Any Cocteau Twins fans out there ?

I've been revisiting some artists with my new Sennheiser HD800 S, and it seems that UK vinyl is the way to go with Cocteau twins (or at least Treasure). After comparing the original UK CD and vinyl of the track "Lorelei" off Treasure, the vinyl wins by a longshot. For example, the ending cymbal crash sounds fluttery and distorted compared with the clean and nice decay sound of the vinyl. Bass frequencies sound more detailed too. Although the vinyl is a tad bright, the CD is too muddy.

 

Huge fan. I have all the original records but still missing three to complete their catalog. My favorite is Treasure. They had such a lovely sound that was sad yet happy. I always smile when i hear her voice through the dark forest they created in layers and layers of lush moody gloom.

 

New Simon Raymonde project:

Simon Raymonde (Cocteau Twins) & Richie Thomas (Dif Juz) form Lost Horizons, prep guest-filled debut LP

Lost Horizons - The Places We've Been

 

Interesting, thanks for the news. Damn was hoping for a continuation of Snowbird

 

Did you like Snowbird that much? I have the white vinyl, but it never 'got' me....

 

I was a huge fan back in the '80s. I saw them around 1989, and their set was fraught with technical difficulties; the band got out-of-sync with the drum machine, Liz got out-of-sync with the others, I'm not sure what the hell happened. They still sounded good, though.

I don't care for anything after, say, Treasure; my favorite songs are on Tiny Dynamite and Echoes in a Shallow Bay. I still listen to them from time to time. Oh, and that extended mix of "Peppermint Pig" is a favorite.

 

I did Felix, surprisingly. It's such an odd album

 

Simon's usually up to his eyes in his Bella Union label, but obviously the muse strikes from time to time.
Another vote for Snowbird from me.

 

Yup! Heaven or Las Vegas, Four Calendar Cafe and Milk and Kisses are favourites.

Fotzepolitic is probably my favourite track.

 

Folks here might be interested in this discussion with Liz Fraser & John Grant about Blue Bell Knoll:
The Quietus | News | Elizabeth Fraser And John Grant Talk 'Blue Bell Knoll'

 

Their cover of "Song to the Siren", gorgeous.

 

For anyone interested:

Elizabeth Fraser And John Grant Talk 'Blue Bell Knoll' at Albert Hall (07/23/2017)

 

Nice - I was in the Bella Union shop in Brighton today, and Simon was talking about this album and tour. Sounds like a good one.

 

Head Over Heels and Treasure coming soon...

The official website for independent record label 4AD.

 

If I remember correctly, the recent reissues of HOLV and BBK were from new hi-res transfers but the following two, Tiny Dynamine/Echos and The Pink Opaque reverted to the Robin Guthrie remasters. It sounds like these are going to be back to new hi-res transfers... hope so!

 

And it's about time! I've been wanting to replace (affordably) my worn out copy of Treasure for years.

I really hope they do these right. Of the vinyl reissues so far, I've only heard Heaven or Las Vegas, and I was really put off by the botched mastering of "Iceblink Luck" and a little too much surface noise.

 

I'm bowing out on these James, Nice to see em done however for those looking to get them on this format. I skipped the last round because of the compression and find my old compact discs still enjoyable

 

The BBK reissue was a revelation. The HOLV reissue was a travesty. “Iceblink Luck” was a low point, but really the whole album sounds off, like it’s playing on a vintage 8-track tape.

I remember the HOLV preorders were delayed due to quality control issues. I often wonder if they didn’t fix the issues and just shipped the vinyl anyway.

 

It says they are digital from analogue..... are the original 4ad expensive? I got most of mine mine on release day and then head over heels and victorialand mint from oxfam for £2.99 a few years ago. I didn’t bother picking up treasure that was sat there also 2.99. How daft was that?

 

Depends on what you think of as expensive. They generally go for more than £2.99 (what a deal!) but I consider the used prices pretty reasonable.

Looking at Discogs, perfectly good listening copies of most of their 4AD LPs are around $12 to $14. More minty copies are in the $25 to $30 range, with near-perfect specimens around $40. I don't think that's outrageous, all things considered (smaller label; cult act that didn't sell as much, leading to fewer copies on the used market).

 

At the moment on Discogs, NM copies of Treasure start at around $28, though most seem to be in the $40+ range. I suppose that's not totally outrageous, but it could be a lot of money to pay if the condition turns out to be worse than advertised, which is always a risk when buying vinyl online.

Also, I've only seen a couple of copies of Treasure on vinyl in my local shops over the past decade or so, and both were about $10 but completely trashed.

And I find that most Cocteau Twins LPs really need to be NM or close to it, because quieter passages really suffer with surface noise.

I just think Cocteau Twins had the kind of stature that justifies having their output available new on LP at about the $20 range. After all, in the grand scheme of things, they weren't that small or obscure, and nor was 4AD.

 

Just like Dead Can Dance. But apparently there the new vinyl pressings are very good. With Cocteau Twins I was lucky with used vinyl.

 

Massive fan.

I’ve always thought how special it was such a beautiful phenomenon came from such a bleak industrial environment.

Grangemouth image link below.

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I bought all their albums and EPs brand new back in the 80s and early 90s, but there were a few albums, like Treasure, which I stupidly wasn't as careful with as I could've been. For example, with Treasure, I wasn't so careful (back then as a teenager) when sliding the LP in and out of the stiff/thick paper stock inner sleeve, resulting in lots of little scratches that are bad enough to cause audible ticking on quieter songs and in between tracks. Nowadays that record would go straight into a poly-lined sleeve, but the 13-year-old me was not nearly so anal about stuff like that.