Wire - Vinyl reissues 2018

If you dig around, you'll see a fair amount of recent-ish complaints about Optimal.

 

Bummer about your pressing troubles. My Chairs Missing and 154 are sounding great. Some surface noise but nothing that is distracting or noticeable. Great reissues.

 

Fair play. I hope Amazon comes through for you

 

Ha! My attempts to get a good, clean Chairs Missing through Amazon must be cursed! Amazon finally shipped it the other day, and it was due to arrive today, but then I got a message saying the item was damaged and the order was therefore canceled. So, I put in another order that won't arrive until October 30 - Nov 15. Sigh...

 

I noticed my copy of Chairs Missing has both sides listed as "Side One"

Anyone else?

 

Looks the same on Discogs, the other lp reissues have it correct.

So, a double a-side album, yes.

 

Those crazy Wires!

 

Chair Missing is SO GOOD it can only be a double A side

 

I got my copy of Pink Flag today. I’ve been wanting to replace the crappy counterfeit copy I bought before I knew counterfeit vinyl was even a thing. Since originals are so hard to find, I was holding out for a reissue.

While my copy has a very slight warp, it’s nothing too severe and tracks fine. Where I’m more upset is the surface noise on side B, which I feel pretty positive is a result of them being pressed on recycled vinyl, the records coming out of the press filthy or a combination of both.

I cleaned both sides first thing as I always do. But as I went to play side 2, I noticed a white speck. I tried to clean it again to no avail. I looked closer and the white speck is embedded into the vinyl, leading me to believe it’s a piece of a label from a recycled record.

Here’s a look at the spot I’m talking about. Pardon the crappy phone pic.


It still played through with only a few pops (it’s right between tracks, so completely silent), but then I noticed another spot. Play testing that spot, there wasn’t anything as it went through, but it left a strand of white flecks throughout the grooves. So I cleaned it again.

Listened through again later and there was some surface noise I didn’t hear at a lower volume. Thinking maybe I didn’t get all my cleaner off the first time, I got out a clean microfiber cloth. When it finished, there were more flecks all through that side. I looked at my stylus and it had a nice chunk of gunk on it. I cleaned it with the fresh cloth and played it again. Noise was still there and I had another chunk of gunk on my stylus. On another cleaning with a generous amount of fluid, I was able to spot test it with minimal surface noise and no gunk on my stylus.

I’ve had some dirty new records before, but this is ridiculous. I ordered it from Amazon.co.uk and considered an exchange, but since it seems QC is all over the place, mine is at least listenable and returning to the UK from the US seems like a hassle, I’m going to just deal with it. But yeah, this is pretty awful QC.

On the bright side, it trumps the counterfeit for sure.

Also, anyone else notice the heavy pixelation on the back cover photos?

EDIT: Also worth noting that all the local stores that had these were charging a hefty $28. It cost about $20 US to ship it from Amazon.co.uk, so if anyone else wants to roll the dice, importing it seems to be a better option.

 

Finally got these. No major issues, happy. Some occasional light surface noise on 154, but the stylus probably cleared that out the first time through.

Side one labels on both sides for Chairs Missing like everyone else.

 

I recently got all three too, while I don't have original UK pressings of any, they all sound really great. I came away pretty impressed.

 

Great albums - will try and pick them up and hope there is no issue

 

It says it mastered digitally from the amazon description so I’m guessing it’s not AAA sad and $35 and LP?

 

They sound great, I wouldn’t worry about any of that unless you’re willing to pay the extra $50 minimum for an original AAA copy.

 

No, they aren't AAA. Personally I prefer the '94 EMI CD reissues to these latest LP pressings. Too many quality issues on them and even after getting good copies of the two I had trouble with, I don't think they sound any better than the aforementioned discs.

 

I have the '94 EMI CD reissues for the first 3 Wire albums and they sound really great. Can anyone say how these compare to the original UK LP pressings?

 

I think the latest LP reissue sounds pretty good. However, I just picked up a first UK Pink Flag, and it's really no comparison. The bass goes so much further, and the guitars are so much crunchier and crisper. Not the quietest vinyl (despite mine being EX) but neither were the reissues, and this is a pretty loud record. If Pink Flag is one of your favorites, I'd say it's well worth the $90 to pick up an original UK. I've got a first UK Chairs Missing, and that one is also excellent, but I haven't heard the latest reissue.