Max Roach – Money Jungle

On both my DMM LP and CD the piano sounds with distortion and compression so I guess there’s no way to address that.

Though I was wondering if the TP is mastered hard panned like all the others? If so maybe that’s highlighting the recording issues even more? I have this pressing in my bucket cause I prefer the nice gatefold

The amount of complaints regarding the piano distortion seem to ignore the fact that this has nothing to do with Kevin Gray or the TP’s (great) pressing quality but entirely because of the inherently poor production job done by Bill Schwartau, the lead engineer. Yes, the piano is wooly and jangly but the music itself is really some of the most far-out and expressive performing of the era. Ellington is truly pushed to his limit and clearly welcomes the challenge put up by Roach and especially Mingus. “Don’t try and outplay the Old Man,” as Clark Terry once said. Sometimes just enjoying the music for what it is instead of what we want it to be is the best adage, especially when it comes down to the recording quality itself, as the case is here. Highly recommended.

Add me to the list of those who complaint about the distorted piano. Avoid this release at all costs

As others have said, the piano is completely distorted, unbelievable for a Tone Poet.... I would stay away from this release...

My copy sounds great. Flat and quiet. Not going to comment on the music as I'm no expert like so many others. I love listening to this record.

My copy sounds great and was well pressed & flat. I really enjoyed this performance as you can hear some of the anger that was going on while this was recorded. I'm not sure you will find this album sounding better than this. Personally, I would recommend this.

Musically, one of my favorite Tone Poets, which is unfortunate because it may be the most sonically inferior of the series. Regardless, worth having and playing often, IMO.

Awful, it might be the worst sounding Tone Poet
The piano is totally distorted
Stay away

I think this recording just genuinely sounds atrocious. There’s not much you can do if the original recording is ass.

However, this TP brings the most out of it that it possibly can. Worth getting if you need a clean copy of this album, but be warned - it inherently sounds like dick.

This is a strange album, partly because the piano sounds incredibly distorted most of the time. The songs themselves aren't terribly cohesive either; it's a fun trio and there's a lot going on, but it sounds like three supremely talented people playing without hearing one another. Just my naive take.