For sound quality, which Genesis L.Ps should I go after: U.S or U.K

After tracking down all the good CD versions, I now want the best vinyl copies of all the Genesis albums without paying an huge amount for the VERY best copies.
For example, my copy of Seconds Out on Atlantic sounds really good, but has too much surface noise. Does the U.K have this problem

 

bump!

 

I've found the UKs are my favorites from their 1st up to Wind & Wuthering
though I haven't compared Second's Out directly.After that I've found the US pressings to be my favorites.
I've read here on the forum that the German pressing of LambLDOB is excellent
and the Japanese Wind&W has abundant bass unlike the US and UK pressings.

 

The pressing quality of US and UK LPs from the mid 70s is quite similar.For quiet backgrounds I recommend trying an original German pressing.

 

Can't add much else other than "We Can't Dance" may only be available on UK vinyl. The US editions I have for most of their catalog sounds pretty good.

 

I prefer the UK vinyl for the 1970s era but my comparison is with Canadian pressings. The Classic records reissues of the Peter Gabriel era sound fantastic as well but they are now out of print so may be pricey.

 

they are beyond pricey, they are in the ridiculous range. they sell on ebay for like $300 a copy. there is no way they are that good.

 

Holy c**p! I bought mine a few years back when they were in print for as little as $23. Yike, I didn't realize they had gone near that much. They sound great but not that great. Nice UK pressings should do the trick.

 

The only one I can comment on for comparison is Wind & Wuthering. I have the US, UK and Japanese pressing. I had read elsewhere on this forum that the Japanese pressing was amazing. That person was right. The US and UK pressing of W&W sound very similar. Nice, but not as dynamic as the japanese pressing. And of the 3, the japanese pressing is the only one with any noticeable bass. I have the Classic records up to Lamb... they are all very nice. Much better than the original US pressings I had. I have a nice UK pressing of Trespass and a MFSL of TOTT which is also very nice.

 

I've got a UK and Canadian W and W and both use UK stampers and aren't the best examples of Genesis on LP. I'll have to check out a Japanese pressing. I was always amazed that TOTT sounded so much better considering they used the same producer and were made close together. The UK TOTT is very nice.

 

Really?? I actually thought the precise opposite of everything you seem to feel. That is, I thought that UK pressed LPs from the '70s are most often quieter than the US counterparts (and I've experienced that myself) and that German vinyl can be rather noisy (something I haven't really tested, but the two German releases I have of one particular album are both very noisy even though they look pristine).

As for the Genesis stuff, I haven't compared - I've just gone with the Classics when I could get them at reasonable prices or early UK pressings. I did buy a Japanese Wind and Wuthering but haven't listened to that yet. Glad to hear that I should enjoy it.

 

After comparing many different pressings (an ongoing process), I've found that I generally prefer the UK pressings to the US pressings up through at least And Then There Were Three.


Someone please correct me if I am wrong, but the one exception was The Lamb, in which a US Porky and a UK Porky were both equally great.

I had some Japanese pressings for a while, and while they were super clean, I liked the overall tonality of the UK pressings better.


$300 for the Classics?!? I only ever found Nursery Cryme and Foxtrot when they were in print, but I'm sure glad I did!

FWIW!

 

Although they're remixed, the new Rhino 180 Gram box is great. Heard some of them last night. I'm ordering a set tomorrow. I heard the horror stories about the cd's and SACD. The LP's are great.

 

Though I have two UK pressings and the US, I have not yet compared them, but it seems to be the general consensus here that the US Lamb is excellent and recommendable, although Jeff Carney brought up that he prefers the German pressing even more.

I also want to say that I've read the same for Trick of the Tail on Atco - the US may be as good as the UK. Or am I remembering incorrectly?

 

The original Pink Scroll label UK pressings are the way to go for Trespass and Nursury Cryme, for sure! The later UK mad hatter label pressings don't hold a candle to them.

 

Good to know, as I hope to someday get a minty copy of either(offers?).I would have mentioned these myself but the original post states "I now want the best vinyl copies of all the Genesis albums without paying a huge amount for the VERY
best"

My original statement is only based on mid 70s(74-76) LPs and Still Sealed or Mint(few if any spindle marks on labels indicating little play) LPs revealing their
condition when new.The original post was asking about 'Second's Out' from 76.
I've found the pressing quality of German LPs to be generally excellent, a clear
step up from both US and UK pressings, bettered only by Japanese pressing
quality, though Japan masterings may most often be lacking.I don't know what
else to say or think except perhaps...........Goblin is fooking awesome!

I've got a Promo LP of ATTWT that just edges out my UK copy.I'm hoping to
find a Promo or even WLP of 'The Lamb' as well.I found my original UK 'Lamb'
to be slightly better than the regular US copy, despite the louder 60 cycle hum throughout!

 

I have Trespass & Nursery on UK 'Mad Hatter' Charisma 1970's pressings. I found they beat my US's and Germans by a fair margin.

Like most UK pressings - i.e. country where the thing was recorded, they have a more life-like presence and better overall balance to them. The tape generation factor is always there. Admittedly, I haven't heard the Japanese pressings or the original pink UK Charisma's and other German pressings. I've found the Germans usually tended to master things differently - usually rolling off the top end or in some cases the bottom end. None of mine are sonic wonders but they were upgrades for me.

 

Somebody at work donated a collection of prog LPs and now I'm sitting on a nice pile of UK & US Genesis wax. One of the LPs is a mint copy of Trespass on Impulse which is rare, it doesn't sound that hot but it's too cool. My LLDOB is a Mad Hatter blue label which is a Porky, sounds great. I know that Mike Fremer likes the US version of SEBTP over the UK, it sounds great once you get past the wonders of mid-70's Atlantic pressing quality. I go for the UK releases due to pressing quality.

 

I prefer the UK, but beware, I've come across some that look absolutely beautiful but are mired in surface noise galore.

 

I have a minty 1973 original of SEBTP.It is mastered by George Piros on side 2 with the at/gp signature in the deadwax.This side sounds comparable if not better than my UK original.The problem is Side 1 with no deadwax initials and some absolutely horrible mastering, especially on 'Firth of Fifth' where the Taurus Bass Pedals turn the whole sonic picture into 'flubber' or 'pudding in a cloud' if you will.

 

OK, here's my $.02

Over the last thirty years I've gone through piles of Genesis LPs. They are one of my all-time favorite bands!

So far, these are the pressings that have made it to the top of the heap:

TRESPASS:
Never found a good copy--there are tons of variations--none has ever sounded good to me. (maybe I'll stumble upon a clean UK)

NURSERY CRYME:
Classic Records by far. Puts the UK, Germans, US, Japanese to shame, IMHO.

FOXTROT:
Not nearly as well-recorded as Nursery Cryme. Classic Records again for the win.

GENESIS LIVE:
A somewhat rough live recording to begin with. On this one the Classic is not so obviously better, but they didn't have a lot to work with.

SELLING ENGLAND BY THE POUND:
Again Classic Records! First time I've heard these songs on vinyl without noise overpowering them. I'd love to know how the Grundman studio was able to get that much gain out of this hour long epic on vinyl. Must be some kind of esoteric compression--or something?

LAMB LIES DOWN ON BROADWAY:
I have spent too much $$$$ trying to find a great vinyl copy of this album--which is musically one of my favorites. It's just not that well recorded. There is massive sibilance throughout. For example, "the Colony of SSSSSSSSSSlipperman." There also doesn't seem to be much bass. I've tried Germans, UK, Classics, US, minty Japanese. The better copies have less noise, but not much more tone. If anyone knows of a secret Holy Grail version, let us know! (edit: must try a Porky cut) (edit II: looked in the basement, and there is a "Porky Prime cut", and will give it another chance)

TRICK OF THE TAIL:
Now, this album is fantastically recorded. Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab mastered by Jack Hunt by a landslide for me. Very detailed and whisper quiet backgrounds... Awesome mellotron...

WIND AND WUTHERING:
Better hurry up and grab a mint Japanese copy! Get the 2500 yen version manufactured by Nippon Phonogram. This album is a real eye opener. The other Japanese Genesis LPs aren't as impressive. But the Wind and Wuthering Japan LP is one you can play to impress your neighbors with the greatness of your hifi.

SPOT THE PIGEON EP:
A bit of a rarity--my version happens to be a WEA Atlantic Canadian pressing. I've actually never seen another version.

SECONDS OUT:
My favorite is a German pressing. Labels say Stempia 9199 263. Jacket printed in the Netherlands. Nice clean sound.

AND THEN THERE WERE THREE:
The Japanese copy is the only one I can tolerate--2500 yen Nippon Phonogram. Most pressings are just too noisy. They pressed millions of these in the US, and all the copies seem to be defective in some way. The album is also so long, it would be almost impossible for the mastering engineer to give it any gain. The super quiet JVC vinyl helps tremendously to make the album listenable.

DUKE:
Another difficult one to find a good copy. The epic length is quite problematic--it probably could have been a double album. There's also something funny about the recording in the way of EQ. For lack of better words, the album has "that 80s sound", even on CD. The US pressing might be the best I've got--I tried several Japanese pressings and they had lots of distortion and were not pressed on the super-quiet JVC vinyl. Have not heard an UK or Simply Vinyl copy--maybe they are the ticket.

The albums Genesis made after Duke have not interested me as much--so I have not compared them. Perhaps others can comment...

 

My UK Seconds Out is very clicky. I heard no significant difference between the US and UK on this one. One example for you.

Slipperman87 - do active and archive searches here on Genesis vinyl. There is a ton of info but it's work to dig it out.

 

I agree with the sibilance on the Lamb lps. It's also on the CD at least in the Fly On A Windshield. "Something solid..." really stands out. It was recorded that way. So what, it takes nothing away.

As far as bass on the Lamb vinyl, the Classic version has a ton of bass. There is data here to prove it. Do a search.

 

As a fellow Genesis record collector over a similar period, I AGREE with just about everything you've said. The only thing I will add is that I find the MOFI Trick a bit heavy in the low end. My Japanese copy of Trick, which leans a little bright, is very dynamic and I like it better. The Classic Foxtrot and Cryme were a revelation and I posted about this when they came out.

Oddly, Wind is one LP where I don't have the Japanese and will be trying to track one down. The SACD sucks!!!

 

Check for those with the blue Philips Label - those are first pressings and original masterings - superb - smoke those Charisma's !