Tapestry Records

Oh no! I can't resist. I have at least one of their LPs - Bakerloo by the British blues band formerly known as Bakerloo Blues Line. It has a gorgeous album sleeve and the vinyl's very good except for two or three pops. There's nothing much wrong with the sound except I'd be amazed if it wasn't CD sourced. (It has a bonus track from the CD.) However, they look a bit more legit than Tapestry - they do actually have a website (Comet Records) and seem to be still going strong with quite a big catalogue long after Tapestry disappeared. Also, they're based in Italy rather than Liechtenstein.

 

Go on...if you dare!

 

I know for a fact that Akarma went out of the way to track down and give records/CDs to one of the long-lost American bands they reissued...not sure if money was exchanged, though

 

Did some comparisons between the Universal/Si-Wan LP reissue of Mellow Candle's Swaddling Songs and the Tapestry reissue of same.

Here are a few pictures:

1. Tapestry reissue on right.

2. Universal/Si-Wan label with Deram logo.

3. Tapestry label - no licensing info (back cover just says "Under exclusive license." Period. Not from whom, of course).

 

Sonically, the Tapestry appears to hail from a somewhat compressed source, but otherwise sounds pretty good. The Si-Wan is more laid back and much more natural sounding, but both are good sounding LPs and if one didn't have both I could see where the Tapestry would sound pretty decent. Side by side, the Si-Wan trounces it as it is not compressed like the Tapestry. They both come in at a very similar volume (the Tapestry just slightly louder).

I will have to check the Tapestry against the Japanese mini release from 2001 (UICY-9033). Since that CD sounded good but had some light compression, I suspect that'll turn out to sound very similar.

 

Nope, just compared, and it isn't from the 2001 Japanese mini unless they cut quite a lot of top end. I'll figure it out later. I'm kind of interested. I have nearly every version of this album on CD and LP except the original vinyl, so I may be able to figure it out. Of course, if they are adding compression or doing stuff on their end, it'll be hard to establish what they used as a source.

 

Just read this thread after picking up A Toast to Panama Red by Master's Apprentices. I was curious to know more about Tapestry. After it arrived (purchased from Discogs), my initial feeling was that this may be a bootleg. I'm not in the habit of intentionally buying bootlegs (at least not since the good/bad old days of the Prince bootlegs from the 80s), but the "Limited to 500 copies" claim on the back cover just seemed a bit off. Seems hard to prove when it's not numbered. The cover and vinyl look fine, and it sounds no better or worse than my CD copy.

Either way, I managed to pick up one of my favourite albums on vinyl for WAY WAY less than an original copy, so I'm not complaining.

 

Sorry to bump an old thread, but I've just bought a sealed copy of the Tapestry Skip Bifferty (TPT 238) from Discogs, as it's the only affordable vinyl version of this Brit pop-psych classic (the 90s Essex reissue is £35+). Will let you know how I get on.

Out of interest, how do people listen for a digitally/CD-sourced recording? I'm assuming this will simple use the 2001 Acme remaster, but it would be nice to know tell-tale signs (not that it particularly bothers me – if a CD sounds good, why wouldn't the vinyl made from it? – and I don't think I can hear the difference in anything above 16/44 anyway).