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I have some very well mastered "MONO" recordings but this is not one of them. This is a MONO recording. "Moaning" by Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers is another one to be avoided. Clearly feel cheated on this one, as I have to buy the original Blue Note release.Please do not buy into the hype about 24 bit analog to digital transfer because the results are borderline amateurish, like someone was messing around with their laptop software.This is not the only landmark recording RVG has ruined. UPC 2434953292 shows EMI Music Distribution recording mode as STEREO which may actually be the case, however this RVG Edition is remastered in MONO and not a very good one. Presents a narrow sound stage with instruments on top of one another.
One of the five best jazz albums ever made, imho. I've listened to this album for many years--just perfect, there's no other word. Miles taking out "Love for Sale" is unbelievable.
Cannonball Adderly is a fine player, of course, but this recording is also indispensable for Miles Davis fans. I just discovered it about 3 months ago and it's a beauty. As others have pointed out, if one just listens to the record without knowing, you'd think it was a Miles Davis record, so prominent is his role and how impeccable his playing. I have been listening to recordings of jazz from this era for 30 years, with particular focus on people like Coltrane, Miles Davis, Bill Evans, and others. I don't know how this gem got past me.
It's the poor man's "Kind of Blue." Check it out and don't forget your dancin' shoes. For me, this is the jazz equivalent of when a movie buff says to themselves, "Tonight, I just want to watch a movie for Chrissake." The longer you explore the sounds of jazz, up to the way it sounds - or doesn't - in our time, "Somethin' Else" grooves more mellow each time, like Kentucky bourbon. this album swings like somethin' else, but I don't know what. Like other reviewers have said before me, there isn't anything fancy here; just four grown men playin' swinging, groovy, mellow jazz.
I'd like to hear Blakey a little louder in the mix, but that's a small quibble.The album may be a bit too conservative for those with particularly experimental tastes, nothing truly innovative seems to be going on here, but everything is in its proper place and is a wonderful starting point for those interested in exploring a burgeoning jazz infatuation, like myself. Miles Davis and Adderley take center stage, but Hank Jones has some quality moments, and Sam Jones and Art Blakey provide a steady, if subdued, backbeat. Well, this is everything jazz should be, in this novice listener's opinion. Subdued in the right places, swinging in others, the supergroup Adderley put together for this album is simply astounding.
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