Out This Week / on 10 August 2018

What’s depressing about it? It’s one week, there are plenty of other CD releases this week and every other week. Most albums from our timezone, what? 1960s to the early 2000s have been done to death on CD several times over. There are just as many crappy, stupid waste of time CD releases out there. As evidenced by last weeks tranche of best of 2CDs for £5.99….. “Who needs another Status Quo early years CD” I think was the quote

I can think of dozens of albums by dozens of artists that have been done to death on CD in the “deadzone of vinyl” years.
Pretty much anything from 1994 to 2014 (20 years) never came out on vinyl and nothing really interesting in the 5 years before that. CD had it all to itself, and that’s fine. So, so what if vinyl is now playing catch up. So, so what if some people don’t have a record player and are “tired of vinyl”. That’s as daft as me saying I am tired of Mercedes, something I don’t have, don’t want and will never own so I don’t want anyone else to enjoy it either because *I* don’t want it.

I am as far from a hipster as the definition will stretch, fat, 55 and only have stubble ‘cos I’m too lazy to shave more than once a week. Vinyl isn’t cool, it just suits certain people. If Vinyl is old fashioned nonsense and out of step then so are the Beatles, so are the Doors, so are Queen, Bowie and Prince. But I wouldn’t dare say that here. So why pick on Vinyl? It isn’t Vinyl’s fault that people want to buy it and listen to it because they like the whole experience better than just track jumping on Spotify or sticking a CD on. I buy both but every week there is a silly post where you can play SDE Bingo. Beards, tick. Scratchy, tick. Expensive, tick. If it isn’t for you, fine but please don’t lump everyone into one basket, Paul does a grand job with what’s available. But if he doesn’t mention something you do like and does mention something you don’t it isn’t his fault. If there was a week of 9 CD releases and only one Vinyl you would not hear Vinyl buyers moaning about it.

I want Vinyl to flourish, I want CD to flourish, I want box sets to flourish.
I do not wish for the death of something because I have an axe to grind and *I* don’t want it. There will hopefully be loads of CD re-issues over the next few weeks and lots of vinyl to go with them.
Everyone chill and support your “Physical”, in whatever guise it comes.

Are you saying that CDs can’t be scratched, warped or be damaged? I have plenty that are and some that jump even though they look unscratched. I recently (late last year) bought the Blank & Jones ZTT CD and as brilliant as it was CD 2 isn’t worth crap now and that isn’t scratched. It just jumps and repeats all of it’s own volition.

Anybody who wants to get into vinyl should get (or probably has got) a decent vinyl cleaner (Hannl, Okki Nokki, VPI). So, yes, straight out of the bag it might sound less than perfect, if you are unlucky. A couple of minutes of care and attention and it can be sonic bliss….. Cleaning is no trouble, it’s quite therapeutic, like those who want to cook a nice meal or wash their car to ease their worries away. Cleaning 6 or 8 sides of vinyl after work is a good stress buster.

Every bad LP I have bought in the last few years has been returned and replaced with no questions asked, and I think that is 5 and only one of them was due to a bad press (Lily Allen), the rest were due to delivery damage to the cover / box.

Opinions are great to have but I would challenge those who moan incessantly (and they do) about what is wrong about vinyl and and it’s recent resurgence, when was the last time they actually bought some or listened to some, a good pressing on a good system. Or are they just banging on about what they recall from 1988 or what they have heard somebody else say.

I do apologize for the double response but some of the nonsense *anti* posts go unchallenged. Yes vinyl isn’t perfect. That was never and is not now the point. (CD ain’t perfect either – too tight, broken clasps difficult to read booklet, cracked, unreadable, overpriced, brickwalled etc.).

Just saying it’s scratchy, noisy, warped, rubbish is not really very fair or realistic point.

Absolutely. In the 70’s I actually switched to cassette to avoid vinyl crackles, pops, scratches etc. Not a good choice perhaps but a reflection of the annoyance suffered by recycled vinyl in particular. These days I remain happy with CD. If the noise wasn’t present in the recording studio, why should it have to be endured on playback? Even hearing music on a top notch turntable at a hi-fi show (costing £147,000) my ears were still drawn to the surface noise. Crackers I reckon!

Whilst on the subject of the brilliant Mr Butler, I’d really like ‘People Move On’ reissued on vinyl. A deluxe cd edition would also be good if there are enough demos or unreleased tracks in the vaults. Should be at least 6 b-sides from the era to start with.

… and then a 4CD set with less content and at double the price five years later.