Stereolab - Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night

Bleep is Warp Records online store thing. All above board, I’m sure I’ve ordered from them before without hassle.

 

You can buy them direct on the Stereolab Bandcamp Page too. That’s where I got mine.

Aluminum Tunes [Switched On Volume 3], by Stereolab

 

Agree completely, but I'd switch out "Puncture" with "Caleidoscopic Gaze."

 

Re: the Switched-On reissues, my guess is that these are fairly straightforward as they were only issued on indie labels.

Reissuing the Electra-licensed stuff might be trickier.

 

Very happy to see this thread. I first heard "Ping Pong" when it came out in 1994, but didn't get heavily into the groop until early-2000 when I bought Cobra -- which sent me on a wonderful journey of discovering the rest of their music and collecting the majority of their output. This LP is one of my favorites and I never understood why it's not as popular (granted, it's very dense and requires several listens to appreciate!). Dots and Loops and Margerine Eclipse round out my Top Three.

 

I used to be in the ‘Dots & Loops is the pinnacle, after Mary’s passing they were never the same’ camp.

But I put everything from Cobra to Not music into a playlist and have been revisiting them all. There is a huge amount of quite wonderful music included within those half-dozen records.

 

Absolutely my impression after I immersed myself in "Cobra" this year.

 

Dot and loops is where stereolab goes from good to great.

Lately Margerine Eclipse is blowing my mind because of the way is it recorded

 

I got a sealed copy of the Duophonic double LP for £1 (maybe £2) in a clearance sale about ten years ago but never opened it as I already had the CD and wasn’t really listening to vinyl at the time - even though I’ve very much been listening to vinyl over the last couple of years it remains sealed. I’m getting tempted to open it.

 

I did something like this, too. For me, it flows better if I take out "People Do It All The Time," or move it to the slot after "Infinity Girl," then remove the "Velvet Water > Blue Milk > Caleidoscopic Gaze" section to its own EP/playlist, as you did. Works wonders.

 

I always felt their peak was 1995 to 2000 -- roughly Amorphous Body Study Center through First of The Microbe Hunters. After that, Sound Dust and Fab Four Suture have not held up for me (they are my least favorites), while Margerine Eclipse and Chemical Chords have aged very well -- I like them very much.

Evidently, the post-Mary era is hit-and-miss...

 

I'm not sure how they did it, but as I recall, each channel was designed to compliment the other, but also would sound like its own complete track if you wanted to isolate one side. Tricky.

 

Interestingly, they used the same font and artwork style less than a year later for First of The Microbe Hunters, but in blue and red...

 

Also, don't forget Instant 0 In The Universe, the fantastic EP/mini-album that was released in 2003 a few months before Margerine Eclipse. It contains "...Sudden Stars" along with five other tracks unavailable elsewhere...

 

I'd love to hear "Margarine Eclipse" but I'm not going to pay inflated prices - 99$ at Discogs, sure thing! - so I'll have to wait which Lab album comes my way next.

 

Are you categorically opposed to CD's?

 

Absolutely not, why?

 

You said that you'd love to hear Margerine Eclipse, but won't pay inflated prices--then quoted the price of the LP at Discogs. But you can get the US CD for $3, or the UK CD for $5.81, unless you just don't want to buy CD's.

 

Well... with a band like Stereolab I think of vinyl as appropriate medium. Besides I don't have much faith in cds from the 00s. Are they mastered well?

 

The majority of my Stereolab collection is on CD, and I've always been happy with the sound...

 

From a vinyl guy, I have the duophonic pressings on vinyl and I've picked up the CDs on the cheap to listen to at work and in the car. They're very nice. Even the US ones. The only releases to void from Stereolab are ALL the 1972 label reissues and the too pure repress of Peng from a few years ago.

 

I've heard the US pressing of ME and it's very good and much cheaper on discogs.

 

That's nice to hear! So I could probably continue my exploration of late period Stereolab without being ripped off!

As for the 1972 reissues: I've read somewhere that it's hazardous and could result in instant self immolation when they are brought next to Duophonic originals!

 

What a great EP, I have the 3X7" it sounds great like all Stereolab releases on vinyl (barring the 1972 reissues as previously mentioned). They recorded everything to tape, and put great effort into their LP versions

 

I have that 3x7" set too! I ordered that and the CD version when it came out -- even had Tim and Laetitia autograph it after one of their shows in 2004.