I don't think I've heard a HW of Moving Pictures.....I've seen plenty but have never owned or heard one.
I have a few of those "vinyl regrets" Showtime...but I'm doing the best I can to make sure I never have another one.
I actually enjoyed side 1 over 2 for this one. (Maybe side two was played to death) However it may just be the recording or what not and have nothing to do with who cut it Just thought it would be neat if a full H existed. For curiosity sake! Interesting, I was just looking at that Dutch cut. First time I've ever seen Copy Control on a face label.
I have a two sided Masterdisk HW MP, and all my other HW Rush sound less than desirable. But, the MP actually sounds superb. The drums are tight as heck, and the whole album exudes a nice warm tight low end, with an equal, smooth crisp high end. The album still baffles me though. Of the various hw Rush albums I've had, I only have one left, COS, and the sound is downright horrible. I got rid of my others, but this MP is a freak of nature.
As far as the 2015 DMM pressings go......I've been spinning A Show Of Hands the last couple of days. I really like the track selection, as it is a nice representation of their 80's material.......I also like the clean sound this pressing gives.
Just wanna' give a nod to HW's take on Waves. I do enjoy spinning it from time to time. I actually prefer it to the more romantic presentation of the MoFi press.
It turned out that I found my Dutch 2-RL NM pressing on Discogs from a guy here in the US several months ago. He was a colossal D**k but, the pressing was lovely and I believe it only cost me shipped about $30 or so... ***EDIT What I noticed most about the Dutch pressing was the sheer POWER of it. One of THE most dynamic RUSH pressings I've ever heard, with the exception of course of the 2 JAMF 2112 and AFTK pressings.
I also have a wonderful GRM double RL that seems to use the same metal as the Holland/Dutch/Netherlands press. Yet still I wonder if the native (US) release is better? They are not from the same lacquers. Maybe not as it's a digital recording, but did they use tapes? IIRC, in the early days digital was not always from files. Anyhoo, I keep hoping to find a untrashed US one in the wild.....hope is diminishing!
I compared my US BK version of Signals to the 2015 vinyl, and I ended up preferring the former. The BK has much nicer midrange and (IMO) is a bit more natural. It's definitely a smoother listen. The 2015 has a treble boost and slightly less upper-bass (similar to the Sector CD's EQ), which admittedly does bring out the guitars other small details. Neither version is bad though, and I wouldn't be surprised to see people preferring the 2015 for this one.
Today I brought home a Columbia Record Club pressing of Signals because: -It was under $10 -It is pristinely clean -I haven't bought a Rush LP in months (or at least it seems like it) -The labels have more vibrant color to them than my BK pressings, the BK's are pretty washed out and light -And, really, who doesn't need more Rush LPs And it sounds good, but not quite as detailed as the BK press, especially in the midrange (high end is also pretty far back), Neil's hi-hat is hard to detail a lot of the time), which IMO hurts Alex's guitars, therefore the tracks don't quite have the "punch" and vibrancy they should have. The biggest thing I noticed right away upon inspection is that the runout groove on both sides of the CRC is MUCH wider than the BK cut, so that piqued my interest to bring it home to listen. I've often seen comments about unmarked runout grooves that "others would have followed RL's mastering notes," etc., but to me this is clear evidence that there are definitely vastly different plates and stampers out there...someone here with more knowledge than I please let me know if I'm incorrect in that assumption. Bottom line, I'm always happy to have a clean pop-less original Rush release in the rotation, so I'm not disappointed. RUSH - Signals SRM 1-4063 Side I Matrix: SRM-1-4063 A-1C XG (farther along there is a lightly etched "4" and "P") pressing codes 72 and 26 Side II Matrix: SRM-1-4063 B-1A XG (farther along there is a lightly etched "4" and "P") pressing codes 72 and 26 Back of jacket has CRC in the bottom right corner, there is no 501 in the upper right corner
I really like the sound of the BK cut of Signals. CRC pressings of Rush titles have been hit or miss in my experience.
As a kind of wrap-up to my Signals saga from a few posts ago... I have 4 Signals LPs: 1) First one I ever owned, unsigned M- MASTERDISK pressed at PRC, Richmond, IN, bought used in the mid-80's 2) BK cut, M- (bought this off Amazon cuz seller said it sat virtually unplayed on a record executive's shelf...probably did, who knows) 3) BK cut, VG+ 4) Columbia Record Club pressing that I mentioned a few threads ago. Had some spare time today so I did a side by side listening and visual comparison between them. Takeaways: 1) The BK's sound markedly better than the CRC...no surprise there 2) The unsigned sounds almost identical to the BK's...pleasant surprise there 3) Neither the BK's nor the unsigned press have the strangely wide runout groove that the CRC does 4) CRC now relegated to the basement stacks
I picked up a 1981ish copy of Caress of Steel the other day for two reasons. One the whole thing was in tip-top condition, and the other was that it was MASTERDISK stamped, but without the onerous HW, instead inscribed with the "AM" initials where the A is inside the M. We have probably deciphered who this is somewhere in this thread. I listened to it once casually and it sounded good. Between that and a first pressing, a second early pressing in an Archives, a GK in another Archives, the German copy, and my original beat up HW copy I think I should stop. But it's fun finding the random cuttings like this one. I bought a copy of Farewell to Kings I kept with the weird MASTERDISK "e" inscription just because it was rare. It's fun to collect all these variants since Rush vinyl isn't very expensive and there's no crazy expensive UK holy grails to pine for.
I just, in general, find his cuttings to be sub-par compared to others. Never anything to get excited about. Not sure I could pick it out in a blind test, but I've found his cuts are nothing special. Between him and BK I'm tired of seeing their initials while looking for RLs and GKs.
Was up in Quebec a couple weeks ago and picked up a clean-ish GK Canadian press of "Fly By Night" on the Anthem label. Absolutely the best $10 CA I ever spent!! Thing sounds awesome. I had the old CD prior to this and had no idea that the LP would come with an inner sleeve with lyrics. I now know that the line from "Best I Can" is "Got a living that's rough" and not "gotta live in a trough"!
I had a good weekend finding vinyl.........snatched a nice skyline label (JAMF) pressing of A Farewell To Kings. I prefer it over my MASTERDISK Howie. I also bought a cassette of AFTK and blasted that sucker in my 2002 Monte Carlo SS all the way home. The strange Dr. Funk is definitely living in the past and loving every minute. I've been busy cleaning vinyl.......some poor soul dumped their entire Alice Cooper collection, and I got it for cheap.
That’s funny, because today I went to a favorite haunt and saw an HW A Farewell to Kings skyline and I said to myself, “nah, save the money and leave it for someone else, the JAMF you have at home is just fine.”
Agreed...the punch and outstanding reproduction and clarity of tone and timbre (along with a very clear Geddy vocal that gives us the nuance in his voice) are the hallmarks of this JAMF in my opinion. And, of the 2112 JAMF as well. When they're on the turntable I listen to them at least two or three times before re-shelving.
I got a hankering for some Hemispheres this afternoon. I have three US (brain label) vinyl copies of this album.........a CRC pressing (not too shabby), a PRC in the deadwax, and a Gilbert Kong cut. The GK gets the nod on this day. I'm sure the UK Trident is the cats meow, but I've never heard one.
Okay, I just listened to this pressing of Caress of Steel: Rush - Caress Of Steel It is a 1976 reissue with skyline labels. It sounds MUCH better than the GK mastered version, which has always sounded muddy to me. One to consider if looking for a decent copy of this album. Unfortunately, the GK is the only version to which I can compare.
So were 'Just Another Mastering Facility' plates just sent to US manufacturers from Canada? Actually this is a question I've had for a few years now, thanks for the reminder
