Ben Folds Five - The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner vinyl reissue out in November

https://www.amazon.com/Unauthorized...swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1475008737&sr=8-1

Also up at the usual retailers.

The reissue is being done by Analog Spark, who seem to have a good reputation. Glad this is finally getting a reissue!

 

I remember the CD sounding pretty good back in the day.

This is the only Ben Folds CD that doesn't make me want to yell at squirrels.

 

It's official - every valuable LP I purchased when I was a pup in the late 90s has been re-released.

It says Kevin Gray is mastering from the original tapes - any thoughts on his work?

 

What's the latest on this? I thought I saw a Nov 11 date on it but details are a bit sketchy.

[Edit: I should have clicked the Amazon link: This title will be released on January 20, 2017]

 

By the way, Songs for Silverman is getting reissued also.

Both of these are starting to show up at some places.

 

Reinhold Messner has gotten a red vinyl release, Silverman a clear vinyl. Limited to 500 copies each, available at indie stores. Have mine waiting for me to pick up tonight! So excited to listen to these, and very excited that it's Kevin Gray mastering them.

 

I have the original 1999 pressing - just ordered a copy. Looking forward to comparing quality, love their Reinhold Messner album.

 

I WANT THIS! I find it unlikely that I will manage to get one in the UK...

 

You know, I'd forgotten about this re-issue and convinced myself I didn't need to upgrade from the original '99 vinyl.

WOW.

Listening to it for the second time now - what a lovely pressing. I'm especially in love with the mastering on my favorite track from the album, "Jane" - just sounds like Ben, Darren and Robert are in the room with me.

Cannot recommend this pressing enough.

 

I got this today. It sounds amazing, but I wish they hadn't put the side break between Hospital Song and Army. I always loved the segue between those two songs.

 

The original 1999 vinyl pressing also splits at Hospital Song/Army.

 

I'll paste what I wrote over at TheSuburbs.org.uk, upon first listen to the red vinyl reissue of Reinhold Messner:

First, let's talk about the packaging. Very nice glossy sleeve, including a gatefold which replaces the printed inner sleeve which is now a snazzy matte plastic anti-static sleeve. The sleeve feels very sturdy. The art has great clarity and the words are printed pretty clearly, which is rather refreshing after the somewhat disappointing packaging of the Whatever and Suburbs reissues.

Next, the colored vinyl is just gorgeous. Bright red color, very clean, and appears to be little to no pressing defects. I think there was one tiny dimpled area which is inaudible on playback. The vinyl is dead quiet with virtually no surface noise. The sound is consistent from the first drop of the needle to the very inner groove with no distortion to be heard anywhere.

Most importantly, let's discuss the sound. I can say with complete confidence that this is the best sounding version of Reinhold Messner ever released. The dynamics are fantastic. Robert's bass and Darren's drums have never sounded better. The background vocals are rich and lush. The recording really seems to open up; the soundstage feels bigger and better.

The separation of instruments is out of this world -- the sound is NEVER cluttered, even in the loudest parts of Narcolepsy, the synth craziness of Your Redneck Past, the end of Regrets, or the climax of Lullabye. The increased clarity of the recording brings out details like the chimes at the end of Don't Change Your Plans and the little creaks of the studio in Magic. Like the original vinyl pressing, Hospital Song concludes side one and the final chord rings out into silence. On the CD, that decay would be interrupted and Army would begin. The horns have such great presence in Army.

I'm hearing things I've never heard before, such as very faint studio chatter in the right channel as the band begins to play on Your Most Valuable Possession. Jane is rich and warm (WARMTH on a Ben Folds Five record, imagine that) and I've never heard the electric piano quite as well as on this LP. There's also a gorgeous synth during the chorus that I never noticed before.

This is the definitive version of the album without a doubt. While there are no differences in the mixes used (unlike the Silverman reissue), the sound quality alone makes it worth the price of admission.

My clear vinyl Silverman comes tomorrow, and I have to imagine that'll be killer too. I want KG on Folds' entire catalog, now!

 

I sold my original about 2 years ago for $140. I rarely sell a record but I noticed this one had gotten quite valuable and I just didn't care for it. Glad to see those that want a copy will be able to get one for a reasonable price.

 

Missed the boat on this release. I have an original but the sound is unremarkable. Looking forward to an upgrade. I only wish Id sold my original off for fat money when I had the chance.

 

I posted this in another Analog Spark thread, didn't realize there was a dedicated Ben Folds one going on...

I picked up both Ben Folds' (Five) releases last week and they are wonderful. I am a casual Ben fan and knew a few of the tracks but Reinhold Messner was a great listen all the way though, musically and sonically. Pressing was great as well. Truthfully I am a bit shocked that an album like that was a major label release in 1999 - extremely diverse! Highly recommended, I also recommend the Raspberries and Blind Melon LPs Analog Spark did too.

 

Just listened to the clear vinyl Songs for Silverman. Let's talk about it.

Starting with the packaging again. This album does NOT come in gatefold packaging. The lyrics and pictures come as a full-size insert in the sleeve. The record comes in a nice matte plastic anti-static sleeve. There is definitely a certain sturdiness that Analog Spark's sleeves have, and the art is very crisp.

The vinyl is, once again, dead quiet... to the point where I actually began to doubt whether my speakers were turned on before the music started. And the clear vinyl is very, very cool looking. There is a little inner groove distortion present -- it's barely noticeable on a fairly hot and potentially sibilant vocal on "Gracie," which ends Side 1 in a tight inner groove, and it's also somewhat present in some of the more stridently-sung parts of "Time." It's somewhat forgivable since this record has a very tight inner groove, but I'm left wondering why they didn't reissue it as a double LP like the original pressing. I'm a bit concerned that I can hear it on my linear tracking TT with a microline stylus. I'd assume the IGD is much more noticeable with a traditional tonearm and a less fancy stylus.

Dynamics on the album are much better than any digital version I've heard, but there is still a decent amount of compression inherent in the mix itself. I feel as though the sound holds back a little too much during its loudest moments, for example the loudest parts of "Landed" and "Trusted." I will say that the band just sounds huge in those loudest parts in spite of the dynamics being a bit "tucked in."

Again there is a distinct lack of clutter in the sound. There is fantastic separation between the instruments, and the spaciousness of the recording is evident. The sound is truly warm and inviting, which is perfect for a laid-back album like this. Extremely smooth presentation.

Indeed there appear to be VERY subtle differences in the songs themselves such as the lyric change in "Jesusland" ('from town to town' rather than 'town to town'), but as I'm not quite as familiar with this album as I was with Messner, so it's harder for me to say where those differences are for sure.

I think the Messner reissue was a 10/10, while this is more like a 9/10 due to the slightly more conservative packaging, slight inner groove distortion, and taking into consideration that it would've been better off as a double LP set. That being said, this is the best-sounding Songs for Silverman ever released. Kevin Gray's mastering is impeccable.

 

Got my LP today and it's a fantastic. I've never heard of this Analog Spark company before but this is every bit as good as an Analogue Productions pressing in quality, both sonically and physically.

As I said, I've had the old original pressing for years but never played it because it just sounded like the CD pressed into vinyl. This new pressing makes this music sound fresh and alive. I'm very impressed. It was well worth the $22.

I'm not a Ben Folds fan by any stretch but I've always really liked this album (though it kinda peters out at the end). I seem to recall reading a review of it in Rolling Stone prior to it's release (at the very moment of the news broke about the Columbine shootings, no less). They must have made it sound pretty intriguing because I bought a copy without hearing a note beforehand.

I had previously seen Ben Folds in concert twice, strangely enough, both on the Horde Festival ticket and opening for Beck. I liked a few of the songs I heard ("Stephen's Last Night In Town" stands out), and was impressed by the power they generated with just a piano and a bass, but never felt compelled to buy any of their other stuff (though I love the Shatner album).

 

Thanks for your impressions, I will be picking up a copy of both albums.

 

Just got the black vinyl pressing of Reinhold Messner! Sounds fantastic!! Really pleased with this copy and it beats my old CD copy (which I sadly lost years ago - never loan good albums to friends ). If any UK based fans are looking for this, check Ebay - there's some sellers on there selling this for £20 with free shipping! It's about £38 on amazon.co.uk just now.

 

just got my copy due to this thread and I am very impressed by the sonics of the reissue.

 

Got mine. Definitely a step up. Was hoping for a little more DR on louder parts of certain songs (the last verse of Army for example) but it’s obviously in the mixes themselves. Still, the best way to hear this underrated album by far.