ELO vinyl reissues
I have always been an ELO fan – even when they we the 2nd most uncool band in the world (after the Bee Gees – whom I also like). I defy anyone to watch Jeff Lynn performing ELO’s greatest hits at Hyde Park and not enjoy it.
A few months ago, much of the ELO back catalog became available in Hi Res for the first time. I bought everything (24-96) from Qobuz (sublime). I listened to “Out of the Blue (OOTB)” in its entirety one day through my headphones and enjoyed it immensely.
In December, shortly after Jeff released his new album, Legacy released 3 of the classic ELO albums (New world record, Eldorado & OOTB) on limited edition numbered clear vinyl (i.e. Audiophile). The price was surprisingly reasonable. My copy of OOTB is numbered 90 something. Recently I decided to listen to it. Readers – it was HORRIBLE: thin sounding, metallic, compressed. I was not naive enough to believe that this “audiophile” release was an all analogue remaster – but they had just released the album on HiRes and this sounds like it came from iTunes. I dug out my 30 year old copy of OOTB (of underermined provinence – bought 2nd hand in Dublin circa 1984) and it sounded great (not better than the Hi Res files mind you). I then played the most recently remastered version from CD – and guess what? It sounded exactly the same as the new vinyl. WTF? Generally I have been impressed with Legacy vinyl over the years but can there be anything more fraudulent than pressing a CD onto vinyl and then numbering the cover to make the product look audiophile.
Rip off! It really is time for a record labelling system.
audioexchange 