The Church - any of the congregation here? (Part Two)

oh boy. Gotta admit I'm skeptical. This companies biggest crime in my mind is that they clearly just work with whatever source is provided to them and I bet they get a digital file of the most recent remaster (which is loud and compressed) and it put it out - much like the Starfish LP reissue from last year. It probably won't be terrible but also won't be everything that it could be.

 

Speaking about scary; I just downloaded "Further/Deeper" from The Church site (FLAC). Music is OK, and I look forward to "spin" this album on my server for a few days. But I had to turn the volume considerably down. So I checked DR, and it is 7, yuck! But oh well, better than the iTunes alternative. The DR is now in the official DR database.

I also had "The Blurred Crusade" from 2002. Terrible dynamics, put it as well in the database, then sold my CD's. So now I am again hunting Amazon & Ebay for early pressings ...

Fortunatly I have an early "Conception" CD with better dynamics (DR11), surviving on that one for the time being

 

I hear ya.

 

The iTunes version is harsh to listen to, and I'm not usually too sensitive. The LP sounds better but obviously costs more!

 

I have the German CD. I is so harsh I can not even listen to it.

 

Agreed, it's always a sad day when one of the Runt sublabels puts out an album you love. Not only are their releases subpar, they also draw down the market for a proper reissue.

 

but, y'know....some of their releases are excellent. I really think it just depends on what kind of a source they are given to work with. They don't seem to put in the time to do tape research, search for masters, etc. Their pressings are good, flat and quiet, it just seems like they often work from masters that aren't that great.

 

I have the F/D LP and it sounds decent. It's a recording that was created in a computer to begin with, but the LP doesn't seem harsh or anything.

 

I have their pressing of Scott Walker's 'Scott 3', which from my cursory listen years ago seemed wholly passable - probably not the last word in sonics, but it seemed fine for what it was... That being said, I have avoided them like the plague just in case given all the backlash, but for P=A, I can't really justify trying to hunt down the German pressing. Fingers are crossed...

 

Everything I've ever heard about that original German pressing says that it wasn't all that great, because the sides were too long. Also, it leaves off "Dome".

 

Works for me!

 

I have the original German pressing and the sound is decent, but you do need a good setup. With my old RP1 it was not the best, especially on the inner grooves. RP3 with a Goldring 1042 is something else. Not audiophile quality but certainly enjoyable.

 

I have great recording equipment, M-Audio Profire 610 ADC/mixer. I ended up purchasing "The Blurred Crusade" on Vinyl, 1982 Parlophone, PCSO 7585, mastered by Bob Luwig.

(Sorry for triple post, but the site was hanging while posting)

 

All the Church vinyl sounds wonderful up to Untitled 23 which is average.

Priest =Aura on vinyl sounds like great idea. Not sure what they would be using as the source - hopefully not a cd.

 

Chances are good that the CD will be hard to beat.

 

Thanks for the tip. I ripped two ECM albums yesterday, and they sound terrific, never heard them better. So if I decide on more Church albums, I will go vinyl. What made me decide for "The Blurred Crusade" on vinyl, is that I can remember it sounded great when it came out, and I ripped it to chrome tape.

 

Yeah, "Expect Disappointment" is kind of my vinyl-buying mantra in general nowadays.

 

I have waited so long for P=A on vinyl. Sadly, it will be done by 4 Beards... so, I will probably not get it. I have asked them about their sources, cutting, etc... I wonder if they will respond.

 

I've seen it written many times and on various fora that Blurred Crusade sounds great on vinyl, so I got myself an Australian 1st press, Bob Ludwig mastered LP in near mint condition. I think it sounds OK, but nothing special. Certainly, I have dozens of albums that sound much better. I have a few Church albums on CD and they sound compressed and pretty awful, with the exception of El Momento Descuidado.

 

please let us know here if they do.

 

LOL......maybe their "source" is in a used bin down the street. Stranger things have happened from what I've heard. Would really like that one as well.

 

Here is their reply

"High resolution digital, George Horn is cutting it and MRP is pressing it."

 

What do they consider high-resolution, I wonder? It's too bad they weren't more specific.

 

Generally means something higher than 44.1/16 bit CD resolution. They probably did high res captures of the master tapes when they remastered everything a few years back. Whether this is a fresh master of those raw high res tapes or a high res version of the recent remaster is anybody's guess.

 

I got mine yesterday (also the Aussie 1st press). Not much mint, a few crakles, but I was able to remove them with my software. Initially it sounded a tad "dark", but it is in fact as I remember it, and details are crystal clear. I did a comparison to my "Conception" CD, but the tracks there sounds thin to me. No doubt I prefer my 96kHz/24bit vinyl rip.