Miles Davis – Kind Of Blue

I’ve had this since release and unfortunately mine was an absolute waste of money. Terrible pressing with several surface flaws and warped. Such a cool box set wasted on a terrible pressing.

My LP which I purchased super cheaply as a close out for around $25, has a scratch through "All Blues" that causes ticking throughout. What a shame they put out such a nice set with negligent quality control as the sonics are excellent.

Fully admit I don't have any other copies to compare this vinyl pressing to, but to my ears, it sounds quite nice. Eventually I'd like to explore some of the other versions out there; I absolutely love this album and it would be interesting to hear the differences others point out -- but for now, I'm quite content with this one.

I do agree with steamybrown re: the CDs and how the otherwise amazing packaging might affect them -- my CDs have some surface scuffing just from being in their slots, but they do play fine. Still, a little frustrating to have brand new discs...not so brand new before you even get them in your player. Beyond that, I really like this set.

There have been complaints about the poor quality of the vinyl pressing. I've played mine only once, but it sounded fine.

This “50th” Box Set is nice—very comprehensive, with lots of quality extra goodies; photos, a poster, a brochure, a Book and DVD that are indispensable, and most importantly, audio that is generously spread over one LP and two CDs (this is one of the nicest modern presentations of “K.O.B”, even 14 years after it’s original release)......It was wise, and very much appreciated to have the flip-side of “Jazz Track” coupled along with “...Blue” here on CD, since “Jazz Track” is more or less a prelude (even though it was released commercially a few months after “K.O.B” in 59’) for what was to come (“On Green Dolphin Street”, “Fran-Dance”, & “Stella By Starlight” are as good as any of the tracks off “...Blue”). My complaints would be about how the CDs, DVD, and Vinyl, all come flawed from the unforgiving housing they are set in—I bought four sets brand new, and all were scratched...The vinyl is a gorgeous looking “kind of blue”, and the one-off mastering is unique from all other U.S. Stereo versions of this album. It has an almost startling sharpness and focus on the “horn solos”, while also having a more flat, two-dimensional Stereo spaciousness than that of the more generous “room-filled” sounds of the original “6 Eye”, or “Classic Records” versions (both in 33rpm and 45rpm). The “50th’s” overall performance and “feeling” places it somewhere in between the 59’ original and the 2010 Stereo “Columbia, Legacy” edition, featuring a stronger low-end than the 59’, without pushing the edge of distortion like the 2010 tends to do. And, even though it doesn’t have quite the same sense of placement or depth as it’s 59’ predecessor as mentioned, the “50th” somehow makes it’s own distinction when compared to many of it’s successors (reissues), thanks in part to the mastering engineer’s (Greg Calbi) intent and focus on making horn solos jut forward and pierce the air. From 2010 on, U.S. Stereo versions of “Kind Of Blue” have been mastered with either an exaggerated, near distorted low end, or a blurred/packed sense of space—a sort of flattened ambience...or both (I can’t hear “the room” anymore on the 2010 Legacy cut or on the new 2014 Mono). The truly unfortunate part about the Vinyl portion of this “50th” set is that it seems to be of subpar pressing quality, with typically moderate to sometimes terrible pressing flaws (warps, and mostly “no-fill”) being widely reported.

This issue would have been worth something if the vinyl pressing had been any good - it's horrible in the four samples I've heard and seen - terrible quality, and a shame for an otherwise excellent 50th anniversary issue of one of the finest pieces of music ever created.