Xanadu soundtrack on CD (pt2)

Thought so! I always forget Discogs...

 

I've often wondered, does ELO back Olivia on her songs?

 

ELO only backs Olivia on the song "Xanadu."

 

Any thoughts on the best sounding vinyl pressing? I have zero interest in CDs these days.

 

I only had the UK pressing. It sounded OK, from what I recall. Usually, in this type of case, it's the Japanese pressing that is superior. The few LPs I have from there are a real cut above.

 

For vinyl: the US ONJ side is terrific, the ELO side is awful. The UK ELO side is great, the ONJ side not bad. Japan, both sides sound nice.

 

From Part 1 of this thread: Photos of the CDs
Xanadu soundtrack on CD

 

Here are photos from part 1 that show the vinyl versions of the Xanadu soundtrack:

UK/US - UK had a semi-gloss shine but thinner board while the US was non-gloss but much thicker board



But the US did put gloss on the raised portion of the logo and art deco corners, the UK is completely flat



It's the opposite on the inside jacket. The US (top) had a touch of gloss and over saturated pictures and the UK is flat and dry



The UK inner sleeve was a thick paper while the US version was on thick, glossy card stock



The UK included a great bonus: 8 postcards

 

And this shot includes the Japanese issue of the vinyl soundtrack


Cover color has the softest blue while the US borders on purple. The logo and art deco corner are raised but not as well as the US. Easily, the Japan one has the thickest cardboard of the three. Inner sleeve falls in between the thickness of the US and UK. It also came with a white lyric sheet.

 

I remember this now. Everything you want to know about the history of Xanadu on vinyl! Never realised that the UK and US versions had those subtle differences. I'd quite like a copy of the US one.

 

I still remember the night I put that ONJ side on for the heck of it and nearly fell out of my seat when Olivia's vocals came on. I hadn't played that vinyl in decades (I'm not a vinyl guy) and was floored how good it sounded. Sadly, the ELO side wasn't as good so I figure I'd get the UK vinyl and check it out. Again, I was floored at how great the ELO side sounded. Then I was hooked and hunted down the Japan issue.

 

As for the jackets, I like the US one the best. The UK cover seems flimsy in comparison but I do love those postcards!

 

You know, back then I would have had no idea that different editions of Xanadu (or anything) wouldn't sound exactly the same. Certainly on my system at the time it wouldn't have be noticeable. Still, sad to know they were mucking up releases even in the glory days of vinyl!

 

It's the raised lettering that's pulling me. I remember twitching slightly when you posted this before! I don't have that many US LPs, but to my mind the sleeves were always far better made than their UK equivalents.

It's a pity someone hasn't done with the rest of Olivia's LP releases what you've done with Xanadu above. I'm sure there are many differences between countries a lot of us know nothing about...

 

I have a 24x24 poster of the cover - the art deco corner is in both the bottom right and left sides.

 

I still have my original LP from 1980 (I was 14 at the time). I would love to get a good master of this album. I think the CD I have is from the first release years ago.

 

I never knew vinyl releases varied in sound quality until stumbling on this site. I was certainly even more surprised by the "side" differences for the Xanadu soundtrack between countries.

 

For the sake of your own sanity ... don't believe everything you read on this site

 

Me too. I just used to put records on and play them. I haven't played vinyl properly for years, mind you. I do remember buying the Soul Kiss LP from the US in 1985. I had to as Mercury (her UK record company at the time) had delayed it here until February 1986. I couldn't wait that long! Anyway, that was a bad pressing. Really crackly for a new LP.

 

If no one has answered this:

The first 12 are ELO albums, in chronological order up to "Balance of Power." Most are phonetic transcriptions, though #3 is presumably "On the Third Day" but loosely translates to "Dawn of the Third World." Also, "A New World Record" is translated to an equivalent phrase that literally seems to read as "Saviour of Aurora," so it has something to do with the cover illustration, I guess. "Time" seems to be expanded to "Time: A Time Passport." There's also the Xanadu soundtrack, a Greatest Hits album, but "Discovery" is not listed. After that 13-16 are albums by Kansas: "Leftoverture," "Point of Know Return," "Two for the Show" and "Monolith." No.17 is Pink Floyd's "Animals." I'm curious, though, why did some folks here think it was a listing for a Toto album?

Howard

 

Thanks for the added info!
And why do you think we would guess "TOTO" when we can't read anything else?

 

I just got the impression reading the thread that there was more certainty on that one title, and not so much speculation.

Just for kicks, putting the Kansas album titles through a translator yielded:

"Eternal Overture" for "Leftoverture"
"Towing to the Dark" for "Point of Know Return"
"To the Great Audience" for "Two for the Show"
"The Mystery of the Monolith" for "Monolith"

"Animals" was simply a phonetic transcription.

 

How different is the revised cover. I actually have the original Canadian vinyl, haven't played it in years but I'm going to go check out the cover now.

 

Original:


Revised:


I prefer the original. While it is not apparent in this image, "Xanadu" is purple on the original cover. On the MCA version the Xanadu logo and some other elements are embossed.

 

I just got my original Canadian vinyl from 1980, it's the original cover and the logo is embossed. Since my Japanese CD version is the same I never knew there was a different cover. The inner sleeve of the record is is glossy floppy paper. Too bad I didn't take care of it it's not in great shape. I wonder if my vinyl is more like the UK one japan or American one.