What are we listening to right now..

[Soundproof]

Sticky Fingers revisit. I generally stay away from "extended releases" and "remix"++, but decided to have a go at it with the "De Luxe" edition.

 

[Bleib]

 

[spigot]

Dark Stuff · Sibille Attar

 

[Cote Dazur]

 

[J. Lohmann]

 

[J. Lohmann]

2026 BARNES AND NOBLE EXCLUSIVE "LIGHT BLUE" VINYL TWO-LP DELUXE EDITION

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Stumbled upon this Deluxe Edition of the absolute classic that belongs in every collection when browsing a local Barnes & Noble over this past weekend; seems this was a worldwide release with many different distribution outlets (Walmart, Target, etc.) offering variations on the vinyl color. I was intrigued when I saw the "Deluxe" moniker on the cover -- as well as the eye-catching "mirrored foil" trim adorning the edges of the iconic green front -- as it adds some tracks I always said should have already been on this best of set on a second LP ("The Chain," "Seven Wonders," et al); like everyone else, I already had an original 1987 pressing of the album on vinyl (through a record club I was a member of at the time of release), as well as the initial U.S. CD release, but even with a deep cleaning the vinyl was a bit noisy after so many years of play. I wasn't going to replace the Greatest Hits with a reissue, as I have a lot of Mac's stuff on their respective albums, but this just looked too cool to pass up.

I later discovered that many of the songs on the "bonus" LP appeared on the aforementioned CD release, including "Big Love," "Over My Head" and "You Make Loving Fun," but I hadn't played the CD in so long I didn't remember. For whatever it's worth, I always felt "Big Love" was a seriously overrated song, even on Tango in the Night, and never understood why they "crammed" it on the subsequent CD variant(s); in my opinion, the bonus LP could have been so much better if they would have included "Isn't it Midnight" and a bunch of tracks from Say You Will rather than, say, "Oh Diane" or even "Never Going Back Again." When it comes to Rumours, there are other songs that are so much better than "Never Going Back..."

What's more, what about awesome tracks from Tusk like "Sisters of the Moon"? All that's represented here -- as on the original release -- from that album are "Sara" (rightfully so) and the title track (which is awful, IMO).

In getting to the sound quality and the pressing itself, let's start with the color choice -- as I said earlier, this was made available in various shades depending on where you bought from, but I simply don't understand the choice by Barnes & Noble here. What's with the "sea blue" vinyl? Wouldn't it have made more sense to continue the hunter green theme with two deep green-colored LPs? I realize that had been done before on previous reissues, but it just seems so much more appropriate; when I think of "Fleetwood Mac's Greatest Hits," I immediately think of "forest green."

Aside from that, the vinyl itself was relatively heavy (not sure it's quite 180-gram) but the plain Warner Records labels in white were kind of boring. The first LP is simply a rehash of the original pressing, the album starting with "Rhiannon" and ending with "No Questions Asked," and as far as sound quality, it was definitely less crackly than my original, but it wasn't silent -- pops and ticks reared their head from time to time, notably right before the quiet intro to "Sara," which was disappointing (of course, it could have just been my pressing). I expect a little of this with colored vinyl, though.

Sonics were better on the second LP, perhaps because the tracks were given some additional breathing room and remastering love, with songs like "Over My Head" and "The Chain" sounding bassy, deep and rich ("The Chain" sounded better here than on my vinyl copy of Rumours, oddly). The first LP sounded, for the most part, like my original...just quieter, so it seems little or no remastering efforts were employed.

Still, it's nice to have a cleaner, more comprehensive version of this iconic compilation, even if I continue to attest that the bonus "deluxe" LP track selection was a bit sloppy; I feel like additional effort could have gone into making this a truly definitive vinyl set. If we're being honest, though, could two records really hold ALL the Mac tracks that belong on a Best Of?

Some additional images of the cover:

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[J. Lohmann]

ORIGINAL 1985 U.S. WINCHESTER PRESSING

 

[Bleib]

Gonna see live February

 

[J. Lohmann]

EUROPEAN IMPORT
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[J. Lohmann]

PROFILE REISSUE

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[Soundproof]

Ya Nass - Yasmine Hamdan (2013)

 

[napfkuchen]

 

[Cote Dazur]

De Stijl - Album by The White Stripes | Spotify

The White Stripes · album · 2000 · 13 songs

open.spotify.com

 

[August West]

I am listening to a ripping version of the Grateful Dead August 5, 1979 playing Not Fade Away (12:21) aka mins and seconds.

 

[bramsat]

 

[Bleib]

Instrumental

 

[Ropeburn]

 

[bluefuzz]

The best album of the year so far: Brìghde Chaimbeul and Colin Stetson - All The Light In The World

 

[Ropeburn]

Superstar parrot

 

[Martini]

Cello Concerto and other. Very enjoyable interpretation and recording.