Any views on the various presses eg: UK 1st press vs UK later press or UK press vs presses from other countries. You may include special pressings also eg: mobile fidelity, ryko, anniversary releases etc...
HUGE number of albums and pressings to wade through... you might want to narrow it down, but i wouldn't expect across the board agreement.
A lot of the 80's green label RCAs from the UK are good, safe bets. (International; EMI stamps and also say "Tape One". Some of the US cut Lps sound good, but it's a mixed bag.
there are countless supporters for these two and the new 2012 40th anniversary. so three favourites from one country for one title... good luck!
I played Diamond Dogs (FLAC) the other day after not listening to a Bowie recording in ages and was inspired to start looking for a nice vinyl copy. I had one back in the day, but it went away with all my other vinyl. I think I will try to find a UK pressing.
I still have samples of all the UK RCA releases here. and the Philips self-titled, here: https://skydrive.live.com/?cid=D57E836204FEB061&id=D57E836204FEB061!261 Tim
Yep. I have a number of vinyl copies from various times and the 6E/4E wins, it really rocks. The others are good, but this pressing is one of those occasions where they just seemed to get it spot on.
It's too complicated to summarise as expert karmaman has said. I'll offer a tip to those on a budget though. In the days when vinyl was cheap, I used to buy almost any Bowie pressing I saw, and I never heard a bad black label RCA International Made in West Germany Bowie LP. They don't sound like originals (they're brighter and hotter sounding), and none of them were my favourite version, but they sounded a darn site better than a lot of the UK orange label represses I heard, for example, which were dull and muted-sounding (sometimes). If I was younger than I am and trying to start a Bowie RCA LP collection on a budget, I would get a set of those. They used to be pretty cheap, maybe they still are?
Indeed; one of my best sounding slices of vinyl. The CD has remained on the shelf for a VERY long time.
There'll be another one along soon, when Bowie and his people put out the 43rd special edition of "The Next Day" featuring 5 more songs and a T Shirt designed by Oprah Winfrey.
Well, Bowie and Roxy are two artists were new threads don't bug me. Can't leave it all to The Beatles
More than any other artist I'm now sorry I parted with my original Bowie vinyl. Especially LOW & HEROES. Those things sell for a bloody fortune. I ended up paying $25 for a HEROES budget pressing. Fortunately it's clean and sounds good.
I have just collected all the Bowie RCA LP's except Hunky Dory buying multiple copies along the way. The two that stand out for me are the original UK orange label Aladdin Sane & Diamond Dogs, the easiest way to spot one is the labels are glossy. 1E/1E or 6E/4E copies of Ziggy are expensive so i'd go with the 40th anniversary which is still available on amazon uk. UK "Low" and "Heroes" are great too (those do not have gloss labels) Italian copies of Heroes are good too, they were pressed for uk export and have uk covers.
Are you sure about the Italian Heroes Gaz? Two of us put that on a "worst LP you've ever heard" type thread a while back IIRC. The one I had was absolutely TERRIBLE. Someone in Italy chimed in saying the same.
After several attempts at U.K. originals I eventually settled on a 1976 RCA Japan library copy of "Diamond Dogs", the most I've ever paid for vinyl. It is jolly nice though
I threw mine away (it was so bad I couldn't sell it with a clear conscience!), but it was beige/tan label, UK cover (same as 1st press original glossy UK cover), record made in Italy. The Italian member agreed it sounded like a cassette or sand in the grooves, and IIRC also advised to avoid all RCA Italy LPs.
My copy is a 77 pressing in Rome, tan label glossy cover made in the UK so the same as yours i assume. After your comment i sound tested mine against an original USA black label copy and couldn't find a winner. I looked at the dead wax and both my Italian export and USA copies were mastered at Sterling by Greg Calbi.
I a/b-ed this with the U.S. Orange label for like a month, and was surprised that the U.S. was superior. Since Sane is my fav Bowie, I was floored to find the UK in the racks, but so disappointed when played. If you find the US, grab it.
