rpk (12/02/82)
Does anybody have any opinions as to the ``physical'' quality of phonograph records and its relation to various record companies ? Even though American pressings of records are not very good, there is still is lot of room for variation from awful (I have bought BROKEN records twice in the past year) to poor (pops/clicks on every copy) to ok. What I'd like to hear are the reputations of various record companies in this area. Of course, it's sometimes hard to make a correlations, as sometimes a record company will contract out to more than one pressing plant (RCA and Capitol, I know, have their own). Sometimes, a specific record will have pressing problems (I heard that this was true of a Fleetwood Mac album, either ``Tusk'' or ``Rumours,'' most likely the former). Personally, I think the noisiest records I own are on Mercury, which is perplexing, since the quality of their classical recordings in the early 60s (the Living Presence series, using just two mikes) is renowned. Arista ain't too hot, either. CBS (Columbia, Epic, Portrait, etc.) tends to be ok, which was not always the case a few years ago. Import pressings, especially from Japan, tend to be better. For example, the two British Mercury pressings I own are quite satisfactory, in contrast to their American cousins. However, I don't think Deutsche Grammophon is all that spectacular, consider the cost of the records and the progam material on them. British singles tend to be tinny, with Polydor being the worst case. However, albums are almost always superior to the American verions. Canadian pressings aren't very different from the American ones, and are usually not as good. Not afraid to eat polyvinylchloride, Robert P. Krajewski UUCP: ...!genradbo!mitccc!rpk ARPA: RpK@MC
dfz (12/06/82)
I find that record quality of *all* brands has degraded significantly in the last few years. It is to the point where I am purposely *not* buying records; I will wait for laser discs instead. Below are some specific opinions: ABSOLUTE WORST EVER, TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE: Sire Records: these discs disintegrate almost totally on their first play. This is unfortunate, since some of my favorite artists (e.g. Focus) made the mistake of signing with Sire. I would not buy Sire records under any circumstances. POOR BUT TOLERABLE: EMI: these records play well perhaps ten or twenty times but degrade quickly thereafter. They are acceptable because of the large number of high quality jazz artists featured, otherwise I wouldn't tolerate them. EMI records should be taped immediately on their first play. OK BUT NOTHING TO WRITE HOME ABOUT: This class contains the majority of labels carrying both classical and non-classical records: Angel, Columbia, Atlantic, Deutsche Grammophone, London, etc. etc. I'm still waiting for laser disc. GOOD: I know of no modern records that I would consider of good physical quality. I have some discs from the sixties that play as well today after hundreds of plays as they did the first time. As they say, all good things .... -Dave Ziffer
rs55611 (12/07/82)
I'd have to agree that there is a vast range of quality in American records. My own opinions: A&M - consistently good quality, the best American records, as far as I'm concerned. Columbia - pretty fair . Capitol - fair, Mercury, Epic - bad.
tconn (12/07/82)
I've sent letters complaining about quality to at least 10 companys and have received an answer back from only one - Slash Records. All they had to say was - sorry you had so much trouble. I had to take 3 copies of the Blasters first album back. I finally got another album. Their should be some kind of compensation from record companies for the expense people go to for a decent product, i.e. driving back and forth trying to find a click and pop free recording. I think most of my albums must have been pressed at the Waffle House with left over Hefty trash bags. But listen to the record companies moan and groan about home taping. If they'd put more money into technology and equipment instead of a bunch of jerk lawyers pockets they might see an improvement in sales. They finally are waking up to the fact that people are'nt going to pay $8.98 for single albums and $15.98 for doubles, with the kind of schlock they're putting on the shelves. sorry, I got carried away, Tim Connolly, BTL Indpls. inuxc!tconn
emma (12/07/82)
One nearly unknown American label which is pretty good is American Grammaphone, out of Omaha, Nebraska. They also happen to have the good fortune to be the label the Mannheim Steamroller records on (they have a series of 4 albums, called Fresh Aire 1-4, which are absolutely the best four albums in my collection--I like them better than my Miles Davis or John Coltrane, even).
rlr (12/07/82)
re: poor quality of Sire pressings Sire Records has been sort of an orphaned company with no real "industry" bigwigs behind it for a long time. For a while, I believe they were distributed by ABC (incl. such artists as Focus, Climax Blues Band). They were originally a fairly disorganized label with no common musical association amongst its artists, a la early Elektra (folk). This is very precarious for a small label. Then came the so-called new wave: Ramones, Talking Heads, etc. Sire, being a small rather independent label, signed a number of these "punk" bands. While looking for a means of marketing this "new sound", they coined the term "new wave" as a euphemism for punk, even though artists like the Talking Heads were far from punks. When the whole scene became fashionable, Sire was swallowed up by WEA (Warner Elektra Atlantic). I believe that although their independence and artistic integrity have probably diminished as a result, the quality of their pressings is now up (down?) to industry standards. This probably means they are no better then they once were, but the rest of the record industry has approached their pressing quality from the other direction. Seriously, I now think Sire presses reasonable quality discs.
evans (12/07/82)
I recently bought the Joe Jackson "Night and Day" lp, and only played it through a few times and the snap-crackle-pop is getting a bit annoying! I only wish i could remember the label he's on. I think back now of my "Heart" album from 1976 on Mushroom records. This album, thicker than many, seems to have pretty good quality... It's just too bad the company is no more. If i had the money for a tape deck i'd have one right now. barry evans @ wivax!evans
kfb@sri-unix (12/07/82)
There is nothing more frustrating than spending 8 dollars on a record that was recorded lousy. I would definitely recommend any record on the ECM label for both musical content and very good recording quality. On the negative side, I have some older albums on the MCA label. Is this label still around? Their recordings are easily the worst in my collection.
shauns (12/08/82)
Always excellent: Windham Hill
ECM (getting spotty, though. Still, considering it's
manufactured by Polydor, quality is superior)
hnh (specialty classical)
OK: Warner on established groups
A&M
Kicking Mule (Renaissance/Folk. Somewhat spotty)
Columbia Classical
Erato (french classical)
Absolutely awful: Atlantic (Absolutely beyond hope. play with teakwood
stylus only. do not turn amp on.)
MCA
Electra/Asylum
Re: Deutsche Gramophon-The record surface is usually great for the
first play. After that the grooves collapse. I don't know-a weak
vinyl compound or unusually high static charge retention, perhaps.
Very noisy. Uggh.
No London mastering engineer has yet proved he can produce a record
(particulary digital) with any dynamic range at all, so I could care
less about their pressing quality, which seems to be pretty good.
Shaun Simpkins
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ARPAnet:shauns.tek@rand-relayjsm (12/13/82)
References: uw-june.228
Mannheim Steamroller IS American Grammaphone, therefore it is no
coincidence that they record on that label.
American Grammaphone is an audiophile label, therefore I don't think
that you should compare it to records manufactured by WEA, Columbia, etc.
When I pay $14 - $20 for an album, it had better be of good quality. I
would apreciate any response from the net on audiophile albums they have
bought that are not superior to the mass market labels.
Anyway, back to Mannheim Steamroller, if any one out there reading
this hasn't ever heard of them, then you are missing a real treat. I have
never found anyone who did not like their music. It is very hard to put
there music into any one particular category. They play original pieces
with instrument combinations that are seem quite strange until you have
heard them (i.e Pipe Organ and drum, Harpsichord, synthesizer, and Toy
Piano). I am not going to even try to describe their music, because I
could never do it justice. All I can say is buy an album, whether your
favorite music is classical,jazz or electronic rock. If I had to rank
their albums, This is the order I would put them in:
#1) Fresh Aire II
#2) Fresh Aire III
#3) Fresh Aire IV
#4) Fresh Aire I
John S. Marvin
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