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Christine McVie: Christine McVie. I still have the original CD of this but wanted something a little meatier sounding. The LP is still a bit "glassy" sounding due to the digital recording but sounds a bit better. The LP was cut at Sterling by Ted Jensen. It could also stand a trip through the record cleaner--a little noisy here and there. Musically it was always one of my favorites of any of the Fleetwood Mac members.
I like it too to me It sounded similar to Fleetwood Mac's Sound but slightly mellowed out a bit just my opinionI do like "Got a Hold On Me" though. It's a good song and I originally thought it had Mick F. on drums.
One of the titles is Herb's Under A Spanish Moon. The used copy I bought a few years go sounded terribly worn, with a lot of inner groove distortion. Or in other words, once you get to "Ancient Source," it thoundth like Lani hath a very bad lithp, and Herb'th trumpet thoundth like it'th torn to shredth.
I play this sealed copy yesterday and it has the exact same problem. Of course I start doubting everything. The cartridge is practically new (Audio Technica ART7, not even available in the US) and tracks everything else like butter. Stylus is clean--a touch of Blue-Tack a few times is all it needs. OK, the record's been re-sealed? Nope--the rest of the vinyl looks untouched, with nothing more than pressing plant crud on it...and there's an old Tower Records sticker firmly attached. (And nobody is going to bother to reseal a $3.99 record.) OK, who mastered it? Bernie Grundman...and how many Bernies do I have here that play beautifully? All I can think of is that it's a very bad pressing...yet I've never one with such severe sibilance fresh out of the shrinkwrap! I still might try an ultrasonic cleaning on this one, but I have a feeling it's beyond help.
That kind of proves that it's a bad pressing--three out of three reports. I start doubting everything when I hear this on what should be a brand new record. I have a few others late A&M vinyl releases that play back just fine, like Rosie Vela's album. This one just gets steadily worse. It starts during the suite as a continually growing distortion and murkiness, especially on Herb's trumpet, which is pretty much wasted by the time the third movement of the suite wraps up.My copy of UNDER A SPANISH MOON has the same problem on "Ancient Source". It's really bad at 1:30 where she sings "Come cloSe to the inner Spring..." The left channel seems to have all of the splatter. Mine's pressed on that good translucent vinyl and has a cut-out notch in the upper-right corner of the jacket. But the vinyl is super-clean, yet it has that sibilance problem.
My Abstract Heart was also in this shipment and it, too, has a similar issue, but nowhere near as bad. They are both later A&M pressings though, and it makes me wonder if I should be avoiding those. But both are very disappointing and I expected better from A&M...especially on the boss's records!
I need to play it through again, and on both sides, to be sure it's really bad or not. I can safely say Spanish Moon is one to avoid, however.Bad news on My Abstract Heart. I’ve been looking for a copy but haven’t found one that I thought I should spring for yet.
I rejoice with you I'm happy for you that you scored on Some excellent vintage vinyl it's better to get the original versions rather than get newly pressed stuff as you said Universal has had quite a few duds in its vinyl reissues I hope you find a great copy Of the Ghost in the machine L.p. preferable a vintage 1981 sealed first edition Best wishes RudyFresh rekkids! I had my eye on one of these records below (having stupidly gotten rid of it when I bought into "perfect sound forever" ). But first...these three arrived today from a dealer in Philly, all sealed.
Marty Paich: Hot Piano. There is not much information about this album printed on the rear of the jacket, but 1) it's Marty Paich, and 2) it's centered around Paich's piano, as he usually was a bandleader/arranger. This one is on the VSOP label, and it might be a reissue as the label name on the front is Tampa Records. I'll look into this one more this evening.
El Chicano: "Let Me Dance With You"...12" single. No idea what this is. But, El Chicano had that Top 30 hit in 1970, "Viva Tirado (Pt. 1)", that some may recognize. So I'm taking a stab in the dark on this one. For $1.00, sealed, what have I got to lose?
Finally...
Finally!!
I located one on my "holy grail"--Synchronicity, by The Police. I had a beautiful, clean copy purchased new on release day and like others, got roped into believing Sony's "Perfect Sound Forever" claim with the CD, and of course was eventually disappointed. The original CD...meh, and gobs of distortion at the very tail end of "Tea In The Sahara" as it fades away (which is a by-product of digital). The Message In A Box version was a slight improvement. The SACD was a (digital) revelation but still not my vinyl copy.
So here is my "new" copy with the original hype sticker, KC-600 vinyl (the nice purple glow), and just having started side two, it's sounding awfully darned good right about now with a great "pop" to Copeland's snare. Playing "Synchronicity I" on side one immediately took me back to release day, first spin, when the stylus hit the grooves... The record itself is clean, flat, and plays back with almost no noise, like the best KC-600s do. Price on this one? Not bad at all! It was no more than most new 180g pressings today. (A clean early pressing is rare, but not that rare!)
Now I need to find a sealed first pressing Ghost In The Machine, which is a chore for sure. There is a 180g reissue but like other Universal vinyl, I'm deathly afraid to buy what could be a complete turd.
The Marty Paich is a good album but doesn't exactly set the world on fire either. It's a nice pleasant listen nonetheless, very much in the West Coast tradition. Grab this one if you find it cheap!Marty Paich: Hot Piano. There is not much information about this album printed on the rear of the jacket, but 1) it's Marty Paich, and 2) it's centered around Paich's piano, as he usually was a bandleader/arranger. This one is on the VSOP label, and it might be a reissue as the label name on the front is Tampa Records. I'll look into this one more this evening.
El Chicano: "Let Me Dance With You"...12" single.
KC-600 vinyl looks black, but if held up to light it has a purplish glow. (That was sunlight behind it.) A&M used a lot of KC-600 vinyl for first pressings on some of their "premier" releases. I've seen a couple others with a brownish tint, while another has a greyish tint (I think my Joe Jackson Body and Soul is the greyish version). I've seen a lot more A&M titles on KC-600 (purple) than others, however. The A&M/CTi SP-9-3xxx series was all pressed on KC-600 vinyl in the early 80s. Quiex was another premium vinyl formulation, but I don't see A&M having used a lot of that. (Warner Bros. tended to use that.)Is the vinyl purple or is that just the light?