jailhouse Posted December 21, 2008 Share Posted December 21, 2008 I agree with the article that it is a rip off to be reissuing dime a dozen album and trying to sell them for $30 each. No one needs to pay more than $0.50 for Frampton Comes Alive...Some of the reissues are nice, especially when they are true to the original art. Like the Velvet Underground that has a peelable banana. But still, it's in stereo instead of mono, which means that it's a gimmick anyway. But in the case with many records from the 60's and 70's, the playback equipment sucked and would destroy the grooves in records that were completely cared for. In this instance it's nice to be able to own a copy that no one else's crappy set up has destroyed. On the other hand, if it's some shitty pressing from a source other than the master, then it's a real rip off. And if it goes through digital processing, then it's a joke. And if it's another shitty stereo copy of something recorded in mono, well, you might as well just buy the CD. And in some cases, especially in the 80's, mastering vinyl was done cheap and poorly. This is one of the reasons that UK pressings are more sought after. The quality control and care that went into them was tenfold compared to the US counterpart. The UK did DMM when no one in the US did. So for some of those pressings I can see a high quality reissue being relevant (Devo's Freedom of Choice could use a reissue, every copy I have is muddy, but this falls into the dollar bin category, I'd still buy it though). But also, like the article says, for most you would need a decent set up to even be able to notice the difference. This is one of the reasons why the MFSL pressings are really sought after by audiophiles. In this instance I can see it being worth the price, but only to audiophiles and/or collectors. The very worst part of them is that they're driving down the value of my original pressings that I've spent nearly 15 years collecting. But it is nice when I can get a copy of The Downward Spiral for less than $100. I think that most of these reissues, specifically the Capitol ones, are mostly an overpriced gimmick, designed to lure in new collectors. Just about every newer re-issue/release nowdays falls into that catagory. Plant's /mastering techs don't even like getting dat, or reels/2"tape anymore. Most places don't know what to do with it. Every plant out there encourages their clients to send in cd's or even upload digital files of pre mastered material. There is a whole lot of 12" cd's with grooves in em out there nowdays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
voodooramen Posted December 21, 2008 Share Posted December 21, 2008 I want the Pet sounds and The Band S/T reissues badly given the fact you can't get a mono Pet sounds (which the reissue IS) for that price and my copy of The Band is beat bad and I can't find a very good condition copy locally. But, the prices suck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjohnnick Posted December 21, 2008 Share Posted December 21, 2008 there were some good things to come out of this though. For example, Beach Boy's Pet Sounds you could only either find a good condition version on ebay and pay 30+ for it, or you could find one in your used record store that looked like it got dropped out of an airplane that was on fire and then landed in the ocean and floated for a month. With the new Capitol repress brand new it costs about $18. ANother good thing were albums such as Radiohead's entire catalog which used to be 35+ for each album, but now with the vault repressings they are around 25ish each. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxmartinxx Posted December 22, 2008 Share Posted December 22, 2008 I, too, am confused by some of the records that Capitol Records decided were "reissue worthy". Maybe there is a market for unplayed, still sealed copies of that stuff, but not for me. As far as price, the prices are probably based on the insane profit margin they're used to enjoying with CDs which were very cheap to produce and ship. Vinyl cost significantly more to produce and ship. I don't think this is going to hurt the market unless all new records start selling for similar prices. The odds are, "From the Capitol Vault" will end up being a failure and no one will follow their lead. Personally, I think 180 gram is a bit of a bullshit selling point. I don't think the weight of the vinyl (at least with my turntable) matters much, if at all. I have flexi discs that have more depth and range than a lot of 180 gram records. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
translatingthename Posted December 22, 2008 Share Posted December 22, 2008 it would be nice if someone reiussued some primus albums Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gloamingtime Posted December 22, 2008 Share Posted December 22, 2008 If its any album thats hard to find, then its cool.i will be buying all the mercyful fate/king diamond re-issues. cause they're 180. I need more info on this. Where/when? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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