itsgoodtobefree

I was asking myself the same question all day and finally ended up just going for the signed one. If i do pick up a color one down the road I may end up just swapping out the inserts (if they are the same) and selling the black for a loss.

Standalone now sold out. 

I started collecting MP3s in about 2001, and if I try to play any of the tracks I downloaded back then, even the stuff I grabbed at 320kbps, they just sound like crap. The bass is terrible, the midrange…well don’t get me started. Some of those albums have degraded down to 32 or even 16kbps. FLAC rips from the same period still sound great, even if they weren’t stored correctly, in a cool, dry place. Seriously, stick to FLAC, you may not be able to hear the difference now, but in a year or two, you’ll be glad you did.

I started collecting MP3s in about 2001, and if I try to play any of the tracks I downloaded back then, even the stuff I grabbed at 320kbps, they just sound like crap. The bass is terrible, the midrange…well don’t get me started. Some of those albums have degraded down to 32 or even 16kbps. FLAC rips from the same period still sound great, even if they weren’t stored correctly, in a cool, dry place. Seriously, stick to FLAC, you may not be able to hear the difference now, but in a year or two, you’ll be glad you did.

I started collecting MP3s in about 2001, and if I try to play any of the tracks I downloaded back then, even the stuff I grabbed at 320kbps, they just sound like crap. The bass is terrible, the midrange…well don’t get me started. Some of those albums have degraded down to 32 or even 16kbps. FLAC rips from the same period still sound great, even if they weren’t stored correctly, in a cool, dry place. Seriously, stick to FLAC, you may not be able to hear the difference now, but in a year or two, you’ll be glad you did.

I started collecting MP3s in about 2001, and if I try to play any of the tracks I downloaded back then, even the stuff I grabbed at 320kbps, they just sound like crap. The bass is terrible, the midrange…well don’t get me started. Some of those albums have degraded down to 32 or even 16kbps. FLAC rips from the same period still sound great, even if they weren’t stored correctly, in a cool, dry place. Seriously, stick to FLAC, you may not be able to hear the difference now, but in a year or two, you’ll be glad you did.

I started collecting MP3s in about 2001, and if I try to play any of the tracks I downloaded back then, even the stuff I grabbed at 320kbps, they just sound like crap. The bass is terrible, the midrange…well don’t get me started. Some of those albums have degraded down to 32 or even 16kbps. FLAC rips from the same period still sound great, even if they weren’t stored correctly, in a cool, dry place. Seriously, stick to FLAC, you may not be able to hear the difference now, but in a year or two, you’ll be glad you did.

Box set available to order here: http://omnivorerecordings.com/music/the-complete-chris-bell/

Box set available to order here: http://omnivorerecordings.com/music/the-complete-chris-bell/

Omnivore is also releasing a 6xLP box set called "The Complete Chris Bell" sometime this year for those who are interested.
I wish they would use a better pressing plant. My copies of Big Star Complete Third are noisy. 

Elliott Smith - Heaven Adores You $12 free US shipping  
https://us.udiscovermusic.com/collections/new-arrivals/products/heaven-adores-you-soundtrack-vinyl-2lp

Here are my overall thoughts on this:
I sort of wish they opened the vaults more for this release. When the rumors about a deluxe OK Computer started making rounds, I fantasized about a Pet Sounds Sessions-esque release — Original album, new mix, instrumentals, acapella tracks, demos, b-sides, etc. All that’s new here is the remastering (which I doubt will be that significant) and the 3 unreleased tracks. While this new set includes the 8 studio b-sides, there are four b-sides missing that were on some of the CD singles. Two live tracks from No Surprises, and two remixes from Karma Police. I think the band are going for an “OK Computer Pt. 2” type release, which would make sense why they wouldn’t want to include those. The 3LP set is a pretty good value for $40, but the deluxe box set is not worth $100 more, in my opinion. Is a box, a cassette, a book, and more artwork really worth $100? We’ll see. This is the most expensive deluxe set Radiohead’s ever put out, so quite a high bar has been set. The wording regarding the remastering is really odd on the website: “all newly remastered from the original analogue tapes*  *But why? The original analogue tapes are the highest definition version of the record, and nothing will ever beat them. However in the 20 years since the original release mastering technology has improved a lot, and with new equipment and techniques we can make a digital version that's an improvement of the original transfer.” So are they saying they’re digitally remastered? It sounds like they forgot to say “all newly digitally remastered” in the first part.  Regardless, my Parlophone pressing of OK Computer and all of its 12” singles (plus the 7” of Paranoid Android) sound AMAZING. I highly doubt that this release will compare in terms of quality, but I hope it does. Pressing quality is a concern considering what happened with A Moon Shaped Pool.  I was hoping for a complete b-sides box set at some point. With this existing, I don’t see that happening (until maybe 20 years from now!). Now I’ll just hope for boxes of the remaining albums, but they’ve already skipped Pablo Honey and The Bends, so… maybe not? Finally, they need to reissue the promo floppy disk:
 

Elliott Smith - Heaven Adores You $12 free US shipping  
https://us.udiscovermusic.com/collections/new-arrivals/products/heaven-adores-you-soundtrack-vinyl-2lp

Here are my overall thoughts on this:
I sort of wish they opened the vaults more for this release. When the rumors about a deluxe OK Computer started making rounds, I fantasized about a Pet Sounds Sessions-esque release — Original album, new mix, instrumentals, acapella tracks, demos, b-sides, etc. All that’s new here is the remastering (which I doubt will be that significant) and the 3 unreleased tracks. While this new set includes the 8 studio b-sides, there are four b-sides missing that were on some of the CD singles. Two live tracks from No Surprises, and two remixes from Karma Police. I think the band are going for an “OK Computer Pt. 2” type release, which would make sense why they wouldn’t want to include those. The 3LP set is a pretty good value for $40, but the deluxe box set is not worth $100 more, in my opinion. Is a box, a cassette, a book, and more artwork really worth $100? We’ll see. This is the most expensive deluxe set Radiohead’s ever put out, so quite a high bar has been set. The wording regarding the remastering is really odd on the website: “all newly remastered from the original analogue tapes*  *But why? The original analogue tapes are the highest definition version of the record, and nothing will ever beat them. However in the 20 years since the original release mastering technology has improved a lot, and with new equipment and techniques we can make a digital version that's an improvement of the original transfer.” So are they saying they’re digitally remastered? It sounds like they forgot to say “all newly digitally remastered” in the first part.  Regardless, my Parlophone pressing of OK Computer and all of its 12” singles (plus the 7” of Paranoid Android) sound AMAZING. I highly doubt that this release will compare in terms of quality, but I hope it does. Pressing quality is a concern considering what happened with A Moon Shaped Pool.  I was hoping for a complete b-sides box set at some point. With this existing, I don’t see that happening (until maybe 20 years from now!). Now I’ll just hope for boxes of the remaining albums, but they’ve already skipped Pablo Honey and The Bends, so… maybe not? Finally, they need to reissue the promo floppy disk:
 

Here are my overall thoughts on this:
I sort of wish they opened the vaults more for this release. When the rumors about a deluxe OK Computer started making rounds, I fantasized about a Pet Sounds Sessions-esque release — Original album, new mix, instrumentals, acapella tracks, demos, b-sides, etc. All that’s new here is the remastering (which I doubt will be that significant) and the 3 unreleased tracks. While this new set includes the 8 studio b-sides, there are four b-sides missing that were on some of the CD singles. Two live tracks from No Surprises, and two remixes from Karma Police. I think the band are going for an “OK Computer Pt. 2” type release, which would make sense why they wouldn’t want to include those. The 3LP set is a pretty good value for $40, but the deluxe box set is not worth $100 more, in my opinion. Is a box, a cassette, a book, and more artwork really worth $100? We’ll see. This is the most expensive deluxe set Radiohead’s ever put out, so quite a high bar has been set. The wording regarding the remastering is really odd on the website: “all newly remastered from the original analogue tapes*  *But why? The original analogue tapes are the highest definition version of the record, and nothing will ever beat them. However in the 20 years since the original release mastering technology has improved a lot, and with new equipment and techniques we can make a digital version that's an improvement of the original transfer.” So are they saying they’re digitally remastered? It sounds like they forgot to say “all newly digitally remastered” in the first part.  Regardless, my Parlophone pressing of OK Computer and all of its 12” singles (plus the 7” of Paranoid Android) sound AMAZING. I highly doubt that this release will compare in terms of quality, but I hope it does. Pressing quality is a concern considering what happened with A Moon Shaped Pool.  I was hoping for a complete b-sides box set at some point. With this existing, I don’t see that happening (until maybe 20 years from now!). Now I’ll just hope for boxes of the remaining albums, but they’ve already skipped Pablo Honey and The Bends, so… maybe not? Finally, they need to reissue the promo floppy disk:
 

Apparently the blue is limited to 4000 US, 3000 UK, making 7000 total. A Moon Shaped Pool was limited to 9000, if I recall, and that is still easy to find and affordable. I don't think the blue vinyl will be hard to get a hold of come release day. 
 
I hope there isn't a gap in quality (Rainbo vs Optimal) like there was with the colored versions of AMSP. 

I've found Rainbo to be really consistent.
 
consistently garbage 

In case anyone was thinking of picking these up:

In case anyone was thinking of picking these up:

In case anyone was thinking of picking these up:

In case anyone was thinking of picking these up:

I've found Rainbo to be really consistent.
 
consistently garbage 

i love import cds

I've found Rainbo to be really consistent.
 
consistently garbage 

I've found Rainbo to be really consistent.
 
consistently garbage