The Church - any of the congregation here?

Hey can someone help remember if Priest = Aura had a vinyl release ?

Thanks !

 

It certainly did, deadcoldfish!

LP Arista 212643 (Europe)

 

Priest=Aura came out on vinyl, pressed in Germany.

However it's a single disc, and this is a long album (over 60 minutes), so it's not going to sound very good. Definitely not worth the prices it's going for.

 

I have an early version of Heyday with the same catalog number, but mine doesn't mention it being made in Japan. I'm not sure if it's the same version you're referring to, but it does sound phenomenal. Here's a scan of the disc for reference:



I'm not a huge fan of the Arista discs. I think they're a bit too bright, though they are nice clean and dynamic transfers and for some of the albums seem like the best option with what's available on cd.

Does anyone have any info on the first cd release of Blurred Crusade, like a catalog number or pictures of the disc? I have the Inglot/Perry version, but would like to find an alternative. I know there was a version released in 1996 with the catalog number CDP 790625 2. Has anyone heard that version?

 

I saw them live earlier this year. Picked up Untitled #23 last week. This might be my favorite Church album, and I've been a fan since Heyday.

 

As mentioned before, Reptile is one of my 5 favorite songs of all time. However I thought their tour de force record was Gold Afternoon Fix. Listened to it in its entirety maybe 1000 times. Grind It Out has a special meaning in my life.

 

I hate the way they stick 'As You Will' and 'The View' into the running order as if they were meant to be there. They were b-sides and they disrupt the flow of the original album.

The Arista CD keeps the original LP song order, and it sounds great.

 

I did a shoot out between the EMI remaster and the Arista. The Arista is brighter but it sounds more dynamic to me and it has better clarity to my ears.

It's definitely the winner on songs like "Night of Light"...the horns have a bit more punch. Since Inglot always insisted on working with the original master tapes I'm not surprised. I don't know if the EMI Japan issue pictured here was from the original master or not. I also like Steve Rooke's remaster for different reasons...bonus tracks

The original CD that I had years ago (the original EMI made in Japan) I seem to recall sounding really, really good but I can't compare it now since I no longer have it.

 

That's interesting that you point that out. The Australian cd is the version of the album I'm used to hearing, so I didn't even realize they were placed oddly in the running order. I just recently got into The Church within the past year or so. I started with the early Hindsight cd collection, loved it and then went from there picking up everything from Skins and Hearts up to Gold Fix Afternoon. The Arista tracks I compared to the same tracks on Hindsight just seemed a little jacked in the highs hence me seeking out alternative cd releases when available for the early albums.

I think "As You Will" is a great song and placing it after "Happy Hunting Ground" works for me as a kind of spacey build up before "Tantalized". I'll have to burn a cdr of the correct flow and see if I like it better.

 

This is a DATA (Digital Audio Technologies Australia) pressing of 'Heyday' that is not that old but is inferior in sound quality to the Japan for Australia pressing I refered to in my earlier posting.
DATA pressings are not always noted for their quality, unfortunately!
In regard to 'The Blurred Crusade' that you refer to...I have this and it is worth looking for. Like 'Heyday', it has a warmer, less bright sound to it compared to their Arista equivalents. There is an early pressing by 'Disctonics', Australia before it was re-pressed like 'Heyday' by DATA. Look for the earlier 'Disctronics' pressing...it's the better of the two!
Not sure whether there was a Japanese pressing for Blurred Crusade...I have been looking for some years to no avail.


David

 

I bet these early Australian pressings are extremely difficult to locate, the Arista CD's are fairly easy for new fans to grab even though they are OOP.

There are also early West German pressings on the Carrere label but I have no idea what mastering they use.

 

Barry,

Depends which ones you are refering to?
The Japan for Australia discs are...the DATA pressings are (almost) everywhere!

David

 

Hi David,

I meant the Japan for Australia and Disctronics pressings.

 

Hi Barry,

Yes, they are rare...even in Oz!!

Regards,

David

 

I saw Vinyl Solution had copies of Heyday with the 7 462562 catalogue number. I assume now that they are the later discs. Glad I held off.

 

Cool, thanks for clearing that up.

It seems that the catalog numbers for these releases don't really get updated, so it's hard to search for them online. I really like this version of Heyday (the one I posted earlier). I also have a DATA pressing of Of Skins and Hearts (I think it was released in 1996) that sounds great too. What about the DATA pressings is supposed to be inferior? What are they lacking compared to other pressings?

Thanks for the info on that release of Blurred Crusade. I'll have to pick that up soon. It seems easy to get a hold of.

 

The (same) catalogue number is confusing. The Japanese pressing has a (distinguishing) red-coloured face on the cd compared to the DATA pressing which is black.

 

Well, I checked my copy of Hindsight and it looks like it was pressed by Disctronics. I was A/Bing it with my DATA Heyday and tonally they sound very similar. One odd thing I've never noticed before is that the channels are swapped comparing the same tracks between the two discs. For example, on my cd of Heyday the tambourine on the intro during "Myrrh" is on the left channel, while on Hindsight it's on the right channel.

 

Hi PBo,

I'm not sure regarding the exact histrionics on DATA...they seemed to take over responsibilty for the bulk of Australian main-stream pressed cd's after Disctronics Australia stopped pressing cd's. I have spoken with a number of people in Australia who felt that DATA suffered from poor quality control issues...not just the cd pressings (mastering) themselves, but also the inserts! Having said that...there were not insignificant numbers of complaints about some of the Disctronics pressings as well.

David

 

I will have to get back to you on this one, PBo. To be honest, I have never noticed the channel reversal you mention!

 

Interesting, I played "Hindsight" all the time way back when, and never noticed the swap (probably because I was always listening to my homemade cassette in my car stereo!).

Anyway, the channels on Myrrh are reversed on Hindsight (didn't check any other songs). The same problem exists on the CD and the vinyl.

It plays correctly on the Arista CD and the dreaded EMI remaster. I confirmed the 'correct' L/R placement using the original EMI Australia vinyl (which sounds great and beats all the CD versions I've heard).

 

If you love the sound of 80's Ploog-era Church, I'd also recommend two of SK's solo albums, "Unearthed' and 'The Slow Crack'. And MWP's first solo album 'In Reflection' is equally amazing. You will not be disappointed.

 

Thanks for the recommendations. I haven't checked out any of the groups solo stuff yet. I've also been interested in checking out Jack Frost since I'm a Go-Betweens fan too.

 

I guess I was mainly wondering if they changed masters for later issues of the cds when they switched manufacturers or if they kept the same cd masterings that Disctronics used. I'll see if I can post peak values for the edition of Heyday that I own a little later today.

 

Here's the EAC/Peak Levels for the Japan for Australia 'Heyday' (CDP 7 46256 2)

Track 1

Peak level 83.5 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 2A3D80F6

Track 2

Peak level 91.4 %
Track quality 99.8 %
Test CRC 537F6180

Track 3

Peak level 87.1 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 453F849B

Track 4

Peak level 100.0 %
Track quality 99.9 %
Test CRC 5D65B1C9

Track 5

Peak level 67.8 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 69C11565

Track 6

Peak level 70.7 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC F94A1998

Track 7

Peak level 83.1 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 5D6DC2C4

Track 8

Peak level 93.6 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC DF963F1E

Track 9

Peak level 88.2 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 8347F94C

Track 10

Peak level 100.0 %
Track quality 99.9 %
Test CRC 4E8394F2

Track 11

Peak level 91.5 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 49E9D639

Track 12

Peak level 60.2 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 7BA14698