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Post by AGR82 on Mar 8, 2018 13:11:20 GMT
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Post by rocketman on Mar 8, 2018 21:33:00 GMT
I never bought this one. I do think Record Store Day is a good idea - precious few of them exist any more. But yeah, I'll pass.
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Post by dougs on Mar 11, 2018 5:07:59 GMT
RECORD STORE DAY:
I, too, love the idea of "Record Store Day." Anything that promotes people buying music is a great idea. Many of the releases are quite rare or unique or never-been-released on vinyl or any other format before so there are so many records worth checking out and buying. I am amazed to see the lengthy line-ups last year for our local "Record Store Day." That is when I bought Elton's 17-11-70 + release plus a few others.
ELTON VS. PNAU for 2018 is an interesting but not a truly rare release. For people in areas far removed from the UK and Australia, it may seem a bit rare but, remember, that in the UK ELTON VS. PNAU actually went to #1 on the Top 100 albums charts. I am one of those people who really enjoyed the album. I am a fan of electronic music and remixes so I like what Pnau did with these Elton classics. "Sixty" is especially good. It is not everyone's cup of tea but I found it worthwhile but since I already own it, there is no need to buy it again. It would be nice to see something more "rare" from Elton available on vinyl. How about that long-overdue collection of his greatest album tracks ("Mona Lisa and Mad Hatters" and "Tonight" and "Ticking" and so on...) pressed on vinyl only. I'd buy it in a second. There must be something worthwhile in terms of a classic Elton live recording that has not seen the light of day, as well.
Doug
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Post by RegD432 on Mar 13, 2018 12:23:37 GMT
I never bought this one. I do think Record Store Day is a good idea - precious few of them exist any more. But yeah, I'll pass. I don't know about just a precious few existing anymore. Pretty much everything gets released on vinyl now and almost every album of any significance is getting several re-presses these days. Sony is about to start pressing vinyl again too. The market has literally been flooded the last two years, and as a result prices have started to fall to acceptable levels for new records. I even bought Time Out of Mind by Bob Dylan on vinyl last week for 15 dollars US. That was a 90s album that never got put onto vinyl in the first place, but it is now. Elton is also slowly releasing all of his albums on heavy duty 180 gram vinyl with proper pressing techniques. I've gotten a few and can vouch that they sound better than their original pressing cousins (especially Sleeping with the Past). It's a good time to be a vinyl a fan. Everything is available and lots more to come. If an album you want isn't on vinyl yet, just wait a month or two. It'll make it. |
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Post by rocketman on Mar 13, 2018 15:39:36 GMT
I never bought this one. I do think Record Store Day is a good idea - precious few of them exist any more. But yeah, I'll pass. I don't know about just a precious few existing anymore. Pretty much everything gets released on vinyl now and almost every album of any significance is getting several re-presses these days. Sony is about to start pressing vinyl again too. The market has literally been flooded the last two years, and as a result prices have started to fall to acceptable levels for new records. I even bought Time Out of Mind by Bob Dylan on vinyl last week for 15 dollars US. That was a 90s album that never got put onto vinyl in the first place, but it is now. Elton is also slowly releasing all of his albums on heavy duty 180 gram vinyl with proper pressing techniques. I've gotten a few and can vouch that they sound better than their original pressing cousins (especially Sleeping with the Past). It's a good time to be a vinyl a fan. Everything is available and lots more to come. If an album you want isn't on vinyl yet, just wait a month or two. It'll make it. I should have been more clear - I meant that precious few stores exist any more. I wasn't referring to records. In my area, record stores have virtually disappeared. There's a small one in my home city. There used to be several back in the day. |
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Post by dougs on Mar 13, 2018 19:46:00 GMT
rocketman:
re: number of record stores remaining:
Yeah, the number of record stores has severely declined here in Canada, too. We had a chain called "Sam The Record Man" which went bankrupt in 2001 and finally closed its main Toronto store in 2007. Elton used to shop there. Every town and city in Canada had "Sam's" all over the place. "HMV" then did their closures here in Canada between 2011 and 2017. Fortunately "Sunrise Records" bought a bunch of the "HMV" stores and they still operate today, usually in malls. What has happened in recent years is that the remaining chain record stores have expanded their vinyl sections dramatically and many smaller private record stores focus primarily on vinyl sales and even sell turntables and related accessories.
One thing which I like about the vinyl medium is that it promotes listening to an entire disc - the full collection of songs. In the world of digital downloads most people listen to one song from one artist followed by another song from another artist and so on...rarely sitting down to listen to an entire work by an artist. I am having a real blast buying vinyl and listening to an entire 40-45 minutes of work by musical artists. The key is to find albums that are strong across the full 40 minutes. I have gone back to buy great albums from Miles Davis and The Moody Blues and Jethro Tull and Pink Floyd plus new ones from Moby, Radiohead, and Beck which are a real treat to listen to all the way through. Pressed on high quality 180 gram vinyl listened to with good headphones...you just can't beat it!
I prefer buying my new vinyl from the local vinyl record stores as long as their prices are competitive with Amazon. In Canada, Amazon.ca is a still usually a bit pricey so I tend to buy, instead, from the private stores to help keep them making money.
It is interesting to note that lots of small indie bands are making their music available on vinyl knowing that there is a legit market out there for it. Most bands/artists are smart enough to include a digital download access number within the vinyl package so that the buyer/listener has both the vinyl and digital formats to listen to. The new 180 gram vinyl ROCK OF THE WESTIES I bought today had such a digital download code included.
Doug
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Post by rocketman on Mar 22, 2018 17:26:27 GMT
By the way, I read recently in the USA Today that sales of CD's have plummeted to just 10% of their peak sales of 940,000,000 units in the year 2000.
As interesting as vinyl is, especially in promoting the idea listening to the whole album, plus the analog sound that many regard as superior, I for one will miss the CD should it meet an ultimate demise. The best thing about them perhaps is that they have allowed the expansion of the basic album to include bonus tracks which for various reasons had to be left off the original LP.
That said, I'm glad that vinyl has made a comeback. Not only does it lend itself to enjoying an entire album as a cohesive whole, it also promotes listening in a home environment rather than while driving or being distracted in some other way. I've always felt that the best way to appreciate music is by giving it undivided attention, though I have nothing against car stereos or downloads and still use both.
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Post by dougs on Mar 22, 2018 18:07:02 GMT
rocketman:
Yeah, one of the good things about the CD was it did provide space for bonus material but it also encouraged bands to fill in the 79 minutes of available space with less than stellar songs. Look at the greatest albums out there; usually 40 minutes of music and a limited (usually 10 or less) number of songs. Few bands can write a great 10-song 40-minute album. CDs permitted space for possibly some extra good music but it was more likely to be mediocre stuff. More "can be" better but it depends greatly on more actually being better. Another benefit of CDs was they were pretty durable; dirty fingers and dropping discs rarely damaged CDs as much as they would a vinyl album, for sure.
Like you said, rocketman, I too love giving music my full undivided attention - sitting fully engaged listening to bass lines, strings, drums, piano parts, guitars, vocals, etc. fully immersed! What a pleasure! The glory of some albums is their music in totality, especially concept or theme albums.
Doug
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Post by rocketman on Mar 23, 2018 23:47:03 GMT
Another great thing about the LP is that the artwork and liner notes certainly took on added significance. I have fond memories of listening to the album while looking at the liner notes and other goodies that were sometimes included, like the booklets that came with the Captain Fantastic album, for example. We didn't just listen to an album, we experienced it. I still have several of my original Elton John albums, and even though I don't own a turntable, I still get them out once in a while and look them over.
Some labels have issued CDs that try to duplicate that experience, but they fall fall short - in some cases, I can barely read the lyrics or other liner notes.
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Post by dougs on Mar 24, 2018 0:21:47 GMT
rocketman:
Agreed! Part of the fun of buying a vinyl album was the artwork and, in some cases, booklets that were included. I can remember sitting in my big comfy chair listening to and enjoying the album artwork for CAPTAIN FANTASTIC AND THE BROWN DIRT COWBOY and Pink Floyd's DARK SIDE OF THE MOON and Fleetwood Mac's TUSK. It was more of an event. With all the associated information included, we knew who played what instrument on which song, who produced and engineered the album, where it was recorded, and we knew precisely what the lyrics were. Not only was the music detail important, the artwork was a big deal in the era of albums and the size of albums facilitated detailed and creative artwork for the covers. Books were even published featuring album artwork. It mattered. Sound mattered too; lots of artists worked hard at creating distinctive separation of instruments from one speaker to the other - almost like having the band playing in front of you.
Lots of debate exists on the "sound" of vinyl vs. CDs. Generally, pure analogue records have what is subtly referred to as a "warmth" that is hard to detect but is there. Needless to say, both vinyl and CDs have their respective benefits but I still prefer the whole package of what (analogue) vinyl albums bring, especially when pressed on high quality heavy vinyl.
When MCA Records finally packaged DON'T SHOOT ME I'M ONLY TYHE PIANO PLAYER properly years ago with a remastering and a fully printed photo/lyric package, it was next to impossible to read the microscopic lyrics! The album package just couldn't translate into a decent CD package. It was nice to see that Elton's re-released vinyl albums last year were packaged about 99% accurately and completely - very faithful to the original releases.
Doug
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Post by AGR82 on Mar 24, 2018 9:15:44 GMT
Does the Don´t Shoot Me album contain the booklet? (And Tumbleweed ... ?)
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Post by dougs on Mar 24, 2018 15:03:10 GMT
AGR82:
I didn't buy the re-released 2017 vinyl for DON'T SHOOT ME I'M ONLY THE PIANO PLAYER or TUMBLEWEED CONNECTION but I did buy 7 other EJ vinyl releases such as CAPTAIN FANTASTIC AND THE BROWN DIRT COWBOY which came packaged just like the original releases back in the 1970s with full packaging (booklets, posters, double-gatefold, etc.). All the albums that I purchased were packaged faithfully to the originals. I would expect that DON'T SHOOT ME I'M ONLY THE PIANO PLAYER and TUMBLEWEED CONNECTION followed the pattern and were packaged with their booklets as well.
Doug
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Post by crazywater on Apr 11, 2018 14:43:29 GMT
AGR82: I didn't buy the re-released 2017 vinyl for DON'T SHOOT ME I'M ONLY THE PIANO PLAYER or TUMBLEWEED CONNECTION but I did buy 7 other EJ vinyl releases such as CAPTAIN FANTASTIC AND THE BROWN DIRT COWBOY which came packaged just like the original releases back in the 1970s with full packaging (booklets, posters, double-gatefold, etc.). All the albums that I purchased were packaged faithfully to the originals. I would expect that DON'T SHOOT ME I'M ONLY THE PIANO PLAYER and TUMBLEWEED CONNECTION followed the pattern and were packaged with their booklets as well. Doug They were although Tumbleweed Connection album was not textured the way the original was and the mix of "Where To Now St. Peter?" is not the original mix with the double tracked vocals in the chorus and slightly different guitars but the alternate mix included later and on all vinyl and CDs. |
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Post by Dr Johnny Fever on Apr 11, 2018 17:03:03 GMT
Never bought a new 180 gram record..I've gone to second hand record places and picked up old albums for next to nothing...not really bothered about CDs dying the death as things move on, records died when CDs first came on the seen...the young don't care for CDs it's all downloaded stuff now...same as radio, my two never ever listen to it...they clime into the car...which picks up there phones and it plays whatever they have on it..
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