BadBadNotGood – Talk Memory

Geez these kids like to waste wax. Why the hell did they cut this at 45? The album is the perfect length for a single 33 disc. They should have cut the previous two albums at 45 seeing as they sprawled those over two discs as well. Ridiculous.

Nice silent pressing, if not the most dynamic. The bass kind of trudges through the rest of the instruments, but still very enjoyable overall.

Great album, but the absence of Matthew Tavares is deeply felt.

Music wise this is a wonderful release from BBNG. These guys are really incredible and super talented. For me the mastering falls short. It’s somewhat flat and compressed. Heavy in the bass. Which is a shame, because they cut it to 45. The pressing itself is flat and quiet. Overall I give the release a 4/5. I don’t think you’d be disappointed, but it could of been better.

This is a really great record, absolutely and they've not gone down the super commercial route Id feared. But the packaging...I'd have to agree with a lot of the comments. Without going over them, one additional thing is, what's with all the paper? I got three massive fold out posters, why not just do a bit more with the actual sleeve. Not very environmentally friendly either and no one is going to give them a second look. However, is the main sleeve from recycled card because it feels really cheap and nasty like it would tear really easily and maybe highly absorbent; I'd only forgive this if that was the reason.
That all said, the music sounds wonderful at 45 or 33 as I mistakenly discovered.

I purchased the White vinyl pressing. It took me a while to realize that its supposed to be played at 45 rpm. I wonder if anyone else made this mistake. There is no mention anywhere on the sleeve or LP that it's to be played at 45. Like pimbres stated, it sounds way better at the correct speed. My copy sounds great. No issues at all. I'm lovin' it!

Friends and people who've heard me on the radio over the last couple of months may have heard me say some bad, bad, not very nice things about this album. I never threw outright shade, but I listened to it on several occasions and to be frank it just didn't really sparkle for me. The instrumental interplay was nice enough, and the strings added a classy element to the ordeal but the whole thing just landed a little flat, despite feeling overstuffed. Given that BBNG produced two of my favorite releases of the 2010s—and in light of the fact that Arthur Verocai is an iconic musician of outstanding repute—disappointment might be an accurate description for the emotion I felt.

But tonight may have been the charm for me. With the day's chaos behind me, and Venus ing behind a waxing crescent moon overhead, I felt a certain sense of ease that I may not have had in prior listens. The night was still, as was my mind. I could focus on the individual notes in my headphones. I can now report something I didn't think before: Talk Memory really is quite good. There is intention, flow, and functionality in all of its parts. It's big and beautiful. Its sound is encoming, feeling almost physical as it wraps around you. I keep a pretty steady eye on much of the ongoing renaissance of spiritual jazz taking place here and abroad (the UK being an especially fervent hotbed) and there is just SO MUCH going on in this space that I think I expected my boys in BBNG to really bring something new. Instead, they reached backward and produced a blowing session in the classic jazz tradition.

I now know that this is not a bad thing. They showed up as themselves and hit it hard. It's beautifully recorded and sequentially smart. Is it as entertaining and spontaneous as their more hip hop-inspired works? Is it as progressive and overflowing with the same creativity as IV? No, I'd say that it's not. But it's still an evocative statement, and highly worth anyone's focused attention. I continue to trust them and their vision. I hope they continue for many years yet.

-Euphonics

Not great sounding. strings sounds flat. Bass sounds overpowered and muddled.

I may be the only one that doesn't like the sound of the mastering, BUT I don't. It sounds really muffled and flat to my ears. Everything else I play recently sounds fantastic except this. The bass is boomy and clumsy and the other instruments sound one dimensional. I don't have anything else cut by this Scott Hull , but in comparison BBNG 4 sounds so much better mastering wise.

Great silent pressing. Discs were all very well pressed and flat. Came in poly lined paper sleeves.

Outer sleeve is a bit cheap and thin but they put the money on the vinyl quality where it counts.

Mastered at Masterdisk.

Great all around release. The orchestration is especially growing on me.