This time around in Vinyl Corner, we’re devoting ourselves entirely to the phenomenon of 45-rpm sound, listening to reissues from Analogue Productions.
High-quality reissues and new releases pressed at 45 rpm keep finding their way onto our editorial desk. It’s high time, then, to take a closer look at these records and put five recent reissues through their paces. But what exactly sets 45-rpm-reissues apart from standard 33⅓-rpm LPs? Which sonic and technical aspects deserve particular attention? In a nutshell, the key difference lies in the higher speed at which the groove passes beneath the stylus. As the record spins faster, the groove moves more rapidly under the playback tip. This allows more information to be conveyed with greater precision over the same amount of time, with a direct impact on sound quality. At the higher speed, fine musical details and high-frequency information need not be cut into the groove as tightly. The stylus can trace these modulations more accurately, resulting in a clearer, more detailed rendering of harmonics. The 45-rpm format also offers advantages in dynamic range.
The greater groove length available per unit of playing time permits wider excursions without compromising tracking stability. The result is an expanded dynamic range, with quieter and louder passages more clearly differentiated. Complex musical arrangements benefit in particular, as intermodulation distortion is reduced and individual layers of sound emerge with greater transparency. Another technical consideration is the wider groove spacing, which arguably offers the greatest sonic advantage of all. Because 45-rpm records allow less playing time per side, the grooves can be spaced farther apart and often cut deeper. This improves tracking reliability and allows for more stable bass reproduction. For mastering engineers, this provides additional latitude: compression can be reduced, frequency ranges can be handled with greater precision, and the overall presentation becomes more open. There is, however, a practical trade-off. The higher rotational speed substantially reduces playing time per side, generally necessitating double LPs or more frequent side changes. Production costs rise accordingly, and consequently, so does the price to the consumer.
That leaves one question: are reissues of recordings from the 1950s and ’60s particularly well suited to the higher playback speed? With reissues of LPs originally released in the 1960s, the 45-rpm format offers a way to overcome some of the sonic limitations imposed by the production techniques of the era without altering the historical source material itself. A 45-rpm reissue allows the same program material to be cut with considerably more room to breathe. This makes it possible to transfer finer details from the master tape into the groove with greater precision. The downside remains the reduced playing time per side, which is why many such reissues come as double LPs. Even so, the additional expense and effort are deliberate choices: particularly with historical recordings, the 45-rpm format can reveal more of their sonic potential than the technical limitations of the original pressings allowed.
And that brings us to three of the five new Analogue Productions releases in particular. Both Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé, conducted by Charles Munch, and Strauss’s Also sprach Zarathustra, conducted by Fritz Reiner, impress with extraordinary tonal color, finely etched percussion, and astonishing dynamic range. The price of admission, however, is a listening experience that Thomas Mann already evoked in The Magic Mountain: changing sides in the middle of a work. With a symphonic poem or a ballet, that means the music is interrupted not between movements but in the midst of the musical narrative itself. The reward, though, is an extraordinary sense of authenticity in these historical recordings. The latest release in the series sidesteps this problem by cleverly distributing four shorter audiophile showpieces across four sides. Here, too, the benefits of the faster rotation extend beyond greater dynamics to include a quieter background, convincing depth and layering, and an involving sense of density in the strings. In Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, it is not so much the cannon blasts that impress as the calm, tightly woven carpet of strings that sets the military drama in motion.
The two jazz releases in the series present a different picture. They bring to mind the good old 12-inch maxi-single, and given the tremendous groove of these recordings and the sheer punch of the brass attacks, one is almost grateful to be able to turn the record after just one or two tracks and take a brief breather. It is hard not to describe these Gene Ammons and Chet Baker LPs as having a distinctly live feel, even though both are studio recordings. The reissues simply leave more air between the musicians, creating the impression that the interplay has become more relaxed and spontaneous. The production of Gene Ammons’s album, in particular, highlights the modernity of his improvisational approach: Ammons seems almost larger than life between the speakers, giving us the sensation of having a front-row seat in a buzzing jazz club. These are recordings in which the musicians’ sheer joy of playing translates directly into listening pleasure. After spending time with these releases from Analogue Productions, one can’t help wondering why vinyl isn’t routinely issued at 45 rpm.
Selected 45-RPM-Reissues
Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Liszt – Overtures, Mephisto Waltzes
Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Fritz Reiner
Label: Analogue Productions (RCA Living Stereo)
Format: 2 LPs (45 rpm)
Richard Strauss – Also sprach Zarathustra
Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Fritz Reiner
Label: Analogue Productions (RCA Living Stereo)
Format: 2 LPs (45 rpm)
Maurice Ravel – Daphnis et Chloé
Boston Symphony Orchestra, Charles Munch
Label: Analogue Productions (Prestige & Riverside)
Format: 2 LPs (45 rpm)
Gene Ammons – Blue Gene
Label: Analogue Productions (Prestige & Riverside)
Format: 2 LPs (45 rpm)
Chet Baker – Chet in New York
Label: Analogue Productions (Prestige & Riverside)
Format: 2 LPs (45 rpm)