Fitter Stoke
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Astral Weeks 180g vinyl reissue
Mar 09, 2010, 01:25
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This week I did something I've never done before - upgrade an album I'd previously known only from CD to a quality vinyl edition. And 'Astral Weeks' was that album. Man, what a difference. The (admittedly never remastered) CD sounds like a tinny tranny next to the full, rich glory of the current vinyl edition (£15 from HMV, if you're interested) and I feel like I've just been given the chance to get it on full time with a lady I've previously merely lusted over via a photograph.
If you dig 'Astral Weeks', you must hear this latest vinyl edition. And what a fabulous - and totally unique- album it really is.
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1001realapes
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Re: Astral Weeks 180g vinyl reissue
Mar 09, 2010, 02:19
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From Analogue source ?
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zphage
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Edited Mar 09, 2010, 04:16
Re: Astral Weeks 180g vinyl reissue
Mar 09, 2010, 04:11
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Yes, along with Moondance, Street Choir http://stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=169594&highlight=astral+weeks
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The Sea Cat
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Re: Astral Weeks 180g vinyl reissue
Mar 09, 2010, 08:48
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You can get Warner Bros ( Japan only ) remastered CDs of Astral Weeks and Moondace. Being a Van head and always mightliy pissed of with the awful cd quality of these, I took the expenxsive bite. £25 each. I'm glad I did. There the best cd remasters in his entire catalogue and are stunning.
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Gladwin
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Re: Astral Weeks 180g vinyl reissue
Mar 09, 2010, 20:45
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The Sea Cat wrote: You can get Warner Bros ( Japan only ) remastered CDs of Astral Weeks and Moondace. Being a Van head and always mightliy pissed of with the awful cd quality of these, I took the expenxsive bite. £25 each. I'm glad I did. There the best cd remasters in his entire catalogue and are stunning.
Are these the 2008 Japanese editions? Astral Weeks being cat. no WPCR 75419 and Moondance WPCR 75420?
If so, and if this 180g vinyl edition doesn't mean there's a UK/US remaster just around the corner, I'd be seriously tempted to invest in the pair of those Japanese CDs.
Incidentally, that 180g vinyl Astral Weeks is £12.39 (+ £1.24 shipping) from Amazon Marketplace sellers:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B001DPC4RS/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&qid=1268163447&sr=1-3&condition=new
Moondance is £12.74 (+ £1.24 shipping):
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B001DPC4S2/ref=sr_1_olp_2?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1268163533&sr=1-2&condition=new
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zphage
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Re: Astral Weeks 180g vinyl reissue
Mar 09, 2010, 22:57
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I would go for the vinyl, as they were remastered from original tapes by Kevin Gray. The Japanese Cds are not clear that they are from re-EQ'd safety tapes or Rhino's masters. They would not be from 1st generation master tapes unless Rhino or Warners did them directly.
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The Sea Cat
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Re: Astral Weeks 180g vinyl reissue
Mar 10, 2010, 06:04
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Gladwin wrote:
Are these the 2008 Japanese editions? Astral Weeks being cat. no WPCR 75419 and Moondance WPCR 75420?
If so, and if this 180g vinyl edition doesn't mean there's a UK/US remaster just around the corner, I'd be seriously tempted to invest in the pair of those Japanese CDs.
I'll dig them out and check later and get back to you. They sound very clear and the depth is great, whatever edtions they are.
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The Sea Cat
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Edited Mar 11, 2010, 10:07
Re: Astral Weeks 180g vinyl reissue
Mar 11, 2010, 10:07
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Gladwin wrote:
Are these the 2008 Japanese editions? Astral Weeks being cat. no WPCR 75419 and Moondance WPCR 75420?
If so, and if this 180g vinyl edition doesn't mean there's a UK/US remaster just around the corner, I'd be seriously tempted to invest in the pair of those Japanese CDs.
I've just checked the catalogue numbers, and they are indeed the 2008 Japanese cd remasters that I have. I can't recommend them highly enough. If you can spare the expense, they're definitely worth it. The standard Warner Bros. versions are so utterly atrocius that they were virtually unlistenable to me. There's no comparison.
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Stevo
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Re: Astral Weeks 180g vinyl reissue
Mar 11, 2010, 10:20
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There was a site I found called Cdjapan (or something very close) that would get me the Astral Weeks at least for less than 20Eur.
Sounds like something I need to look further into, enjoying that lp a great deal from what I can hear from the old master, but wonder exactly how much more I'd enjoy it with the new one.
Like shifting from 2D to 3D?
Stevo
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The Sea Cat
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Re: Astral Weeks 180g vinyl reissue
Mar 11, 2010, 10:28
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I'd definitely get them, especially as they're a bit cheaper now. I bought them when the'y just come out. I find most Japanese remasters that I've heard to be of excellent quality. Pentangle's 'Solomon's Seal' for example.
I think the recent Beatles remasters, though a vast improvement on the previous woeful editions, were a very hit and miss affair. The George Martin remastered Rubber Soul/Help, being excellent, as was Abbey Road.
As for the rest, some appaling mixing in places i.e. vocals crammed into one channel, isolated minor instrumentation thrust into the foreground where it clearly doesn't belong. Astonishingly sloppy. I could have done a far better job myself with the right now-how.
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