Scott Walker - 1,2,3,4 - upcoming Vinyl re-issues from FMWB

I think (and hope) that many people will be pleased to learn that the first four Scott Walker solo albums are being re-issued on 180g vinyl by Four Men With Beards. Elusive Disc have them listed with a pre-order date of Feb 18th 2008. Cost $18.

The original UK Philips pressings from the 1960s are expensive to buy, especially Scott 3 and 4, so this is excellent news I think. It would have been even better if FMWB could have also managed to put out his fifth LP ('Till The Band Comes In), which is equally as fine as the previous four - maybe they'll do that if the demand is there.

The only Scott LP that ever had a vinyl reissue was Scott 4, back in 2004 on Universal (Europe). Universal did an excellent job on that one, mastered by Willem Makkee in Hanover and pressed at Pallas, I think. It'll be interesting to see how the FMWB compares.

As you can tell from my username, I'm a bit of a fan, and I have the Philips originals but I'm still tempted to buy these if they sound right. FMWB did some very fine Aretha Franklin reissues, but I suppose it all depends on whether they have access to good tapes.

BTW, can anyone tell me where FMWB are based (US, Europe?) and where their vinyl is usually manufactured?

 

Anything about what source they will use?

 

I can't find anything about mastering sources and I don't know if FMWB ever publicise that information. It seems, from reading other forum posts, that their re-issue catalogue contains titles mastered from both analogue and digital sources.

 

Absolutely ! I'm afraid that in this case, they'll only have access to the latest digital masters...

 

I'm looking forward to these. THe original Phillips vinyl was not the quietest or greatest vinyl to begin with.

 

True, Philips doesn't have the quietest of the UK pressings. From listening to the CD reissues, the tapes seem in pretty good shape though and these albums could sound fantastic on vinyl if they are mastered well.

 

Exciting news - though it would be more exciting if they were being issued on standard weight vinyl.

I'll be getting all four nonetheless.

 

Why would that be better?

 

Just my personal preference. I don't believe it's really necessary (180G) in order to make a great sounding record. Mastering, vinyl quality, manufacturing methods, and quality control are the key ingredients IMO.

I'll definitely buy these - grateful that somebody's reissuing them, and the price is quite reasonable. I just wish they would give you the choice as to whether you want to "supersize" your order, or not.

 

4 Men With Beards is a U.S. company located in San Francisco. Its earliest vinyl reissues were of soul and jazz from the Atlantic catalog. Since then, they've branched into other areas, including some punk/New Wave material. I thought they did an excellent job, at least in the presentation, of the first-ever U.S. issue of Public Image Ltd.'s Metal Box in a metal canister on 45 rpm 12-inch discs, the way it first came out in England. The packaging is so cool I've never had the chance to listen to the records!

Their music is distributed by Runt Distribution, the same people who distribute the DBK Works and Plain Recordings labels.

Here's the current 4 Men With Beards catalog: http://www.runtdistribution.com/4men.html

A better listing with more detail is here: http://www.forcedexposure.com/labels/4.men.with.beards.html

 

I suppose 180g is not strictly necessary but thinner vinyl is more liable to warping. All other things being equal then standard vinyl does not sound any better than 180g and at $18 a shot FMWB reissues aren't expensive, so there's no real need for them to offer a choice.

 

This is a very cool label - thanks for the links!

 

I wish Makkee had done the other 3...I just bought '4' and even though the price was a bit more than I wished...I think it's marvelous!

I HOPE 4MWB's knows that this is an opportunity to do these right....no digital nothing...just analogue....PLEASE...that's what records are for!

(and please...no threadcraps about digital on vinyl...I like the source to be as analogue in the chain...)

 

Anybody in their neighbourhood want to give 'em a call and find out what source they are using?

 

Thanks, tim_neely, for the links. I read negative reports about the sound of their Metal Box reissue, and the promo blurb even says "Remastered for better sound than the 1979 vinyl" (which sounded tremendous btw). I wouldn't mind replacing my rusty old tin though.

 

Me too. I heard that Philips masters are stored in Germany at the Universal facility, so Makkee would have easily obtained access to the best analogue sources.

 

Well...at least we have Scott 4 done right!

 

While we're on the subject of Scott Walker vinyl, Acoustic Sounds are listing a pre-order of "The Drift" on 4AD records. No date given for that one though.

 

Next...Next....Next...I want more Scott!

 

These re-issues are delayed, at least in Australia. I spoke to a distributor here that said there were pressing problems or something. same with the Elliot Smith.
looking forward to getting them though.

 

Most likely a DAT squeezed down the phone line to a PC in California. I'd be most surprised if it's anything more exotic than that. Judging from previous FMWB releases, it'll essentially be a CD with added surface noise. Shame really, but I think it's fair to say the Four Men are not working in the same area as Cisco, Music Matters, etc.

 

I'm afraid you're right. I've just bought a copy of the Willem Makkee-mastered Scott 4 before it's too late.

 

Who is selling these albums?

 

Well, I used to think that but after a lot of listening, I don't think that lps from DATs, problematic as they are, should be dismissed as CD with surface noise.

It all depends on the mastering. A DAT of the master is far from ideal. But usually, our choices are:
on vinyl
a) originals that have the advantage of fresh tapes and the approval of the artist, but were usually compressed 2:1 (per Steve Hoffman) and have rolled off bass and possibly poor vinyl depending on era--not to mention condition
b) later (same label) represses that have all of the above but maybe not even the right tapes
c) possibly original master tape audiophile masterings depending on title, some of which may have been futzed with (MoFi!!)
d) what may be a clean mastering off a DAT copy of the tape (and with George Horn, who did so many OJCs, doing most of the 4MWB stuff, that's likely the case)

on cd
a) original issue usually from LP cutting tapes with the same problems as a) above
b)modern reissues with all sorts of no-nos

With that menu of choices, 4MWB vinyl, in some cases, will be the best choice.

Also, it's worth noting that at the very least for the two Television lps and the Big Star 3rd, they do claim mastering from the original analog tapes. Perhaps those are the only ones where that is the case, but I'm sure they do the best they can.

 

They claim that the Television LP's are from the analog masters? That is cool...
I have the German reissue of Scott 4 from a few years ago and apart from a bit of sibilance on side 1, it sounds fantastic! Smashes the CD's...all of them...

Having said that...I would be buying all these again if I could be assured that they were not working from 16 Bit 44.1Khz downsampled tapes like the Wire reissues...(see Michael Fremer's article for that debacle...)

These four LP's are some of the most beautiful music ever put down in history...I have lost my mind to this stuff it means so much to me...

Please 4 Men With Beards....do this right...many Scott Walker fans are hoping...