Bauhaus 40th Anniversary Vinyl Reissues

What’s the matter with the Stereolabs, out of interest. I don’t know anything about the band or their originals, let alone their reissues.

 

Very, very good point!

 

Maybe enough people are happy with this sort of thing, I dunno. The crap vinyl reissue situation is gettng, in my experience, ridiculous. I’m sick to death of it, having to cart records back to shops.

 

There's Stereolab reissue campaign with the catalog remaster by Tim, with Peng & Spaceace being issue thru TooPure(Beggars). They pressed the old master, not the new one. On par with the "mono" In The Flat Field screw up.

Stereolab - new vinyl press

 

Beggars Banquet own Too Pure. I think in the US they reissued the old 2008 version instead of the 2018 remaster by accident. Pretty bad cock up. They are offering replacements.

 

hmmm, thanks. We’ve come a long way from the good mastering of John Dent and quality Omnibus sets, it seems. A shame.

 

(re Burning)
Due to the dish / centre dip nature of the warp, I was able to play side 2 OK despite not being able to get the stylus onto side 1 without risking damage to the stylus or arm.

Based on listening to my side 2 (of what's my favourite Bauhaus album by far), I can't recommend it at all. It just sounds like a thinner, more mid-rangey version of what's gone before. There's also on mine a faint squeal in between every song. I thought there was a cat in my house at first. But it came in between each song. Really weird and annoying on headphones. Also quite a crackly sound throughout, nothing loud, but it sounds like something you'd buy used as VG, not a newly released £17 record straight out of the seal.

Nothing would make me play it again even if it was a better pressing, and my warped one will be changed for something else. And the baby blue vinyl is just hideously awful, like something you'd see on a 1980s record by Madonna or Lionel Richie.

 

Man, from bad pressings, incorrect/poor mastering, ugly vinyl colors, etc, etc, these Bauhaus reissues have been nothing but disappointing.

(though I should say, my reissue of Mask wasn't half bad - but not the home-run it should've been)

 

Yeah IMO Field and Mask are keepers for decent sound if the pressing quality is OK. Field is interesting with some nice bass moments in the mastering choices maybe?..but pointless to anyone with a good UK original though. Mask is a very good source like the 2009 CD but doesn't sound to me a whole lot different to or better than that 2009 CD.

Might have all been much better especially for US people, if Drastic Plastic had got the rights to do them instead. I only got the first of their Love and Rockets reissue LPs a few years ago, but it was terrific: great sound, faultless pressing.

 

Definitely seek the other two out - they are both awesome, also. I've never heard them sound so good.

 

I was going to order The Skys gone out, but I’m probably not now given the reviews.

The colour choice seems like it was made by a 10 year old....purple colour does not seem to fit anywhere with this. They could have done a clear vinyl or perhaps white as these would have looked better with the artwork. If in doubt though, just do black....urghh!

 

Where have you seen reviews for Sky's Gone Out? I haven't seen any.

But yes, why not just do black vinyl? (I'm generally indifferent to the gimmick of colored vinyl.)

 

I like, and am a bit of a sucker, for colored vinyl when done well and appropriate with the given art. These look terrible and don't fit at all with the album art.

 

This thread has convinced me to spend a few more dollars and roll with a gamble on an original of the 2 I want from discogs.

I think my odds better.

 

i got mask and while the vinyl is indeed pretty "ugly" i felt it sounded pretty nice. vinyl was flat and problem-free. here's hoping they fix the problems with the others.

 

Thing is they were so expensive on import to the UK, and with Express I much prefer the Yin and Yang single remix so don't often get the LP out, as some years ago I made a needledrop with the Yin remix replacing the LP version. If I saw them instore I'd trade some unwanted stuff for them, but they never made it to London stores.

 

Yeah, I mean none of them sound bad at all, pressing problems excepted. The three I got, if you get non flawed, non warped copies there's nothing bad about them. Burning is the most pointless if you have an original German made Alsdorf pressing (which wasn't a great sounding LP even in '83), or if you're happy with it on CD. But if you have no copy of it and don't mind the stupid color vinyl, even that one is alright if you don't get a duff pressing.

But none of my three serve any real function as any kind of upgrade or drastic interest in terms of source or mastering, unlike the recent superb Kate Bush vinyl, for example. Which is pretty essential even if you have originals.

 

Admittedly it’s going by the general reports of the others...

 

Yep I like the odd coloured pressing but generally prefer black. Yeah, these just look odd...especially Sky’s gone out!

 

Man, I'm really kicking myself for not getting the RSD/Black Friday Press the Eject and Give Me the Tape LP. A couple of my local shops even had copies, but those are gone. I recently pulled out my old UK LP, which I bought eons ago for like $4-5 and hadn't played in years, and it's not exactly the quietest slab of vinyl, even after a cleaning.

But I really love some of the versions on this album, particularly "In the Flat Field" with its pummeling drums, and that aforementioned slow version of "Man with X-Ray Eyes." Wish they'd done this reissue as a regular release - I think it's good enough to warrant it.

 

The new Press the Eject is a regular release in the UK, but I guess that would be quite expensive on import? Might be cheaper to pick up a UK 2LP original of Sky / Eject. And nice to own the original in its basic but original white sleeve if you're a fan of the album.

The 2LP Sky/Eject wasn't that limited in the UK in '82. IIRC 30,000 copies? Not sure how much it goes for though online with shipping. It goes for around £20 in London collectors stores or fairs.

 

Bummer: I got my copy of the new Sky's Gone Out today, and it's got an ugly seam tear along the top (grrrr!). It's also got a mild dish warp. Plus, there is kind of a nasty, loud crackle with every revolution throughout much of "Silent Hedges," which means there's a scratch (but I can't see it because of the pink vinyl).

I did a quick sound comparison with my old US A&M pressing with "In the Night." Strangely, the A&M had much fuller and punchier bass and somewhat beefier midrange. The reissue sounded kind of bright and a tad thin, but also smaller or flatter, by comparison. On the A&M, the instruments kind of leapt out of the speakers more, whereas everything sounded a little more two-dimensional, if that makes sense, on the reissue. The A&M was also just louder, too; I had to crank the reissue a bit to make sure I wasn't just being thrown by the volume difference.

I don't have an original UK pressing of this album (though I do have the old BB CD), so I've never really known how accurate this US A&M is, but based on this quick test, the A&M sure sounds better than the reissue.

So, I'm returning this new Sky's Gone Out - not even bothering with an exchange.

 

I'm not seeing a reason to replace my A&M copies of the final two albums. They're excellent masterings, just like their versions of The Cure's Faith and 17 Seconds.

Although for nostalgia's sake, I'd like to replace my long-gone Canadian pressing of The Sky's Gone Out with the white pebbled sleeve and bonus Ziggy 12".

 

Yeah I had that Canadian white Sky when I collected every Bauhaus related import I saw and could afford as a kid. Wish I still had it, it was really nice quality packaging.

 

How do the BB CD and A&M LP compare with each other?