Bauhaus In the Flat Field and Mask 2013 Vinyl Reissues

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Pavol Stromcek, Apr 22, 2017.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Pavol Stromcek

    Pavol Stromcek Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    There was a thread about this from 2013, but for some strange reason it's been closed and I can't reply to it. No one seemed to have purchased these back then, so there was no real discussion on them.

    At any rate, I still see these reissues kicking around in shops now and then, and I was wondering, has anyone bought or heard these? If so, how was the sound quality? Which mastering was used? How were the pressings? I'd love to know!
     
  2. BlueSpeedway

    BlueSpeedway Curated Iconic Half-Speed Picture Disc

    Location:
    England
    They used the same 2009 masters made for the CD omnibus editions, according to someone in that thread who asked the company. Indeed they came with a "free" CD copy of the 2009 masters inside the LP, at least in the UK.

    I've never heard the LPs, but the Mask 2009 master is very interesting and essential if you're a big fan. It's quite loud on CD (although nowhere near brickwalled) but has a much cleaner, clearly separated sound than any previous vinyl or CD release from 1981 onwards. It's like a slight reverb haze is no longer there.

    The 2009 In the Flat Field was neither here or there IMO, and just sounded like a slightly louder version of previous CDs. The original 1980 UK vinyl is mindblowing, as is 1982's The Sky's Gone Out. For Mask and 1983's Burning From the Inside you're probably better off with CD IMO. The original LPs sound OK but Mask is better later for the above mentioned reasons, and Burning was a German Alsdorf WEA pressing which comes nowhere near the excellence of the UK pressed Field and Sky originals.

    Avoid all Bauhaus on Four Men With Beards. I had Burning From the Inside and it was a sonic disgrace.

    So my recommendations would be easy but irritatingly erratic format wise, and would be:

    IN THE FLAT FIELD
    - original UK vinyl

    MASK
    - 2009 master found only in the Omnibus CD book box, 5 Albums box set, 2013 vinyl

    THE SKY'S GONE OUT
    - original UK vinyl

    BURNING FROM THE INSIDE
    - any EU / US / Canada / Japan CD released after 1988 (ie avoid the earlier A&M US CD, sounds like a cassette).
     
    Last edited: Apr 23, 2017
    Pavol Stromcek likes this.
  3. oldturkey

    oldturkey Forum Resident

    Location:
    Gone away.
    I haven't heard the Mask vinyl remaster, but the Deluxe box cd was a revelation as you said. Have all original UK vinyl copies including Press The Eject freebie and have no complaints. I thought Burning From The Inside sounded good on original vinyl though. Guitar on title track loud and dirty.
     
  4. Neonbeam

    Neonbeam All Art Was Once Contemporary

    Location:
    Planet Earth

    "I do get bored, I get bored
    In the flat field.
    I get bored, I do get bored
    In the flat fiehihiiiield…"
     
    andybeau and oldturkey like this.
  5. oldturkey

    oldturkey Forum Resident

    Location:
    Gone away.
    "Do you still feel thirsty?
    Are you thirsty now
    Are you thirsty now
    Do you still feel
    Thirsty
    Thirsty now"


    Time for a beer.
     
    andybeau and Neonbeam like this.
  6. Neonbeam

    Neonbeam All Art Was Once Contemporary

    Location:
    Planet Earth
    Yeah, it's 1PM in Berlin :agree:
     
    andybeau and oldturkey like this.
  7. BlueSpeedway

    BlueSpeedway Curated Iconic Half-Speed Picture Disc

    Location:
    England
    Yeah, the Burning vinyl doesn't sound at all bad, it just doesn't have same impact as Field or Sky, which isn't surprising as it was mastered and pressed in a totally different way / place than Field, Mask and Sky.

    I haven't played Eject for years. If I get a live Bauhaus mood on I play the full concert included in the Mask omnibus, which is killer. Or live in Delft, Holland 1981 which is well worth seeking out. Good quality audience recording I got circa 1985.

    Appropriately, Delft is where the legendary silent FW Murnau vampire movie Nosferatu was made, as well as Werner Herzog's 1979 version with Klaus Kinski. The gig is astonishing. My favourite Bauhaus is Burning From the Inside, but their live peak was that Mask tour from 1981. Each show starting with a fierce and apocalyptic spoken word recording made for them by the now legendary Alan Moore, in those days a young friend / contemporary of the band and fellow Northamptonian.

    Mind boggling, fearsome stuff.
     
    oldturkey and Pavol Stromcek like this.
  8. Pavol Stromcek

    Pavol Stromcek Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    SF Bay Area

    Thanks for all the info! I actually really like the Omnibus Mask CD - a rare case where the remaster is an improvement. It seems to have this mid-range frequency boost that really helps open up the murky sound. If that's what the 2013 LP is, then that is good news to me!

    My original 4AD In The Flat Field LP has seen better days, though I recall not minding the sound of the Omnibus mastering - I'll have to listen to that again. Fortunately, my original US and/or UK LPs for Sky and Burning are all in great shape, so I have no need to find new copies of those.
     
    BlueSpeedway likes this.
  9. oldturkey

    oldturkey Forum Resident

    Location:
    Gone away.
    I didn't see them on the Mask Tour, but I saw them on The Sky's Gone Out Tour which was unbelievably great. The next time I saw them was the Burning From The Inside Tour - they played a short set, stormed off stage without doing an encore and split up quite soon after.
    I don't think I've got the Delft boot - I might have, but I'll have a look for it.
    They were an amazing band but they were ripped to pieces by the UK music press and turned into figures of fun. I didn't give a s**t - I know what I like.
     
    BlueSpeedway and patient_ot like this.
  10. oldturkey

    oldturkey Forum Resident

    Location:
    Gone away.
    I think the original vinyl of Eject kills the cd remaster of same.
     
  11. patient_ot

    patient_ot Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    I bought them. They're not horrible, but not really improvements over the old 4AD/Beggars CD versions IMHO. AFAIK they were sourced from hi-rez per a previous discussion here. My U.S. Beggars/4AD version were pressed at United. If you know what means, you know what you are in for. The quality isn't as bad as some more recent URP records, but could be better. I think my copy of Mask was slightly off center and there was some slight surface noise on Flat Field.

    IMHO, you are better off looking for old pressings, buying hi-rez downloads, or just getting old CD versions.

    By contrast, I have an old 80s Canadian pressing of Sky's Gone Out + Bonus Ziggy 12'' with the white jacket. Now that is a great sounding record.
     
    Pavol Stromcek likes this.
  12. BlueSpeedway

    BlueSpeedway Curated Iconic Half-Speed Picture Disc

    Location:
    England
    I never saw them at all :( ..until the 1998 Resurrection. My first Bauhaus related gigs were Murphy at the Piccadilly London in 1986, and Love and Rockets at the London Town and Country in 1987.

    The UK music press were a disgrace. Thankfully most of those fools who used to tear certain post-punk bands to pieces and literally.. viciously try to destroy their careers, are now washed up and / or figures of ridicule and desperation. Whereas the four men of Bauhaus have made a living out of making music for 39 years.

    So as Nina Simone, refused entry as a girl to the same music academy who awarded her an honorary degree two weeks before her death, once said.... 'Nuff Said.
     
    Last edited: Apr 23, 2017
  13. Pavol Stromcek

    Pavol Stromcek Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    Thanks! I very rarely see old pressings in excellent condition in the shops in my area, and I'm a little too fussy about condition to gamble on buying from online sellers, which is why I'm curious about these reissues. As long as they're not worse than previous versions sonically, I'm okay with that. But yeah, United pressings can be dicey in terms of quality.
     
  14. patient_ot

    patient_ot Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    If I could do it over I would've spent the money on the Omnibus CDs of these albums. The European LP pressings of the album reissues might be better, don't know.

    Old pressings of Bauhaus are not something I run into often at prices I want to pay in the condition I want either. You could try buying online if you want to play the overgrading lottery.
     
  15. Pavol Stromcek

    Pavol Stromcek Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    Yes, those Omnibus CDs are fantastic, from the mastering to the packaging. It's really too bad they put the kibosh on that before getting around to Sky and Burning.
     
    patient_ot likes this.
  16. BlueSpeedway

    BlueSpeedway Curated Iconic Half-Speed Picture Disc

    Location:
    England
    And yet the first Love and Rockets album recently got a Blu Ray audio release which was more expensive to buy than either Bauhaus Omnibus was.

    Although personally I prefer LAR and Tones on Tail, I would have thought Bauhaus had more commercial potential in this day and age, but there we go.
     
  17. Pavol Stromcek

    Pavol Stromcek Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    Well, I picked up a copy of the Mask LP reissue, and while I wouldn't describe it as flawless, I'd say it's a perfectly decent pressing - mostly quiet, flat, and centered. They even did a good job replicating the artwork (a big problem with a lot of recent vinyl reissues of older records). And I like that it's the same mastering as the Omnibus CD. So, overall, not bad. And it's just nice to hear this on LP without the crackliness of my old pressing that I've had since the 80s. Suppose I'll have to try In the Flat Field now.
     
    SteveCooks and oldturkey like this.
  18. Pavol Stromcek

    Pavol Stromcek Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    Okay, so this week I picked up a copy of the In The Flat Field LP reissue, and much like Mask, it's not flawless (there is some intermittent surface noise, but nothing egregious or overly distracting), but it's a totally decent, acceptable pressing that's flat and centered. It sounds good too, though I haven't compared it to earlier versions. So, at least based on my experience, I'd say these pressings of In the Flat Field and Mask are okay for anyone having difficulty tracking down good, clean original/early copies.
     
    SteveCooks likes this.
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine