@billpete
The RD might be someone who was etching it. Who knows? The dead wax matrix catalog is far from complete. There are many variations that have not been recorded. Many times you just have to combine all of the information along with the closest match to the matrix that you can find. The blue inner sleeve was a clue. That is why it is important for you to study the photos and compare them with your album. There can be subtle differences in the covers. Or the labels. Like the missing hyphen on one of the pressings. So click on the link that I sent. Read the information under Notes: Many times they will tell you about little things that you should look for. And click on photo in the upper left hand corner. It will bring up additional photos. Usually at least the front and back cover and both labels. And if it is a gatefold. It will show the inside. Sometimes the inner sleeve. Carefully compare looking for any discrepancies. I think that there is a good chance that the link that I sent is your pressing. But without having the album in my hands. I cannot be sure. The smallest difference could lead me to the right one. Missing printing where there should be printing. Anything. That is, if you even care to know the exact pressing. Otherwise we have it narrowed down to pressings done between 1971 &1972
And as far as the Island pressings sounding better than the A&M. You are far from alone in that opinion. I have read that many many times. There are numerous reasons that that could be the case. Depending on the facility that pressed it. Their equipment may not be maintained as well, or is old. Plus, those production metal pressing plates do have a life span. They do wear out. That is why first releases are sought after. You know that the plates were new. The more pressings the more toll it takes on the plates and the less likely that the pressing will sound as good. The US is a big market. A&M would have had multiple facilities pressing that album. For example, some will prefer a Monarch pressing to a Pittman pressing. All of those factors come into play.
However, it is still unclear to me if the solid Pink labels were pressed correctly and the others weren't. I am highly skeptical of that being the case. Simply because those original production plates were being shipped all over the world just as fast as they could produce them. However, I am not familiar with their work flow. They could have produced multiple production tapes from which to make the metal pressing plates. And maybe only some of those tapes were flawed while others weren't. And like I said. Some countries were using solid pink labels at the same time that other countries were using pink rim labels. I must do some research of the difference of a repress and a reissue. Does a reissue use new production plates? Whereas a repress is just another batch of pressings from the same plates? What is the standard for the maximum number of pressings before the plates should be replaced? Is there even a standard in place? Many questions still are unresolved in my mind. If I could get my hands on a solid pink label UK 1st pressing. Then I would be able to tell within the first song. However, I don't have the cash to take that gamble. And there are no NM solid pink label UK pressings for sale anyway. I still stand by what I said. It is a beautifully recorded album. I just want to make sure that I am hearing all of its beauty and not a technically flawed one, simply because someone forgot to flip a switch.
