Possibly, Discogs entry does not list Masterdisk in the matrix info. I suppose they could have used his work but cut it locally? Or even cut from the CD.
Follow-up... yes, MP did have an analog safety copy, but it was simply copied from the digital mix. At least, according to member Plan9, who I trust on this matter: Rush - new 2015 vinyl and hi-res reissues thread. (Part 2)
DAMN dude! Where the HELL is this record store!!!? If that is a 1st US pressing for CoS, you will be VERY happy! That one took me several tries with different pressings finally to get this one. It sounds absolutely STELLAR!
Hercules Ave., near the little airport. I find most of my stuff at the Oldsmar Flea Market, but this place is about a mile from my new office. Yeah I think it's a first pressing, it seems to have all the correct attributes, here is the info: $5, 6-5-75 Mercury sleeve, "MANUFACTURED AND DISTRIBUTED BY PHONOGRAM, INC." Side A: SRM-1-1046 A2 CT B T/ Side B: SRM-1-1046 B1 CT B T/ Rush - Caress Of Steel On first spin it sounds more vibrant than my HW copy. They had another copy for $15 and it looked about the same but was a later Masterdisk mutt w/ New York labels. I have rarely ever seen this album, I can't believe they had two copies and one was a first. Very rare. Live where people go to die, the inventory just keep coming! I was looking at a pressing of King Crimson Larks Tongues the other day and this weird guy was talking to me. I had the record out and noted it was in fine shape except for one scratch and he started rubbing his thumb all over it. WTF dude? That's like thumping someone else's mellons at the supermarket! Final thought, this really stinks, the Fly By Night GK in my Archives has a drop out about 5 seconds into Anthem! Not a skip but some kind of pressing flaw. Anyone else have this flaw in their Archives FBN GK?
Just tried to play brand new Clockwork Angels vinyl I rec'd from Amazon; didn't even get through the first LP; vinyl was warped and extremely noisy (popping and crackling) for a brand new "clean" piece of vinyl. Returning it for same; we'll see how that goes. Now playing new Roll the Bones, and sounds wayyyyyyyyyyyyy better, sonically and clean.
If there is a press of Roll The Bones that edits out the "rap" part, I would say that is the one to go with! haha, later Rush is NOT my scene! I have been lucky in Winnipeg here. Found clean first presses of all albums ('cept the first) up till Hemispheres just by watching my local store for a few months! Would agree that Caress is the toughest to find a clean copy of.
I'm kind of amazed that people call any of the original US Mercury pressings as "rare". Maybe it's because I'm in Ohio (WMMS in Cleveland breaking the band, they toured through here constantly), but there are always used Rush records in the bins around here. I easily put together a collection of early pressings, GK and RL copies, JAMF copies, etc.
You, my friend, are very fortunate. To find Rush out here in the sticks has become very, very difficult! Well, my local does have a few sealed GUP's.
Ha! It's a thought! Ya' oughta' think about passing some on in the FS section here. Not a lot of Rush offered up. I guess things are dry in most spots?
Rush is rare in these parts as well (Central Michigan) The one's at thrifts I've seen in ten years, i've grabbed (eight titles). None since.
You're in a hot spot for sure. Other than the odd record show. Finding Rush on original vinyl seems to be more rare than it should be.
I'd at least thought in all these years found 1 Canadian manufacture. For other artists i've run into quite a few.
I have a Canadian/Anthem Caress of Steel, which I was lucky enough to find at a Half Price Books years ago. However, I bought Power Windows when I was visiting Toronto, back when it came out. I was in high school at the time. I went to college and somebody stole it from my room when I was down the hall in the bathroom. I miss that pressing to this day.
I received my copy of "Presto" from Amazon today...took a chance on a VG 200g remaster (Abbey Road, Sean Magee, Rhino R1-8376), and the seller wasn't lying...instead of the usual dirt and play wear (which after a good cleaning I can usually remediate to my satisfaction) there is a deep scratch that makes "Chain Lightning" a chore to listen to, and it follows into "The Pass," making that unlistenable. Which totally sucks, I LOVE "The Pass." But the rest of the vinyl is in pristine condition, is quiet as a mouse, and is a joy to listen to. As with my earlier Amazon Adventure, it was all gift card dough, so I don't feel like I'm out anything. My impressions: 1) Man, I had to jack up the volume considerably to achieve the normal listening level. But doing so doesn't bring up any surface noise at all, which is great. 2) To my ear, the "Presto" CDs I've owned (the original and the remaster) have always had a "hollow" sound to them...an OK bottom, and a real emphasis on clarity of highs but not much in the middle. After two listenings, I really like the remaster here...a lot more tone and depth in the middle, guitars have more presence, Geddy's bass is well defined, and I prefer this quite a bit over my CD. Geddy's vocal efforts here are much clearer as well. Hearing more stuff in the middle of the sound picture, and clear vocal phrasing makes me appreciate this record more than I have in the past. Anyone who is on the fence with this one, I recommend getting it...not having heard the original LP pressing, I can't make a comparison, but I like this one very much. 3) Way down in the end of the liner notes, it says "Side I is much longer than Side II, therefore is not as loud. So turn it up!" I read that at first and snickered because I thought it was just a little joke from the boys (and didn't know if it was on the original release liner notes), but that's EXACTLY on point...I put on Side II the first time and BAM "Superconductor" hit me in the face. Which was cool. A nice way to spend an evening dealing with the frigid temperatures and bite of winter. Winter sucks.
Well, the next time you come up, you can probably find that one again. It's relatively easy to find a truly like-new copy as half the kids used to listen to Rush back in the day - at least in Montréal they did. I'm sure it was the same in Toronto, if not more.
Yeah, that is what I noticed with my copy too... (BTW, sorry about the scratch ) But, I was amazed at how high I had to crank it to get it to sound 'right' I even had to max out my new Crown 2502 for the low end, which I NEVER have to do. But, after doing so, it sounded decent...