Carole King Tapestry: 1971 pressing vs. MoFi Orig Master Recording

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Vin Il D'ciple, May 23, 2020.

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  1. Vin Il D'ciple

    Vin Il D'ciple Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Chicago, IL
    I have a 1971 Terre Haute pressing of Tapestry in excellent condition, but listening to it I always felt that there was more presence and brightness and clarity possible. I read every thread I could find and never found a satisfactory answer as to why this is or whether there is a better pressing.

    I just got the MoFi original Master Recording, Special Limited Edition using the Gain 2 Ultra Analog System because I wanted to find out whether my 1971 pressing offered the best and accurate sound. (You can see on my profile what equipment I use and I am not a professional.). This is my short review and comparison; I hope it helps.

    1971: As I stated, while this pressing sounds good, I always wanted more out of it. This pressing sounds very blended- the voice and instruments blend together and I feel like I have to listen ore actively to hear different instruments. It was obviously mastered to make the voice prominent and out front. However, it has a very warm sound with a nice warm bass- all the instrumentation is in the background.

    MoFi RM: I actually had to go back and forth between versions to verify my impressions, but ultimately the MoFi is more immediate and brighter. There is more separation of the instruments and the voice and it sounds more present- like the sound in in the room with you and not a recording. The bass and treble are little more pronounced creating that brightness and presence.

    I may not have the best 1971 pressing, but I prefer the MoFi RM for these reasons.

    Happy listening.
     
  2. vinylontubes

    vinylontubes Forum Resident

    Location:
    Katy, TX
    I have the Classic Records pressing. It has a lot more clarity then my '80 re-issue. That being said, I prefer the '80s pressing. On the Classic, you can hear everything. And Taylor's guitar work just rubs me wrong. I prefer his guitar buried in the mix. This is just me, though. It is a lot better soundstage. But again, all I ever hear is Taylor playing acoustic rather poorly.
     
  3. SpinalRecord

    SpinalRecord Well-Known Member

    The ORG Music repressing at 45 RPM is the best I've heard, by far.

    In my experience, when I've had the chance to compare directly, most MoFi releases sound comparable to excellent early pressings of an album and I mean that as a huge endorsement. They're very consistent and I find their remastering to be very faithful to the original recordings, which isn't something to take for granted. I come across far too many remasters that sound muddy to me because they jack up the bass and low-mids. My guess is it's a result of the fact that bottom heavy music is popular right now. And of course, some of the MoFi releases go far beyond any earlier pressings of an album I've heard (UHQR, One-Steps, and the Dylan Monos they put out are all reference quality.)
     
    japhyman likes this.
  4. Chemguy

    Chemguy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Western Canada
    Glad the Mofi is better, but it’s interesting that you had to toggle the two lps to get that impression. Sounds like the Mofi is better, but only just, yes?
     
  5. Manapua

    Manapua Forum Resident

    Location:
    Honolulu
    I never thought this album sounded all that great to begin with. Sound-wise, that is.
     
    Chemguy, mj_patrick and audiomixer like this.
  6. audiomixer

    audiomixer As Bald As The Beatles

    I totally agree. Any CD release sounded better. The best is the MoFi SACD.
     
    bigal00769 likes this.
  7. lennonfan1

    lennonfan1 Senior Member

    Location:
    baltimore maryland
    this is such a strange (yet eternally beautiful) creature. I like the surround mix on SACD. Vinyl wise, I always felt it lacking but have not heard any newer reissues. Oddly enough, the quadraphonic 8-track with front channels isolated sounds really good to me (even with 8-track mud) because it's drier with much less studio echo.
     
    Whistlerskibum and wwright like this.
  8. Abbagold

    Abbagold Working class hero

    Location:
    Natchitoches, LA
    I've got the tan label '77 Epic/Ode version and it sounded a s#itload better than the white labels.
     
  9. john lennonist

    john lennonist There ONCE was a NOTE, PURE and EASY...

    I have the Classic Records LP release and, IMO, the improved clarity only emphasizes what a poor voice she has/had!

    Murk is the "Tapestry" way to go for me :hide:
     
    audiotom likes this.
  10. Vin Il D'ciple

    Vin Il D'ciple Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Chicago, IL
    I think the difference was immediately noticeable, but I went back and forth to make sure I wasn't biased. So better, but not night and day.
     
    Chemguy likes this.
  11. Vin Il D'ciple

    Vin Il D'ciple Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Chicago, IL
  12. AppleCorp3

    AppleCorp3 Forum Resident

    I’ve said elsewhere on this forum, the MoFi beats the pants off of any other pressing that I’ve heard (I do not have the 45rpm that some have spoken if, full disclosure).

    This is one, as others have pointed out, that never sounded good. The MoFi adds badly needed presence, detail and warmth.
     
    Vin Il D'ciple and George P like this.
  13. Abbagold

    Abbagold Working class hero

    Location:
    Natchitoches, LA
    I'd love to hear it. My best copy is a 7 1/2 ips reel tape that sounds stellar compared to the vinyl. It's just that I've listened to the album so many times, I'm burnt on it.
     
    AppleCorp3 likes this.
  14. Bill Cormier

    Bill Cormier Forum Resident

    Location:
    Malta, New York
    I had both the orig A&M /Ode and the slightly later Columbia/Ode and did a shoot out one night. The latter one hands down surprisingly enough. The orig version just lacked the highs that were really brought out with the Columbia version. I seem to remember reading, maybe even in the late 70’s, that they did not use first gen tapes for the orig issue but did for the reissue, you can really hear a huge difference!
    I have not heard the MoFi so I can’t comment on that.
     
  15. maui jim

    maui jim Forum Resident

    Location:
    West of LA
    Tapestry is the first lp that my mother and I both had. Was shocked to come home from college and find it. Not sure where either are or went. It was not among her collection when I had to sell the house. Will be on the lookout for the
    MOFI
     
  16. Hi_Fi_High

    Hi_Fi_High Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Omaha, Nebraska
    I appreciate your thoughts. This is one I’ve been on the fence about for awhile and it looks to be going oop soon. I don’t want to kick myself for not grabbing it before the price jumps on it.
     
  17. AppleCorp3

    AppleCorp3 Forum Resident

    I’m sure that reel copy is hard to beat. I probably won’t seek out another copy now. MoFi also does “Music” which I might get - a great album to get if you like Tapestry but are burnt out!
     
    Abbagold likes this.
  18. japhyman

    japhyman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Yarmouth, ME, USA
    I agree. I wasn’t crazy about the MFSL. I prefer either the original ODE or the ORG pressing . The vocal and piano sound more natural .
     
  19. Manapua

    Manapua Forum Resident

    Location:
    Honolulu
    I've probably got around 4 or 5 copies of this album on vinyl or cd and I've just never been impressed by any of them. It sounds dull. I realize it's a low-key affair and maybe I shouldn't expect too much but that doesn't mean it can't sound great. Haven't heard the MoFi, though.
     
    Vin Il D'ciple likes this.
  20. Tommyboy

    Tommyboy Senior Member

    Location:
    New York
    I had the ORG 45RPM pressing and sold it when I bought the MoFi. I thought the MoFi sounded like it was mastered from a better source.
     
    Vin Il D'ciple and AppleCorp3 like this.
  21. Peace N. Love

    Peace N. Love Forum Resident

    And when you burn out on Music, just switch to Rhymes and Reasons, which has some of my favorite CK songs. Canaan, Goodbye Don't Mean I'm Gone, Come Down Easy....
     
    AppleCorp3 likes this.
  22. Vin Il D'ciple

    Vin Il D'ciple Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Chicago, IL
    Interesting.
     
  23. Vin Il D'ciple

    Vin Il D'ciple Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Chicago, IL
    exactly why I posted my thoughts on the comparison.
     
  24. Adam9

    Adam9 Русский военный корабль, иди на хуй.

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
  25. tug_of_war

    tug_of_war Unable to tolerate bass solos

    All versions of this album I've heard so far has the same grainy, mid-rangey sound...and I don't complain. I like it. Sounds "vintage" to me.
     
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