Deluxe/Expanded Versions of Records That Are Worth Owning

[version sound]

Sometimes bonus material doesn’t really add anything to an album, but sometimes it’s pretty essential. What are some essential “deluxe” or “super deluxe” editions?

One that always springs to mind for me is the deluxe version of Cut by The Slits. It’s got a ton of worthwhile bonus material from radio sessions to demo versions to alternate mixes that are all just as engaging as the original LP.

[lewdd]

One of those Sex Pistols boxes that has most of the studio recordings. This one - https://www.discogs.com/Sex-Pistols-Sex ... se/1803849

[lewdd]

This Red Rockers is one too. It has some singles/comp tracks and some bootleg live tracks that are not very good sounding but are not available anywhere else.

https://www.discogs.com/Red-Rockers-Con ... se/1816084

[version sound]

One of those Sex Pistols boxes that has most of the studio recordings. This one - https://www.discogs.com/Sex-Pistols-Sex ... se/1803849

Do you have the super deluxe Bollocks set? I think it’s 3CDs and a DVD. I’ve been super tempted for years, but never made the jump due to the price.

[lewdd]

One of those Sex Pistols boxes that has most of the studio recordings. This one - https://www.discogs.com/Sex-Pistols-Sex ... se/1803849

Do you have the super deluxe Bollocks set? I think it’s 3CDs and a DVD. I’ve been super tempted for years, but never made the jump due to the price.

Yes, I do.

[lewdd]

This Kraut CD has some singles tracks and a few live tracks.

https://www.discogs.com/Kraut-An-Adjust ... se/1630350

[lewdd]

NMTB

I have this one
https://www.discogs.com/Sex-Pistols-Nev ... se/3890598

I've been on the fence about buying this one
https://www.discogs.com/Sex-Pistols-Nev ... e/11262597

[version sound]

NMTB

I have this one
https://www.discogs.com/Sex-Pistols-Nev ... se/3890598

I've been on the fence about buying this one
https://www.discogs.com/Sex-Pistols-Nev ... e/11262597

Doesn’t the first one have everything the second one does?

[lewdd]

NMTB

I have this one
https://www.discogs.com/Sex-Pistols-Nev ... se/3890598

I've been on the fence about buying this one
https://www.discogs.com/Sex-Pistols-Nev ... e/11262597

Doesn’t the first one have everything the second one does?

Yes, but I like to have one of each for NMTB stuff. It is a nice to have not a need to have so I haven't pulled the trigger yet. It is less expensive. Not sure if you were looking at that one or the one that also included the 7" replica of "God Save the Queen".

[JGJR]

Elvis Costello reissues on Rhino; each has a bonus disc, many are incredible and a few are better than their respective disc 1 (the main albums). The earlier Rykodisc reissues had even better bonus material since they were all on one disc each and it had to be pared down to often times the best of the B-sides, demos, alternate takes, et al.

[version sound]

Not sure if you were looking at that one or the one that also included the 7" replica of "God Save the Queen".

I probably won’t buy either, but I’d prefer the one with the single. I just read a claim today that the OG A&M single and the repro in that box are the only place to get those mixes of those songs.

[drew]

PiL- ALBUM deluxe box. More Thant he Metal Box deluxe I love everything extra I this set. The mixes, live stuff, all of it.

[patient_ot]

Elvis Costello reissues on Rhino; each has a bonus disc, many are incredible and a few are better than their respective disc 1 (the main albums). The earlier Rykodisc reissues had even better bonus material since they were all on one disc each and it had to be pared down to often times the best of the B-sides, demos, alternate takes, et al.

I have a bunch of the Rykos. I guess people don't like the mastering on them but they do have a lot of great bonus material. I missed the boat on the Rhinos. I do have an expanded 2xCD of This Years Model on Hip-O that's pretty good with a live disc. Unfortunately the mastering of the main album is too compressed. I usually reach for the MOFI LP of that one when I want to hear the album.

[patient_ot]

One of those Sex Pistols boxes that has most of the studio recordings. This one - https://www.discogs.com/Sex-Pistols-Sex ... se/1803849

I haven't heard all the demos, but the ones that made it to Spunk are pretty shitty IMHO. It basically sounds like they were playing with no energy and got a leaden, bloated 70s classic rock producer to record them, which further saps energy from the recordings. There is no way in hell I'd prefer those demos over the real album. Just one of those cases where I think the legend of the demos ended up being more hype than anything else.

[lewdd]

There are times when I actually prefer the rawness of some of those demos versus the polished studio material on that album.

[patient_ot]

There are times when I actually prefer the rawness of some of those demos versus the polished studio material on that album.

Rawness is not the issue for me. It's that the demos were recorded by someone who had no idea how to record and mix a punk rock band. They put leaden reverb on the recordings and did not know how to mix them properly. NMTB may be polished and very produced, but it was mixed properly.

[patient_ot]

Marvin Gaye - What's Goin' On

https://www.discogs.com/Marvin-Gaye-Wha ... ase/354757

Some of the deluxe versions feature the Detroit Mix, which is essential if you're a fan of this album. For the normal version of the album I prefer a different disc though.

Bob Marley - Catch a Fire

https://www.discogs.com/Bob-Marley-The- ... ase/670922

Jamaican mix of the album.

Diamond Head - Lightning to the Nations

https://www.discogs.com/Diamond-Head-Li ... se/9544261

Only a couple versions of the album with decent mastering and this is one of them, plus you get all the singles on a second disc.

Lucinda Williams - s/t

https://www.discogs.com/Lucinda-William ... se/5305194

Live versions rawer than the album versions.

Visage - 1s two albums - deluxe editions on Rubellan. Best mastering these albums will ever likely get and great bonus material.

https://www.discogs.com/Visage-Visage/release/12583229

https://www.discogs.com/Visage-The-Anvi ... e/14692552

Comsat Angels - Demon/Edsel 2xCD deluxe editions of the first three albums

Great sound, great bonus material.

https://www.discogs.com/The-Comsat-Ange ... se/7757107

https://www.discogs.com/The-Comsat-Ange ... se/7760399

https://www.discogs.com/The-Comsat-Ange ... se/7788739

Blur - Deluxe Editions

I won't post links here but these are very well done. Loads of hard to find b-sides and other tracks on the second discs. Mastering is a bit louder than the original CDs from the 90s but not compressed within an inch of its life like a lot of stuff these days.

[version sound]

There are times when I actually prefer the rawness of some of those demos versus the polished studio material on that album.

Rawness is not the issue for me. It's that the demos were recorded by someone who had no idea how to record and mix a punk rock band. They put leaden reverb on the recordings and did not know how to mix them properly. NMTB may be polished and very produced, but it was mixed properly.

I definitely prefer Bollocks and the 76/77 singles to the demos. I don’t remember the last time I listened to Spunk. Maybe it’s because I heard Bollocks first (an a LOT) before I ever heard the demos.

[patient_ot]

Sometimes bonus material doesn’t really add anything to an album, but sometimes it’s pretty essential. What are some essential “deluxe” or “super deluxe” editions?

One that always springs to mind for me is the deluxe version of Cut by The Slits. It’s got a ton of worthwhile bonus material from radio sessions to demo versions to alternate mixes that are all just as engaging as the original LP.

I'll have to add this to the wishlist.

[patient_ot]

Bunnymen - Ocean Rain - 2xCD Collector's Edition

https://www.discogs.com/Echo-The-Bunnym ... se/2015838

Essential because it has the extended "All Night" version of Killing Moon, and a great live show on disc 2.

Actually I'd say all the 2004 expanded discs have pretty great bonus material as well. The main versions of the albums are a little compressed though. Currently I'm in the process of revisiting the CD versions of the albums and haven't decided whether I prefer the OAS versions (old 80s mastering) versus these versions for the main album portions.

[patient_ot]

I definitely prefer Bollocks and the 76/77 singles to the demos. I don’t remember the last time I listened to Spunk. Maybe it’s because I heard Bollocks first (an a LOT) before I ever heard the demos.

I heard Bollocks first but it took me a LONG time to come around to the Sex Pistols. I actively disliked them for a long time. So when I got Spunk, I was not approaching the material from the point of a NMTB super fan. Quite the opposite in fact.

Now I like NMTB, but it's not something I put on every day either.

[lewdd]

I definitely prefer Bollocks and the 76/77 singles to the demos. I don’t remember the last time I listened to Spunk. Maybe it’s because I heard Bollocks first (an a LOT) before I ever heard the demos.

I heard Bollocks first but it took me a LONG time to come around to the Sex Pistols. I actively disliked them for a long time. So when I got Spunk, I was not approaching the material from the point of a NMTB super fan. Quite the opposite in fact.

Now I like NMTB, but it's not something I put on every day either.

I have the Spunk LP - https://www.discogs.com/Sex-Pistols-Spu ... se/6579622 and this vinyl version of NMTB - https://www.discogs.com/Sex-Pistols-God ... e/10167212

I play them for folks sometimes to show them the different recordings.

[patient_ot]

I have the Spunk LP - https://www.discogs.com/Sex-Pistols-Spu ... se/6579622 and this vinyl version of NMTB - https://www.discogs.com/Sex-Pistols-God ... e/10167212

I play them for folks sometimes to show them the different recordings.

The version of Spunk I have is an official CD from the 90s - it was a bonus disc with the then EU reissue of NMTB. It has 21 tracks. I don't think it makes any difference though, because I can hear plenty enough of the recordings to know I don't like them.

[Dinko]

If you consider buying Mcluskyism, don't listen to Pitchfork. Get the 3CD-"Deluxe"-version.

[version sound]

I heard Bollocks first but it took me a LONG time to come around to the Sex Pistols. I actively disliked them for a long time. So when I got Spunk, I was not approaching the material from the point of a NMTB super fan. Quite the opposite in fact.

Now I like NMTB, but it's not something I put on every day either.

My next door neighbor, who was 4 years older than me, introduced me to Bollocks in 1980. We spent a lot of that summer swimming in their pool with it on regular rotation in the background. I fell in love with it by the end of the summer and got all their other stuff too (Swindle single and double LPs, Flogging A Dead Horse, even Some Product). They slowly eclipsed Adam & The Ants as my favorite band. Otherwise, I was still listening to Psychedelic Furs, The Pretenders, The Cars, Bow Wow Wow, you know, New Wave. It wasn’t until 2 years later that my youngest uncle (he’s only 10 years older than me) got wind of my love for the Pistols and sent over the first Clash LP and Circle Jerks’ Wild in the Streets that I really got turned onto PUNK ROCK. There were at least 2 or 3 years beginning in 1980 when I listened to Bollocks literally every day. I think I started hearing the demo stuff in the late 80s, after the court case was settled and a ton of stuff started to come out. None of that stuff ever impressed me the way that Bollocks did.

[version sound]

Slowdive - Just for a Day 2CD set, if you don’t already own the EPs. Disc 2 is their first three EPs, which were their peak, IMO. It also has a Peel session.

[jaybird]

The Plimsouls... Plus CD that Rhino put out in the early 90s is a bit pricey, but worth tracking down if you're a fan.

https://www.discogs.com/The-Plimsouls-T ... se/1117990

[patient_ot]

Slowdive - Just for a Day 2CD set, if you don’t already own the EPs. Disc 2 is their first three EPs, which were their peak, IMO. It also has a Peel session.

Those EPs are great. I have this edition. Even back in the mid/late 90s, those CDEPs were tough to find. The only one I ever found at a shop was Morningrise, which I still have. Later I found the debut EP on the original Creation 12''. But yeah that's probably the easiest way to get all the EPs in one place. The only downside is there is some unnecessary compression on it.

[version sound]

I have the original EPs (on CD, since that was my preference at the time). I basically bought it (used) for the Peel session. I’m enough of a Slowdive freak that it was worth $10, just for that.

[scannest]

I think the initial Ryko single disc Costello reissues are much more essential than the 2-disc sets. The same goes for THE WHO SELL OUT and LIVE AT LEEDS. Sometimes the extended versions are just right and sometimes they are over kill. I think for all of these the tip over into 2 discs is unnecessary.

[lewdd]

I'm surprised Pedro hasn't listed London Calling on here yet

[JGJR]

Elvis Costello reissues on Rhino; each has a bonus disc, many are incredible and a few are better than their respective disc 1 (the main albums). The earlier Rykodisc reissues had even better bonus material since they were all on one disc each and it had to be pared down to often times the best of the B-sides, demos, alternate takes, et al.

I have a bunch of the Rykos. I guess people don't like the mastering on them but they do have a lot of great bonus material. I missed the boat on the Rhinos. I do have an expanded 2xCD of This Years Model on Hip-O that's pretty good with a live disc. Unfortunately the mastering of the main album is too compressed. I usually reach for the MOFI LP of that one when I want to hear the album.

The Rykos were the first CD versions I bought for the 1977 to 1986 albums and by and large, I think they are mastered quite well (though there is a noticeable mastering error on a song called "I'll Wear It Proudly" on the King of America disc, but I digress) and sound good. I kinda regret letting them go when I got all of the Rhinos, but I couldn't justify keeping both complete sets, especially when I have all of those albums on vinyl, too (almost all of the early albums in UK and US versions, too). Pro tip: for all of the early ones where they did MoFi except Get Happy!! (that you need the MoFi, a CD version, or the U.S. 2xLp on 33 1/3 reissue since even UK originals don't sound great IMO), track down a UK original and they all sound phenomenal, specifically My Aim is True, This Year's Model (you have the MoFi, so less essential for you perhaps), Armed Forces, Trust, and Imperial Bedroom. Oh, and Punch the Clock, too. The sound difference is very noticeable. The UK ones are the way to go there.

[JGJR]

One of those Sex Pistols boxes that has most of the studio recordings. This one - https://www.discogs.com/Sex-Pistols-Sex ... se/1803849

I haven't heard all the demos, but the ones that made it to Spunk are pretty shitty IMHO. It basically sounds like they were playing with no energy and got a leaden, bloated 70s classic rock producer to record them, which further saps energy from the recordings. There is no way in hell I'd prefer those demos over the real album. Just one of those cases where I think the legend of the demos ended up being more hype than anything else.

I will never ever understand the mentality of those who prefer Spunk over NMTB. I think Spunk is pretty weak, too.

[JGJR]

Comsat Angels - Demon/Edsel 2xCD deluxe editions of the first three albums

Great sound, great bonus material.

https://www.discogs.com/The-Comsat-Ange ... se/7757107

https://www.discogs.com/The-Comsat-Ange ... se/7760399

https://www.discogs.com/The-Comsat-Ange ... se/7788739

I wish I'd gone for the SNM an Fiction discs especially before they went out of print. The only Comsats I have on CD (have the 1st 3 albums, My Mind's Eye, and a bunch of 7" and 12" singles on vinyl) is the expanded Waiting for a Miracle on Renascent, which I bought new in 2007 or so. That version is great, BTW, as far as the bonus material goes.

[patient_ot]

I think the initial Ryko single disc Costello reissues are much more essential than the 2-disc sets. The same goes for THE WHO SELL OUT and LIVE AT LEEDS. Sometimes the extended versions are just right and sometimes they are over kill. I think for all of these the tip over into 2 discs is unnecessary.

There really isn't any good version of Who Sell Out on one CD AFAIK. Basically all the versions on one CD, for the most part, are made from mediocre sounding copy tapes or a 90s remix from multi-tracks. If you want original mixes with decent sound, you'll have to shell out for the 2009 Deluxe, the more recent one, or the hi-rez downloads from a few years ago. That's assuming we're talking about CD/digital and not vinyl. One of the reasons for expanding WSO onto two discs (besides bonus material) are the mono and stereo mixes of the album, which are totally different.

Live At Leeds is another story. Much of the time when I want to hear it I'll just play an old LP copy, which had only six tracks. It's compact and powerful. Then there is the '95 remix CD which has extra tracks, but not the whole concert. I like that also because most of Tommy is left out, and I've never been big on Tommy. The other expanded versions are basically attempts to piece together the whole concert for public consumption. However, even those aren't complete because there is quite a bit of editing and of course remixing. If you want the original concert, the closest thing is a bootleg.

[patient_ot]

I wish I'd gone for the SNM an Fiction discs especially before they went out of print. The only Comsats I have on CD (have the 1st 3 albums, My Mind's Eye, and a bunch of 7" and 12" singles on vinyl) is the expanded Waiting for a Miracle on Renascent, which I bought new in 2007 or so. That version is great, BTW, as far as the bonus material goes.

IIRC the Renascent mastering was used for the first discs on those I linked, so yeah, they sound good. And I have the first UK LP pressings and I would go so far as to say the CDs are better.

I hadn't realized they were OOP but that's kinda how CDs work now. The pressings are smaller and nothing stays in print very long anymore. I think the Sound multi-disc boxes on Demon/Edsel are OOP now too. Anyone that's a fan of the band needs those.

[JGJR]

Slowdive - Just for a Day 2CD set, if you don’t already own the EPs. Disc 2 is their first three EPs, which were their peak, IMO. It also has a Peel session.

THIS!

[JGJR]

Slowdive - Just for a Day 2CD set, if you don’t already own the EPs. Disc 2 is their first three EPs, which were their peak, IMO. It also has a Peel session.

Those EPs are great. I have this edition. Even back in the mid/late 90s, those CDEPs were tough to find. The only one I ever found at a shop was Morningrise, which I still have. Later I found the debut EP on the original Creation 12''. But yeah that's probably the easiest way to get all the EPs in one place. The only downside is there is some unnecessary compression on it.

The 1st 2 have been reissued in the last year or two and I think both were RSD titles. Music on Vinyl did them. I don't have them, though I'd like to hear those versions. I'd be OK with getting the Just for a Day double CD again and should add it to the wishlist, though.

[patient_ot]

The 1st 2 have been reissued in the last year or two and I think both were RSD titles. Music on Vinyl did them. I don't have them, though I'd like to hear those versions. I'd be OK with getting the Just for a Day double CD again and should add it to the wishlist, though.

The downside with MOV is 99% of the time you get digital files (often hi-rez TBF) mastered via DMM assembly line process. Sometimes it turns out okay but on a whole I think the label's releases are a waste of money so I generally avoid them. In rare cases they use old mother plates, or a lacquer cut from somewhere else. A lot of their stuff is just cut in-house from whatever files they get from the label though.

[patient_ot]

I'm surprised Pedro hasn't listed London Calling on here yet

As much as I love LC that's probably one of the most disappointing DLX editions I ever bought. I think I've listened to the demos disc on there maybe twice. I only bought it because it showed up used at a local shop, and I misplaced my prior CD version.

[patient_ot]

The Rykos were the first CD versions I bought for the 1977 to 1986 albums and by and large, I think they are mastered quite well (though there is a noticeable mastering error on a song called "I'll Wear It Proudly" on the King of America disc, but I digress) and sound good. I kinda regret letting them go when I got all of the Rhinos, but I couldn't justify keeping both complete sets, especially when I have all of those albums on vinyl, too (almost all of the early albums in UK and US versions, too). Pro tip: for all of the early ones where they did MoFi except Get Happy!! (that you need the MoFi, a CD version, or the U.S. 2xLp on 33 1/3 reissue since even UK originals don't sound great IMO), track down a UK original and they all sound phenomenal, specifically My Aim is True, This Year's Model (you have the MoFi, so less essential for you perhaps), Armed Forces, Trust, and Imperial Bedroom. Oh, and Punch the Clock, too. The sound difference is very noticeable. The UK ones are the way to go there.

I picked up TYM and AF when they were cheap on MOFI vinyl. Prices are a lot higher now, especially for some titles. I played the MOFI TYM over the weekend again and it really does sound great but like a lot of recent MOFI vinyl it needs to be cranked because they backed off the compression. I had a U.S. LP and never thought it sounded anywhere near as good as the MOFI. I ended up giving it to a friend.

We've talked about this before but the UK or Euro pressings just don't show up stateside very often. I've never seen any of them except KOA on F-Beat, which I bought from the used bins maybe 5 years ago.

The U.S. GH Columbia LP could be better, but the sound is nowhere near as bad as I had remembered. Maybe it's because I have a much better system now than I did in the late 90s, but when I pulled it out of storage after many years I was expecting to hate it. Of course back then it was a $2-3 record, so there's also that. I have the Ryko CD as well. Wish I had grabbed the MOFI versions of GH and IB when they were cheaper. I checked that recent GH reissue and it seems to be digitally sourced so I've decided to skip it.

[lewdd]

Singles Going Steady - https://www.discogs.com/Buzzcocks-Singl ... ase/571576 - includes 8 additional tracks

[version sound]

The 1st 2 have been reissued in the last year or two and I think both were RSD titles. Music on Vinyl did them. I don't have them, though I'd like to hear those versions. I'd be OK with getting the Just for a Day double CD again and should add it to the wishlist, though.

The downside with MOV is 99% of the time you get digital files (often hi-rez TBF) mastered via DMM assembly line process. Sometimes it turns out okay but on a whole I think the label's releases are a waste of money so I generally avoid them. In rare cases they use old mother plates, or a lacquer cut from somewhere else. A lot of their stuff is just cut in-house from whatever files they get from the label though.

I’m fine with a decent digital cut. I have all three OG Slowdive LPs and Blue Day on MOV vinyl. They all sound good, and the QC is pretty excellent. However, I didn’t spend over $20 for any of them. Those goddamn EPs are $30+ for some reason. Fuck that. I’m not sure I’d even pay that for originals.

[patient_ot]

I’m fine with a decent digital cut. I have all three OG Slowdive LPs and Blue Day on MOV vinyl. They all sound good, and the QC is pretty excellent. However, I didn’t spend over $20 for any of them. Those goddamn EPs are $30+ for some reason. Fuck that. I’m not sure I’d even pay that for originals.

Well, OGs of those albums haven't been that inexpensive for a long time. I don't remember what I paid for my OG s/t EP but it wasn't a lot. However, that was 20+ years ago and buying records then was very different. My take on why MOV is charging those prices is because they know people will fall for it. Put it on colored vinyl and call it limited and people line up to buy.

And it's not just digital sources I have a problem with. That can work out if the right mastering engineer is involved and the music was recorded digitally in the first place. However, so many MOV releases are just lazy assembly line mastering jobs with pixelated art. They cover that up by darkening certain elements in the art in photoshop - an old cheap trick. They're not the only ones who do that but I'm just not buying that crap anymore. I think their releases cater to folks that have to have stuff "on vinyl" and are more concerned with pretty vinyl colors than sound quality or getting your money's worth. For me personally, there is no point to most of their releases because they'll never sound better than a well mastered CD or whatever file the record was sourced from.

[JGJR]

I wish I'd gone for the SNM an Fiction discs especially before they went out of print. The only Comsats I have on CD (have the 1st 3 albums, My Mind's Eye, and a bunch of 7" and 12" singles on vinyl) is the expanded Waiting for a Miracle on Renascent, which I bought new in 2007 or so. That version is great, BTW, as far as the bonus material goes.

IIRC the Renascent mastering was used for the first discs on those I linked, so yeah, they sound good. And I have the first UK LP pressings and I would go so far as to say the CDs are better.

I hadn't realized they were OOP but that's kinda how CDs work now. The pressings are smaller and nothing stays in print very long anymore. I think the Sound multi-disc boxes on Demon/Edsel are OOP now too. Anyone that's a fan of the band needs those.

I'd meant to pick up that box. Dang!

[JGJR]

I wish I'd gone for the SNM and Fiction discs especially before they went out of print. The only Comsats I have on CD (have the 1st 3 albums, My Mind's Eye, and a bunch of 7" and 12" singles on vinyl) is the expanded Waiting for a Miracle on Renascent, which I bought new in 2007 or so. That version is great, BTW, as far as the bonus material goes.

IIRC the Renascent mastering was used for the first discs on those I linked, so yeah, they sound good. And I have the first UK LP pressings and I would go so far as to say the CDs are better.

I hadn't realized they were OOP but that's kinda how CDs work now. The pressings are smaller and nothing stays in print very long anymore. I think the Sound multi-disc boxes on Demon/Edsel are OOP now too. Anyone that's a fan of the band needs those.

My intro to the 1st 3 albums and the s/t album from 1986 back in the early '00s was a cd-r box set compiled by a fan and back then, it was just the '95 RPM pressings that were available on CD. I remember them sounding pretty good. I don't know what source was used for the '86 album. And yeah, the Renascent of Waiting for a Miracle is great all around. I only got that one because it's my favorite. I have UK originals of the 1st 3 (as I said earlier in this thread), too.

[JGJR]

The Rykos were the first CD versions I bought for the 1977 to 1986 albums and by and large, I think they are mastered quite well (though there is a noticeable mastering error on a song called "I'll Wear It Proudly" on the King of America disc, but I digress) and sound good. I kinda regret letting them go when I got all of the Rhinos, but I couldn't justify keeping both complete sets, especially when I have all of those albums on vinyl, too (almost all of the early albums in UK and US versions, too). Pro tip: for all of the early ones where they did MoFi except Get Happy!! (that you need the MoFi, a CD version, or the U.S. 2xLp on 33 1/3 reissue since even UK originals don't sound great IMO), track down a UK original and they all sound phenomenal, specifically My Aim is True, This Year's Model (you have the MoFi, so less essential for you perhaps), Armed Forces, Trust, and Imperial Bedroom. Oh, and Punch the Clock, too. The sound difference is very noticeable. The UK ones are the way to go there.

I picked up TYM and AF when they were cheap on MOFI vinyl. Prices are a lot higher now, especially for some titles. I played the MOFI TYM over the weekend again and it really does sound great but like a lot of recent MOFI vinyl it needs to be cranked because they backed off the compression. I had a U.S. LP and never thought it sounded anywhere near as good as the MOFI. I ended up giving it to a friend.

We've talked about this before but the UK or Euro pressings just don't show up stateside very often. I've never seen any of them except KOA on F-Beat, which I bought from the used bins maybe 5 years ago.

The U.S. GH Columbia LP could be better, but the sound is nowhere near as bad as I had remembered. Maybe it's because I have a much better system now than I did in the late 90s, but when I pulled it out of storage after many years I was expecting to hate it. Of course back then it was a $2-3 record, so there's also that. I have the Ryko CD as well. Wish I had grabbed the MOFI versions of GH and IB when they were cheaper. I checked that recent GH reissue and it seems to be digitally sourced so I've decided to skip it.

WARNING: extreme EC nerdery ahead. so only patient_ot and maybe 1-2 other people will care enough to read this whole thing, most likely

KoA is one of the ones I'm missing as far as UK pressings go of the 1977-1986 albums (the other one I'm missing is Goodbye Cruel World; just never seen one) and I'd like to get one just to see how it sounds (my vinyl copy is a U.S. pressing). That one was recorded in LA (unlike all of his previous albums, which were recorded in either London at Eden or Air or Get Happy!!, most of which was done at Wiselooord in Holland) and I have heard they're about the same sonically.

I want to play my U.S. original GH!! given your comments above. My system is also much better now, so I'd likely agree. The UK (like for all of his early albums ) is still better from my experience and as I said, the MoFi (from what I've heard; still need it) and the 33 1/3 2xLp reissue is WAY better and the last one of those is my play copy on vinyl since I got it really cheap about 4-5 years ago and by then, the MoFi was too expensive.

Even now, BTW, you can easily get GH!! (U.S. versions) for under $10, though some are beat to shit, so you have to careful. The easiest way to tell the difference right away between the U.S. and any other foreign pressing is if the ring wear design is on the front cover, BTW. I don't know why Columbia took that out from the U.S. version, but they fucked with those records a lot. At least they didn't completely change the track order/feel of the albums like on the 1st 3 for U.S. release (that's a separate comment or thread; don't get me wrong, I love the U.S. versions, too, but...), but they had to make one IMO way sillier change. Did they think Americans wouldn't get that it's not worn and that it just tried to mimic an old '60s Lp with ring wear?

As for UK pressings showing up here, I lucked out in getting an early UK press of My Aim is True from a seller I know on Discogs about 4-5 years ago and drew from the board sent me his UK TYM (a phenomenal sounding record) a few years before that, I think. I have several UK copies of Armed Forces (one of the best sounding records I own btw; it should be used to test systems), one from a friend and I can't remember how I got the other right now; the same goes with GH!! honestly. I got Trust and Imperial Bedroom on Discogs (again 4-5 years ago when I started collecting UK pressings of his albums in earnest) and found Punch the Clock very cheap in a store in London (Flashback in Shoreditch, I think?) when we were there in 2018. I got some great UK Billy Bragg pressings of his early albums in that same shopping trip, too, all super cheap over there, of course.

[patient_ot]

Even now, BTW, you can easily get GH!! (U.S. versions) for under $10, though some are beat to shit, so you have to careful. The easiest way to tell the difference right away between the U.S. and any other foreign pressing is if the ring wear design is on the front cover, BTW. I don't know why Columbia took that out from the U.S. version, but they fucked with those records a lot. At least they didn't completely change the track order/feel of the albums like on the 1st 3 for U.S. release (that's a separate comment or thread; don't get me wrong, I love the U.S. versions, too, but...), but they had to make one IMO way sillier change. Did they think Americans wouldn't get that it's not worn and that it just tried to mimic an old '60s Lp with ring wear?

I think record companies over here often assume music buyers are stupid, especially when it comes to non-U.S. artists. We get shortchanged a lot with different stuff, but it goes the other way also for fans of U.S. music outside of the U.S. also.