I have info on the EU vs US pressings for those interested. I personally own the clear EU pressing. It is the most beautiful piece of vinyl I own, it looks stunning. First off, I'm as dumbfounded as you that they used different cuts -- it's not like shipping metalparts is more expensive than hiring a cutting engineer to do a new cut. I inquired with the label about this last year, but they didn't bother to respond. I liked their old label better. However, the EU pressing might be the preferred one for some, for several reasons. I have a friend who has the US pressing (white vinyl) and he sent me a needledrop. We both have the same cartridge, so that makes comparing things easy in terms of tonality. The US pressing sounds closer to the CD in that it has more treble, while the EU is more rolled-off. Less treble also means the EU is much less prone to sibilance, making it sound more solid. Some may prefer the smoother sound, others might miss the extra detail. My EU copy is also significantly cleaner in terms of pressing quality, especially when it comes to surface noise and occasional clicks, which are very rare. The US copy of my friend exhibits more of both. The US copy was mastered by Carl Rowatti at Trutone in NY. The EU copy comes from an uncredited engineer. It was confirmed elsewhere that they are both from hi-res files. The other difference is the way the segue between sides is handled, which is a crossfade on the CD. The US copy uses non-crossfaded elements, if I remember correctly. The EU copy doesn't. The last track on side A is faded out slightly earlier, and side B starts coldly (like the track is indexed on the CD), suggesting the source was already crossfaded. I would have certainly have preferred to have it the way the US copy does, but it's still well-done. Another point worth mentioning is the fact that the EU copy comes with a copy of the regular CD, sans case.
I went to see if they offered a HiRez download and it appears that a FLAC (96kHz/32bit) is listed. Think the 32 bit part is a typo? Has anyone bought this? I might just cause it's not a bad deal for $13 TWMS Digital Download Album - New Items » Didn't realize it was on HD tracks too pretty bad numbers IMO Analyzed: Spoon / They Want My Soul (HDtracks) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DR Peak RMS Duration Track -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DR5 -1.50 dB -8.87 dB 3:09 01-Rent I Pay DR5 0.00 dB -7.18 dB 5:02 02-Inside Out DR3 0.00 dB -4.91 dB 3:58 03-Rainy Taxi DR4 0.00 dB -5.33 dB 3:33 04-Do You DR5 0.00 dB -6.87 dB 4:39 05-Knock Knock Knock DR5 0.00 dB -5.84 dB 4:22 06-Outlier DR4 0.00 dB -6.06 dB 3:22 07-They Want My Soul DR4 0.00 dB -5.34 dB 2:38 08-I Just Don't Understand DR4 0.00 dB -6.35 dB 3:26 09-Let Me Be Mine DR4 0.00 dB -5.86 dB 3:27 10-New York Kiss -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Number of tracks: 10 Official DR value: DR4 Samplerate: 96000 Hz Channels: 2 Bits per sample: 24 Bitrate: 3557 kbps Codec: FLAC ================================================================================
Just got a their first two records and was very pleased to know all the releases came with FLAC download options. Not sure if this is new but the previous records from Spoon were just MP3 which sound pretty bad to my ears. Hoping more artists do the same, a CD ripped to Flac is only 200-300mb tops most the time. Gimme fiction download was hirez but haven't heard it yet.
Alright so the vinyl reissue is a tad better overall but don't buy if you want an upgrade to the original Gimme Fiction unless you are a huge Spoon fan like me. However, A Series of Sneaks is a must have on vinyl, wow I've just missed out...didn't know this was a seminal album
Spoon just dropped some teaser artwork on their instagram page with no explanation. Hopefully this means a new album is forthcoming...
Haven't been to their site in a while. Has it been asking for your email, phone number, and country for some time or is that new with the skull image?
I submitted my info on their site and it said: Thank you. Coming soon... Hopefully I will be showered with Spoon gifts shortly.
They make bona fide rock music with catchy power chords, intelligent songwriting and the fab, raspy voice of Brit Daniels out in front. And their vinyl records sound damn good.
They are simply the best straight up alt-rock band today. No shoegazing. No pretentious attitudes. No ego tripping. Everything Britt touches sounds emotiv and beautiful without the faux plastic sound of may today.. That's all.
That was it for me too. On their albums I really liked (Girls Can Tell, Kill The Moonlight and Gimme Fiction) it was their ability to craft so much out of so few components that I loved. It was sleek and fat free, but still had a muscularity to it. The tracks packed a powerful punch, not despite but because they were so lean and pulled off with such finesse.
Great grooves. Dance music for indie guitar fans. Great voice. Non ironic handclaps. Love Jim Eno and the sound he gets from his drums on the albums. I love how Britt will remove things so when they use it, it makes an impact. Like the tambourine on Stay Don't Go. Or the spare drums in The Underdog. I feel like Japanese Cigarette Case they probably had a verse chorus bridge song and just kept reducing it til they boiled it down to its essence. My mathematical mind or fitted shirt, how they take a simple groove and build it and get crazy on it. I like how some of the lyrics just roll off and sound almost foreign in the phrasing, like 'metal detector ringing as I walk in through the (pause) door'. Or 'I'll be in the back room drinking my 'alf of the beer' Love that 20 years in and their latest album is one of their very best. They're still vital. Love that their lyrics tend to not be 'boy loves girl' songs. Seen them or Britt solo 15 times since 97. They always came thru Houston and either opened for another band I liked or were a cheap ticket. First few times I saw them Britt played an acoustic guitar but super distorted. Saw Britt twice play opening sets solo with a boom box drum loops when he was shopping Girls Can Tell and selling merch for gas money. First saw them open for Guided by Voices in 1997, and series of sneaks is an all time favorite album of mine (though it wouldn’t be their first album I’d recommend to newcomers). Gagagaga is probably a good start, everything about Spoon in one album with no filler. The last two albums were done by Fridmann with lots of complaints on here about his fried sound. Doesn’t bother me but I get it. Their 2000’s albums all sound great to me though, from girls can tell thru gagaga The side project Divine Fits is also great and the lp was mastered by Bernie grudman and sounds excellent. Love spoon. They deserve all their success.
The music is warmly rhythmic,engaging and lively. I can put on a Spoon LP and forget everything else.
Just upgraded my iTunes copies of divine fits and they want my soul to vinyl. Divine fits on vinyl sounds really good. Super hyped for the next record. I've been eyeing the deluxe gimme Fiction but I already had a bunch of the demos from their old website, i do like dear me landlord a lot though.
I received the news yesterday, you can also hear online the album title song, it's pretty good. I've been enjoying their musical evolution so far, so I'm in for this new album!
