Albie
Keeping an open eye on the Weeping Angels.
It was Piece of Mind, definitely.I believe it was Piece of Mind, at least my copy is.
Vinyl reissues
- Thread starter Marc Sheridan*
- Start date
Cornfed Hick
Ancient Mariner
Please let us know how they sound!
bearfan
Ancient Mariner
So, these are the worse two albums for me to compare sound ... I listen to them so rarely and anymore only have mp3s to compare them with.
I listened to Sign of the Cross and it sounded good to me ... really I do not think these albums ever sounded really good from a production standpoint and I don't think they ever claimed any massive remastering project with these albums ... I did think the intro part of the song sounded cool and had some atmosphere to it and sounded a but fuller than I recall.
I'll be able to judge these better when I get No Prayer/FotD and BNW-on.
I preordered the box from the UK so it probably won't get here for another week. 
Saved about $30 though, so worth it.
I'm hoping they fixed the mastering on the Blaze albums, especially X Factor. I'm not a huge fan of FOTD's sound but that's more on the mix. Also waiting to hear about any differences between US and UK versions before purchasing the Blaze albums.
Saved about $30 though, so worth it. I'm hoping they fixed the mastering on the Blaze albums, especially X Factor. I'm not a huge fan of FOTD's sound but that's more on the mix. Also waiting to hear about any differences between US and UK versions before purchasing the Blaze albums.
Albie
Keeping an open eye on the Weeping Angels.
I got the box, No Prayer, FotD and X Factor yesterday, expecting Virtual XI today. The box is pretty big.
Please don't ask how they sound as I don't have a record player, this is mainly for my collection of Maiden stuff.
bearfan
Ancient Mariner
So, how do they look like they would sound?I got the box, No Prayer, FotD and X Factor yesterday, expecting Virtual XI today. The box is pretty big.
Please don't ask how they sound as I don't have a record player, this is mainly for my collection of Maiden stuff.
Albie
Keeping an open eye on the Weeping Angels.
Well, Angel and the Gambler takes up about 75% of one side of the disk, so pretty good I'd say.
Cornfed Hick
Ancient Mariner
Steve Harris thanks you for his new car!Please don't ask how they sound as I don't have a record player, this is mainly for my collection of Maiden stuff.
The reviews I've been reading about these reissues have been pretty positive. I've decided to dip my toes in, and order X Factor. At $30 apiece, I do want them to be special. Looking forward to Dance of Death, which desperately needs a remaster, and Rock in Rio next month.
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Got my box in the mail. First of all, I'm impressed at how quickly it got here. It only shipped on Sunday. The box is huge, I guess it makes sense since it is supposed to hold a bunch of albums (including triples) but it still caught me off guard. Really nice package though. No Prayer and Fear look nice. Artwork seems better reproduced than on what I've seen of the 80s represses. Not going to be able to listen to these until tomorrow, but everything is high quality so far. Heard mixed things about No Prayer, so I'm especially curious on that.
TheTalisman
Ancient Mariner
Just picked up the The X Factor and Virtual XI. My first impression is that the remaster on the XI vinyl sounded much better than the original CD mix, but I have to compare them closer. The X Factor does not sound as thin as the original CD mix, I think.
I have pre-ordered Brave New World as well.
I have pre-ordered Brave New World as well.
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AncientMariner_Essex
Ancient Mariner
I know vinyl is the In thing now but it does piss me off that these aren't being released on cd. There's been tons of maiden vinyl over the last few years released but us cd lovers have been stuck with the 1998 remasters.
Cornfed Hick
Ancient Mariner
Just pick up the original CDs. For example, the 1995 original CD of X Factor is mastered OK, better than the 98s, and can be had for a reasonable price here: https://www.discogs.com/sell/release/2829505?ev=rb
If they were to reissue the CDs again I'd want them to do something special with it, like liner notes and a bonus CD with demos, live tracks, and other rarities. Or they could follow Judas Priest on their 80s reissues and package them with an unreleased full live show.
terrell39
Ancient Mariner
Especially AMOLAD with a live show from leg 1 of the tour
No Prayer sounds pretty compressed, think I'll be sticking to my 1990 CD on that one. I'm more curious about what they did with the Blaze albums anyway. Those are classic examples of albums with a decent mix ruined by the master. No Prayer always sounded fine and while I'm not a huge fan of the sound on Fear, I'm not a huge fan of the album in general so it doesn't make that much of a difference.
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Fear of the Dark: This sounds fantastic. Nice warm balanced sound, a huge improvement over the thin sounding CD. The intro to The Fugitive has a lot more much needed power, for example. Again, I don't listen to this album much so maybe my memory is fuzzy, but I felt like I was hearing new details on this version. The sides also run pretty short which helps. Definitely going to be my preferred way of hearing FOTD from now on.
Another reason I enjoy music on vinyl is that the format of dividing things by side forces me to rethink certain albums. In the case of Fear, I found the sequencing for vinyl served as both an advantage and disadvantage. The negative is that it really highlights how weak the album is. With 3 songs per side, there is only one great song per side, in the case of side 3 there are no great songs. The positive is that the album divides pretty well. Wasting Love is an amazing way to close out the first disc. The Fugitive is a decent enough opener for disc two, with the heavy drum intro. I also enjoy the 3 song per side format. Every side has a really nice slow. You have heavy energetic openers and either a soft closing tune or an epic.
The ability to just completely skip side 3 is also a major benefit to the album.
Another reason I enjoy music on vinyl is that the format of dividing things by side forces me to rethink certain albums. In the case of Fear, I found the sequencing for vinyl served as both an advantage and disadvantage. The negative is that it really highlights how weak the album is. With 3 songs per side, there is only one great song per side, in the case of side 3 there are no great songs. The positive is that the album divides pretty well. Wasting Love is an amazing way to close out the first disc. The Fugitive is a decent enough opener for disc two, with the heavy drum intro. I also enjoy the 3 song per side format. Every side has a really nice slow. You have heavy energetic openers and either a soft closing tune or an epic.
The ability to just completely skip side 3 is also a major benefit to the album.
Blaze albums sound good. For X Factor, the dynamics aren't all out of whack like they are on the CD and the snare drum is a little less harsh. Vocals seem a little low at times but overall it's a good sounding version. Still I think that album needs a complete remix.
Virtual XI sounded great. That album normally gives me so much ear fatigue that I feel exhausted by the time The Clansman ends. The thing is, it really is one of Maiden's more dynamic albums, but the original mastering job makes it difficult to hear that. On the vinyl version, the quiet parts are quiet and the loud parts don't feel abrasive. Listening to that version actually rekindled my love for the album a bit. I like most of the songs on there (even Angel isn't that bad) but I can't sit through the original version. Same with DoD, hoping they fix that one up too. Of the first four releases, Virtual is the one I see myself going back to the most.
Virtual XI sounded great. That album normally gives me so much ear fatigue that I feel exhausted by the time The Clansman ends. The thing is, it really is one of Maiden's more dynamic albums, but the original mastering job makes it difficult to hear that. On the vinyl version, the quiet parts are quiet and the loud parts don't feel abrasive. Listening to that version actually rekindled my love for the album a bit. I like most of the songs on there (even Angel isn't that bad) but I can't sit through the original version. Same with DoD, hoping they fix that one up too. Of the first four releases, Virtual is the one I see myself going back to the most.
Sounds interesting, maybe one day I'll pick that VXI version up. There is a great DoD mix, but it's completely buried by oblivion because it was made for the ill-fated DVD-A format that nobody cared for.