I've come across this label a couple of times in the last few months but haven't pulled the trigger on any albums as I know nothing about how their records sound. What's the general consensus about this label, do their pressings lean towards "meh-ok" or "good" or "I'll buy without having to hear?" I'm looking at The Exciting Wilson Pickett specifically but am interested in any feedback you may be able to provide. Thanks!
I have two LPs by them. Television Marquee Moon, which sounds ok but not as good as my original 1977 spanish pressing. And Im stranded by The Saints, that sounds flat but I think it's the quality of the original recording. Anyway I don't think I'll buy another LP by them because I feel it's a hit and miss label. More miss than hit. I had a Radio Birdman pressing which was bad, very low volume. Some people say that Big star's Third is good..
It's mostly a miss-and-miss label. Bad sources, bad pressings. It's a shame because they issue a lot of desirable titles. But, frankly, they suck bigtime. Don't waste your money. Look for an original pressing of anything interesting to you...even if it's used and noisier, it will sound better.
I'd say like @Sear did, hit and miss label. My Big Star Third is fine. (But you might get away with shortcomings on that.) My Dusty Springfield Dusty In Memphis is horrible. (And you won't with it.)
I would only buy their pressings as a last resort. Their refusal to answer questions about sources is not very reassuring. The best I can say about their reissue of Iggy Pop's The Idiot is that it is not bad which is hardly an endorsement. I wish labels like Superior Viaduct had the same access to titles that the Beards do because they would do a better job.
They get too many good titles. I wish the earth would swallow up 4MWB and Plain along with anything they have left in storage.
FMWB was unavoidable earlier in the century before the vinyl revival picked up momentum, as one of the few non-audiophile reissue labels. A few of their titles have been praised but generally speaking their reputation is poor. These days there's no reason to buy their stuff, ever, IMO.
"We would like to sell you expensive vinyl records, but first things first: There are four of us, we are all men, and we all have beards."
I can't go along with comments on pressing quality. The two I have are very quiet, 180gram pressings. The packaging is very nice as well. Then they ruin it all by mastering from CDs.
Among the worst quality vinyl reissues I have ever owned. I wouldn’t play one of their LPs if they gave it to me for free.
The one I have is John Fahey’s America. The audio is nothing special and the pressing is noisy. Which is problematic for solo guitar. But I did keep it for the packaging. Which is very nice.
No, even worse, it's actually a pun, i.e. "For Men With Beards", presumably because naming the label "For Hipsters Only" would have been a little too on-the-nose.