Universal Back To Black 180 gram vinyl *

Agree. First pressing of Kiss Alive! is hard to beat.

 

Acccording to Elusive Disc's website, Abba - The Album, which is part of the Universal Back to Black series, was "cut & mastered by Kevin Gray at Acoustech." His name doesn't appear next to any other Universal listings I can see - not even Sublime! But some of the U2 reissues are listed as having been cut by Bernie Grundman.

 

Yes, ED does state that, but nowhere on the album cover or dead wax is any indication that Kevin Gray was involved.

 

It seems it is only ED who says Kevin was involved.

 

I read somewhere on here that it's not very good. I have to admit when I saw that nice sealed LP on a rack it was very tempting. Of course Universal is obviously hoping lots of us go for the nostalgic experience and not for the sound. I have lots of choice names for these folks but we're not allowed to use them on this forum.

 

Cut by RL @ Sterling

 

No doubt.

What's interesting is that they reproduced the booklet and gatefold sleeve like the original, but I saw the LP label somewhere and it wasn't the first pressing with the blue "smoking man". It was one of the later LP labels. Weird.

 

I sure wish I'd have seen this thread before I picked up "Who's Next" (Polydor- "Back to Black"). This is one of the best rock albums of all time, and this version is non-stop sibilance on my system. It looks like I'm going to have to double-dip and pick up the Classic release.

That's what I get for not doing my "due dilligence" on SH before buying. Lesson learned.

 

I've just noticed that available for pre-order from elusivedisc, are Use You Illusion's 1 and 2. These are labelled as UK imports.

Reckon these will be worth getting ? Getting these albums on ebay has been a hit and miss affair ...

 

I listened to the NIN over the weekend and found the vinyl to be quiet and flat. I also did not notice any mastering defects - I thought is sounded good and I was happily surprised after all the conjecture about the entire series. I am listening to the Willie Nelson Red Headed reissue and the vinyl isn't as good as the NIN, but really well mastered - amazing sound on this lp.

 

NIN? Nine Inch Nails?

 

I used to have it. I sold mine... Now, I can't seem to find another one in good shape!

So, I'm tempted to buy the reissue...

 

They reissued The Downward Spiral.

 

anyone get the either one of the 2 Hendrix albums released today? They are being advertised as from the origional master tapes..can we pray that possibly these sound excellent?
Has anyone found any of the "Back to black" series to sound at least as good as the origional?

Rick

 

Reminds me of the "rennaisance" of the 90's - the majors jump in when they see a buck to be made and turn out 180 gram garbage. The specialty vinyl sellers carry the garbage and sometimes even recommend it. Ripaisance is more like it.

 

Agreed.

 

I picked it up today. I haven't had a chance to listen properly yet, but I will say that they have executed the artwork superbly. The banana is peelable, and the back cover features the Eric Emerson photo that was edited out of later reissues. No problems on that front. I'll let you know how it sounds when I get a chance to properly listen to it.

However, I haven't been able to download my mp3s yet - anyone else have any issues with the website? If I follow the prompts and enter my details nothing comes up. I've tried it on three different browsers (IE, Safari, Firefox) on XP and Mac and none of them works, so it can't be a rendering issue. Any ideas?

Finally, I wish I'd seen this thread before purchasing. I certainly won't be buying any more "back to black" reissues unless I hear that the reissue is an exception to the rule (such as Blind Faith).

 

It is a real shame the verdict is that they're so poor. The artwork is excellent and I like the idea that they're fairly easy to obtain. Regular advertising within Record Collector. If the sound quality was equally as good and for these reasonable charges then i'd buy more of them. So far I only got 'Who's Next' and wont be getting anymore unless I hear better words about them through this thread.

And I feel the downloadable MP3 aspect is uneccessary. I'd rather just have a good quality sound/artwork LP. I dont want a download as well. I mean, how important is that to prospective purchasers?? Maybe the records could be cheaper to buy without the MP3 offer being included.

 

Not all of us do all of our listening at home, where our turntables are. I listen to my iPod on the way into work of a morning, and to music on my laptop when I'm at work. And if I'm going to pay for an album, it's only fair that I'm able to listen to it on whatever equipment I want to use.

And I suspect that the free download thing is a major selling point for younger listeners. Most indie record labels are offering it as part of their vinyl purchases, and their business hasn't been harmed by it at all. (In fact, I suspect the fact that younger listeners get a format they're familiar with for free encourages them to buy a format that they're unfamiliar with.)

It may cost Universal money to outsource their mp3 serving to some god-awful third-party 'minisite provider,' as they've done with these reissues, but if they did as 4AD and Sub Pop (to name two recent and wonderfully easy recent vinyl/mp3 purcases of mine) have done and just host the files themselves, they would probably find the technical stuff relatively cheap.

 

I grabbed the Hendrix LPs and was very happy with them. A friend of mine grabbed the Nine Inch Nails LP and was happy that as well. The early ones were terrible but they seem to be improving.

 

For me its a bit different as I have most on CD already, it's just me wanting a decent copy on vinyl. But I wasnt aware that vinyl/MP3 download options was quite a regular thing nowadays.

 

I picked up the reissue of Downward Spiral by NIN recently & I think it sounds quite good. Better than the CD anyway. List price on this is a bit more than others & I don't know why. I paid $30 for this through Amazon (who sent it to me in a HUGE box filled with those gigantic bubble packs)

 

Has anyone heard the Universal Traffic - 'Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys' vinyl?? That was the other one that I was interested in getting.........if its any good.

 

Is it a double album? Also, did they reproduce the booklet that came with the CD? That could explains some of the cost.

 

I haven't been able to compare it to my US version yet. It sounded good, but I want to do a comparison before I make any comments.