My Muswell Hillbillies download will not work. The link they give doesn't bring up a working webpage. Has anyone else managed to get their digital download for this 2xLP?
Picked up copies of Kinks, Kinda Kinks and Kinks Kontroversy ... haven't had time to play them yet but my initial impression is that the issues look kinda cheap for the price ... side 1 of Kinks is comprehensively marked by hairlines, possibly caused by the tight paper inner sleeves ... Why don't the Kinks merit the quality audiophile reissues they deserve?
Please keep us posted, when you have played one or two. Everybody would like to know your impressions. Thanks.
I played Kinda Kinks last night, and I was impressed by the sound but it was no great improvement over a Japanese PRT copy I had. It also had a slight warp and the cover art looked like a poor photocopy with washed-out/slightly blurred colours. Kinks Kontroversy had hairlines on side 1 but not as bad as my copy of Kinks, which looked like it had enjoyed a fling with a Brillo pad. As Amazon had charged me £20.99 each for these LPs, I decided to return them as the quality doesn't warrant that price, in my opinion. A local shop has them for £17.99, so I might give them a second try or continue trying to assemble a set of 80s PRT releases ... Would be interested to know what anyone else thinks of these '50th' releases ...
Thanks for your report. I have ordered these with my local shop @ £17 each. Amazon are getting far to greedy, I would have returned them to. I thought the covers might look a bit washed out, I think this is standard with B2B releases. If you are serious about getting them, I think you are wise going the PRT route. I might cancel mine yet. Please keep us updated if you decide to get them from you local. Good luck!
I have the mono/stereo RSD-Issue of Arthur that came out a few years ago - and it is really unnecessary. It is not bad, but if you have the 80s reissues that is basically all you need - especially if you are in the UK.
A propos of nothing in particular, I played my mid-80s PRT pressing of "Face to Face" last night for the first time in a while. It's really, really good. I've never heard an original Pye, but I would be surprised if it were appreciably better. Curious to know what others think, but to my ears, this is a better-recorded record than Village Green. I have umpteen vinyl and CD versions of the latter, and whatever the opposite of audiophile is, that's how they sound. Anyway, I agree with the posters who suggest 1980s PRT pressings.
Yeah I cancelled mine today. I too have umpteen CD & vinyl. I may order Love & "1", which I dont have umpteen times. Just the songs on different records(umpteen times)!
Just saw the new Kinks vinyl and....wow....does it look cheap. Maybe these 80's reissues aren't such a bad option They are also looking cheap but at least they do sound good. And don't have a 30€ tag. Next time a friend is in Utrecht I will advise him to bring me a totally beat up UK original of "Village Green" from the bargain bins. Then I'm going to play the 80's reissue while looking at the vintage cover. Job done
Why can't we get a good AAA Kinks Reissue Campaign! This is so frustrating. Chad Kassem give me a chance to pay top dollar for such a Reissue Campaign with the Original MONO and Stereo Masters being used. Maybe we should all start writing letters to Analogue Productions to see if they can oblige. Kinks fans UNITE!!! Lord knows Ray and Dave won't!
Yeah we could call it the Original Source Preservation Society. This will include a free membership to Non-Scan Artwork Monthly Magazine
So the veredict on this reissues is that they are overpriced given the cheap packaging and not improving soundwise the 80's presses. Is that correct?
I ended up buying Kinks and Face to Face: I was happy with the former but the latter sounds pretty rough, with poor sound quality ... quite muffled ...
Wow. Looks like I'll pass on these, unless there are better reviews. They were $46 on US Amazon. I'm satisfied with the 1980's reissues (UK, Germany, Spain).
I'm just giving Kinks a second play in its monoaural glory and it's nice and punchy but I haven't got another vinyl version to compare. However, I would say if you're going to physically order any of these reissues, check them before you leave the shop - i.e. I'd already returned one to Amazon and was on to my second copy in the shop before I found one that wasn't marked. I picked up a PRT Kinks Kontroversy on E-Bay tonight, together with Kinks Khronikles but I'll probably give Village Green and Arthur a try from these releases, given the cost of even PRT version ...
Waterloo Records got in some Mono Village Greens. They came in to the store unsealed in 4 mil outer jackets. They have the pink PYE label and look very cheap. The artwork is blurry and the deadwax info is very scant. No info to say who mastered or pressed the vinyl. They got in other records from David Bowie, James Brown that exhibited the same quality. They honestly look like bootlegs. The Kinks didn't say Sanctuary anywhere on the jacket. The jacket didn't have a bar code either. Needless to say I stayed away from it. Does this description sound like what others are finding in the stores?
Listening to Muswell now and I am amazed at the SQ. Plus I have not heard most of disc two so that's a bonus! Hope these other new releases are worthy.
