Vinyl Me, Please Unboxed: Oliver Nelson with Eric Dolphy ‘Straight Ahead’

Good things comes in 12 inch packages. Delivering limited edition vinyl pressings of new and classic albums directly to your doorstep, VMP operates under a simple philosophy: The Album Lives! With a carefully curated catalog of new and hard to find releases, the subscription service is more than just a record club, it’s a lifestyle choice for folks who wish Record Store Day could happen every month … in their living room.

Here’s how it works. You send Vinyl Me, Please some of your hard-earned money and they send you one carefully selected album they feel is Essential to any record collection.

Now, the subscription is not quite what it used to be these days, as VMP has made some pretty radical changes to how things work. That includes essentially ending the record of the month format – a fact that is already proving problematic for many longtime members. VMP has wisely posted a full breakdown of the new formaton its FAQ page, and I highly recommend reading it before you sign up for a subscription.

You’ll have membership privileges in the VMP store too, which means you can grab a copy of previous VMP selections from the archives – including the company's recent reissue of Broadcast's indie masterpied Tender Buttons – or choose from a slate of super-limited releases pressed exclusively for Vinyl Me, Please. The store is open, and Team VMP are dropping fresh new selections to their stock every single week. Do not miss out.

Word to the wise, while subscribers are given first access to the new releases from VMP's various tracks, the purchase window is pretty short, with those selections quickly becoming available to the general public. So, if there's something you're interested in, it's probably in your best interest to pick it up sooner rather than later, as there's no guarantee it will be available when the Swap window opens every month.

As for this month's box, I dipped into the old Classics track and took a flyer on an album I knew nothing about, Oliver Nelson and Eric Dolphy's 1961 hard bopper, Straight Ahead. Here's a look.

For The Love Of Vinyl, Please DO NOT BEND

Here we are in month one of Vinyl Me, Please's new “crate” style format, and if I'm being honest, I'm having mixed feelings about things. Yes, VMP is still delivering high quality pressings of collection-worthy albums, but so far the company continues to withhold new releases from its montly selection window. That is, obviously, problematic for folks who've been around a while and have already picked up the bulk of the albums in VMP's back catalogue. Still, I'm happy enough with the available products to stick around a little longer and see how things shake out moving forward.

Anyway, in terms of quality releases, Straight Ahead easily met every single one of expectations I tend to bring to the unboxing of my monthly VMP delivery. In fact, I'd go so far as to say the pressing dramatically exceeded those expectations to the point that Straight Ahead has jumped right into the Top 5 of my favorite VMP Classics releases, sitting alongside the likes of Thelonious Monk's Monk's Music, John Lee Hooker's It Serve You Right To Suffer, Otis Redding's The Immortal Otis Redding, and Lee Morgan Quintet's Take Twelve. That being said, I'd have to admit that part of the album's stark impact on me is the result of my having never even heard of it before.

While I'd never listened to Straight Ahead before, I had, of course, heard of Oliver Nelson and Eric Dolphy, as they are legit luminaries of the modern jazz era. They had not yet reached those heights in 1961 when they went into the studio with the legendary Rudy Van Gelder to lay down the 6 hard bop classics that make up Straight Ahead. But you can tell right from the album's opening moments that they went into the recording looking to make a name for themselves, and a case could be made that that's exactly what they did.

Now, this is the point in thes unboxings where I'd typically burn a few hundred words about the individual tracks on an album, or explore in greater detail about the legacies of the music's purveyors. As for the latter matter, I'll simply say that, if you know anything about Nelson and Dolphy, Straight Ahead is a testament of the genius to come in their too-short lives. If not, I can confirm Straight Ahead to be a stellar doorway to their work.

Regarding the music that legendary duo made with their session-playing pals on Straight Ahead, well, I have serious doubts that any words exist that can actually covey the power and skill that went into their making. Some things just need to be heard to be fully understood. And if you're looking to hear Straight Ahead for the first, or even the fifteenth time, it's likely you'll never hear it sound any better than this Vinyl Me, Please pressing.

Cover Matters

There's no real need to sit back and wax poetic on the cover of this album, as this closeup of Oliver Nelson having a blow on his horn says all that needs to be said about the music on Straight Ahead.

On the back, you'll find liner notes from Joe Goldberg, as well as a track list and an account of the personnel on Straight Ahead not named Nelson or Dolphy — which includes Richard Wyands (piano), George Duvivier (bass) and Roy Haynes (drums).

There is, of course, also the customary VMP Classics tag that adorns every album released into this corner of greater Vinyl Me, Please catalog.

There's also an OBI-strip cradling the album's sleeve, which lays out the vital stats of this particular vinyl pressing, as well as an outtake from the listening notes detailing, in part, why it was tabbed for the VMP Classics treatment.

Those listening notes come from journalist Dean Van Nguyen, and provide compelling insight into the primary players on Straight Ahead, as well as the album's actual recording.

There's also a fresh copy of VMP's monthly zine included. Issue #6 features pieces about recent Vinyl Me, Please releases from The Budos Band and Daddy Yankee, as well as an official ranking of every Bob Dylan album.

There's also a clue to an upcoming hip hop release on the back cover. I don't know what it means, but I'm told that those in the know will likely be quite excited by what's to come.

As for the vinyl, like every VMP Classics pick before it, Straight Ahead is glossy and black, which is all a collector could ever ask for.

And yes, black is always beautiful on the old turntable.

Give VMP a spin

How's it sound? Crisp and warm in a way that almost feels like your sitting in the room with Oliver Nelson, Eric Dolphy and crew as they lay down the tracks for Straight Ahead. As I noted, while I was familiar with names like Nelson and Dolphy, this is an album that I knew literally nothing about before selected as my monthly album from Vinly Me, Please. And I cannot overstate just how much I've enjoyed this discovery pick since it showed up at my front door. I'd wager even money that the same will be true for anyone else who claims this low-key jazz masterpiece from the VMP vaults. Don't miss out.

A big THANK YOU to our friends at Vinyl Me, Please for sponsoring this subscription. Don’t forget to check out the Vinyl Me, Please website and sign up to get some choice wax delivered right to your door every month! Be sure to check back next month to see what vinyl treasure Team VMP sends our way!