Simply Vinyl - Were any of their releases any good???

I was looking for a thread devoted to the topic of Simply Vinyl and the sound/vinyl quality of their releases, but since I could not find one, I decided to start a new thread. From what I have read in various postings on the forum, Simply Vinyl offerings are not well thought of from a sound perspective and some people have criticized the quality of the vinyl as well. I did see someone mention that Simply Vinyl's release of Derek and the Dominoes' Layla was one of the few that was deemed to be any good. Any opinions would be appreciated.

 

My Simply Vinyl reissue of R.E.M.'s Fables of the Reconstruction is an awfully nice pressing.

 

Wasn't aware that they pressed that album. IMHO, even a clean original IRS sounds great! Is it that much better?

The only Simply Vinyl I own is Jeff Buckley Grace and it's a piece of crap, so I'm biased. Oh yeah, I had SV Nevermind and sold it for the ORG, which ruled over it. Night and day.

 

I don't have too many of them, but the pressings were better than I expected after the stuff I read here. Just three of the Dire Straits releases and Steve Winwood's Roll With It are all I've got. Flat, pretty quiet. If you can handle a Classic Records pressing noise-wise, I wouldn't imagine you'll have any trouble with Simply Vinyl.

 

I have Derek and the Dominoes and it is indeed good. Much better than the SACD IMO.

Another one I can recommend is The Who's Tommy. It's a remix, but it has great bottom end and presence. I have not heard the Classic Records version so I can't compare.

 

I like Simply Vinyl's versions of Nick Drake's Bryter Layter and Pink Moon (I haven't heard Five Leaves Left). I actually prefer their Pink Moon to the one in the 1979 UK Fruit Tree box.

 

The first issue of Simply Vinyl's "Blonde On Blonde" was the rare original 1966 stereo mix of the U.K. album. If you can find a copy, it's quite unique -- NOT COPIED FROM A CD!!!! The sleeve picture was also the original '66 with the photo of the girl.

 

I've had a few Simply Vinyl LPs over the years, and some were positively awful sounding, but that's not what this thread is about.

I kept their version of ELO Out of the Blue, which actually sounds really good to me. It sounds like it was sourced from an analog master tape, and the pressings is flat and with quiet surfaces. The packaging is very nicely done. I still prefer the US SR/2 copies and the UK 1st press for audio quality, though.

 

Could there be different SV pressings of Pink Moon? I recently found a copy at record store and checked it out on their listening station. I thought it sounded dreadful, as if it was cut from a brickwalled CD.

Needless to say, I didn't get it, but was disappointed it wasn't a great player.

 

I have the same experience. Their OotB is a nice alternative to the SR/2. Different but still satisfying.

I don't think I like any of thier other. The general rule of thumb for SV is to stay away from non-UK artists. All the Beach Boys, The Band, and Bat out of Hell are all American albums, and they all miss the mark on SV. They just sound like they're cut from old denoised cd's. If I recall correctly, The Band's brown album isn't terrible. But it's not warm or authentic sounding. Certainly not as satisfying as a nice RL copy.

 

I have Wheels of Fire. Not sure how it compares to other versions but the vinyl is pretty quiet and it sounds decent to me. But its the only copy I have of that album.

 

Yes, the ones I really didn't like were of US artists. Perhaps SV didn't have access to non UK masters, or maybe didn't care to try to obtain them.

 

I have original pressings of all of the other IRS albums. The SV Fables sounds comparable to me. And it's a much thicker slab of vinyl than those 80s IRS pressings. Good reproduction of the original artwork as well. Maybe SV got this one right because it was recorded in the UK.

 

Really liked

Burnnig Spear - Marcus Garvey, which sounded much better than a circa 76 UK release.

John Martyn - Solid Air, again much better than a circa 77 UK press.

Congos - Heart Of The Congos, beat the B & F original UK pressing.

Waterboys - Fishermans Blues, sounds OK, not heard the original but I've been told it's not very good.

I've been surprised about the reputation of S V on this forum, given my experience. All my copies came on their heavy 180gm vinyl and would have been purchased shortly after they became available.

 

In my experience all of the SV presses are very good, the only thing that can let them down is the source/mastering.

From memory all of the Reggae releases are fine and the later Blood & Fire titles were only pressed on vinyl by SV, having said that a mint original of the Island titles, Marley, "Harder They Come" etc., will beat them, the Funk titles, JBs, Kool & The Gang, etc., are fine though obviously from a digital source and again the only vinyl issues of those particular compilations, I'm not sure if the James Brown's stand up so well.

The only other area where I have lots of SVs is soundtracks, I think this can be more hit and miss, but the SVs were easier to find and often cheaper than OG copies, also their version of "The Wicker Man" is totally different to the Trunk issue, though I've never compared the two directly for sound quality.

I think that the source quality was occasionally disappointing and the selection of titles could be puzzling at times, but SVs pressings were always nice and they did put out several unique titles on vinyl at non audiophile prices, personally I miss them.

 

Simply Vinyl LPs were very consistent with the quality of their pressings, they were quiet and flat. Personally I never got a bad Simply Vinyl pressing. But here's the rub... the sound quality wasn't up to much, I would rate the sound from bad to average.

Regarding Derek & The Dominoes, a well known record dealer raved about the sound of the Simply Vinyl version which made me go out and buy one (at a very normal price I might add). I thought it was terrible, the only way I can describe it is that it had a very phasey sound to it which was very offputting to say the least.

Buying Simply Vinyl Lps at regular prices would be ok, but not the mad prices some people are now looking for.

JG

 

The UK press is way better for this title. I also had the SV 'This is The Sea' which also paled compared to the UK press.

The only SV's I liked were the Blonde on Blonde and Tommy.

 

The only one I ever bought (Tindersticks Simple Pleasure) was just fine, but it wasn't a reissue.

 

It's been said before: their Lp's all flat and quiet, some of them sound a bit too digital to me. Sleeves are OK too
Beware of some of the current repressings, you can recognize them easily by the little grey sticker that says something like "heavy weight", but does not mention the exact weight.

These are my favorites:
Bob Dylan - Street Legal, Oh Mercy
REM - Fables Of The Reconstruction (test pressing is 2Lp with 6 extra songs!)
Garbage: their first 2 albums were re-released as 2Lp sets don't like the music, sound is great.

A few that are not so great:
AC/DC - Let there Be rock
Nirvana - Smells like teen spirit

The rest (most) of them that I own are in between: the sound is OK, but there are better pressings available

 

I have the SV of Ommadawn, and it sounds fantastic. Probably the best vinyl version I've got (I have several US and UK pressings, as well as several CD versions).

 

I generally don't like SV LPs soundwise but I liked their Dire Straits as well as their Dererk and the Dominos. I've kept those and got rid of the few other titles I bought.

 

Can anyone comment on the David Bowie Simply Vinyl releases?

 

Before I heard the DCC gold disc, the Simply Vinyl pressing of Pet Sounds was the only version of the mono mix I liked. Since I have the DCC gold disc I don't listen to it anymore though.

 

I compared the SV to an Atco: it holds up quite well, but the vocals stand out more on the Atco which sounds more natural to me.

 

I have Man Who Sold The World, Ziggy Stardust, and Aladdin Sane and they are just OK. Digitally mastered (as stated on the sleeves).

I'm currently looking for EMI Centenary copies or UK first pressings and when I do I will sell these off.