T4N63R1N3 DR34M wrote:Chris Monk wrote:sparrow wrote:Might pass on these..Ricochet gatefold sleeve....
Might buy that one...
was the original album a gatefold?
Not as far as I am aware. I've only ever seen it in a standard sleeve.
Anyone seen a gatefold version ? (Japanese maybe..)
Ricochet wasn't a getefold sleeve as far as I knw.... But "Stratofear" had a beautiful photo inside, and I'm really frustrated that Virgin / EMI have never cared to reproduce the original artwork of the double gatefold sleeve on the CD's, that they sold initially for twice the price of a normal LP... even on the remaster... Same with "Pheadra" and "Rubycon". They had magnificent photos or paintings inside. And the right credits.
Whne rI think of all those remastered CD that have had improved booklets with extra notes, extra pictures etc... At least, on the remastered edition.. That's a swindle but you knew it already.
This said, Virgin's pressings in France (maybe not manufactured in France, I think) weren't so good in 1980-1981 when I bought those albums... They had a few occasional scratch noises right from the start.
One mate lent me the original Stratosfear with the origjnal Virgin logo with the two twin female creatures, it was thicker but it wasn't a LP in a good state, alas.
And neither "Ricochet" nor "Stratosfear" were on 180 g vinyl.
This said, the quality of the PVC itself and the quality of the matrix from which the LP's are duplicated and the duplication process (speed) do matter. In the years 1986-1987, I've been told several times - and I tend to think it's true - that certain companies ruined the quality of the LP's *consciously* to force people to buy CD's... I exchanged a considerable amound of LP's in big shops due to some incredible faults in those years. The PVC was thinner and thinner.. Some were so "twisted" that wouldn't even play on a normal turntable, some had high scatching noises...
I am satisfied with the available 24-bit mastering technique, which some bands still do not ask their record company to use while it's not more expensive as far as I know (?). Marillion, Uriah Heep, Jethro Tull Pink Floyd and others used it already in the late 90's
The price os those two editions is very high. Usually it's not as expensive for LP's as far as I know. Record companies are really good at swincling people.. They made us pay a CD the double of the price of a LP in the late 80's, telling the sound was much better and that they were eternal and now they do the exact contrary ! The irony in this is quite exquisite. Or pathetic.