New Sufjan Stevens album, Carrie and Lowell, out in March 2015*.

It's mainly comedy frustration rather than actual frustration since I have a lot of items in the New Things to Listen To pile. Plus it's my own fault since I should know by now that Amazon is always both faster and cheaper than record labels or artist stores, where I usually only go for merch and fancy-pants multi-colored vinyl. My Carrie and Lowell is just basic black.

It's OK, I'll console myself by curling up with my first-state Superman Illinois CD.

 

After reading reviews and comments here, I rushed to my local record store tonight and bought a copy on clear vinyl. Listening to it now. Very clean and quiet pressing. I need to spend more time with the songs, but I like what I hear very much.

 

Update on the clear vinyl. I put the thing through a cycle on the record cleaning machine and it sounds better. I've also listened to it a few more times so that probably cleared some gunk out as well as it seems to have really opened up.

There wasn't much if any surface noise to begin with, but it's definitely improved over that. They must have pressed these in a fairly dirty room.

It sounds good right out I the package, but clean it and play it a few times and I assure you it will sound better.

 

Amoeba Berkeley had tons of copies and they were all clear.

Is it just my copy, or is this the least clear "clear" LP ever? Very cloudy/opaque clear vinyl.

My copy is kinda noisy and side A was a bit off center. Kind of on the fence about exchanging it because it's not egregiously bad.

 

This is kind of random and non essential. But in the Pitchfork review the guy talks about a booklet with photos. My LP did not come with a booklet. Just the photo of him eating the banana on the inner sleeve. Did anybody get a booklet with other photos? Is that with the CD perhaps?

And yes, my clear LP is not very clear but more opaque and cloudy.

 

First spin of my clear and side A has a bunch of pops. Not filled with them. But on such a quiet record they really do pop out. So to speak. I've not cleaned it or anything. And I'm much more tolerable about these things than a lot here. I won't try to return or anything but I thought I'd mention. Maybe my other copy (if it ever comes...) will be better. Side B played fine to my ears.

 

Neither side on my clear copy are as quiet as I'd prefer for an album like this, but side B is worse. I think I might email Asthmatic Kitty about it and hope that they offer a replacement. I hate returning LPs to the record store, because I know they have to just eat the cost and can't return it.

As for the music, it really is excellent. I listened to it twice in a row last night.

 

Probably only with the CD. Would have been nice to have them, but I'm glad they kept the LP a simple package so that the cost was low.

I know with past Sufjan releases I've gotten a PDF of the CD booklet with the included digital download (Age of Adz had some extra artwork that wasn't in the LP, too). Have you redeemed that yet? Maybe that will be the case here.

 

Aha. I did get the download but hadn't looked at the PDF that came with it. There are a couple of other photos with it. That's probably all the booklet is as well. These are the same photos that I got as stickers when I went to the listening party so I already had them! I do agree with the simple package to keep the price low. This really has been the best priced LP that I can think of recently and I do like that.

 

Has anyone compared the LP to the CD for sound quality?

The DR Database shows two different readings for the digital, one with DR10 and another with DR12. Either way, that's pretty good for a modern album so I'm thinking of just getting the CD for this one, especially as it's quite a quiet album.

 

This is a brilliant work of art. Yes, the subject matter and lyrics can be a bit hard to take, but the thing is just gorgeous, with every note counting, every note filled with beauty. Loss is rarely confronted with such bravery and open heartedness. A thing of beauty. They don't make 'em like this very often.

 

Two passes through and it's a thing of beauty. But it is so strange to hear so many local & regional things referenced in song (I can see Spencer's Butte right now). And given that I came here from Illinois, it quite apparent that Sufjan is stalking me.

 

This album gives me the same vibe as eels Electro Shock Blues.

 

Some of the songs would have fit well on an "Oregon" album if he had continued with the 50 states project.

 

I didn't get any extra stuff in the package, but my local record shop had a stack of stickers on a shelf where they keep free flyers and such. I'm sure most people have no idea what they are, but I recognized one as the picture of Sufjan eating the banana. The others are landscape photos (maybe the ones referenced in the pitchfork interview). I think I'll stop back by and see if the have some left.

They also had some cool Division Bell stickers from the release of the remastered LP back in July '14.

 

Achingly beautiful.

 

Got the black vinyl in the post today. Distortion on last track on side A. It's going back.

 

To balance that out I ordered the LP direct from AK. It arrived in the UK today; so one week for USPS international delivery which I think is pretty good going so hat's off to AK.

 

Especially with the references to the Tillamook fire and the Blue Bucket Mine.

I don’t have any idea if it has anything to do with the song “No Shade In The Shadow Of The Cross”, especially as The Dalles is mentioned in that song, but Eugene used to have a large cross on Skinner’s Butte which was around when Sufjan would have visited. It was moved from city property in a church vs. state case and is now on a bible college’s campus as seen on Skinner Butte’s wikipedia page.

It’s sort of on the skinny side and so it didn’t create much shade for what’s it worth. I doubt this literalness has anything to do with the song, but I just thought I’d mention it.

 

"Blue Bucket" has a little bit of degradation according to Asthmatic Kitty's posts on reddit, because they were trying to squeeze it onto a single lp.

 

also was kinda surprised that this lp was only 13 bucks at my local record store.

 

That's on the end of side B though, isn't it?

 

not directed at me, but a buddy saw Sufjan eating at Roberta's Pizza in brooklyn.

 

Gorgeous record.

Unfortunately, my black vinyl is noisy even after cleaning it with my Okki Nokki. I've heard worse pressings, but I hoped for much better.

 

Wow. Such a beautiful and sad album. I've been in tears virtually all the way through on each of my three listens so far.