March 15, 2009

Black Friday!

A full weekend of playing records- I suppose I should have been out enjoying the sunshine but instead I stayed in and enjoyed the sounds! I'm posting the highlights starting with my [mostly] all black album covers Friday, and the best selling rock album of all time: AC/DC's Back In Black!

This pressing is by Scorpio Records and  NOT part of the '03 AC/DC re-issue campaign remastered by George Marino of Sterling Sound and pressed at RTI.  The RTI pressings have a silver sticker on the bottom left cover, not the gold 180 gram sticker on the top right. I wanted an absolute perfect cover without bends or marks, so instead of chancing seam splits and box bangs I've waited for the Dog to get this Scorpio pressing back in stock since October, when I first saw all the other Scorpio vinyl re-issues in the bins. No doubt the Sterling Sounds/RTI pressings are superior, but they are also fetching hefty prices now.

Their entire catalog is due for another vinyl mastering in '09 (pretty sure I read that somewhere) and it's anyone's guess about a special edition 30th Anni Back In Black for 2010.

The cover is a reproduction of the original with embossed lettering, but the inner sleeve was redesigned along with all the other titles, with notes & rare photos. 









The Soundtrack of the Subconscious:



It's tough to choose which is the best TOOL album because each set is a different beast in some distinctive way.

Lateralus is my favorite even though I listen to Undertow more often.

Undertow can be picked apart easily, with some tracks not missed if skipped.
Lateralus has to be played through, skipping anything disrupts the carefully planned flow. 

The Lateralus package is pretty sweet: double 180 gram picture disc set in a holographic cover, printed black sleeves.

The 180 gram Undertow package is less impressive- but apparently that's common with re-issues- the inner artwork has been replaced by plain white sleeves, only the front & back covers are here (and the annoying Parental Advisory logo).





I've been watching for Live's Distance To Here [on vinyl] to show up for sale on eBay and other sites for a couple of years now.  Along with a few other favorite covers I plan to frame, it has been in my eBay auto-search since well before I actually started buying vinyl with any idea to actually play it. Whether or not it was actually manufactured seems to be unknown by vinyl enthusiasts. It is listed as a non-available item on amazonUK.com, and it's listed in the Live Collector's Resource (fan site) with catalog / matrix numbers, and photos of the labels and promo sticker (a non-Live specific sticker), but I don't know if it was actually pressed. Perhaps it was planned and withdrawn?  (Since this post I have seen a sealed rare copy sell on eBay, so it does exist.)
The next best thing would be Throwing Copper, but I'm not willing to pay 80+ bucks without seeing it in person first.

The only other Live album on vinyl I know of, came as a surprise when I spotted it locally at the Dog- limited edition double white vinyl for $15!  TWO COPIES have been sitting there since April 2006!  Are there no Live fans in this town?  After mentioning it on a message forum, a fellow fan had me pick up the other copy for him and I was very glad to see it shipped to a good home!

Included is a lyric poster with the band, and the Samadhi mask / band logo on the reverse. My copy is white vinyl, but it did also come on clear vinyl (side pic swiped from eBay).

No comments: