Eric Dolphy – At The Five Spot, Volume 1.

I am sorry, but this is by far the worst sounding record in this series ...

Man, there old Prestige records are great. Pressed on the OG super vinyl, sound floor is non existent, just music. Unreal.

Very enjoyable record. Flat record and very, very quiet vinyl. For me, the recorded sound is good, but it is nothing great. It is a hard left-right split with the music strictly coming out of the speakers. Dolphy and trumpeter Booker Little sound great. The percussion sounds very good, nice pop to it. However, the piano sounds quavery, like an 1880's Western saloon piano, and the bass is so faint that it might as well be coming from a different room. I have always found Mal Waldron to be a boring player, but I certainly enjoy the song he composed for the group. Dolphy plays alto sax on it, and it is wonderful. Booker Little also wrote one of the songs on the record, and Dolphy plays bass clarinet on that one. Probably the most intoxicating sound on this album is the sound of Dolphy's bass clarinet; however, anytime the trumpet and alto play together, they sound beautiful.

The record itself is sturdy and substantial. The artwork is mediocre bordering on downright ugly. Picture on the front is so indistinct that you can't even get a good look at Dolphy and Little.

Anyone who likes Dolphy at all will find this record to be worth every penny of the 40 bucks they are charging for it. A real treat!

Fantastic. Sounds like it was recorded yesterday. Highly recommendable. Words

Typically wonderful pressing from Analogue Productions.
Four more words ...

A must own! Killer all around! Can’t recommend this one enough my brahs!

Wish there were more dynamics in the playing itself, not just playing as fast and loud as possible for 46 min straight.

Pristine mastering and quiet pressing, but the stereo is extremely L/R, without a phantom center. The 2008 RvG master has a somewhat rounder sound with a more natural stereo stage.

What a great choice for the AP Prestige series! Dolphy and Booker Little are amazing together in the short time that they had. There is nothing like a recording of a band that’s been playing together for two straight weeks. Excellent sonics of course.

Solid pressing. Very minimal surface noise but you have to turn the volume up a lot to bring out the dynamics. Bass is still lacking but I'm not sure if the original is any better. One of my favorite Dolpy albums and it features Trumpeter Booker Little who would away a few months after. If you see this one give it a shot if the price is right.