Sweet and Lonely: Jazz Landmark "Monk's Dream" Gets the MoFi Treatment With New One-Step, 2-LP Pressing

Sweet and Lonely: Jazz Landmark “Monk’s Dream” Gets the MoFi Treatment With New One-Step, 2-LP Pressing

August 2, 2019 By Sam Stone — No Comments

The venerable reissue label Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab has just announced the latest title in their ongoing UltraDisc One-Step vinyl series: Thelonious Monk’s landmark Monk’s Dream. This new deluxe version was made, like all of MoFi’s releases, with the discerning audiophile in mind. The original album has been spread across two 180-gram, 45rpm LPs, pressed at RTI using their special SuperVinyl compound. The discs will be housed in a luxurious box set that includes foil-stamped jackets, restored graphics, high-quality inserts. Monk’s Dream One-Step edition will be strictly limited to only 6,000 numbered copies. Though a definite release date has yet to be set, Mobile Fidelity announced that shipments are expected to go out in early autumn.

Monk’s Dream arrived in 1963, at the height of the composer-pianist’s fame, and it remains the best-selling album of his career. Its success propelled him to jazz stardom that reached its apex when he appeared on the cover of Time magazine in February of 1964. With producer Teo Macero facilitating the proceedings, Monk, along with tenor saxophonist Charlie Rouse, bassist John Ore, and drummer Frankie Dunlop, integrated elements of swing, stride, blues, and gospel to create a wholly original sound. Jazz historian Gary Giddens, quoted in MoFi’s press release, praised the album’s “dauntless concentration, impressive faith, and…almost childlike glee.” There’s a certain freedom to his angular melodies, fearless improvisations, and melodic dissonances that remain thrilling even now.

With their UltraDisc One-Step pressing, MoFi promises an even more engrossing listening experience than ever before. The new reissue has been remastered from the original stereo master tapes at Mobile Fidelity’s studios in California. The result, the label promises, will be an improvement over every previous issue of the album, with a lifelike realism that owes itself to the full-range reproduction of their mastering and pressing process.

The UltraDisc One-Step edition of Monk’s Dream is set to arrive this fall. Pre-orders are open now at Mobile Fidelity’s online shop, so if you’re a fan of premium vinyl pressings of classic jazz, clear off some space on the shelves and secure your copy with the link below!

Thelonious Monk, Monk’s Dream (originally released as Columbia LP CS 8765, 1963 — reissued Mobile Fidelity 2019) (Mobile Fidelity Online Shop)

Body and Soul
Bright Mississippi
Five Spot Blues
Bolivar Blues
Just a Gigolo
Bye-Ya
Sweet and Lovely

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Jazz

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Thelonious Monk

Sam Stone

Sam Stone has been obsessed with catalog music ever since his folks gave him a Contours best-of collection for his fourth birthday. He quickly began to learn all he could about rock and roll history and beyond, a passion that continues to this day.

Sam followed his love for music to the classroom, earning a B.A. from Towson University in Electronic Media and Film, concentrating on radio and audio production, as well as an M.A. in Audio Arts from Syracuse University. He has put his knowledge and skills to work at prominent reissue labels and is excited to bring his perspectives on catalog music to a broader audience. When he’s not writing for The Second Disc, Sam can be found researching about music, talking about Joni Mitchell’s career, and adding another box set to his Amazon wish list.