Roy Orbison "Crying" Analogue Productions 2 X 45 rpm Vinyl Mastered By Bernie Grundman

I understand that playing white noise while listening masks out the surface noise.

 

Wow, great release! Glad it went on sale, as $55 is too rich for me these days, but probably worth it.

 

That's what makes a reduced price even better...right down to the best inner sleeves on the market. A Class act all the way, that Chad.

 

For those of us who weren't into vinyl back in 2003 (for instance because they were only 10 years old, like me), this AP is a real treasure! The Classics are getting more and more expensive, and I've never even seen an original copy of Crying, so I love this release.

 

There’s a lot Orbites and a limited cache of Roy Lps. Chad is helping crank out A1 titles for the record diehards. Good product, much hardwork, — totally, worth it. ($34 for a double LP in a tip on package is a sweet price. Promo codes, promo codes are the way to get these ruby records and they’re worth it.)

 

good stuff. great to hear of a 25 year old buying classic vinyl. Chad could have reissued the 33 rpm for $20.

 

Fair point, I would have been very happy with that too, especially because the Monument albums are only half an hour long...

 

Thank you everyone for highlighting this release! I just picked up the Buddy Holly 200G AP releases and now I need to get this one. I am going totally retro and old skool these days!

 

On my list for sure. Thanks.

 

I just got and cleaned the AP 45, mastered and cut by Bernie Grundman. I also have an original Monument mono as well as the MFSL All-Time Greatest Hits.

I'm not going to directly comment on the original mono. I'm going to keep my comments to the stereo AP and MFSL, both mastered from the original master tapes of the original albums (MFSL touted that it got permission to go the original master tape for each individual song on their set, the first time that All-Time has been done that way.).

Overall, in short, the AP beats the MFSL. Both are pressed on heavy, 200 gm vinyl. Both exhibit quiet surfaces.

The mastering engineers had different priorities, from what I can hear. Krieg Wunderlich, for MFSL, was going for maximum detail and to keep Orbison's voice front and center. Grundman was going for richness, warmth, ease. While the AP certainly has plenty of detail, compared to the MFSL, there's much more lower midrange bloom, giving more weight to the guitars and bass. That fills out the space, those instruments coming forward of the speakers a bit. But it also helps to push Orbison's voice somewhat to the back of the soundstage.

The MFSL sounds leaner, and reveals more midrange and upper end detail. But it sounds relatively harder, not nearly as lush as the AP. Grundman has both tube and solid-state mastering equipment at his place, depending on the wishes of the record producer. It's pretty clear that he was given the instruction to go more in the lush direction. The AP sounds tubey. It sort of has that 'Standing at the jukebox' tonal balance. It has a slightly old-fashioned feel, while still revealing a lot of inner harmonic texture. It's lovely sounding.

The MFSL is certainly still fine, but it has a more modern feel. It sounds more solid-state. The strings have a hardness to them that isn't nearly as present on the AP (just a hair, at times on the AP). The MFSL doesn't have that lower midrange bloom. Orbison sounds more forward in the soundstage. The MFSL can sound a bit more sterile in comparison to the AP. My understanding is that Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray went more in the AP direction with their S&P version of All-Time Greatest Hits. But they were working tapes one generation from the original album masters, unlike the AP or the MFSL.

And then there is the matter of the AP being cut at 45rpm. My experience with 45s is that they almost always exhibit an ease and much greater spaciousness in the soundstage compared to the same album at 33. For me, it's worth the inconvenience. That ease and spaciouness adds the beautiful sound of the recording.

I'll add, though, almost all of Orbison's albums have their share of filler. Isn't it interesting that his 1989 comeback album, Mystery Girl, is often cited as his most solid one.

As Crying at 45rpm consists of 4 sides, there are songs on every side worth hearing aside from side 3. "Dance", "Lana", and "Loneliness" are songs if I never heard again, I'd be perfectly fine with. Well, with this, you can skip them if you feel the same way, and go directly from side 2 to side 4. But can you do better than the album starting and ending songs, "Crying" and "Running Scared"?

I'll add this about the mono. I get chills hearing the last part of the song while listening to the mono. I don't quite get affected in the same way with either stereo version. I don't know why. Perhaps it's a matter of the orchestra all getting behind Roy as the song climaxes opposed to being to the right and left of him.

 

bump

 

I posted this, and then it got merged with another thread. Comments?

 

Great observations! I haven't directly compared these songs that the AP and MFSL share. For me these releases, alongside the S&P and ORG's Lonely and Blue and In Dreams all offer slightly different flavours of some very well recorded songs. Some pressings are warmer, others are more detailed, but they all bring something fresh and new to the table imho. I'm so glad we have all these different audiophile treatments to compare, as the music itself fortunately never ceases to amaze me.

 

Today I listened to this wonderful album with my trusted headphones for the very first time (Sennheiser HD 600), and I have to say, it's shockingly good! Compared it with my Classic Records mono and stereo versions of Crying, and neither stood a chance against this magnificant AP release. Perhaps I'll give my ORG Lonely and Blue and In Dreams a first listen with headphones tomorrow to find out how they compare with the Classic Records versions I have... Anyone else still absolutely loving their AP Crying?

 

At least I'm not alone.

 

I lucked out with my ORG 45rpm Lonely and Blue. No pressing defects.

 

I'm happy for you, mine has non-fill on I'm Hurtin'... How about sibilance though? It's pretty strong on this album, isn't it?

 

I didn't get any sibilance on mine. Sounds great.

 

Well in that case my set-up just doesn't like this album very much, I get it on all versions (6 different ones in mono and stereo) of Lonely and Blue... AP's Crying has less sibilance, and ORG's In Dreams has practically none on my system...

 

Unfortunately, I think it's that your Audio Technica AT-LP120-USB and AT-95 cartridge are probably maxing out. It's a fine setup for those introducing themselves to vinyl, but the setup isn't meant for better audiophile treatment that will test your system's playback. You're not getting out of the grooves nearly what you could be getting. If you have a chance to take your albums to a hifi emporium that has a very good analog setup, you might get a different opinion of these pressings.

 

I do take that into account and I understand that I can't expect (near-)perfection from my set-up. I just think it's strange that some albums and pressings sound pretty much perfect on this turntable (Roy Orbison S&P and MFSL, In Dreams ORG), while others present me with sibilance and IGD problems (Lonely and Blue ORG and Classic Records, mono and stereo). Isn't that odd?

 

Reviving this thread...

I finally upgraded to a better cartridge (VM540ML) on my turntable (AT-LP120), and the results are dramatic. Listening to my Roy Orbison LPs right now and the ones from Classic Records sound much better. All the issues I had before with the standard cartridge (AT95E) are almost completely gone, and my Analogue Productions copy of Crying sounds absolutely wonderful. In Dreams from ORG is a nice listening experience too, just not quite as nice as AP's Crying, but I do still have serious issues with ORG's Lonely and Blue. The sibilance is just unbearable on that album, and it sounds pretty aggressive to my ears as well, so I'm beginning to think that it's just not a particularly nice sounding recording to begin with...

Does anyone have any other observations?