Herbie Hancock – The Prisoner

Absolutely fantastic press, zero complaints. Balanced, clear, wide soundstage, super dynamic. Everything you hope for in a record.

Arrived today from imusik.dk
With hype sticker, but rear cover AND spine have catalogue number B0031460-01
Barcode correct
At the bottom of the sticker is "STDTPRVGCT"

Great sounding LP of a terrific recording. Stereo-mix & mastering is very detailed, with good air & terrific bass as well. Pressing quality on the heavyweight vinyl is top-notch, with whisper-quiet vinyl. One hell of a bargain considering I only paid $14.99 for it brand-new back in 2007...

Definitely one of the best sounding records I have. Even on my meager system Tootie's cymbals practically dance from the speakers to my ears. The guy is in the room with me, I was not familiar with the material/album prior to buying this, but is slowly becoming a top Herbie Hancock record for me. Did I mention how amazing Albert "Tootie" Heath plays on sound on this! Truly a treat to the ears to spin this one!

This was recorded April 1969. Wikipedia has release year as 1969. Does anyone have any idea why Discogs has the original as being released in 1970?

2023 repress is pristine! But indeed price incresead a lot ! (specially in Europe)

This was repressed recently. My copy sounds wonderful. It also included the updated hype sticker with “cut directly from the original analog tapes”

This is a dreaded Scorpio reissue, but this one actually came out fine! I'm guessing the new reissue might sound better but I'm enjoying this one on MLK day! Not bad at all!

My pressing was close to perfect. There was almost no surface noise. The only real noises were a few light pops (maybe 3 or 4), and a handful of light clicks.

If I have one complaint, it is with the bass. It is boomy without any definition to it. This seems true for all of the tracks. On the other hand, the sax was well-defined and sharply focused to about the middle. The drums, on the right, sounded correct and had sharp strikes, whereas the cymbals were not splashy and had natual decay. The piao was the RVG soft piano, but this one has a little more sparkle than usual - probably because the star here is Herbie Hancock and he plays the piano. The flute sounded bright, not breathy.

Alas, there are many instruments that fill out the record, and I could not keep track of them all. Overall, this is a very good record. I give it 4.5 out of 5.

Cartridge: AT150Sa

Quite a sophisticated listen this one, has an ever so slight tinge of that late 60’s / early 70’s lounge jazz vibe to it but doesn’t sound dated. Instruments are mixed very well and good job on the mastering. Sounds really clear and a nice balanced stereo soundstage.
Cool choice by the Tone Poet team.