Vinyl Me Please Essentials

TCell said:
My "Best/Worst" concerts were:

1) Courtney Love showing up at an Evan Dando concert in 2001. He was drunk and argued with the audience the whole show which was impressive in its own right. Then Courtney showed up and made him replay "Into Your Arms" (since she missed it earlier), then took his guitar and played Doll Parts and Jennifer's Body, flashed her breasts, told us how she got high with Oasis, and flipped off the audience.

2) Cat Power w/ Dan Bejar opening, also 2001. Dan and Chan both had major tantrums/breakdowns (seemingly both from equipment malfunctions and bad monitor levels) on stage. I love their music, but I left that night thinking that both could be musically transcendent or they both could join the 27 Club. Glad it worked out for the best.
Click to expand...

BEST CONCERT: Too many to list, although Thursday, Yo La Tengo, Low, Hot Rod Circuit, GBV on the "farewell" 2004 tour... these hold a special place for me.
WORST CONCERT: Saves The Day. Sound as good as the record, but SOOOOOO boring to watch. Last time I saw them, they were equal billing with The Get Up Kids and easily wore out their welcome 12 songs into a 27 song set.
BEST SOUNDING CONCERT: Yo La Tengo at FTC, September 2016. I was right in front of Ira's amp, yet you could hear EVERY instrument, every nuance; their sound people deserve a metal.
WORST SOUNDING CONCERT: Glassjaw. It was just a flurry of sound. I couldn't even make out what song they were playing half the time.
BIGGEST PLEASANT SURPRISE LIVE: Jewel, August of 1996 opening for Neil Young with Afghan Whigs. She played 4 songs from Pieces of You and 10 other songs that I supposed were supposed to be for her second album but never saw the light of day. Shame... They were quite good.
MOST SPECIAL CONCERT: Rainer Maria with Mates of State and Selector Dub Narcotic (Calvin Johnson). It was right after my daughter was born. It's great to see local bands that have left a mark come home again and it seemed like everyone in there new each other or was friends with each other. It was almost like a house party.
 
NewsFedora said:
The first record is passable for me, but I gotta give the second record another cleaning and a closer comparison with how it sounds on CD. Method Man (the song) has some consistent popping near the end that I can't remember if it's in the original, and there's some weird popping distortion on Protect Ya Neck I've never experienced before. It'd be amusing if like ATLiens I end up requesting a replacement but not for the reason everyone else is needing one.

Otherwise... this sounds pretty darn nice. Definitely an overall improvement over my 2014 reissue.
Click to expand...

I wanted to get my ticket into Customer Service before tomorrow's October ROTM announcement so I just finished going through everything and shot them an email. On the plus side, comparing a digitally-sourced Method Man shows the pops are present so it's normal for that song. And it took multiple cleanings, but the distortion and pops on Protect Ya Neck are now also gone so... I can live with this. The surface noise at the start of Side A is minor and pretty much vanishes once Bring Da Ruckus hits.

Public Enemy, on the other hand... is not so lucky:



My only other major issue was The Hawk Flies High missing its listening notes booklet, so it's kind of strange to think of me asking to replace only one out of four albums in my box as a win.
 
NewsFedora said:
I wanted to get my ticket into Customer Service before tomorrow's October ROTM announcement so I just finished going through everything and shot them an email. On the plus side, comparing a digitally-sourced Method Man shows the pops are present so it's normal for that song. And it took multiple cleanings, but the distortion and pops on Protect Ya Neck are now also gone so... I can live with this. The surface noise at the start of Side A is minor and pretty much vanishes once Bring Da Ruckus hits.

Public Enemy, on the other hand... is not so lucky:



My only other major issue was The Hawk Flies High missing its listening notes booklet, so it's kind of strange to think of me asking to replace only one out of four albums in my box as a win.
Click to expand...

yeah, that's what all 3 of mine sounded like. just got ATLiens replacement today & the cover was janked in transit worse than anything i've received in awhile. haven't tried the LPs yet...
 
NewsFedora said:
I wanted to get my ticket into Customer Service before tomorrow's October ROTM announcement so I just finished going through everything and shot them an email. On the plus side, comparing a digitally-sourced Method Man shows the pops are present so it's normal for that song. And it took multiple cleanings, but the distortion and pops on Protect Ya Neck are now also gone so... I can live with this. The surface noise at the start of Side A is minor and pretty much vanishes once Bring Da Ruckus hits.

Public Enemy, on the other hand... is not so lucky:



My only other major issue was The Hawk Flies High missing its listening notes booklet, so it's kind of strange to think of me asking to replace only one out of four albums in my box as a win.
Click to expand...

My PE was the same as this. They told me that they did not think it was a pressing-wide problem. BUT! they couldn’t guarantee a replacement would sound better! Gave me credit. Jokers.
 
NewsFedora said:
I wanted to get my ticket into Customer Service before tomorrow's October ROTM announcement so I just finished going through everything and shot them an email. On the plus side, comparing a digitally-sourced Method Man shows the pops are present so it's normal for that song. And it took multiple cleanings, but the distortion and pops on Protect Ya Neck are now also gone so... I can live with this. The surface noise at the start of Side A is minor and pretty much vanishes once Bring Da Ruckus hits.

Public Enemy, on the other hand... is not so lucky:



My only other major issue was The Hawk Flies High missing its listening notes booklet, so it's kind of strange to think of me asking to replace only one out of four albums in my box as a win.
Click to expand...


My Wu Tang was fine, but had exactly the same issue with PE, so ordered a replacement just for the PE.

I watched a you tube vide recently with stunt rock confusion who owns a small pressing plant & he was saying how they need to visually inspect the stamper every 15 records or so to check fro debris & dirt, if it's not removed it can lead to noise issues. I think with the volumes at GZ this isn't happening & that's why it's consistently inconsistent.

He also said some plants (I'm guessing Optimal, but could also be GZ) have automated putting the record in the sleeve & that's what causes the surface marks, because the record hasn't cooled properly. Also warps & dish warps are a direct result of cooling process, the record needs to cool to room temperature evenly. The hotter the press the less pressure is needed to press the record effectively but the longer the cooling process and if not done correctly leads to warps.
 
I was refused another replacement of Wu and given credit. Wildly disappointed.

I am really hoping for a black 2xLP of this to be released because the parts that are not defective sound fantastic.
 
MovinShadow said:
My PE was the same as this. They told me that they did not think it was a pressing-wide problem. BUT! they couldn’t guarantee a replacement would sound better! Gave me credit. Jokers.
Click to expand...
Did they not give you a single replacement before giving up and sending you credit??? They just got back to me and are sending me my first PE replacement (along with an entirely new Coleman Hawkins because apparently they can't just send the missing booklet by itself).

I imagine if this PE is also noisy will be where they start to balk at sending me any more copies.
 
NewsFedora said:
Did they not give you a single replacement before giving up and sending you credit??? They just got back to me and are sending me my first PE replacement (along with an entirely new Coleman Hawkins because apparently they can't just send the missing booklet by itself).

I imagine if this PE is also noisy will be where they start to balk at sending me any more copies.
Click to expand...
This was my 2nd copy. 1st had an audible and visible scratch through the first tune, side one. No crackle on that copy annoyingly!
 
Mather said:
I will be using any credit they give me to continue buying Wu every month until I get a good one. I'll go through 25 if I have to. I'm getting a good copy of this.
Click to expand...
Genius :ROFLMAO:

I think this is a new tactic they are taking. They did the same with me and the 2nd in the Jazz Is Dead series. After receiving a second dishwarped replacement they gave me credit and said they wouldn't be replacing it again (they did after I pushed).
 
Seems like the Usher pressing may actually be the expanded version?

“For the first time ever, the special edition of Usher’s Confessions will be available on vinyl as VMP’s November Essentials ROTM.”
 
dbarila said:
So I'm guessing the 1/2 speed master and 45 RPM are unique to the VMP Grizzly Bear? I really shouldn't but that's an album I've been meaning to get.
Click to expand...
sadly it's not AAA despite them recording to tape. i was re-listening to it last night and love the album, but any GZ crackle will kill it for me so i'm skipping out on it for now. i could always try to get it next month if the reviews are okay.
 
MikeH said:
sadly it's not AAA despite them recording to tape. i was re-listening to it last night and love the album, but any GZ crackle will kill it for me so i'm skipping out on it for now. i could always try to get it next month if the reviews are okay.
Click to expand...
This is my plan as well. It’s such a beautiful and rich sounding album that any defect will stick out like a sore thumb.
 
MikeH said:
sadly it's not AAA despite them recording to tape. i was re-listening to it last night and love the album, but any GZ crackle will kill it for me so i'm skipping out on it for now. i could always try to get it next month if the reviews are okay.
Click to expand...
If the previous mid 00’s indie LP’s are of any indication you’ll likely have plenty of opportunity if it turns out to be a fantastic pressing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top