Radiohead -- new vinyl pressings May 20, 2016?

I've actually seen both Kid A and Amnesiac 12" copies around my local shops in Denver, CO. I own the of great copy of the OG Amnesiac (sounds absolutely amazing), and an OG Europe Parlophone Kid A (very pleased with), so I've had a hard time pulling the trigger on either. If I end up taking the bait during my weekly trip to the record store tomorrow afternoon, I'll let you know the deadwax info.

 

I just got a replacement for my warped XL Kid A 12" from Amazon yesterday. This one is much flatter and sounds great. A couple spots I thought I heard some slight distortion but it could be because I haven't cleaned it yet. Plus there are so many sound effects, weird echoes and and all kinds of distortion effects on this album I can't tell what is on purpose and what isn't sometimes. I am satisfied with it. It sounds great to me. Anyway here is my deadwax for this US version (all etched, nothing machine stamped):

XLLP782B BG38574-01 A1
XLLP782B BG38574-01 B1
XLLP782B-C BG38574-02 C1
XLLP782B-D BG38574-02 D1 CHRISTAIN@ABBEY ROAD

EDIT - BTW My replacement copy came with a download coupon for mp3 download. My first copy may have had one, I didn't look before I repacked it for return. I only saw this one because it fell out when I removed LP #2 from the jacket...extra bonus!

 

Thanks for posting the deadwax info!

 

Finally Kid A has grown up into a 12" Sounds great!!!!

 

I wasn't able to pick up Amnesiac locally, but I was able to find Kid A and it sounds *incredible*. I have the first pressing (LPKIDA) which I believe came before the Parlophone pressings. I've been doing a back to back comparison between these two and the differences are hard to pick out, which is a very good thing. I think the 12" sounds a little less compressed, which makes sense as trying to cram so much onto a 10" should cause a little compression, but nothing severe. Just the drums on The National Anthem sound a bit more natural than the 10".

 

I bought a copy of the XL Bends today. It has the parlaphone label and "nice dream" and "...answerphone" messages in the runout. Definitely not the same press as the capital reissue I already have. Anyway, this press stomps the capital reissue. It's noticeable right off the bat. I never thought the capital reissue was that bad but I always figured the U.K. Press was better--It IS. I don't think the XL is a 180g cut though while the capital is 180 but so what.. the new cut wins hands down. Why can't more reissues focus on good mastering and skip the "180gram" hype?

 

Interesting. Where'd you get it? If you don't mind me asking

 

I bought it at a local record store. Has the XL recordings on the back of the sleeve instead of capital records. I would imagine this is what you would get from amazon or most other US sellers by now.

 

Got this today from local indie store where I had credit. I was so turned off by my "Capitol Vaults" version of OK Computer I put off buying this one and glad I did. This new one uses the UK Parlophone stampers...sounds great.

Radiohead - The Bends (1995, XL Recordings, Parlophone matrices)

 

any distinguishing marks on the back sleeve? I'd like to pick one up and don't want to get an older capital pressing. Thanks!

 

Just look for "XL recordings" on the back sleeve. This is definitely the new cut

 

the capitol pressings signify Capitol. Also, the Parlophone UK copies and the Capitol copies have that little Bear logo on the spine. The new 2016 XL ones do not. The best copy you can get is the original Parlophone with the little bear. Those are UK issues though. If you can't find those, the XL is nearly as good.

 

Has anybody done a direct A/B comparison with the Amnesiac XL 12" 45RPM and the original EU 2001 Parlophone press yet? I own the latter - it sounds amazing, and I'm wondering if it's worth my time/money to seek out the new 12". Thanks for any feedback!

 

I'm an avid fan of 45 rpm pressings and I am also curious about the sonic differences between these two pressings.

I do see the benefits of a 45 rpm cut and I also agree that the original EU pressing sounds awesome.

$40 is a lot to spend to get something that sounds similar.... so I'll just wait for impressions from others.

 

Both Amnesiac and Kid A on 12" are 45rpm?

 

No, only Amnesiac is 45rpm.

 

I was worried Kid A was still a 10", as my local shop at Amnesiac in 12" but Kid A in 10". I don't see Kid A as a 12" on Amazon, anyone know where to get it?

 

I got the 12" versions of both from Amazon UK.

 

Anywhere in the US selling them?

 

Here is the XL 12" Kid A
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01I2E32W8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

I bought both 12" copies from Collector's Choice on Discogs. It looks like they still have copies of the 12" Amnesiac, but Kid A only in 10"
https://www.discogs.com/seller/Collectors-Choice/profile?q=radiohead&page=1

You should definitely purchase Amnesiac and Kid A on 12". They sound great. I have a Capitol 10" of Kid A and the new XL 12" beats it. Plus, it's a PITA lifting a 10" disc from a spinning platter.

 

Picked up the XL 12" 'Kid A' today and I'm impressed. Only had it on CD (bought on the day of release in Woolworths!) before now. I got the vinyl in my local Sainsbury's, unexpectedly.

 

Got the 12" of Kid A from Amazon. The sound quality of the mastering is good, seems to have a little more low end than the UK original. The pressing quality isn't that great though. There's mild surface noise in many places, and running it through the Record Washer didn't fix any of it. My UK original isn't the quietest pressing, but I don't see this as a significant improvement. Another thing that plagues many reissues is that the artwork is usually a little blurry. The gatefold sleeve doesn't really differ from the original, but the inner sleeves are noticeably cropped in and fuzzy, with the color tint being more purple than blue. Most people probably wouldn't notice unless they were comparing the two side by side. I think I'm going to return my copy to Amazon, as the quality just isn't that great, sadly.

 

So what do you think: Are the 12" discs of "Kid A" and "Amnesiac" one offs?

 

I suspect they put out these two albums on 12" as part of a plan for a box set? Maybe a plan that was ditched? Or... something yet to come.