A friend, who is a lawyer in the biz and a very deep collector of things vinyl, finally got to come over for a listening session at my place today. (We hadn't seen each other in a while even though we are neighbors and even work together sometimes over the phone). It was edifying musically and educational. In almost all cases, the first U.S. pressings bettered the UK versions of things like Zep (we compared 3 different Zep 1 pressings); did a shoot out of Aqualung (the best was his WLP copy from the US of a record that, frankly, just has problems in every version I have ever heard, though admittedly we didn't play an early Island copy); his Island pink first press of Tull's Stand Up was just that! He also brought over a Island pink first press of "In the Court of the Crimson King." I had never heard the amount of nuance, even in Schizoid Man, which tends to get cluttered. First pressing of Neil Young's Harvest was awesome (I was trying to find my Classic 'Greatest Hits' to do a comparo but alas, it was 'disappeared' - something which happens to me routinely, I'm sure when I next go up to the room, it will jump off the shelf into my hand). Got to listen to a Philips UK Space Oddity, which was, I think, first issued as a David Bowie record under a different title- very warm, musical sounding. We listened to an absolutely great Frank Sinatra record on Capitol and even a decent sounding copy of Sticky Fingers (I'm not a huge 'Stones' fan). I threw in a few of my favs, including Trixie Whitley's "I'd Rather Go Blind' and her father's recording of 'Dirt Floor.'
My friend is not an audiophile- he has a decent system but he loves records and is willing to take the time and trouble to find them. Most of these records were virtually flawless, like new covers, no ticks, pops or groove noise.
My friend is not an audiophile- he has a decent system but he loves records and is willing to take the time and trouble to find them. Most of these records were virtually flawless, like new covers, no ticks, pops or groove noise.