Cocteau Twins LP 2019 reissues Four Calendar Café / Milk & Kisses

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by GordonM, Mar 1, 2019.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. GordonM

    GordonM Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    N.Ireland
    I could not find another thread on here but UMC/ Mercury are reissuing the final two Cocteau Twins albums.

    These look like single LP reissues unlike the RSD 2017 2LP reissues.

    Personally speaking, I don't really enjoy Milk & Kisses (apart from a few of the associated B sides) but do have a soft spot for Four Calendar Café.
     
  2. Brian Hoffman

    Brian Hoffman Obsessive fanatic extraordinaire

    Location:
    Cincinnati, Ohio
    Great news!
     
  3. Amnesiac

    Amnesiac Forum Resident

    Location:
    Michigan
    Four Calendar Cafe is a great album. Good to see these will be widely available now!
     
    SRC and GordonM like this.
  4. Fortysomething

    Fortysomething Forum Resident

    Location:
    Californ-i-a
    Is it the same team that did the RSD 2017 release?

    I know the band was apparently surprised by those releases. I have them both from RSD and Milk and Kisses has a pressing fault, so it's nice that they're repressing....
     
  5. igbee

    igbee Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto, ON
    I will likely get both!
     
  6. Seagull

    Seagull Seabird flavour member

    Location:
    Dorset,England
    I've got both on pre-order. I'm a big fan of early Cocteau Twins albums and have them all on vinyl up to Heaven or Las Vegas.

    For some reason I stopped there and I have never heard the last two albums.
     
    GordonM likes this.
  7. igbee

    igbee Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto, ON
    I pre-ordered from Amazon Canada given my location but the price is better than most. About 4 pounds cheaper than Amazon UK. I don't see it up on US Amazon for pre-order yet.
     
  8. igbee

    igbee Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto, ON
    Just had a look at the Discogs entries for these they indicate the lacquer was cut by Sean Magee who enjoys a good reputation on this forum.
     
    englishbob, puddingdish and GordonM like this.
  9. GordonM

    GordonM Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    N.Ireland
    That bodes well. I have FCC on pre-order and really looking forward to it. I tried again to listen to M&K on CD but I can't warm to it the whole way through. FCC is a completely different matter - I have always enjoyed it from start to finish! (My personal high water mark for their output is BBK but plenty of highlights before and after.)
     
  10. igbee

    igbee Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto, ON
    I am actually not sure if this was cut by Sean Magee or if it is just because the person who made the new discogs entry copied the info from the 2017 2LP release that was cut by Sean. I guess they could have used the same plates?
     
    c-eling and GordonM like this.
  11. c-eling

    c-eling They're made of light,We never would have guessed

    I would think so. Why spend more money on a new cut.
    Unfortunately for Milk, I think Robin's compression is probably baked in.
    Think I'm going to skip these, Four sounds great on old compact disc- Milk, I think it is what it is....
     
    GordonM likes this.
  12. paletro

    paletro Forum Resident

    Location:
    paris
    Just saw Four calendar in my record shop. Wait for more information. :)
     
    jimhb likes this.
  13. GordonM

    GordonM Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    N.Ireland
    A package from Amazon UK arrived today. Single sleeve (as you would expect), glossy with cardboard printed inner sleeve. I'll be putting the record back in a poly-lined inner. Old fashioned brown Fontana centre label, similar to the other LP versions on discogs. It has a small MPO stamped on the run-out. I'm taking a first listen to FCC now so other clues from the run-out will have to wait. This is the first time listening to this on vinyl - I've listened many times to the Capitol 1993 CD. A recording I'd always thought of 'lush', listening to this on vinyl does not disappoint - satisfied so far. Listening on headphones, by the way. Very little in the way of surface crackle and no pops so far.

    Edit: inner sleeve states "2017 Version Re-Cut at Abbey Road Studios".
     
    igbee and c-eling like this.
  14. igbee

    igbee Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto, ON
    I finally got mine! Amazon delivered a box bigger than the one I got the kinks box set in....for 2 records.

    Anyways, it looks to be a recut. The deadwax doesn't match what is posted for the 2017 versions, which is unfortunate because as noted above, the liner notes indicate that it is.
     
  15. puddingdish

    puddingdish Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sydney
    How do they sound?
     
  16. igbee

    igbee Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto, ON
    I made a needledrop of both but have mainly listened to Four Calendar Cafe. The pressing I got is pretty quiet and flat but not absent of some pops and clicks. I think the vinyl is an improvement on the CD (I haven't heard other vinyl versions). What I'm noticing is that guitars and vocals sound amazing because there is pretty good instrument separation across the stereo image. You can really hear all the different backing vocals and different guitar parts more clearly. So for me this album has never sounded better.

    Give me a little more time with Milk & Kisses.
     
  17. igbee

    igbee Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto, ON
    I'm wondering if both of these are Robin Guthrie's 2006 remasters pressed to wax? I have never heard either. In listening to both albums I was hearing things I hadn't heard before and today that was especially apparent with Rilkean Heart from Milk & Kisses. There is a guitar part in the intro that is panned further left and louder than I have heard it before. Then in the 2nd verse there are backing vocals that I just don't think I've heard before or was buried in the mix. I just tried to find it on the original CD and on Spotify (original master there I think) and the version on the new vinyl is pretty different.

    I'm now curious if the 2017 releases were the remasters as well? Does anyone have them to compare?
     
    c-eling and Andrea_Bellucci like this.
  18. c-eling

    c-eling They're made of light,We never would have guessed

    Igbee I have Milk en route so I'll see if I notice anything.
    Wasn't a fan of his FCC so I skipped the remaster for Milk so I'm not sure.
    It's possible Robin may have 'mixed' some parts differently while he was doing the remaster's, slight tweaks here and there. (If these are indeed Robin's remasters thrown to wax)
     
    Last edited: Apr 15, 2019
    igbee likes this.
  19. igbee

    igbee Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto, ON
    That would be great, c-eling! I am fairly certain these are the Guthrie remasters now that I've done some additional research. For M&K I'm not sure it matters that much as I think the original the remaster were likely similar in compression levels.

    I'll post some samples from my needledrops tomorrow.
     
    c-eling and GordonM like this.
  20. igbee

    igbee Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto, ON
    GordonM, Echoes Myron and c-eling like this.
  21. c-eling

    c-eling They're made of light,We never would have guessed

  22. Echoes Myron

    Echoes Myron Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    When are these being released in the US?
     
  23. c-eling

    c-eling They're made of light,We never would have guessed

    Now.
    US retailers have to import them in.
     
  24. igbee

    igbee Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto, ON
    Speaking of peaks and valleys - Pur is a brickwalled mess, which makes sense because it is that way on the remaster. Guthrie took it from DR11 to DR6 for the win!
     
    tin ears and c-eling like this.
  25. GordonM

    GordonM Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    N.Ireland
    Just to make things clearer (for me at least), can you tell us what research has led you to this conclusion? And, is it well known or have you concluded one way or the other whether the 2017 FCC 2LP also uses the Guthrie remaster?

    I have not done any careful comparison between FCC LP and the 1993 US CD and, to be honest, I'm not sure I have the chops to do so given also my equipment and time available. For what it's worth, I have enjoyed listening to the vinyl on and off, mostly on headphones.

    I have the original M&K on CD (deluxe package edition) and never liked its harsh sound.
     
    c-eling and Andrea_Bellucci like this.
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine