selling new for euro 55 should already be as good as it gets. And euro 145 is outrageous when 1-step sells for usd 75.

2026-01-18 08:35:29 PM

Nicholas DeBrita wrote:

I'm still waiting for the Death Cab For Cutie in the Atlantic 75 Series that I preordered back in August....

2026-01-19 12:35:57 AM

Willie Luncheonette wrote:

Punk rock Willie here. So nice to see the Ramones' eponymous debut album, released in April, 1976, on this list. Contrary to what John Lydon is still spouting, it is ground zero for punk and would make an excellent start for anyone wishing to get into punk music. (Not talking proto punk here) I owned a first pressing of the LP and when I gave punk lessons in my apartment to kids in the neighborhood wanting to know more about the music this was the first thing I played.. It was fun because Johnny's guitar is in the right speaker and Dee Dee's bass is in the left. If you had an amp that could separate the speakers you could isolate the two which is exactly what I did. The kids loved hearing these two musicians so clearly. I see MrRom92 is another big Ramones fan. Love it! Although the Ramones did not sell a ton of records during their lifetime, they did eventually have 2 gold records, selling 500,000 each---this debut and the compilation Ramones Mania. I hope Acoustic Sounds sells a boat lode of this extremely important LP.