Andrew Hill – Passing Ships

Wow. Such an incredible pressing of an amazing recording. We are lucky to have this!

Essential Tone Poet
Amazing record
Three sides of pure bliss and joy
😊

Amazing. I confess I own only a handful of Time Poet releases - mostly because I already have other pressings etc. Bought this as it’s a first vinyl release of these recordings - how the hell did Blue Note not release these back in the day? 10/10 . The pressing sounds phenomenal on my LP12 with Dynavector DV20L . It’s definitely a hot pressing so might not be great for those with budget gear but wow tte music. Essential

Just Chills! When you listen to genius and just shiver!

Love Andrew Hill Lift Every Voice being top 10 Blue Note

One of the first albums I tried my Ortofon Bronze with, and wow did it never not disappoint! I own just over 20 Tone Poet releases, and I'm starting to think that they simply can't do wrong.

Upgraded my cart to a AT-VM95ML, and the distortion mostly went away.

Amazing pressing, superb mastering, excellent press from RIT i think this was the last relaese before QC going to hell. The music is excelent very dark jazz melodies.

This is an amazing pressing! These Tone Poet editions never fail to impress me! A wonderful pressing for an amazing underrated record!

Talking about the music here, not the pressing - this was not a "love at first sight" for me - I had it on a shelf for quite some time. HOWEVER - every time I listen to it - it keeps growing on me - more then just about any other jazz album I own (some of which are growing less on me as I listen to them more)....so, yeah. I like it! :-)

**Turntable used for this review:
Rega P3:RB880 tonearm,Denon DL110 HOMC,Delrin Platter, Rega Neo, Isoacoustic Orea bronze feet(x3).
Phono Stage:
Whest Audio TWO.2 class a dual mono fully balanced phono stage, 50db/47k ohms,HOMC setting**

I`ll be amongst the minority here on this one(concerning distortion)but I`ll get to that in a bit,here is my short honest review on "the LP" itself(you can read longer favorable reviews here).

It is a two disc,three sided,180g,blue note tone poet extravaganza like most of the tone poets releases (imo) this has a warm sounding lowend (bass) which really makes Ron Carter`s upright bass stand out. There are quite a lot of musicians on this album nine in total & Mr Hill`s piano takes a bit of a backseat on most tracks - considering this IS his album & ALL compositions are by him this is odd but makes for a GREAT album. It is a set of compositions that most would class as "No fillers" as they all have merit on the record,but with one or two Outstanding tracks most listeners will Love track No.3 "Plantation Bag".

Highly Recommended Five Stars.

*Andrew Hill – Passing Ships/Series:Blue Note Tone Poet Series*
Distortion Issues:
Now here`s my view on this issue which IS dividing owner`s opinions - "This album/version is recorded/mastered hot BUT & it is a HUGE BUT,I have had both sound qualities were distortion is a concerned from the SAME pressing(or not,WTF?) - let me explain.

I own & use about 14 cartridges/stylus tips(in fairness I did not use all them with this pressing!)so I like to swap carts in & out to extend stylus tip life. In doing so when I 1st played this album I WAS getting the same distortion in the SAME places,as most are getting it too!
But because I do swap carts often & then have to "reconfigure my turntable setup" I`ve found that to "correctly" track this pressing and have "NO DISTORTION"(remember it`s still recorded or mastered "hot")your cartridge,tonearm,turntable AND phono stage will have to be set-up "PERFECTLY".
So for instance I use a Rega turntable and of all of the above are correct but if I`ve not set the anti-skate correctly - I`LL GET DISTORTION on this album even if 99% of my other records play fine,I can only assume this is because of the "hot" recording/mastering within the pressing.
I won`t be all snooty about this issue some of us have had to learn A LOT about their turntables due to all sorts of reasons cost,location of dealer/seller etc. so I`ve got a few tools to assist in alignment, vta, vtf, IGD & more.
Look if you have this pressing & are REALLY bothered by any distortion try reconfiguring your turntable/cartridge/tonearm alignment you may ,may just about get rid of it too.
**PS**
I nearly forgot to mention "side D" of this wonderful pressing & one of the most important points - Side D is "A Blank Groove" for the entire side,these blank grooved sides can be used Very Successfully to set your anti-bias for your turntable/tonearm. It is so convenient & precise that it HAS saved quite a few LP`s I had lined-up to be "thrown out as trash",for me if I can get the stylus to sit still on side D somewhere near the middle of the side then this gives me the best all round sound quality.
Thank you for reading all the way through my ramblings,good luck & happy listening.