Elvis Costello on vinyl

I played his new one w/ the Metropole Jazz Orchestra here at work today and 3 people asked me about it. Reaction across the board was positive.

 

I like the original vinyl Blood and Chocolate. He sounds like he's in the room with you, which may or may not be a good thing considering how desperate and angry he sounds on it.

 

I thought the Columbia vinyl was hit and miss - I liked This Years Model and King of America - didn't much care for the sound on Get Happy or Armed Forces - actually hated My Aim is True.

I never heard the UK vinyl of Aim, but the Ryko disc was revelation to my ears. The US vinyl (and US CD) had almost zero bottom and and sounded real tinny. The Ryko sounds warm and natural (still not audiophile grade, but leaps and bounds over what was available in the US). If the Rhino tops the Ryko then it must be very sweet indeed.

 

I have not heard any of the CDs of My Aim is True but one of my UK original on Stiff sounds noticeably better than several US originals that I have had over the years (including two white label promos). Strangely enough one of my two UK originals sounds "fresher" and more defined than my other original copy. I also had a Portuguese Stiff original which looks identical to the UK original except that there is a "Made in Portugal" credit on either the back of the outer jacket or the label (I forget which, as I have gotten rid of that copy a few years ago after comparing it against my UK original). That Portuguese copy sounded better to me than any of the US originals. More focused and deeper (not boomy) bass, clearer vocals and not overly bright.

If you are a big fan of Costello and like the songs on the first LP, you should consider spending $20 for a clean UK original on Stiff. All of the copies that I have seen recently in used record stores or on eBay have gone for less than $20.

 

This thread prompted me to put on the only UK vinyl I have with EC's early stuff: Ten Bloody Marys And Ten How's Your Fathers. Sounds great to me. This may the closest I've ever listened to these tracks. I'm hearing new things and loving it. I have all the Rhinos and haven't even given those a hard listen. So many records....

 

I have always found the Columbia vinyl to be fairly dull sounding... except King of America. It's the only Columbia vinyl that I've kept, and I play it over the also-good CD half the time. Depends if I'm in a vinyl mood or not.

 

The UK vinyl is the stuff to get, if you crave Costello vinyl, but I appreciate that it might not be available in bargain bins in the US. The Rhino CDs are particularly good (thanks Mr Sandoval). I've never heard any US vinyl versions of his albums that sounded good, except for the CBS half-speed master of "Imperial Bedroom" which I think is very good indeed. The US CDs sound like badly eq'd 2nd or 3rd generation copies of the masters (as a matter of fact the original Columbia "Armed Forces" CD has the wrong eq setting on the right channel - supposedly used NAB instead of CCIR although how that could happen just on one channel beats me). I've never heard the US "King of America" on vinyl but the RCA CD of that album issued in 1986 (RCA distributed his stuff outside the US at that time under license from F-Beat) sounds surprisingly good. Since "King of America" is 57 minutes long it's cut at a fairly low level on LP, so I was never entirely happy with my UK vinyl of that album, as even a pristine copy is relatively noisy.

As for "My Aim is True", that was recorded in a cheap 8 track studio in around 24 hours for next to nothing, so it's never really going to sound like an audiophile recording, no matter how brilliant the mastering. However, it does sound like great punchy rock'n'roll music should, and that's what really matters!

 

He's right, that LP is crappy.

 

Another difference: MAIT on Ryko has the version of Radio Sweetheart that appears on the Taking Liberties LP and on the Ten Bloody Marys & Ten How's Your Fathers LP. MAIT on Rhino has a slightly different version from the B-side of the Less Than Zero single. The single version has a short vocal backing part that ends with a keyboard chord. That vocal part begins at the start of the line "Hope in the eyes of the ugly girls..."

 

I have an 80's (Liberation? label) pressing and it sounds awful. No top end to speak of.
I'll replace it with the Rhino version if its recommended

 

You will be amazed at the difference! Liberation was owned by RCA, and I'd bet that your pressing was done in Australia after RCA got the distribution rights in 1983 (probably using 3rd or 4th generation copies or worse).

The original Oz pressing was on Stiff, but even that wasn't very good. None of the Australian pressings are any good until Imperial Bedroom, and even that could have been better. Also the Australian versions usually butchered the packaging in some way, for cost cutting purposes I expect. Again, Imperial Bedroom was the first to be exactly the same as the UK version. The Australian "Punch the Clock" does have a unique gatefold, it must be said (but inferior sonics).

 

I've gotta highly recommend a 45:

Incredible songs and incredible mastering:

“RADIO RADIO” b/w “TINY STEPS” /
U.K. RADAR #ADA 24 /
MASTERED BY GEORGE PECKHAM (sp?) (aka “PORKY/PECKO”)

STAMPERS:
A: ADA 24 A1 PORKY
B: ADA 24 B1 PECKO




"You had better do what you were told,
You'd better listen to yer radio!"

~E.C.

 

The Columbia LP release of Armed Forces is definitely inferior to the British release, not only sonically, but from a packaging standpoint. However, it *is* superior to the original US CD release. This was later fixed to a great degree by the subsequent Rykodisc, although I haven't bothered to get the Rhino release yet.

I once did an A/B with the two LPs and the two CDs (Columbia and Rykodisc) and although it was a long time ago, I remember that the US vinyl was very undynamic and compressed-sounding (and not in a good way), and the US CD was even more so.

The other US vinyl releases aren't nearly as onerous. Due to the length of the album, Get Happy is probably best enjoyed on CD (I think it's something like 40-plus minutes and suffers from severe groove cramping). Although I'll have to say that there's something appealing to the way it affects the sound. It almost has the Motown sound that he was trying to emulate, which shows that compression isn't always evil when you're trying to get a certain vibe.

The Columbia King of America is VERY good. Great dynamics, crisp sound, etc. (and the music is of course top notch). An overlooked album from a sonic (and artistic standpoint) is Spike. I've used it as a demo disc, especially the instrumental Stalin Malone, which features The Dirty Dozen Brass Band. Very well recorded, especially the tuba. The WB pressing is just fine.

My favorite production glitch on his records is the horribly recorded cymbal that occurs right before/during the last verse in Beyond Belief. They went WAY into the red there. I never understood why they left that alone.

 

I don't think you're necessarily wrong in your conclusions, but it seems odd that you'd attribute Get Happy's sonic deficiencies to its 48-minute length when you have such praise for the sound of the 58-minute King Of America and the 61-minute Spike.

 

Maybe, but I doubt it beats my UK porky copy of same. Same for This Year's Model. You guys all need to hear the porky pressings of these LP's. They practically define why vinyl is so great.

 

Except when the ****heads at the retail store REMOVED the single from all copies and stockpiled them, where they turned up used 13 years later IN THE SAME STORE. I am STILL ****ED off all these years later just thinking about this.

I wish I could name the store and the scum who did this. Took me YEARS to get that single.

 

Perhaps it's just that they are better pressings. I don't know if this is a factor, but perhaps the extreme number of tracks on Get Happy creates more "groove cramming". I know that Nick Lowe states on the cover that groove cramming isn't going to be a factor, but it sure sounds that way to me. Of course, both of the later albums has a more "expansive" production, and since Get Happy was supposed to emulate a Motown sound, so I'm sure that this is a factor. But it still doesn't explain how the CD of Get Happy doesn't sound quite as compressed.

That's a good point that you raise, and maybe it's just my fevered imagination. <g>

PS, Get Happy is one of my favorite Costello releases, whether it's vinyl or CD.

 

What's the beef with the Rhino lp of My Aim is True? It sounds way better then my us copy which is probably one of the thinest sounding lps I own.

 

Ditto. On My Aim Is True, it says "A Porky Prime Cut" on Side A and "On This Side Too" or "A Porky Prime Cut Too" on Side B (depending on the stamper). I would like to know if any of you have a differently worded version.

 

Jem Records (who handled the lion's share of imports 'round here) did the same thing with ALL copies. Except they never got around to putting them back out for sale. I have no idea what ever happened to them. It caused quite a ruckus back in 78. I can remember reading in the papers of a number of stores (Records On Wheels, Record Peddlar, Sam's - I think) threatening to boycott (with the support of customers) ALL imports from Jem if they ever pulled such a stunt again.

 

Same thing on mine.

There's also "Elvis is king" on side one.

And "On this side too" on side two.

 

Neat Neat Neat single

When did you find it? I happened to find a copy in the summer of '86 in the D.C area for $9.00. I thought I'd never find it. I wish I could remember the store. I had to take the Metro to a fairly distant point - West Falls Church, I think - hop a chain-link fence, cut through some athletic fields, then go left down a main road for about a quarter of a mile. I recall EC having said something like, "If you missed the B-sides the first time, then you missed them, sorry." I made sure I didn't miss it. I worked for that single. Now it's on Rhino's TYM.

 

The Rhino lp is also preferred by forum friend Tom Port of Better Records.

Outstanding, the best version (overall) I've ever heard, and one of the greatest rock records of all time! How about them apples!

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