North American standard pressings don't get the credit they deserve at times!

[John72953]

We've all heard it...if you want the best pressing of this or that, look for a UK/EURO/JAPAN pressing. Many times this is good advice as the differences are readily apparent, but I think for a good number of vinyl fans this has become an unjustified standard opinion. This is especially true today, but it is also applied to pressings of some decades ago, and this is where I disgree with some of the mainstream thinking.

Using only the example of WEA and two their sub-labels Reprise and Elektra, plus their own output on WEA, we have had the good fortune of some amazingly wonderful product, and IMO...product that stands up to everything else. Have a look and listen to your own collection of these labels and tell me otherwise.

Do I have have tin ears?

[whart]

We've all heard it...if you want the best pressing of this or that, look for a UK/EURO/JAPAN pressing. Many times this is good advice as the differences are readily apparent, but I think for a good number of vinyl fans this has become an unjustified standard opinion. This is especially true today, but it is also applied to pressings of some decades ago, and this is where I disgree with some of the mainstream thinking.

Using only the example of WEA and two their sub-labels Reprise and Elektra, plus their own output on WEA, we have had the good fortune of some amazingly wonderful product, and IMO...product that stands up to everything else. Have a look and listen to your own collection of these labels and tell me otherwise.

Do I have have tin ears?

Nope, I've had good luck with various US pressings from the 70's including WEA and Columbia. Among them, Chicago II, BS & T (2), Van Morrison's Moondance (I pulled out the copy I bought in the early 70's- it sounded very good). Janis Ian's 'Between the Lines'- a noted 'audiophile' favorite including among reviewers is also to my knowledge, not based on the reissue, but the 1975 pressing(which i have a number of copies of- it's a great sounding record and she's a great writer, to boot) . And those are just a few that my feeble brain can conjure up right now.

[andi]

Hi John,

it is funny. We (Germans) were told that we have to buy american pressings to get the best sound.
This was true for many Sinatras and Belafontes.
But...... it came clear that the authors had big, big amounts of these records in the attic, which they bought for cheap in the US.
After there raving reviews they had "golddust" in their attic. ))))

Andreas

[Phelonious Ponk]

Hi John,

it is funny. We (Germans) were told that we have to buy american pressings to get the best sound.
This was true for many Sinatras and Belafontes.
But...... it came clear that the authors had big, big amounts of these records in the attic, which they bought for cheap in the US.
After there raving reviews they had "golddust" in their attic. ))))

Andreas

Funny. I was about to say that it wouldn't surprise me a bit if, in Japan, it's American pressings that are desrieable. I'm not saying there is no difference between pressing, but I suspect an awful lot of this is collectors' mentality. Let it knock around awhile and the rare becomes better. And then we hear what we expect to hear.

Tim

[whart]

Hi John,

it is funny. We (Germans) were told that we have to buy american pressings to get the best sound.
This was true for many Sinatras and Belafontes.
But...... it came clear that the authors had big, big amounts of these records in the attic, which they bought for cheap in the US.
After there raving reviews they had "golddust" in their attic. ))))

Andreas

Yes, part of that was the 'aura' around the Mercury Living Presence and old RCA records- I would read European magazines that talked about whether the US pressings of the Mercurys lived up to their reputation. Some of that originated with the columns Sid Marks wrote for The Absolute Sound about the music on those two labels, and many of us (well, me) got wound up about buying those too. (They were extremely pricey when I was seeking them in the late 80's, early 90's).
Alot of the stuff I'm enjoying is 'non-audiophile' just standard 70's popular music, mentioned above. I think we also have information leading to the conclusion that German pressings of some of this (Dark Side of the Moon?) are very good. Perhaps it is also some 'grass is greener' too!