Kind Of Blue 1st pressing stereo...


I picked up a mint copy of this 1st pressing, the guys at the record store thought it was mono, but it is actually stereo, the labelling on the back is a bit confusing, under the columbia logo it says mono-clxxx, but in the upper right corner it says stereo-csxxx... I went online, and discovered some copies of this album going for ridiculous prices. A sealed copy sold for 1500 smackers(how? why)???!
I am wondering if my opened, played, yet mint copy is worth considerably more than I paid for it, It sounds wonderful, warm, and clean, but not as clear as the classic reissue.... I find on the original pressing, the individual instruments seem to occupy a more well-defined space, if that makes any sense. I want to do more listening to this wonderful album, but I am almost afraid to play it for fear of doing damage! I realized yesterday that I actually put spindle-marks on the label, I think it may have been unplayed before I bought it!!!
If anyone knows what this album goes for, and if it is very rare or not, any info would be well appreciated.
fwiw, the record store guys were 'concerned' when I returned and told them it is actually stereo and not mono.
thanks, Harv
hxt1
I would think you could get $225 - $325 for it . I sold a copy on eBay in a slightly lesser condition for $195 last November to a Buyer in Japan .
There's a store in Burbank that eBayed one (used but in NM condition) for about $450 around last November.
The cover is completely intact, no ring wear, but very yellowed with some marks on the back. What gets me is the condition of the vinyl itself! I guess I will have to listen to it verrry sparingly!
Thanks guys!
06-27-09: Hxt1
... What gets me is the condition of the vinyl itself! I guess I will have to listen to it verrry sparingly!
I guess that depends on whether you bought it to listen to or for resale. If for listening, queue it up every time you get the urge and enjoy yourself. Nothing's forever and none of us gets out alive. In the end all we have is the cumulative memories of experiences and feelings.

An alternative would be to tape it to VHS Hi-Fi. Cheap, available, 20-20KHz and s/n of 96dB, and best of all, analog.
Get a original for collecting a good pressing from Classic to play or get 2 LP 45 romp.The new ones actual have correct speed which I no until recently and maybe even the original 6 eye did not.
Cheers
Chazz
Thanks Chaz! I actually have a classic but it has major stamping defects on side one, and of course they won't take a return! And the last 45rpm I saw, the guy wanted $400 for if you can believe it!
I would imagine KOB has been a Columbia catalog item for 30 years or more, with literally millions of pressings in circulation... Yet people price them as though they are super duper rare.... Don't get it.
In the end, I will probably find another 200gm classic and sell it on, so I can buy more vinyl, which is what it's all about for me at this point!
I got a 1973 Columbia reissue at a record swap meet for $8. It's easily competitive with my Classic Records 200g. Thinner, but just as good.
Hxt1,

KOB has been in print for 50 years. There are not millions in circulation. It took almost four decades for it to sell a million copies.

What is the stamper information of your copy?

Wendell
if this KOB is nice inside and out...i mean really nice...bag it and don't play it. enjoy another copy or a cd.
Sorry for the confusion Wendell! I was under the impression that Columbia stopped pressing kob in the early eighties! I wasn't taking reissues etc. Into account. I looked it over again today, and strangely, there is virtually no ring wear, but lots of spine wear etc... Weird. I have 2 year old albums with ring wear! Should I store it any particular way? I just threw it in the rack beside my classic pressing. Harv
That will certainly effect the value. Check popsike.com for comparable sales. It's very possible it was pressed in the states and the Canadian label was added for sale in that country.

Wendell
Nice thread. I would love to know the value of my 45 rpm version purchased about 6 yrs ago for 75.00
Xagwell, 45 rpms (sealed) are going for around 300-400$$ ! For opened mint copies , things seem to be all over the map! I'll take pix of mine this weekend. Just got home from the Jimmy Cobb kind of blue at 50 show..... Amazing, amazing show! I felt the piano playing was a wee bit heavy handed, but MAN can his guys play!!! The bebop they played as an encore was just too much! I'll be looking for releases of these shows!
>I am wondering if my opened, played, yet mint copy

Sorry, it's not "mint". Not trying to rain on your parade, but "mint" has a meaning.

>I realized yesterday that I actually put spindle-marks on >the label

Ahem.
Well of course mine is not sealed but it is in great condition. I would not part with it anyway. My father has a lot of original recordings of Charlie Parker on 78's (the Dial) Label etc, but their condition is no where near mint.
My sincerest apologies Jeff!
I just went through this with a fellow on CAM!
I had to take him to task as he hadn't even played the records he was selling, and representing as 'NM'. It is only now that I fully realize my own hipocrisy and the irony of my initial post!!
I plan on keeping it around now anyways, but if I do get my hands on a good sealed classic or Japanese copy i will probably sell it. I gues I should have asked what a first pressing in great condition that PLAYS vg+ / 'nm' goes for on average?
Better??
$400 is nuts for 45RPM.Hell you can find a good cond white/red promo 6 eye for $300.Jeeez
Chazz
it's not a rare record by any means, but people have funny habits on ebay. It all depends on how much you care about the money. You can always put it up on ebay and see what happens. Modern jazz prices are certainly down right now, but kind of blue has a life of its own.
I gave my copy away to a thrift shop for the tax deduction. Someone probably bought it for $1.
Well, I sold the record to a local lawyer for $250.
I used that $$ to buy a 1/4" 15ips Dutch CBS safety master dub of Kind of Blue. It sounds much better than the vinyl or any other source I've yet heard. I still love my Lenco, and good pressings with the strain gauge cart can be as gratifying as tape but MAN do some of those safety dubs sound good!
The lawyer framed the record and hung it on a wall.
Go figure.
A number of years ago, I walked into my favorite thrift store where they had just put out the records for the day. Right there in front ... and I mean the first record, was Kind of Blue. The jacket was almost mint. As I reached in to pull the record out, I said the record collector's prayer that we've all said: "Please be mint! Please be mint!" Well, out slid the six eye Columbia ... in mind condition. Here's the kicker ... the very next record was Mile's "Some Day My Prince Will Come." Also a mint Six-Eye. The price? Fifty Cents Each. Some days it just pays to stop by those thrift stores. Kinda like fishing.
I wasn't as fortunate as many have stated...but I did pickup an 80s "digitally remastered from the original master tapes" series reissue Lp for dirt as these are worth nada in collectors circles...Pleasantly surprised it actually sounds very good... Very quiet background...also picked Ellington "Uptown" from same series...I believe these came out right when CDs hit the market...