SH Spotlight FLEETWOOD MAC Rumours, heard it 1000 times, still love it! Our WB 45 & 33 1/3 RPM vinyl coming now!

I finally received my 45 rpm vinyl from Amazon.

I can confirm that is the Steve Hoffman and Kevin Grey mastered edition pressed at Pallas. The records are flat and perfectly pressed.

The sound is amazing!!!!

Wow!!!! Thank you for this, Mr. Steve! The sound is truly beautiful.

 

Hi motionmover... I’m from Ontario also, and was wondering if this was actually the S.H. mastered 45rpm version.

Thanks

 

Is there a way (without reading 108 pages first) to determine if you have the S.H. 45rpm version without opening the record first. Is there anything on the back side of the cardboard sleeve for example?
I am concerned about buying, opening, finding out it's wrong version and then trying to return.
I don't see anything in link that confirms that.

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B004OKFIQI?tag=vglnk-ca-c33-20

Thanks for any help.

 

Fyi, you can do a search on just posts in this thread.

 

I looked in amazon US, couldn't find, so got from Discogs. Didn't know it was available in Amazon Ca.

This should be the version

https://www.discogs.com/Fleetwood-Mac-Rumours/master/38722

 

Amazon.ca got it back in stock with a slightly reduced price, so I went ahead and ordered it. I'll find out early next week which pressing I end up getting.

 

So there's good news and bad news.

Good News:
It arrived today, and it certainly looks like the Steve Hoffman and Kevin Grey version.

Bad News:

It was shipped by Amazon.ca by itself with the shipping label over top of the Pressed at Pallas label without any cardboard packaging! I couldn't believe it when I walked into my front porch and just saw entire album in my mailbox. What person at Amazon would think it's a good idea to ship it that way?

It's damaged at the corners of the jacket, and I will add photos to this post. I just got home, so I haven't called Amazon yet to complain and ask for another copy. (They are currently out of stock.)

I just checked their site, and it said it "Ships from and sold by Amazon.ca in certified Frustration-Free Packaging. "

Per Amazon:

"Amazon Frustration-Free Packaging Programs

At Amazon, we obsess over providing a great customer packaging experience. We listen to our customers to identify new ways to reduce waste, improve manufacturer packaging on items we sell, and innovate on the packaging we use in our fulfillment centres under our Frustration-Free Packaging Programs. We gather packaging insights via customer service, online returns, and social media to help us deliver the best possible experience while minimizing waste. One of the biggest challenges in e-commerce packaging is designing it to be as compact as possible while ensuring that products arrive fully intact. With this in mind, Amazon works with manufacturers worldwide to help them re-think and optimize their packaging, reduce waste throughout the supply chain, and protect products from damage during shipment to the customer. Learn more about our packaging programs here.

Concerned about a damaged delivery or other issues with packaging?

While our mission is to reduce the amount of packaging required while ensuring products arrive to our customers undamaged, we recognize we don't always get it right. If you have experienced a damaged delivery, please contact us and tell us about your experience. We'll use information collected from your order to help assess both the quality of the item's packaging from the manufacturer, but also the choices we made in terms of packaging solutions available at our fulfillment centres. If needed, we'll work to improve the packaging and may even restrict the item from sale until a packaging change is made to ensure that we are delivering a great customer experience.

 

Sorry to hear — you were likely not dealing with a person. This was probably a robot that malfunctioned and slapped the label on. It would be hard to imagine a person being so negligent; although, maybe it isn’t.

One advantage tho, is that they’ll send you a replacement and you can pick the best pressing to keep of the two and send back the defects. They’ll pay for it all, too.

 

A

And, you could get really lucky and they won’t even require you to ship it back at all. It’s certainly possible a robot packed it, but I’ve read quite a few posts in other threads where Amazon has shipped vinyl that way. However, I have purchased at least 50 albums from then and have never had one that wasn’t nicely packed in an LP mailer. I would agree that either the robot or human malfunctioned! I hope you got the 45rpm version...I don’t know if Amazon will be able to get more of the 33’s but the 45’s still seem plentiful.

 

It’s very odd — I’ve never had a problem at all with the mailers. I got the 45 as a “later in life” investment; I don’t have a turntable right now but will crank it up on the regular in a few years.

 

The patience of a saint! Actually, the title had sold out and of course a lot of people still wanted them. A couple months later I was in my local store and somehow they got three, so genious that I am of course I bought them all. Figured I would hang on to them and sell them later. And then they repressed the heck out of them (the 45rpm). They seem to be everywhere but I suspect everyone that wanted a copy ended up with one. Very curious how many of those puppies ultimately were pressed. Regardless, it is as good as it gets as far as fantastic audio on vinyl. One should be included with every turntable sale.

 

Actually, he did say that I don't need to return damaged LP. He offered to replace right away, but Amazon.ca is out of stock. He mentioned a third party seller, but they were from US and I would probably be charged duty. There was one Canadian third party seller that I knew, so I ordered from them. It was a little more than what I paid, and he gave me a credit to more than make up the difference. I see that it has shipped, and I can only hope it's the same version and in much better shape when it arrived next week.

 

Hope it's still out there, one of my go to records to test new equipment for imaging, tonal balance, dynamics etc!

 

It was great to get a copy of this - finally I don't have to search for good sounding Rumours!

 

The double disc doesn’t seem to be in stores around here any more but it was actually around a long time after the repress. The 33 version was rumored to be going out of print and it did disappear in some areas. I actually picked one up as a favor for a forum member about six months ago. However, around here our local stores continue to be able to restock it. Barnes and Nobel keeps it in stock, and our large independent store in town keeps it in stock as well.

I also got one for two reasons. First, I thought it would be a terrific way to find out how much difference there was between the 45 and 33. I think the only definitive way to do that is to have the same album mastered by the same person pressed at the same plant. There can’t be many other titles like this out there that meets that criteria. Second, I found I wasn’t playing the 45 because I got tired of flipping it over all the time, as much as I loved hearing it, so this way I could have a great copy either way. Here is what I found. I couldn’t tell the difference. At all. Both are spectacular. I have heard some others say the same (not saying this is a Rumours issue, just that it’s hard to discern a difference on any). So, in the future if given a choice, I’m sticking with the 33 just for convenience. I’m still glad I have both copies though. Do you have a comment or opinion on whether you discern a difference?

 

I haven't compared them as I only have the 45. But where you might and should hear a difference is in spaciousness and attack. The differences will be subtle but should be there. And listen to where side enders normally occur. Songbird and Gold Dust Woman should have a greater ease.

Ordinarily, 45s also render bass more completely, more confidently, but you hear that more with acoustic jazz and classical music where bass goes deeper and is more prominent. That's my experience.

 

I have been picking up a lot of the Ken Perry originals lately, whenever I find a clean one. They are nice, and occasionally there is one that stands out with more punchiness and bite, but none of them matches the dynamics, texture. and spaciousness of the remaster.

The number one thing I listen for is the cymbal on Dreams just as it goes into the chorus. On the remaster, the decay of that cymbal seems to just go on forever.

Apparently the RL cut of Rumours is supposed to be special. Still on my list to find one.

 

Thank you for that. I will listen closely!

 

I have both the 33 and 45 rpm versions. I treated
myself to the 45 for Christmas from Music Direct. I had picked up the 33 some time ago. The 45 sounds great, it just edges out the 33. The 45 has the smoother vocals and a more relaxed presentation, bass was about equal. They both sound great, can’t go wrong with either one. These both sound better than my KP original.

 

So the Music Direct is still available, isn’t it? I’m in the U.K. and am really keen to get my hands on a copy of the 45rpm..

 

According to their website Music Direct has the 45 RPM album in stock.

 

Just got the 45 delivered today (got off the SHF classifieds). I had a NM copy of the original issue with the textured jacket and sold it based on the reviews of this pressing.

Listening now and wow, the praise is definitely warranted. Crisp like the original but so much more full and musical. The bass really pops with incredible body and weight. The guitars shimmer. The drums punch through it all. The vocals are the least affected but still sound great. Seriously though, if the original pressing sounded like a paperweight, this sounds like a tour de force. Listen to "I Don't Want to Know" to know what I'm talking about.

This isn't a very warm recording as our host mentions in the OP but this is as warm as it could possibly get. Highly recommend getting this if nothing else for the sonic experience alone.

 

Does Hoffman's version come with a digital download card? If not is here any place selling a digital version of it? I'm assuming most download's Itunes etc... would be not be his version. Where is the best place to find the 45 vinyl?

 

No download card came with the 45RPM edition, as far as I know. (The one I got doesn't have any download card.)

I bought my 45RPM of the Hoffman-mastered Rumours at Music Direct and I see they still have it in stock:
Fleetwood Mac - Rumours (180g 45rpm Vinyl 2LP) | Shop Music Direct

Get it while you can; I doubt this pressing will remain available perpetually.

Craig.