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The Avalanches - Since I Left You Reissue


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Circling back to my stance from the last time this was reissued, after trying and failing to A/B a meaningful difference between the different versions, which I stand by:

On 7/21/2016 at 9:36 AM, AlexH. said:

Honestly, if you noticed a difference, you are a huge nerd. Sorry if this offends

This is not one of those albums where the timbre of every drum hit is carved into my brain though, more like I listen to it every 18 months or so and am just kinda like "music... very cool". I understand how you might feel differently if this album meant a lot to you. Still a huge nerd though

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20 hours ago, Derek™ said:

Also, I’m really amused at how big of a dealbreaker that seems to be for so many people.  I’m not trying to sway anyone into buying this thing one way or another – especially if you own a copy of the album already, and doubly so if you don’t give a shit about the remixes – but the posts deeming the album “unlistenable” are a little dramatic.  The hangup is with how different the re-recorded voices sound to the original, obviously.  It rubs longtime fans (or people who’ve binged the single) the wrong way – their ear picks up on what “doesn’t sound right”, like they’ve come to expect.  But man, the essence of the song is surely still there.  The essence of the album is still very much intact if you ask me.  FP, as a song, is a grab-bag of samples arranged in a very groovy, zany manner; if you sent someone into the new mix, who had never heard SILY before, I don’t think they’d physically wince like so many longtime fans do when they hear that new mix.

 

No one is in the wrong for wanting to save $80 instead of repurchasing a mix they’re not crazy about.  But the folks - no one here on VC - commenting that the album is virtually unlistenable... I just gotta’ wonder how much of SILY they’re actually listening to.

This is where I stand. I've never understood  those who say that the album is somehow fundamentally different because of a few seconds of missing samples. Agreed that if you already have it and  don't feel like dropping another $80, I get it. That being said, I'm still going to cross my fingers that a few of the samples are restored. But like you said, who knows if the band even knows what we're talking about anymore. Ha. 

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19 hours ago, AlexH. said:

Circling back to my stance from the last time this was reissued, after trying and failing to A/B a meaningful difference between the different versions, which I stand by:

This is not one of those albums where the timbre of every drum hit is carved into my brain though, more like I listen to it every 18 months or so and am just kinda like "music... very cool". I understand how you might feel differently if this album meant a lot to you. Still a huge nerd though

I know the album that well and it still doesn't bother me to hear the non-original mixes. 

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  • 1 month later...
4 minutes ago, originalfake said:

If the WEB version is the same as what is on the vinyl, Frontier Psychiatrist IS the original version but none of the other samples people were hoping to be restored are restored. 

Would please 90% of Avalanches fans since FP seems to be the only track people make a fuss about in regards to original samples vs. re-recorded ones.

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18 minutes ago, Your Ex-Wife said:

The remix of FP that they recently released uses the original samples from the original version. Unless there's some crazy situation that only let them sample it in the remix I think its safe to say they're probably on the original for this 4LP version too.

 

 

And like I said, unless the WEB version is somehow different than the vinyl, it is the original. 

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I think the other "big deal" sample is having the bass groove be actually Madonna's "Holiday" as opposed to "Holiday Rap" which samples it. But I stopped caring enough to keep track of what is or isn't in the newer mixes anymore tbh.

Even so, I'm glad to know this box set has the OG "Frontier Psychiatrist".

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Not the new box set, but certainly relevant to someone's interest: ImportCDs has a few copies of the vanilla vinyl reissue on eBay for cheap (also currently running 20% off $65+, and you can save $5 on eBay if you add a credit card for the first time): https://www.ebay.com/itm/Avalanches-Since-I-Left-You-Vinyl-New-/144029240578?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286

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2 hours ago, simple_torture said:

Not the new box set, but certainly relevant to someone's interest: ImportCDs has a few copies of the vanilla vinyl reissue on eBay for cheap (also currently running 20% off $65+, and you can save $5 on eBay if you add a credit card for the first time): https://www.ebay.com/itm/Avalanches-Since-I-Left-You-Vinyl-New-/144029240578?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286


Grabbed!  Thanks man.  That’s a hell of a deal.

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On 6/3/2021 at 7:03 PM, OneThreeOneTwo said:

Even so, I'm glad to know this box set has the OG "Frontier Psychiatrist".

I'm reading Discogs comments, now, saying otherwise.  And these are from people who have the deluxe in-hand.  So now I'm back to being unsurprised – but still a smidge disappointed – that the FP samples are re-recorded.

 

We've all beat this horse to death a million times over, so there's no real point in rehashing how un/important that sample may be to an individual's ability to enjoy the record.  Maybe it's petty, but it just raises a lot of fucking questions on my end.

 

• Why did this get canned for 4 years?  (Was it just to sort out legalities of the remixes?)

• Why does the remix of Frontier Psychiatrist feature the OG samples?

• Why update the album online – omitting old samples – but have it not match the 2021 vinyl?

• Why would the band actively dodge any and all questions pertaining to samples, on all platforms of social media?  (This one is rhetorical, don't worry.)

 

Honestly, it's the last bit that kind of rubs me the wrong way.  To reiterate, I never assumed we'd be getting all our OG samples back.  Ambitiously hoped? – sure.  But realistically expected that it wouldn't happen.  Especially in months leading up when the band seemed to acknowledge praise on IG and Facebook with various Likes, but deliberately avoided the numerous people asking about the integrity of OG samples.  Just seemed really sleazy since they were obviously interested in securing as many pre-sales as possible.

 

On their official webstore, they marketed it as "the original 18 track album".  Interpret that as you may.  I think it's misleading to use that verbiage, on top of re-uploading the album to streaming services, and then selling a different mix for $80.  If you're not familiar with the album and your first exposure was listening to it a couple of times on Apple Music or Spotify, and then you threw down for the deluxe vinyl... you may not really notice a difference.  But at the end of the day you are getting a different mix for the band's most popular song, and I think it's just kinda' shitty that they didn't even try to communicate that.  [But why would they?]  If the samples were truly lost, like it's been rumored, all it'd take is a "Nope, some of those samples are still MIA, sorry" comment from Avalanches.  Would've maybe cost them a few sales but man... what a better look it would've been.

 

SIL[L]Y rant over.

Edited by Derek™
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Yeah, I think being mum about the lack of updates about the box-set's album mix/sample status was a bad move, especially for anyone who isn't strongly compelled by the 2 discs of remixes to want to double or triple-dip on this particular album on vinyl. 

I think the guys in the band are in "recoup mode," possibly hoping to break even on a delayed & likely costly release, and decided that staying silent would generate speculation & false rumours, which in turn generates the highest number of sales.

Not great, but this box set was botched from the get-go. IMO it should have been released on the actual 20th anniversary with the 2017 blue transparent colour. But that's in a perfect world.

Edited by OneThreeOneTwo
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  • 2 weeks later...

Sound of Vinyl UK still has copies ( and all told, it's about 35 CDN cheaper than if I bought from the US site), but that likely means shipping cost to US is going to be steep.
Worst thing about pandemic vinyl collecting are these 4xLP boxsets (like this and the Grandaddy one) that don't make it to stores because A. Delays upon delay wrt to the release date itself (some related to pandemic, but mostly due to bands not having their shit together and especially, having apparently zero clue about vinyl manufacturing backlogs) and B. Everyone is pre-ordering boxsets online due to perceived (or actual) FOMO.

Edited by OneThreeOneTwo
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  • 2 weeks later...

So the parcel that arrived was severely water-damaged. The hype-sticker has a water-line stain across it, the entire top-left section of the front cover is warped and the top portion of the spine is heavily creased, but the inside sleeves are fine and I'd say 95% of the rest of the box set is no more worse for wear than your average shipped parcel from the UK these days.  

Since I bought my copy from Universal Music UK (UMUK) they have an excellent portal for reporting damaged items. You even get to choose whether you want a refund or return (I asked for a refund since I'd rather keep this than roll the dice on something similar happening with another delivery attempt, never mind the cost associated with shipping it back). I'm obviously okay with a partial refund, as well.
Has any one had any luck with getting damaged items resolved via UMUK and/or Sound of Vinyl UK?
EDIT: Lol my last post's annoyance with direct-mail/PO-only box sets confirmed to the utter max. If enough copies of this made it to a local record store, I wouldn't have a water-damaged box-set to deal with. Would be happy to have paid a premium + tax to receive a pristine copy that way.

Edited by OneThreeOneTwo
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