Thelonious Monk Quartet Misterioso LP SCARCE Riverside/Orpheum Pressing, Mid-60’

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Thelonious Monk Quartet Misterioso LP SCARCE Riverside/Orpheum Pressing, Mid-60’s!

Seldom seen turquoise Riverside label with no reel-to-reel logo.

For those unfamiliar, in the mid to late 60’s, a company called Orpheum Productions, Inc. had purchased the Riverside and Jazzland catalogues around 1965, reissuing those titles on this turquoise label, among other colors.  These pressings were one of the first attempts at a higher-quality fidelity, sort of an early version of audiophile releases.  However, the increase in sound quality wasn’t all that much.  As with most human endeavor, our first attempt is usually our worst attempt. 

There seems to be disagreement upon the improvement of the sound quality among the audiophiles.  Some have reviewed them as mediocre while others have been surprised by the increase in fidelity.  Personally, I don’t have a good enough sound system to tell much difference.  Most reviews I’ve read online might indicate that the better fidelity depends on the title.

Be that as it may, for rare label collectors like myself, this turquoise version is scarce.  Most titles were issued on either a black or blue label, with the words, “Orpheum Productions, Inc.” in the bottom perimeter of the labels.  All Orpheum discs, whose production began around 1965, were off the market and out of the shops entirely by 1968 or 1969 after sales were reportedly not great.  There are just not that many of these out there.

Cover---All seams are completely intact, no splitting.  The top and spine have strong retention of slick, however; the bottom seam has suffered moderate slick loss, due to shelfwear.  Front and back covers have light to moderate ringwear and foxing.

Inner Sleeve---Issued with a non die-cut inner sleeve in good condition.  A little yellowed, the two sides are strong.  Bottom seam has a center split about one inch.

Vinyl---VERY beautiful VG++ to Near Mint!  Under normal room lighting, both sides look unplayed.  Under a bare bulb, some dulling to the vinyl appears, as well as some very light and short hairlines in the dead wax only.  Thus, the VG++ grade.  Playback is mostly quiet, but there are some static tics in the silent bands between songs.  In the dead wax on side 1, the date, “11-6-65” appears.  On side 2, the date is “11-5-65.”  Plates are A5/D2.

Check out my other auctions for more hard-to-find vinyl!

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