Talk Talk Laughing Stock to be reissued on Vinyl!!

It's not compressed like the '97 CD remaster either (which is on the CD layer), so actually sounds pretty similar to the original, to my ears (on my system)...

 

I have not heard the SACD. My comment regarding brightness was in reference to the remastered CD.

 

So I got my LPs today. My assessment is that they basically sound like the CDs, only slightly muddier. Neither LP is particularly noisy overall, but there are occasional ticks. I would not recommend picking either up if you are hoping for a sonic upgrade over the CDs (which, IMO, sound pretty terrific). Yeah, I know that is pretty much what was expected, but wanted to report what I actually heard. While they don't sound bad, I don't hear any advantage versus the CDs.

On the positive side, they clearly used a better source....for the artwork. The covers look nice and the images look much less grainy than on the CDs.

 

In other words, confirmation that this reissue label, BaDaBing, is run by guys looking to fleece unsophisticated buyers. They are totally off my list. I will never consider anything reissued by these guys. Why not just issued a nice poster of the artwork for the two albums? Cheaper and less misleading.

And I don't care if they have issued some OK stuff in the past. Clearly, they issue whatever they think they can make a few bucks on, with little consideration of audiophile concerns.

 

So todays Pitchfork review describes these as "presented on immaculate vinyl" and "captured here in a remarkable vinyl mastering job on Ba Da Bing's part." They then conclude that "They sound as good as these albums have ever sounded, in any format."

I recived mines the other week and haven't had a chance to listen to them yet. Reading the thread here the general consensus seems to be that they are well packaged but obviously drawn from digital masters which makes them well, pretty much pointless.

 

Well, that is not what I said, but you are free to draw that conclusion if you wish, obviously. I'm not psychic, so generally speaking, I avoid trying to get inside other people's heads and assume I can know the motivations for their actions.

I do know that the Galaxie 500 LP reissues they did a few years ago sounded excellent. So far I've only picked up On Fire, but it sounds much better than either the Ryko or Rough Trade CDs I owned. I am also grateful to Ba Da Bing for drawing my attention to Sharon Van Etten, who is one of my favorite new artists. Also, I would not characterize Ba Da Bing as a reissue label in general, as their primary focus seems to be on issuing new music.

From my perspective, while I was disappointed in the sound of the LPs, I do not see where the label did anything misleading. They promised they would reissue the albums on vinyl, and that is what they did. They never claimed that the sound would be better than the CDs, or that they had mastered the material from original analog tapes. The only place I would put any blame on them is that they could have been more forthcoming with information about the sources they used to master the albums. I got nothing more, nor less, than what was promised from the transaction, so I don't feel I have any standing to be outraged or claim I was misled. If your verdict is that I am an "unsophisticated buyer" who was "fleeced," that's fine with me. I've been called worse.

Maybe the reviewer at Pitchfork has a better system than mine that allows him to hear things I can't. My system details are available in my profile. I can only describe what I heard, which is a sound that is very similar to the Polydor CDs, except slightly duller. My copies are not totally quiet, but neither are they particularly noisy either. This would not be the first time I heard things differently than a reviewer at Pitchfork.

 

Are you listening to them on Speakers or Headphones?




I just got my copies yesterday............the pressings are noisier than ****!!!!! I cant believe they pressed these 2 quiet masterpiece albums on crappy pressings. I am soooooooo disappointed. They sound like really bad second hand copies.......

Both records have really bad lead in groove and lead out groove noise on both sides that sounds like waves breaking at the ocean, that also overlaps with the incoming and outgoing music.......freaking lame!!!



I will say that it is not too bad listening to them with speakers on medium volume (even though its still audible and less than acceptable) which is what I am going to be forced to do.

On headphones however it is a different story entirely, on the quieter songs the surface noise is covering up all the little nuanced sounds and textures and it really takes away from the genius ambiance that I know exists. The quality of the sound that you can hear IS very decent maybe a smidge muddy as mentioned previously. I am getting massive inner groove distortion on the last track of the first side of Laughing Stock. And its not my setup, I have thousands of records that all play fine with no inner groove distortion whatsoever. And then to top it all off there are lots of pops and ticks across all 4 sides.



I didnt really care if the sound was sourced from digital as long as the fidelity was good and the pressings quiet and distortion free, without lead in and lead out noise that covers the music. It did not happen.

These albums deserve to be listened to on headphones, they might even be 2 of the best ever headphone albums ever. I will be looking for original pressings and will have to pay the high price. I will be sending Ba Da Bing a scathing email.

:thumbsdn:

Someone needs to do these albums right: sourced from analog, remastered and pressed at RTI.

 

I've listened on both. My copies are not nearly so noisy as what you describe. For example, on the nearly silent intro to "The colour of spring" with headphones on I could hear what I would consider a normal amount of groove noise, but I could also hear the studio ambiance as well as one small tick before the music began. Over speakers the groove noise is not audible at relatively high volume playback from my listening seat, but the tick can certainly be heard. Obviously, my CD is quieter than this. There were a few sections on each LP where there were a couple repeated (2-3) clicks. I wouldn't characterize them as either quiet or noisy, but as about average for new vinyl. Generally speaking, I only listen to music on headphones when circumstances force me to do so. I prefer to hear music over speakers.

I did vacuum clean my copies on my VPI record vacuum before playing, but I do this with all new or used vinyl I buy.

 

I have not vacuum cleaned mine (I dont have a vac cleaner) I would for sure describe my copies as a lot noisier than average.

what is your setup?

here is mine: Denon DL160 cart> JVC QL-Y5F (Clay inside & IC replaced)> NAD 1155 Pre (using MM setting)> NAD 2200 Amp> Ohm Walsh 2 Speakers Headphones: Sony MDR-7509HD

 

All my system details are listed in my public profile (click user name > "view public profile"). Just to be clear, I am in no way questioning that your copies were noisy.

 

I know you weren't questioning my setup, I was just curious. Nice setup btw.

 

I didn't read about this reissue campaign until yesterday. Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock are both desert island albums for me, so I was excited to at least have the opportunity to get my hands on a vinyl copy of the latter without spending a small fortune. Imagine my surprise when I removed the record from the sleeve, only to discover what appeared to be a pretty noticeable splotch of dirt on the first side of the LP. After several attempts at cleaning it proved fruitless, I realized it was a flaw with the record itself. Money is scarce right now and I don't have access to a car, so I can't afford another cab ride to exchange it for a copy that isn't defective. It was difficult enough getting to the record store yesterday in the first place. Needless to say, Ba Da Bing didn't win any points with me there.

But I have to agree about Sharon Van Etten. Epic is one of the best things I've heard from a new artist in a long time, and "Love More" has to be one of the most beautiful songs I've heard by anyone, at any point. I even got to discover it the old-fashioned way, hearing it for the first time playing at the record store and asking, "What is THAT?"

But yeah. No Laughing Stock vinyl love for me.

 

I received my Laughing Stock vinyl today. My expectations were low. It exceeded my expectations

- my pressing is quiet with no inner track distortions, however considering Universal has done the pressing I have no doubt that each pressing may be of varying quality given their overall pathetic QC. I to have the Sharon Van Etten album and then pressing is full of noise and almost unlistenable - pity as it is a great album.

- sound quality - I agree mostly with Flower - it just sounds a little murky and soft. I still enjoyed the album thou as I never bought it when it first came out.

I have all the previous talk talk albums on vinyl and they have always sounded clean and dynamic - almost lean. I went back and played my " Spirit Of Eden" UK pressing and it confirms the softness, murkiness and lack of micro dynamics of the re-issue.

I will keep the re-issue as it is a LOT cheaper than original pressing's, however there is definately a need for this to be remastered and pressed with a lot more love.

Talk Talk deserve a bit better.

 

Good News here is what just landed in my inbox:

"Hello everyone,

It has come to our attention that a certain number of Talk Talk / Mark Hollis records have left the plant defective. If you have received one of these defective records, please send me a message and we'll sort you out posthaste.

My sincere apologies for anyone who received one of these records. Universal had pressed the records for us and have assured us they will replace any inadequate products. Hope everyone has a lovely weekend. I'll be going home to play a new video game I purchased, Battlefield 3! Look into that if you've not got it. It's awesome.

judd
ba da bing records"

 

Kinda glad I didn't go for this repress. As much as I hate saying it the CD is the only viable option for most when it comes to the last two Talk Talk records.

The first three EMI albums sound great on vinyl, finding mint OG pressings of the last two though is about as easy as finding Mark Hollis busking in the street.

 

My copy of Laughing Stock sounds great, glad it was released for vinyl lovers.

 

In October 1991 Mark Hollis told Melody Maker this about "Laughing Stock":

"To me this is our first real CD format record and I don't think it's asking too much to expect people to at least concentrate on what's there, actually listen with a totally open mind."

Didn't know that. Finally got my hands on an original 1991 Verve copy this week and am surprised at how good it sounds. Even though this record - obviously - was scored second hand it plays with a minimum of surface noise and offers a very nice sound. Even though I'd doubt that this was mastered from analogue tapes given that this was 1991. The artwork is nice too, glossy, solid. And amazingly the back of this record is a bit broader than average so you can always see it on the shelf. I'm really glad that I didn't go for the Ba-Da-Bing reissue.

 

Go for the originals

I've had the originals of these two LPs for years and thought I would order the new issues to compare. The originals (especially the Hollis vinyl) sound much better. My Bada Bing Hollis has the same wave noise that has been mentioned earlier. I get seasick listening to the first part of side one. The Laughing Stock is better, but it doesn't match up with the original's clarity and space. You don't feel like you are "in the room" as much.

I agree with those who would like to see these pressed at 45 rpm at Pallas or somewhere similar. They are delicate productions and demand more attention than even their original vinyl incarnations were given.

 

Go for the originals

I've had the originals of these two LPs for years and thought I would order the new issues to compare. The originals (especially he Hollis vinyl) sound much better. My Bada Bing Hollis has the same wave noise that has been mentioned earlier. I get seasick listening to the first part of side one. The Laughing Stock is better, but it doesn't match up with the original's clarity and space. You don't feel like you are "in the room" as much.

I agree with those who would like to see these pressed at 45 rpm at Pallas or somewhere similar. They are delicate productions and demand more attention than even their original vinyl incarnations were given.

 

I haven't seen this in the local stores, and it's not listed on SoundStage Direct. Was it really released?

 

Yes! Right now it's sold out but they're planning a repress:

http://www.badabingrecords.com/prod...rily-sold-out-talk-talk-laughing-stock-vinyl/

 

I don't think an audiophile store like Soundstage sells this mediocre product.

 

Is it really "mediocre"? I never compared it to my original and I've heard varying opinions. But from the fact that this sold out within weeks you see that a lot of people REALLY want this on vinyl.

What I don't really get is how a label can prepare an ORIGINAL, 100% official rerelease and go for anything else than the original mastertapes as sourcematerial. What I'd still like to know is from which source the 1991 pressings were mastered. Nobody seems to know that :-(

 

It's mediocre as in I think it's not as good sounding on my system compared to the original cd I have. This has album has a huge potential on vinyl when done in the right way, when done like this it's a waste of money (of my money anyway).

 

I thought you were being sarcastic at first, as in implying Soundstage is not an audiophile store.

I don't think of Soundstage that way. I think it's just an outlet for a lot of recent vinyl reissues. They deal with a number of audiophile recordings, true, but they also sell "regular" reissues.