Universal Music’s Verve Records imprint has launched a new vinyl reissue line called Straight From The Vault, showing strong promise for bringing classic albums back in high-quality pressings with well-executed cover art and accessible pricing. The debut release in the series is Brazilian composer Antonio Carlos Jobim’s iconic 1963 album The Composer of Desafinado, Plays, featuring some of his most celebrated works, including the title track, “The Girl From Ipanema,” “Chega de Saudade,” and “One Note Samba.”
This album was a massive hit and has been reissued countless times over the decades, making it easy to find hundreds of copies online, in record stores, and at thrift shops, garage sales, and flea markets. The real challenge, however—and I know this from first-hand experience—is tracking down a clean copy that hasn’t been played to death. That’s not as easy as it sounds.
I got frustrated after purchasing many copies over the years which looked nice but ultimately had noise issues from frequent play on popular automatic record changers of the time (typically poorly aligned, resulting in groove damage/distortion).
I finally settled in on a 1980s German reissue which sounded pretty clean. Happily this new Universal reissue sounds better and the cover art is more true to the originals (mine was the wrong color of green).
A brand new, well remastered and pressed “play” copy is thus very appealing for those just getting into collecting vinyl or long time fans who simply want a good sounding reissue without breaking the bank (extra appealing in today’s challenging economy).
This new reissue series also helps push back against the flood of low-quality unofficial “pirate” and “gray market” vinyl releases that have been polluting the market (a topic I’ve written about elsewhere online). These knockoffs often sell for full price yet lack original artwork, liner details, and—most importantly—authentic source material. Many are rumored to have been cut straight from CDs. If you’re spending $30 on a new LP, you deserve to know it’s authentic.
This Universal Music reissue has solid pedigree, backed by official details that inspire confidence in its quality and authenticity:
“The Verve Vault Series presents all-analog 180-gram vinyl reissues of essential albums from the Verve, Impulse!, Mercury, and associated catalogs. Mastered by Ryan K. Smith from the original analog tapes and pressed at Optimal, each release combines exceptional audio fidelity with meticulous attention to detail—from mastering to jacket reproduction.”
That’s exactly the kind of transparency collectors have been asking for.
‘Nuff said! You can find Antonio Carlos Jobim‘s The Composer of Desafinado, Plays at Amazon for just $27.99.
Mark Smotroff is a deep music enthusiast / collector who has also worked in entertainment oriented marketing communications for decades supporting the likes of DTS, Sega and many others. He reviews vinyl for Analog Planet and has written for Audiophile Review, Sound+Vision, Mix, EQ, etc. You can learn more about him at LinkedIn.
Related Reading:
- Free Jazz Revival: Pharoah Sanders And Archie Shepp Reissues Honor Saxophone Greats
- The Giants Of Jazz: Frank Sinatra, Count Basie & Duke Ellington Mid-’60s Sessions Return On 2LP Reissue
- Review: Yusef Lateef’s 1957 Jazz Mood — Craft Recordings Revives His Rare Savoy Debut In The Acclaimed OJC Vinyl Series
