Post Description

Thelonious Monk - Straight, No Chaser - Columbia CS64886 (1996)
SACD rip via PS3 to iso (3.08GB) | 24bit/88.2kHz flac (1.43GB) | Hybrid, Stereo Only | Jazz | DR12

Review by JW July 19, 2003 on SA-CD.net:
Monk is one of those Jazz giants you can really 'get into'. He was considered a strange fellow at 1st (a nut to some) & someone whose piano technique was doubtful (non-existent to some). Then suddenly in the late 50s someone discovered he was a genius. With hindsight many people claim that in fact he always was a genius, a man ahead of his time, an original. Better leave that judgement to those in the know: John Coltrane said of Monk; "He is a musical architect of the highest order".

'Straight, No Chaser' is a studio album in the classical jazz traditon. The SACD is a transfer of the re-issue & thus contains the full 25 minutes originally not found on the LP. 'Green Chimneys' was not on the LP for example. Overall a lot of edits were made to compose this re-issued album which now appears on SACD with this disc.

The band was going to be Monk's 4th & last team, with members such as Charlie Rouse (ts), Ben Riley (dr) & Larry Gales (bass). All tracks are fantastic in my view. Monk's signature playing which is difficult to describe (for me:-) but it's sort of improvisational, melodic, soulful & swinging & contrarian at the same time. This makes a Monk album fascinating. There is solo piano on 'Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea' & a nice & sensitive ballad in Ellington's 'I Didn't Know About You'.

The sound quality of SNC is very good (4 stars). It's bettered by Blues in Orbit, Chet & Nefertiti for example, but it's good. For me is shows what SACD can achieve with an analog master tape. The piano sounds big & real, & so does the sax which sounds nice & dry.



        Tracks:

1. Locomotive
2. I Didn't Know About You [Take 4]
3. Straight, No Chaser
4. Japanese Fold Song: Kojo No Tsuki [Kojo No Tsuki]
5. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
6. We See
7. This Is My Story, This Is My Song
8. I Didn't Know About You [take 1]
9. Green Chimneys

     Recording info:

Original recording produced by Teo Macero
Original recording engineer: Frank Laico
Reissue produced by Orrin Keepnews
Executive producers: Steve Berkowitz & Kevin Gore
Remixed to digital tapes from the original 4-track analog masters, re-equalized & remastered by Mark Wilder, December, 1995 at Sony Music Studios, NYC
Engineered for SACD by Mark Wilder

========================================================
foobar2000 1.1.11 / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.1
log date: 2012-04-24 13:08:13
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Analyzed: Thelonious Monk - Straight, No Chaser
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DR          Peak          RMS       Duration     Track   (iso @0dB gain)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DR12  -6.02 dB   -20.34 dB      6:40    01-Locomotive
DR12  -6.02 dB   -20.95 dB      6:52    02-I Didn't Know About You (take 4)
DR13  -6.07 dB   -21.49 dB    11:28    03-Straight, No Chaser
DR13  -6.06 dB   -21.11 dB    16:40    04-Japanese Folk Song
DR14  -6.19 dB   -25.53 dB      7:35    05-Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea
DR13  -6.10 dB   -21.97 dB    11:35    06-We See
DR15  -6.40 dB   -26.46 dB      1:41    07-This is My Story, This is My Song
DR14  -6.04 dB   -23.17 dB      6:48    08-I Didn't Know About You (take 1)
DR14  -6.08 dB   -22.24 dB      6:33    09-Green Chimneys
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of tracks:  9
Official DR value: DR13

Samplerate:        2822400 Hz / PCM Samplerate: 176400 Hz
Channels:          2
Bits per sample:   24
Bitrate:           5645 kbps
Codec:             DSD64
========================================================

Checksum for iso:
ff851016965b73210e56b02c863ea873 *Thelonious Monk - Straight, No Chaser.iso

Checksums for flac tracks:
254e393efa25d3dcb5d554e284dd7e65 *01 - Locomotive.flac
6840aabfa818951a184a23f386cf34ef *02 - I Didn't Know About You (take 4).flac
cb35f4e88ea73a1f692a37090480fac8 *03 - Straight, No Chaser.flac
23a18b2360f6b6062486490c66fc06bf *04 - Japanese Folk Song.flac
7003e84367f0b0f4e4cfa6969d40861e *05 - Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea.flac
917dfeaa4974fda16fc3fd8525b5caae *06 - We See.flac
6c88df5f77fd0e2519da38e9dd6e6d24 *07 - This is My Story, This is My Song.flac
9b9aeb4c6b7ffa11a767e8a370f85df3 *08 - I Didn't Know About You (take 1).flac
ae1eef120d927fb9affcf6fe0a36f3df *09 - Green Chimneys.flac