Joy Division. 2015 RHINO Anniversary vinyl reissues

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by jimhb, May 15, 2015.

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  1. edb15

    edb15 Senior Member

    Location:
    new york
    2007 verbiage on the sticker was "from original master tapes." 2015 is "from the 2007 remasters." One implies analog tapes, as did the marketing at the time, the other means from digital files.

    In any event, the 2007s were cut by John Davis (but uncredited in deadwax) and the new versions are clearly signed by Frank Arkwright at Abbey Road.

    As to pressing quality, Optimal is the top tier of plants (or maybe 1A just below RTI, QRP, and Pallas), having done the Beatles reissues, for instance. Rainbo is in the bottom tier with United and GZ.
     
  2. Pavol Stromcek

    Pavol Stromcek Senior Member

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    This is useful information. I've encountered so many new LPs in the last 10 years that are off center or problematic in other ways that I wish records came with stickers on the front showing where they were pressed. That way I could, for example, avoid anything from Rainbo.
     
  3. Bryan

    Bryan Starman Jr.

    Location:
    Berkeley, CA
    Rainbo = 2012 US Beatles stereo vinyl that had tons of issues
    Optimal = 2014 global Beatles mono vinyl that was damn near flawless
     
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  4. Bryan

    Bryan Starman Jr.

    Location:
    Berkeley, CA
    I always found that blurb suspect, because hasn't the original master tape for at least Unknown Pleasures been lost for quite some time? Supposedly trashed? Not sure about Closer.
     
  5. edb15

    edb15 Senior Member

    Location:
    new york
    There have been rumors to that effect about UP. The spectrals on the HDTracks version look good, but could be from a copy tape. It sounds similar to the German 320 LP but that could be mastering approach rather than tape source.

    In any event we know the 2015 is from digital files, the 2007 we're not so sure. And whatever the ultimate source for the 2007, is the same in 2015. But we know the 2015 was pressed well where the 2007 are hit and miss (mine, purchased when they came out, play nicely).
     
  6. edb15

    edb15 Senior Member

    Location:
    new york
    If you look on discogs, and people have entered the deadwax, you can tell. Plants have distinctive ways of identifying themselves. Rainbo puts S-12345 / S-12346 on each side (and by the way back in the 1980s, they actually pressed well, just have gone to pot in the last 10 years). United has a U circled. And so on.
     
  7. Pavol Stromcek

    Pavol Stromcek Senior Member

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    I picked up a copy of the new Substance LP from Amoeba, and I have to add my voice to the chorus of those who are really happy with it.

    It's *not* off-center (OK, side two of disc two appears to be ever so slightly off, but not enough to be audible), it's quiet, flat, and what I listened to so far (only a song on each side) sounds really nice. And it's just super cool to have this on vinyl. I like the matte texture of the cover, too (does the original LP have that?). If anyone's on the fence over this, I wouldn't hesitate - go get it!

    I could count on one hand the number of new LPs I've bought in the last 10 years that are this nice and problem free. Maybe I'll even get the Closer reissue.
     
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  8. Pavol Stromcek

    Pavol Stromcek Senior Member

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    Oh, and in case anyone's wondering, mine also came with the printed inner sleeves and the poly-lined inners. Nice.
     
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  9. RichC

    RichC Forum Resident

    Location:
    Charlotte, NC
    I've played all four sides of Substance and I'm suitably impressed. Flat, quiet, great sound, and the poly lined inners too!

    That said, "new" records get a bad rap on here. Just this year, I've had great success with the Zeppelin reissues, a few Rush reissues, the Springsteen box, and the Red House Painters reissues. (Also the new War On Drugs.)
     
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  10. marcfeld69

    marcfeld69 Forum Resident

    I just got the 2007 UP remaster and it sounds excellent. I don't have an original to compare, although I do have an 80s Closer.

    Couple of questions.

    Is the 2007 UP (and Closer) from digital or analogue?

    Also, I've seen new versions of many albums in some branches of Disk Union in Tokyo, including a sealed UP. The only identifier I can see on the outside is EWarne. Does that sound right?

    Many of these new albums are labelled 'Oulet' but I don't understand what that is. Are they some kind of pirate or official alternative to the officially released albums?
     
  11. Pavol Stromcek

    Pavol Stromcek Senior Member

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    Yeah, my 2007 Closer LP sounds great, but it's ridiculously, almost comically off-center (complete with very audible wavering pitch), as were the other 2007 pressings that I bought and returned before giving up.


    Well, these new versions have Rhino stickers on them (at least here in the US), so they're easy to spot. Maybe they're different in Japan?


    Beats me!
     
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  12. marcfeld69

    marcfeld69 Forum Resident

    Thats's unlucky. One was secondhand so I was able to check.


    The barcode checked out, I now recall.


    Will investigate.
     
  13. marcfeld69

    marcfeld69 Forum Resident

    Any knowledge on digital vs analogy on the 2007?
     
  14. Pavol Stromcek

    Pavol Stromcek Senior Member

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    I'm not sure, but this post from the previous page might help.

     
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  15. marcfeld69

    marcfeld69 Forum Resident

    Cool. That's a help.
     
  16. Paully

    Paully De gustibus non est disputandum

    Location:
    Tennessee
    So the 2007 were a remaster from the original tapes but we don't know if they were actually cut from analog if I am reading that correctly? Since they seem to have reused the 2007 files for the 2015 it is safe to assume they are both digital. Just checking if I understand the verbiage.
     
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  17. Allan

    Allan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Upstate NY
    Has anyone compared the 2015 Unknown Pleasures vinyl with the 2007 pressing?
     
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  18. Pavol Stromcek

    Pavol Stromcek Senior Member

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    Well, I think the implication was that the 2007s were said to have been remastered from original analog tapes, and that the 2015s may have been mastered using the digital files that would have been created from the 2007 masterings. But ultimately I don't think anyone (in this thread, at least) really knows anything for certain! The language that Rhino uses when promoting these releases can seem a little bit vague at times.
     
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  19. marcfeld69

    marcfeld69 Forum Resident

    And it would be fascinating if anyone can actually compare and tell the difference with their ears...
     
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  20. JeffMo

    JeffMo Format Agnostic

    Location:
    New England
    I picked up Substance a couple weeks ago and haven't had a chance to listen yet. I'll have to break that out tomorrow for some Sunday vinyl listening!
     
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  21. scotth

    scotth Forum Resident

    Location:
    Charleston, SC
    True but not infrequently although a hype sticker says "from the original master tapes" it means that they created a digital file from the original master tapes.
     
  22. Pavol Stromcek

    Pavol Stromcek Senior Member

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    So, I picked up a 2015 vinyl pressing of Closer, and I'm happy to report that, like Substance, it's not off-center, it's flat, and aside from the occasional light tick here and there, it's nice and quiet. And it sounds nice!

    This means I can get rid of my horribly off-center 2007 pressing!

    I also noticed that the quality of the photo on the front cover is better than the 2007 version, which is too dark. Of course the Factory cover looks the best - it's the clearest and has the best detail and contrast.

    It really seems like Rhino has done and all around better job with these reissues than the 2007s. I hope that they can maintain this level of quality with future releases. (Now, if only they'd done this nice of a job on the Smiths LPs...)
     
    Last edited: Sep 3, 2015
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  23. Colocally

    Colocally One Of The New Wave Boys

    Location:
    Surrey BC.
    Just ordered all four for Christmas. Most are coming from the UK as it was cheaper, I have never had any Joy Division on vinyl before, apart from my 31 year old 7" of Love will tear us apart, everything else I have for them is on CD, so this will be very exciting to finally experience JD as it was. I had Substance on cassette since 1988 but never explored more until probably 2008 when I finally got all the albums on CD, plus I then bought the second edition of the Heart and Soul box as well, so for most of the core catalogue, this will be my third time buying. Can't believe I had three months wait to open these up though.
     
  24. m300

    m300 Forum Resident

    Location:
    MCR
    To clarify the analog/digital thing, the original tapes would be used to make a flat high-res (24/196) transfer from which the (re)mastering would be done later (in separate studios on different dates).
     
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  25. johnnybrum

    johnnybrum Forum Resident

    Closer 2015 LP is a very reasonable £9.99 at amazon UK and HMV

    Ordered one yesterday...the others are still a bit more.
     
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