Hendrix on vinyl - which ones?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by snork, Jul 14, 2007.

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  1. Gang Twanger

    Gang Twanger New Member

    Location:
    Canton, CT, USA
    I have an original Reprise Electric Ladyland LP that I got for $18.00. "Rainy Day, Dream Away" is a religious experience. Warm, smooth, and extremely dynamic ("FFFFFFFTTTHHHHH!! Yeah, I see what you mean, brotha'!"). It was like I was hearing it for the first time. I have the '97 EH CD version and the early 2 CD West German Polydor, and I actually am not sure which one I like. Sometimes I feel like the W.G. is kind of muddy. I'm going to have to spend more time on this. The Reprise LP has soured me on ANY CD versions because it sounds so much better. You haven't heard "Electric Ladyland" until you've heard a good vinyl pressing.

    Regarding "Axis", I bought the Univ./Japan 200 gram LP and thought it was okay until I compared it to my '93 MCA CD, which, IMO, sounds much more like my original stereo LP (punchy, dynamic, and warm - in all the places it should be). The Classic mono is great, and so quiet. You set the needle down and you hear this big THWUMP!!! I love good-quality vinyl like that.
     
  2. Chris M

    Chris M Senior Member

    prof. stoned recently discovered that the French Barclay mono AYE is a HUGE upgrade over all Track pressings. Somehow Barclay used a much better tape. Basically the Barclay has the mono mix with the same fidelity as the best copies of the stereo mix. I just assumed the mono mix sounded crappy but the Barclay copy proves otherwise. Arguably a bigger difference than something like PPM vs. Die Beatles. I don't understand why the thread didn't get more traction

    prof. stoned's thread is below.

    http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=170765
     
  3. Gang Twanger

    Gang Twanger New Member

    Location:
    Canton, CT, USA
    Wow. Maybe there's hope for me finding a good vinyl pressing of this album.

    I wish Classic would do this and a stereo "Electric Ladyland" with original mixes.
     
  4. James Glennon

    James Glennon Senior Member

    Location:
    Dublin, Ireland
    I love the sound of 'Hendrix in the West' mastered by Robert Ludwig (Sterling RL in the deadwax), I have UK, German and US copies and the US copy is the best by a country mile!

    JG
     
    metalrules likes this.
  5. For The Love

    For The Love Active Member

    Location:
    Richmond, VA
    I also have to give props to the Mono CLASSIC - Axis Bold As Love - a great album.

    Wasn't the mono Are You Experienced on their slate for a while?
     
  6. KAD

    KAD Forum Resident

    Location:
    Moscow, Russia
    I used to have French Barclay 1972 original pressing. Very good sounding LP! Incredible live album! Love it!:goodie:
     
  7. Chris Schoen

    Chris Schoen Rock 'n Roll !!!

    Location:
    Maryland, U.S.A.
    I recently found an original Track label "Cry Of Love". Worth looking for if you like this album.
     
  8. prof. stoned

    prof. stoned Forum Member

    Location:
    ...
  9. prof. stoned

    prof. stoned Forum Member

    Location:
    ...
    FWIW. I recently did a comparison between the US and UK ELL LP originals.
    The US kills the UK track. Both are no sonic masterpieces, but the US is far preferable for its cleaner and more dynamic sound.

    Yeah, that surprised me too.
    Hendrix, mono and SQ seem to be pretty popular on this forum.
     
  10. Cassius

    Cassius On The Beach

    Location:
    Lafayette, Co
    ...and to answer my own question the only Electric Ladyland vinyl copy worth spending money ( and a lot of money it will be ) is on is the original UK track with all -1s and the numbers upside down at the 9 oclock position on the label. Accept no substitutes.
    C
     
  11. Chanty Stovall

    Chanty Stovall Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lincoln, NE
    I have the Part 1 and Part 2 UK Track Electric Ladyland Lps. I do not have them in front of me right now and can not describe the matrices, but I once compared them to my US Electric Ladyland White Label Promo lps and preferred the UK Track pressings.
     
  12. prof. stoned

    prof. stoned Forum Member

    Location:
    ...
    Funny how ears can differ.
     
  13. Cassius

    Cassius On The Beach

    Location:
    Lafayette, Co
    The UK Part 1 and Part 2 Ladylands aren't bad, I believe they are -2, but they weren't close to the -1 Black Track Original, nor was the early W7 1-a US Reprise copy I used to own. Neither of these alternatives are that bad, but they aren't the best. It's a classis case of you get what you pay for.

    Now that the conversion rate (pound to dollar) is a little easier and the economy is poor, it MAY be the best time to buy that pricey Track original. If You don't need the blue lettered jacket etc, you can save a little bit.

    C
     
  14. ellingtonic

    ellingtonic Forum Resident

    Overall I've been very happy with the Experience Hendrix and Classic reissues...it beats trying to track down expensive originals.
     
    razorball likes this.
  15. Key

    Key New Member

    Location:
    , USA
    I vaguely remember reading that thread and telling myself to come back to it. Just a busy time of the year I guess. Anyway thanks for reminding me :) !
     
  16. For The Love

    For The Love Active Member

    Location:
    Richmond, VA
    The Classic Blues 2 LP set sounds amazing, much more detailed than the CD release.
     
  17. howlinrock

    howlinrock Forum Resident In Memoriam

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    For ELL over the years I always preferred the Reprise version to my UK Track ( 613008/9) . The 1st Track was real noisy. My original Reprise still sounds very sweet after years of play. Side 4 has seen 4 decades and still sounds good.

    The second Track version ( 613 017 & 613 010) released to replace the nude cover with the separate fantasy drawing cover & Jimi picture cover was a better pressing IMO. Much less noise then my original.
     

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  18. owsley

    owsley Senior Member

    Location:
    Boston
    Ditto for the 45 Burning Of The Midnight Lamp b/w Stars That Play With Laughing Sam's Dice which predated ELL by almost a year and to my knowledge still unavailable on CD. The mono mix of Lamp is totally different to the lp. The US single I believe is just a fold-down mix. STPLSD is also very different in original mono. The French version of this single features a slightly longer fade to Stars and sounds much better than the UK track pressing while the Lamp sounds much better on the UK single vs the French 45. You need both for ultimate sound quality.

    As for the mono AYE: the UK track mono lp is the by far the best sounding but on the title track , it doesn't have that 'coda' note at the end but the French Barclay lp version does feature the coda note (however it's nowhere near as long in duration as the stereo mix). So that makes three different mix varations of this track. Got all that?
     
  19. FranzD

    FranzD Forum Resident

    Location:
    Austria
    That's the one I have, bought it in 1973. I cannot comment on sound, because i have not listened to it for a very long time. Also it is the only version I know (never heard a Track or Reprise). I remember that listening was a mixed experience (talking about sound here!). There are some bad (kind of phasey) sounding tracks, but I always thought that they werde recorded that way.

    So sorry, probably not much help here. Have you listened already? Do you like it?
     
  20. back2vinyl

    back2vinyl Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
    I don't think this is quite right. The "separate fantasy drawing cover & Jimi picture cover" weren't issued to replace the nude cover. The nude cover remained in use in the UK right up to the end of the vinyl era. Those alternative covers you speak of were made for the single LP issues of Electric Ladyland in the UK which were sold alongside the double LP issue. The single LP issues were produced for the sake of we poor Brits who couldn't afford a double LP all in one go and therefore had to buy it in instalments, one LP at a time. The same happened with Cream's Wheels of Fire.

    Stupidly I sold my Track Electric Ladyland years ago but more recently I bought the first UK reissue on the Polydor label and I found it superb, easily living to my memory of the UK original and very enjoyable to listen to. I haven't heard any Reprise version but I do also own the Experience Hendrix version and I have to say I find it very disappointing - the bass in particular is overblown and intrusive and the whole thing just doesn't sound right. This isn't an anti-digital thing - there are other Experience Hendrix LPs I like.
     
  21. VinylNutz

    VinylNutz Active Member

    I love that one too. Classic's Martin Scorsese Presents Jimi Hendrix is excellent as well.
     
  22. prof. stoned

    prof. stoned Forum Member

    Location:
    ...
    You are dead-on with the lamp/stars claim.
    But there is no coda on the french AYE.
    Also, please listen to this sample and tell me if you still think the UK track sounds better than the Barclay.
     
  23. prof. stoned

    prof. stoned Forum Member

    Location:
    ...
    I had both the single versions with -2 matrices and the double Lp with -1's.
    I though the pressing quality (and also sound quality) of both is pretty poor.
    The amount of noise strongly depends on how much (ab)use the Lp's had.
     
  24. VinylNutz

    VinylNutz Active Member

    I am surprised no one has mentioned the recent Back in Black Universal reissue of Axis. From what I understand it was mastered from the original master tapes. The deadwax credits RJ/GM (Ray Janos and George Marino?) at Sterling. I find this stereo pressing perfectly compliments Classic's mono reissue. Both sound fabulous and I would say essential. I haven't heard an Axis stereo Track original but I can't see it sounding much better than the new Universal reissue.
     
  25. rinso white

    rinso white Pale Fire

    Location:
    Kingston, NY
    Gonna clean it today and hopefully get to it this weekend. I have a beat-up Reprise that I'll try to compare it with.
     
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