Vinyl Me Please (store, exclusives, swaps, etc)

Has anyone here done a comparison between the Mama's Gun VMP pressing and an older copy? I have the 2016 pressing mastered by Grundman and am planning on putting it up against the VMP pressing tonight, but was curious to see if anybody else has any thoughts on it too!
 
chrb98 said:
Has anyone here done a comparison between the Mama's Gun VMP pressing and an older copy? I have the 2016 pressing mastered by Grundman and am planning on putting it up against the VMP pressing tonight, but was curious to see if anybody else has any thoughts on it too!
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Alright, I'm not nearly enough of an audiophile to remark on the exact details, but my immediate, very elementary, impression is: the 2016 pressing is pretty good, the VMP pressing is fantastic. Both copies have very little surface noise, inner groove distortion, or general muddiness. For lack of a better word, the 2016 pressing sounds quite "flat" and sterile, whereas the VMP pressing sounds much more lively - there's more space between the instruments, the subtle details jump out more, Badu's voice is crystal clear, the low-end slaps even harder yet also feels more detailed and deep. I have zero knowledge on the mastering/pressing details of either copy so maybe this isn't actually the case at all, but to my ears, the 2016 pressing sounds entirely digital and compressed, whereas the VMP pressing has a much more authentic, analog vibe. Spinning the 2016 pressing feels like listening to a FLAC download of the album with some really nice headphones. Spinning the 2020 pressing feels like sitting in the front row of a cool, smoky, slightly-run-down-but-in-a-chic-way nightclub while the band is performing right in front of you.

Is it worth the upgrade? I dunno, for me it was, but that's partially because I just love this album so much. VMP's price increases are ridiculous, but after spinning this record, I really felt like I was paying for a premium product. Now, I had to find flaws in the 2016 pressing when comparing it to VMP's, and they're there when you're looking for them, but it's really not a BAD pressing at all. If you have that pressing, I'd be willing to bet you're at least decently happy with it, so whether or not to upgrade really depends on how content you are with what you have. If you don't already have a copy of Mama's Gun - the VMP pressing is the way to go. If other copies of the album were selling for $20ish, I might feel differently. But the 2016 pressing tends to run pretty pricey anyways, so for just a few dollars difference, you can get something that's noticeably better.
 
Djxfactor511 said:
Glad I'm WFH full time and not at the office when that album cover came up.
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Right. I clicked through the link on the email and... Wow. I am not a prude, but... I am fairly certain that is the most graphic album cover I've ever seen. I'm sure others more graphic exist, but I've never seen bush on a cover before! :LOL:

I don't like the music enough to buy it, so it's a non-issue for me either way. I was kind of proud of VMP for going the full monty for a rising artist, though. 🤷‍♂️
 
Bloodlemons said:
Right. I clicked through the link on the email and... Wow. I am not a prude, but... I am fairly certain that is the most graphic album cover I've ever seen. I'm sure others more graphic exist, but I've never seen bush on a cover before! :LOL:

I don't like the music enough to buy it, so it's a non-issue for me either way. I was kind of proud of VMP for going the full monty for a rising artist, though. 🤷‍♂️
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I thought everyone grew up with a record store that had Party Records behind that counter due to the racy nature of their covers. I didn't realize how lucky I was.
 
marshall said:
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Well, yeah. But that's a sculpture... I know it was considered controversial at the time. I have a copy of the censored LP in my collection!
JonnyH said:
I thought everyone grew up with a record store that had Party Records behind that counter due to the racy nature of their covers. I didn't realize how lucky I was.
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Of course I've seen those, but that was more T&A/pinup kind of stuff, IIRC.
duke86fan said:
the cover meant nothing to me..

it was racy but not offensive or anything
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I don't think it's offensive. I was just surprised to see it as a splash page on VMP!
dhodo said:
If we're going for examples, I guess @Bloodlemons has never seen the reissue of Skylarking with the supposed original intended cover.
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I just looked it up. Boom! I had not seen that cover before, lol. I wonder why the label didn't go with it?
 
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