heavyrocks Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 Greetings! Been lurking for a bit, and decided to jump in with a post on the recent repress of the classic "loveless" album from MBV. This album is historic for me, and having received it on cassette eons ago I feel more than entitled to say the following -- this vinyl release was an absolute let-down. With the surging popularity of all things "shoegaze" and fulfillment of age-old "new album coming" promises from Kevin et al., loveless found its way onto vinyl again. I had high hopes for the 180g pressing, but that's about the only good thing I have to say about it. I have been collecting vinyl for about 10 years, and I am of the opinion that this is one of the most pointless "gatefold" jackets I've ever seen, and poorly done to boot. First complaint being the graphic spread on the inside, which is just "negative version of" the cover, but...bigger. The image also seems grainy, but in a "we don't know how to enlarge photos" rather than "cool artsy intention" kind of way. Aesthetically it's boring, and while MBV's music isn't known for being all that exciting, I just feel very let down by this. I don't have a better idea so much as just wanting something...well...else. Next, the SUPER glossy ink on the relatively thin card stock also takes away from this release and makes it feel cheap. Granted the low/non-gloss finish on most things currently is maybe a pretty trendy thing it might be argued they were going against, but I don't have the sense the designers picked materials based on anything other than lowest cost. The last and most egregious offense (to me anyway) has to do with the spine on the gatefold being overglued. What this translates to is the jacket itself not being cut large enough to actually fit the vinyl and sleeve appropriately when the gatefold is closed. The result: when I opened the shrinkwrap I found about a centimeter of vinyl and sleeve sticking out of the jacket. The vinyl itself had punched through the sleeve, tearing both at the bottom and the side, and ironically the plain red/pink sleeve is the thing I found the most interesting in the whole package. The vinyl itself is relatively faithful. Pressed on 180g, it's got expected full sound, and MBV has always been a "listen in analog" band anyway, but this far from redeems anything. There is no booklet, extras, or anything of that sort, and while knick knacks certainly shouldn't make or break a vinyl, to release so basic a reissue of such a gushed over album with an intense fan base makes no sense. This should have been all out, and it was bare minimum. Anyone have any thoughts on this one? Perhaps if the jacket size cut is not universal it wouldn't seem as cheap? I realize that the whole "shoegaze craze" is automatically going to raise aversion in some and that's fine. But, as someone that was "there" at least, I just feel so disappointed by this release that I wanted to discourage others from supporting it whether you're an old or new fan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest scriptedrain Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 I don't own the release, but I just wanted to say welcome to VC and that was a great analysis. I'd love to hear more stuff like this from you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
william Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 KLMAO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manicdogbert Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 I don't have the reissue. I have the original Creation Records press. The original didn't have a gatefold cover. Just an inner sleeve (which I'm assuming is reproduced as the gatefold). I don't think this was meant to be a "deluxe"-type reissue of the album. It's meant to be a "first time issued in the US" release since it had never been available domestically in the States. The label who reissued it probably didn't have access to any bonus tracks/outtakes nor did they have a budget to include any extra liner notes or pics. Apart from the gatefold sleeve, it was probably just meant to be a straight reissue of the album. If I recall correctly, the original cover also had "grainy" images. This might have been what MBV wanted. On the other hand, while Kevin Shields is probably a a bit of an audiophile, he probably didn't think too much about the artwork side of things. As for the damaged sleeve (the tears and the "overglueing") I would just return it to the store you bought it from. On a related note, I also have the original Creation press of Isn't Anything (with the bonus 7" single) and the recent issue (sans the bonus 7"0 and I'll have to say that the reissue obliterates the original. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steventangent Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 The label who reissued it probably didn't have access to any bonus tracks/outtakes Oh, thank god they didn't. I hate that shit. I have the reissue (it was a Xmas gift from last year, actually). I don't really have the problem with overgluing that you do, and the packaging isn't really that impressive. The record sounds really good though, and that's my biggest concern. Now that you mention it though, the packaging does seem really cheap and tacky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captainmorgan Posted December 25, 2007 Share Posted December 25, 2007 Tacky packaging or no, I wouldn't mind owning this on vinyl (180g no less). Who put it out? Is it still available? Also, welcome to VC, heavyrocks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heavyrocks Posted December 26, 2007 Author Share Posted December 26, 2007 I got my copy here -- http://www.turntablelab.com/vinyl/0/0/8797.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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