Wire - Vinyl reissues 2018

Well deserved honor for Wire - looking forward to these and hoping they sound a little better than those digipaks from a few years back...

 

I admit: I sold my recently bought box set of cds on hearing about the new sets. The selling price just about covered the price of the new, and I still have the live cds as they got separately issued a while ago.

 

Did anyone pick up the RSD Nine Sevens box today? If so, how is the packaging, pressing quality, sound quality? How much was it selling for?

I really wanted this, but I resigned myself to the fact that I wouldn't be getting it as I don't do Record Store Day. I refuse to stand in line for hours and fight through hordes of people to grab what's likely to be the lone copy of something that someone more aggressive than I got to before me anyhow. (At least that's how it's been in the past at bigger independent stores here like Amoeba.)

But this box might be the first ever RSD released I've ever seriously wanted, so I'm really curious about it.

 

Bump! So, I guess no one managed to pick up Nine Sevens? Maybe I need to inquire over in the RSD thread.

 

I'm curious as well, though I'm sure I'm priced out regardless. I did advance order Chairs Missing and 154 on vinyl this weekend though!

 

It's kind of lame, to be honest, that serious, longtime Wire fans who happen to be middle-aged farts with kids, like myself, who can't just take off at some ungodly hour of the morning to stand in line out in front of the local record shop, will miss out on the Nine Sevens box. From what I've seen elsewhere online, it looks like a very cool release. I really wish they could have done this as a non-RSD release so that more people (and serious fans, not eBay/Discogs flippers) could have been able to purchase it. I guarantee that if they had done a larger, but still relatively limited, one-time run, they would have sold every copy no problem.

 

I know someone upthread said there were a limited number of 7" boxes coming to the US for RSD, but none of the distributors I talked to knew anything about it...

 

It wasn't a question of "management" but rather a "tag problem". I saw it twice, one store wanted 94€. Which I thought was expensive. Then I saw it in another store. For 115€. And I decided there and then that I wouldn't spend so much on a singles box.

Haha.... just looked at Discogs. Thirteen (!) copies and they are starting at 134€. Sure thing!

Looking at thE bay, one copy actually sold for 169€. I mean.... if people actually are begging to be ripped off, you can't even blame the flipper. Somehow I would have expected more contenance from Wire fans

 

Yeah, I've seen some crazy prices online too. I saw one store (a local shop that I never really go to, as it turns out) had it for sale on Discogs Saturday evening for $114, but when I checked back later it was already gone, and I've since mostly seen prices at $150 or higher.

However, 169€ is still cheaper than trying to buy all of the original singles individually in NM or VG+ condition.

 

This is a quote from a group I belong too from a VERY reputable source.

"Some of the greatest and most inventive avant-pop recordings of all time ruined by appalling sound quality: no dynamics; high-end and upper-mids attenuated, crackly distortion throughout. A travesty. (The 154 bonus EP sounds okay; the other eight discs are garbage.)"

I'd save my money.

 

So much for the pre-order...

 

Well, for anyone who heard the remasters of Colin Newman's first three solo albums, this shouldn't be too surprising.

 

RSD Box here Wire - Nine Sevens 9x7" Pinkflag - Stranded Records

 

"Sold out"

 

Reading comments on the discogs listing, and the few people who reviewed it seem generally pleased about the package and the sound. Of course, there's no way of knowing what those folks' idea of good sound is, but...

 

That doesn't bode well for the upcoming LP reissues.

 

And of course, there are folks here who think the 2009 Beatles remasters were brickwalled ear-bleeders. But I don't think those delicate souls post in Wire threads, so I await the reports here from those brave early buyers!

 

I’m almost hesitant to post...a bit of a disgruntled sounding crew of Wire fans here...no offense.

I picked up the 9 7’s box on RSD and love it. There were 8 or so copies in the first shop I stopped in, didn’t see it anywhere else later. $80, so yes, steep cost but it was my number one thing I wanted. I’ve listened to half of the songs prob and they all sound amazing. Much better than the cd’s I’m super familiar with (I don’t have any of their other stuff on vinyl yet). The packaging is stellar and aesthetically gorgeous too.
I left my two boys w Grandma for a couple hours, picked up this and the Wipers live lp, cup of coffee, and was home by 10:30. Very happy with the purchase but would hate to pay more than I did..

 

Right. Hence my second sentence.

 

Well, as I've mentioned a few times upstream, the mastering on Colin Newman's recent solo album reissues doesn't bode well for the upcoming reissues either.

 

When you consider how much it would cost to buy all of the original singles individually in NM or VG+ condition, $80 is actually a good deal!

 

Truly. One would be relatively lucky to find a NM original copy of Mannequin (in a picture sleeve) for less than $80.

 

Yeah it makes me worried. I bought Pink Flag on pre-order and had the same thought. But I'll take it on lp either way. The source of my quote isn't necessarily an "audiophile" but when he says something sounds good it's always good to listen up. When he posts an album I haven't heard of I search it out, though it can be hard to keep up in this music world of amazing albums.

 

I got it yesterday in my local shop for £68. Traded in some stuff towards it. They had a couple left from the weekend. I think it looks great and was overall pretty pleased with the sound. The first single with the 3 tracks from Pink Flag sounded different to my old 80's Harvest vinyl. More low end punch, less treble. almost like a slightly different mix. I was surprised how much I enjoyed hearing all 9 singles in a row.

FWIW I though the Colin Newman re-issues sounded pretty awful and these 7" are much better.

 

Well, I mentioned in the Wire album-by-album thread that I managed to get a copy of Nine Sevens post RSD from pinkflag.com. It's a nice set, the packaging is great. And the sound was fine to my ears: no "appalling sound quality," "lack of dynamics," "attenuated high-end and upper-mids," or "crackly distortion throughout." I didn't do a direct comparison of these tracks with the original LPs or CDs, but the music on these singles just sounds crisp and clear to me.