The link takes me to the item on the Amazon UK pages at a very reasonable £13.04 plus £1.26 from nagiry. Amazon UK have the item under review at the moment. A number of the comments for the vinyl are regarding sound and quality of the vinyl. However there are so few it's not apparent if this is pressing problems or the mastering. A bit of VPN magic gets me to Amazon US with similar comments. Once again there are so few comments about the vinyl release that it is very hard to draw a conclusion. I'll stick with the nagiry copy before jumping across the pond.
It's the way this forum handles URLs that causes the redirection. If you copy and paste you'll go to Amazon US. I've listened to my copy through and it's definitely the most pleasing version of Californication I've heard. There are a few reviews on the vinyl that say similar findings: http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/RYMKOLROAUF16/ref=cm_cr_pr_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00000JQ0E
Thanks for this. I figure that it's worth taking a chance on a copy at such a low price in Europe before splurging on a copy from the US. Fingers crossed!
Crossing of fingers a waste. Haven't played it yet but it's clearly the original issue from the web addresses on the reverse of the sleeve, the thin card and vinyl plus no telltale CB in the deadwax. Now I'll jump over to Amazon US.
Got this today. Bellman makes this immediately an easier listen. I compared it with the copy I received from Nagiry in Europe. The earlier edition is harsher with less room in the music. ( I should nominate myself for pretentious wine taster of the year with that last one!)
Just wanted to share my experience obtaining the Californication limited edition blue sticker. I'm in the UK, and originally ordered the blue sticker edition from a Discogs seller in the Netherlands, i went on the specific page for this version, and had to end up retuning it, as it was the standard release. A lot of the listings on that page aren't the proper version. One week ago I spoke with Amazon.ca on live chat, and asked to order with them, If they would send me the 2012 version with the blue sticker. If they didn't have it, then don't bother sending. They said they'd leave a note on my account for when I bought it. I then tracked the listing on camelcamelcamel, as at $47 the price was too high to buy right then (lowest price it had ever been on there was $24). The next day it dropped down to $24. So I bought it, making it £20 here in the UK including shipping. And so it arrived today, opened it up. And there it is, the Blue Sticker edition! Now to finally listen to it!
Sorry to rain on your parade guys, but after having compensated for the huge difference in volume between the Bellman-cut vinyl and the original CD, I am convinced that the vinyl was made from that very same CD master, brickwalling and all. The vinyl is just way lower in volume and has less treble that the CD (something that was necessary given the master) and this may account for hearing what even I initially thought would be a better master. But from all my experience doing needledrops I can tell you it's not. Same old master. All I can say I've learned to stop worrying and love this album for what it is. I can listen to the CD now (sounds more focused than the LP) and just enjoy the music. It's what the band intended, unfortunately
Well, just listened...and it's not exactly what I was expecting. For the most part it sounds decent. No one's expecting reference quality. One of Californication's charms is the 'feeling' of the album, no other album I can recall feels like this one. Kind of grubby feeling. Anyway, There's still harsh sounding vocals on Otherside towards the end, when Johns backing vocals come in. Also wish they hadn't used the extended vocals on Easily and Saviour, they kind of get in the way of the guitar work (and i'm not used to hearing it). Is this the best sounding version we'll ever hear? Perhaps. Could it be improved by a full on re-mix, whilst still retaining the feel of the album? Most likely.
I've just compared CD, the Unmastered version, the blue sticker 2012 vinyl and deluxe version on Spotify.... I think I prefer the original CD version. Is it just familiarity? What am I missing?
Recorded in analogue and mixed in ProTools. Since this was 1999, this recording probably went to 44kHz either at mixing stage or the mastering stage. Just assuming here, of course, but I do wonder where this 192 kHz file came from. Any old way, this file most probably just as un-dynamic as the CD. The extra points in apparent dynamic range are introduced during the analogue mastering and as part of vinyl playback. EDIT: I was wrong. According to this article, the album was also mixed down to 96kHz in addition to outputting to tape. Interesting.
The 192kHz file was a transfer from the original master, which according to that article was "analogue 2-track at 30ips with no Dolby" That article doesn't say the album was mixed in ProTools. The WB Promo CD "Unmastered - Unsequenced" (see below pic) that was issued for promotion shows Scar Tissue with DR7, peak of -1dB and Avg RMS of -9dB. By the time Vlado Meller got done with it we had DR4, clipping and Avg RMS of -5.5dB. Unmastered doesn't mean unmixed, so could this represent more closely the dynamics that were in the files sent to CB? We certainly have readers here opining that the vinyl is notably easier on the ears than the CD. There is also the "alternate mix" which for Scar Tissue shows DR11, has clipping like the official CD and an Avg RMS of -10.5dB. Could the original master for the album have had similar dynamics? While the DR meter is not a particularly useful tool for vinyl rips, a difference of 3-4dB usually signifies the mastering may be the same. The rip of the '99 vinyl is in this range, the rip of the CB vinyl scores 7dB higher. It's extremely unlikely a difference this great will occur with the same mastering. Here's a look at the waveforms for the three versions of Scar Tissue we have, all from lossless sources: 1) Official WB CD [DR4] 2) "Unmastered - Unsequenced" [DR7] and 3) "Alternate Mix" [DR11]
I found some waveforms of a rip of the 2012 vinyl release of Californication, for those interested in such things.
Is it correct that the "limited edition" blue sticker vinyl still shows the 1999 copyright date on the back cover?
So, I didn't look through the entire thread, but how has no one on here mentioned that there are differences in the mix on this 2012 pressing as well? There are a few changes to the mix of a few of the songs that may put some people off, but after several spins I think I prefer these versions... what I wonder is if the band had any input into this, or if these were just mistakenly added during the remixing, or mistakenly removed during the original mixing and restored here? I remember hearing a lot of these "added vocals" on the 'unmastered' version of Californication that leaked several years back, which also sounded better (less compressed) than the store-bought CD, had a completely different running order, and bonus tracks "Fat Dance" and "How Strong" included. Anyway, here are the changes I've noticed from the 'original' CD and this newly remastered vinyl: Californication - synth line added after intro like the version on "Greatest Hits." Easily - extra "eeeeasily/aaaaahh" vocals towards the end that are present on 'unmastered' version. Savior - extra "all in a hand" vocals that are present on 'unmastered' version. Right On Time - Count in at beginning removed. Anyone notice any other changes?
The "One Shot" count in is actually still there in Right on Time. I literally have to boost my vinyl rip by about 20 dB to hear it, but it's there. I always assumed the massive compression brought the count to the audible threshold on the CD.
Thank you, Michelle 66, for this guidance. My order for the 2012 re-issue from a Discogs seller arrived today and... it turned out to be the 1999 version . Nevermind - I'm sure it was an honest mistake on their part, especially given that there are only tiny differences in the outer packaging. I'll see what I can do about a refund/exchange.
Is this version any good? It says here that it's on 2 discs: Californication [VINYL]: Amazon.co.uk: Music »
Nope. I bought this at the tail end of last year on the off chance it was the good version. It's not. The price was the deciding factor. Taking a punt and losing not very much was a chance worth taking. You'll have to get the version from Amazon US. Good luck.
Absolutely crushes the CD! Wow! No need to check the deadwax numbers...this sounds fantastic! Love it!
So, I am despairing of ever finding the 2012 version, but the 2015 version is abundantly available.... is it any good?
