I purchased Cannonball Adderley's Somethin' Else on vinyl over the weekend. It sounds good, but I noticed that the two channels were very localized in the speakers, providing no stereo imaging (really a dual mono situation). I have the RVG remaster on CD, so I popped it in to compare. The imaging was present on the remaster, and the presentation was overall more cohesive. This is one of the rare instances where I've preferred a cd over its vinyl counterpart.
I remember reading an interview with RVG once in which he said that, in the early days of stereo (late 50's or so), he didn't have real stereo recording equipment yet so he'd just tape two mono tracks and slap them together (I'm sure I'm botching this explanation somehow, but you get the gist). This always bothered him and was something he wanted to correct with the RVG remasters.
I've never really had an opinion on the RVG reissues, though I've never found them as objectionable as others have. But now, at least for this album, I understand why he'd want to go back and touch it up.
