The Smiths Studio Albums - Remastered and Re-released by Rhino UK on Vinyl

Anyone else got any of these yet? I got The Smiths on Monday. Looks and sounds very nice. It also comes with download voucher code thing to downloaded mp3s of the remasters. Although they're 320kbps, I'm still waiting for the CD remasters to come along...
 
Anyone else got any of these yet? I got The Smiths on Monday. Looks and sounds very nice. It also comes with download voucher code thing to downloaded mp3s of the remasters. Although they're 320kbps, I'm still waiting for the CD remasters to come along...

Could you please post some photos?
Does the sleeve or vinyl look any different to the original?
Is the sound noticeably different?

I haven't yet decided whether I should buy these re-releases or not...

Thank you
 
Rhino has a bundle offer, £ 50 ( with free shipping which must be for UK orders only as i paid postage to Europe) for the 4 Vinyls.
Cheers Moz
 
Rhino has a bundle offer, £ 50 ( with free shipping which must be for UK orders only as i paid postage to Europe) for the 4 Vinyls.
Cheers Moz

Thanks Stoned, I've ordered that bundle. When I last checked on the Rhino website, nothing was listed for them.

I just didn't want to order off Recordstore as they've been useless in the past.
 
Got all four yesterday (what can I say, I'm a whore for a remaster!) and must say they all look gorgeous. The Smiths in particular sounds amazing, and although it's a cliche the remaster gives them a new lease of life with things that someone listening to the CDs wouldn't have heard before.

Not listened to the others, but very happy to have them nonetheless.
 
Rhino has a bundle offer, £ 50 ( with free shipping which must be for UK orders only as i paid postage to Europe) for the 4 Vinyls.
Cheers Moz

Thank you for the info! I ordered yesterday. Shipping to Europe was only 5,60£ registered not bad :) Recordstore.co.uk asked 23,50£ for Europe shipping. I'm glad I didn't order.
 
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Rhino has a bundle offer, £ 50 ( with free shipping which must be for UK orders only as i paid postage to Europe) for the 4 Vinyls.
Cheers Moz

That is annoying, I guess they put out this offer quite late in the day as I didn't see it and ordered my copies through Amazon which cost me £60 (minus a few pence), doh!!!

Oh well, Amazon always packages their stuff very securely which is always a bonus when receiving vinyl through the post.

The problem I have is that they are sealed and I don't want to open them just to get at the download voucher. I guess some kind soul will upload them soon enough.
 
I got my 4 LPs this week... I haven't played them yet because my turntable is sadly broken, but the mp3s sounds great.

As I expected, the artwork isn't like the original LPs. Just like the new 7"s are not like the original 7"s. The colors don't match and some images are blurry, which is the result of scanning the original.

For some reason the gatefold image on The Queen Is Dead is reversed: photo on the left and lyrics on the right.

And they didn't take the time to emboss "THE SMITHS" on Strangeways.

Also, the paper they chose couldn't be cheaper.

So yeah, in my opinion the artwork on the box sets suck, as well as the 4 LPs.

The sound is great, but this shows us that the Smiths releases don't get the respect they deserve.
 
I got my 4 LPs this week... I haven't played them yet because my turntable is sadly broken, but the mp3s sounds great.

As I expected, the artwork isn't like the original LPs. Just like the new 7"s are not like the original 7"s. The colors don't match and some images are blurry, which is the result of scanning the original.

For some reason the gatefold image on The Queen Is Dead is reversed: photo on the left and lyrics on the right.

And they didn't take the time to emboss "THE SMITHS" on Strangeways.

Also, the paper they chose couldn't be cheaper.

So yeah, in my opinion the artwork on the box sets suck, as well as the 4 LPs.

The sound is great, but this shows us that the Smiths releases don't get the respect they deserve.

I don't want to imagine the next remastered cd's.....the old wea ones are gonna be gold.
 
I got my 4 LPs this week... I haven't played them yet because my turntable is sadly broken, but the mp3s sounds great.

As I expected, the artwork isn't like the original LPs. Just like the new 7"s are not like the original 7"s. The colors don't match and some images are blurry, which is the result of scanning the original.

For some reason the gatefold image on The Queen Is Dead is reversed: photo on the left and lyrics on the right.

And they didn't take the time to emboss "THE SMITHS" on Strangeways.

Also, the paper they chose couldn't be cheaper.

So yeah, in my opinion the artwork on the box sets suck, as well as the 4 LPs.

The sound is great, but this shows us that the Smiths releases don't get the respect they deserve.
Thanks Flax, good to know, but disappointing nonetheless. I have the vinyl and cd boxsets (but have yet to open them!?), but have yet to acquire the 4 Vinyl+ LPs ~ just couldn't squeeze enough out of my finances what with the Brixton and Troxy adventures. I think I'll hold off, for now. :)
 
The originals will ALWAYS be much better, under every point of view.....
Cheers Moz
 
I have a really hard time understanding the complaining about remastering and improving the sound quality of these records. In fact, I think it's long overdue and also it's commonplace for other artists classic records. It is a shame about the artwork and packaging though.
 
I have a really hard time understanding the complaining about remastering and improving the sound quality of these records. In fact, I think it's long overdue and also it's commonplace for other artists classic records. It is a shame about the artwork and packaging though.

Lets be honest here....... I remember when CD's first came out and people at work were raving about CD's saying how much better quality sound they were.......
I have NEVER been convinced........ surely it's the quality of the sound system playing the vinyl / CD you have that counts, not the vinyl or CD itself....
The Emperors New Clothes as far as I have been concerned.........
Now it is all remastered this and remastered that...... are they REALLY any different to the originals?
The Great Rock 'N' Roll Swindle:guitar:

Jukebox Jury
 
i'm still waiting for these reissues.
but U2 example is good - Joshua Tree remastered vinyl sound PERFECT, much better than original WITHOUT any changes to the mix - it sounds clear, sharp and bass is VERY deep and perfectly controlled. hope to hear the same improvment with Smiths albums.
 
First impressions after receiving the 4 album bundle from Rhino this morning:

- The vinyl albums sleeves/inner bags aren't bad but aren't fantastic either. As pointed out earlier by Flax the paper is rather cheap and lightweight, and the edges where the vinyl touches the sides of the bags/sleeves were slightly stretched or torn due to too-tight packaging in transit. However, the reproductions of the artwork/lyrics/credits are pretty good, and the texts are mostly crisp, clear and easy to read.

- As for the records themselves, they feel fantastic, heavy and solid. I haven't had a chance to play them yet but will give them a spin later today and report back. I'm expecting excellent dynamics/general sound. They've also reproduced the original vinyl etchings ('DOING THE WYTHENSHAWE WALTZ' etc.).

- Finally the download codes that come with the albums. Each album is downloadable, with The Smiths and Meat Is Murder each having their Sire bonus track (This Charming Man and How Soon is Now? respectively), which is strange as the vinyl albums don't contain these tracks (mercifully). These 320kbps mp3s of the albums sound absolutely fantastic - the remastering has been subtle but excellent. Drums are crisp and actually pop, the bass is strong and full and the vocals/guitar just sound cleaner and fuller than before. This is very noticable on The Smiths, also on Meat Is Murder, less so on QID and less on SHWC. I would highly recommend sourcing these downloads, or waiting for the cd reissues/remasters that will surely come out towards the end of the year (the ones mentioned by Steven Street in his blog, which he did with Johnny).

Fraid I have to disagree with the respectful Jukebox as I find the remastered sound fuller, deeper, crisper and just generally a more alive reproduction of the sound. Like I said, perhaps not worth buying these vinyl albums if you don't have a turntable or only want the download codes, as these remasters will probably be released on nice cds soon, but if you can track them down then do. Really worth it.
 
I bought all 4 albums today and I must admit the sound quality is simply superb-much beter than the CD versions I own. The artwork isn't fabolous but it isn't terrible either. My only gripe with Rhino is that I didn't recieve an MP3 voucher for "The Queen Is Dead." :tears: If anyone wants to PM me a link I would be glad to trade for another MP3 album.

I also want to add that I paid extra to purchase these in-store because I simply do not trust The United States Postal Service or some half-arsed parcel delivery company to handle vinyl records through the mail. I used to work for UPS many many years ago and the way we handled "Fragile" packages is quite laughable.

For those who don't think vinyl sounds better... :crazy:
 
I've received my vinyls this week (xmas gift for myself XD) and think they are just fine.

Like arsenal said, my the queen is dead didn't came with a code T_T. The other 3 albuns codes were ok and already download them.

If someone wants to exchange vinyl codes with me, just send a pm. Note that the vinyl-plus site has other titles than The Smiths (New Order, for example).
 
I've just started collecting vinyls and have been looking at this and the singles box? Would having the remastered really make that much a difference? What I'm asking is are the ones from the 80s more valuable because they are from the 80s? Will they ever be? Or should I just order these?
 
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