Been listening some more this week fwiw to some pressings I have to thin the herd. Another of the 1980 era MCA blue sky rainbow label hybrids. 7 11976 12 all stamped 7 11977 W2 all etched, Larry Boden's initials. Looks like the Gloversville stamp. 7 11978 13 all stamped 7 11979 12 all stamped Stamped sides sounded best to my ears fwiw and they sounded pretty clear and crisp and clean to me. The 1989 KPG/MCA mentioned upthread is all etched. Side 4 includes the log# etched but no initials. I haven't listened to it recently with these others. I have a reissue 1973 UK Track A1 A1 B2 B3 iirc and a Part 1 and 2 (1972 afaik) UK Track. Fwiw I did not really care for the sound of them all that much. I liked the 1969 Aussie International Polydor with the rare orange and black label. Or maybe it was the look of it. Only listened to it for a few minutes and liked it but did not really compare. I found the sound of the 1971 Decca G.K. too strident for me at times but really engaging and I listened to full songs and forgot about thinking too much. I thought it reinforced an earlier impression fwiw that I had of it - a three dimensional like wide spread of sound from 12oclock to 3oclock to 9oclock or whenever that didn't seem as apparent on some other pressings. I enjoyed it the best of the pressings I've heard. I can hear getting ear fatigued with it but it kind of sparkled and had a wide swath of sound to it that I liked. Fwiw I have a 1980 Japan wlp and that 1989 KPGMCA and also only a 2 sided stamped 1973 MCA black sky rainbow (w2,17,w2,3 or some variation of) left to compare. Coincidentally both the hybrid sided 1980 and 1973 (I think) MCAs I have don't have a stamped side 2. One gets all kinds of impressions on these things. There is definitely a bias imo lol - all good! - involved with provenance, collectability, and continentally, that can color (prematurely?) perception. That's part of what makes it all so expensive lol. Have to track down a few more vintage 1969 pressings though and call it a holiday.
Nah there really wouldn’t be a way to get stickers off the shrink wrap without cutting them off, it’s basically a permanent part of the shrink once it’s affixed to it.
stickers like that are put on when the product is assembled. And honestly, it wouldn’t really make any sense for stickers to be put on the back because the whole meaning behind those stickers was for the customer to see them while flipping through records in a record store.
I have an early Track and really like the sound. Deadwax similar to yours but I can’t make out the numbers at the end (after A//1 and B//1), they seem more like marks than numbers. I also love the full gloss sleeve. I have a second Track with a matt sleeve and the alt version of Eyesight to the Blind, that sounds OK but not as good as the early one. In fact, it was quite an ear-opener when I first played the early press, a bolder, richer sound. Tim
Bumping this again after finding a '71 DECCA with G.K. (Gilbert Kong) "44" on all four sides. Sounds amazing, love love love it.
I really like this one : The Who - Tommy In fact I just commented on it on Discogs - I've never heard a 1st generation UK original, nor the Kevin Gray or Simply Vinyl cuts. But I've tried my share of MCA / Polydor / Decca pressings (UK, US, Germany) and this one is by far the most enjoyable pressing I've heard. Quiet, dynamic, rich and detailed sounding with no sibilance or harshness whatsoever, and totally consistent across all four sides. I only find it light in the bass area but not to the point of spoiling the experience. I will say, though, like I did in the comment on the Discogs - I find the MFSL CD even better. In fact I regularly find myself thinking "that's one great pressing" whenever I play it, until I look up and remember I'm not playing an LP. And I really don't mind the different version of "Eyesight."
So, I’ve never bought preowned vinyl before, but really want an AAA copy of Tommy. If I went on discogs and bought a random 1969 Track pressing in VG+, is that likely to be enjoyable for playing every couple of months, or am I likely in for a lot of noise?
Hard to say, it "should" be fine but too many people grade one or two steps up from reality, and also don't verify or guarantee specific pressings. I just bought a NM graded record from a discogs seller and it has a small but deep scratch, and the seller says i must've done it! It's VG, not NM. They should have a filter to sort out play graded records only. Visually grading is worthless, you're going to play it, not look at it. That said, much of my collection is pre owned. I enjoy the hunting for good records. They are out there. I got a truly NM The Who / Tommy at a thrift store, MCA early 70s 2nd pressing, and it's super quiet record and plays great. Only $2.99!
The STERLING stamps can be seen stamped in three of the four sides of the deadwax of the record I have with the 613/614 cat# etched in along with letter-# per each side, with the Track labels with made in the usa center bottom, as pictured in a few other threads here and on discogs. What I haven't read or seen in the concise posts about this STERLING stamped record is that yes the made in usa labels include the 2657 cat#, HOWEVER, so do 2 other separate UK entries, also from 1969, so IF those photos on discogs are to be trusted as accurate for those two additional 1969 UK listings, then dating the Tommy STERLING stamped records as being from 1970 or later, based on that information alone, may not be true. There is no 2657 in the deadwax nor the alt Eyesight on side 1 either, fwiw.
a correctly graded VG+ has ZERO audible surface noise during the music. if it has minimal surface noise during the music, that is not distracting, then it is a VG.
For what little it's worth, I've had this US Decca The Who - Tommy but am now listening to a 70's MCA reissue I recently inherited, and to me it sounds as good if not even better. Obviously the wear/condition on any individual record will always be a factor, though.
The original US Decca is my favorite Tommy, there's a transparency that the warmer UK for example can't match.
I'll go you one further; the CDN Decca Tommy was just as bad and IIRC, used the same metal parts as the US. My CDN pressing is an original pressed at Compo, auto-coupled & machine stamped matrices. 7 11976 3 (side 1) I have and love the Classic Records version.
After seeing this thread I checked my copy I've had for decades. Turns out it is the 1971 All Disc pressing mastered by Gilbert Kong. It has always sounded great to me. I think I'll keep it.
Give the recent half speed master by Miles a try. It’s excellent. Sounds more natural than the 2013 KG, which seems to have a little splash of eq. Bass great on KG if you want slam.
