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Classic Records 200g Quiex Vinyl - Who's Next

Has anyone else bought this record? I bought it about a month ago, and frankly, I'm not impressed with the sound quality. It sounds dull. I can think of many words to describe "Who's Next", but dull was never one of them.
Roger Daltrey sounds like he's singing from my basement during "Baba O'Reilly". "Bargain" is a little better. The drums sound very one-dimensional, though. The guitars on "Love Ain't for Keeping" sound really nice, but "My Wife" is a disaster. It sounds terrible in every aspect. "Song is Over" sounds ok, but I feel like I have to keep turning the volume up just to hear what I know is in those grooves, but can't seem to find when I'm listening.
Side 2 is just more of the same. Dull and lifeless. Tell me something is wrong with my pressing, please!

Cheers.
tfkaudio
tfkaudio OP
591 posts
 
not to go off on a tangerine, but I just listened to a 180g Sundazed Mono pressing of "The Times They Are a Changin'" by Bob Dylan and it was so good that it spooked me. On the last track, "Restless Farewell" you could tell instantly, of his picking technique, if he caught the string 'clean', or if he hit it a little bit light. Or if his finger was holding the string firm on the fretboard, or a little loose for a muted sound. You could even hear the pick snap when a string was hit good.
That's the type of recording I wanted this "Who's Next" to be, but wasn't.
Maybe I'm just dialed in perfect for 180g thickness, and haven't found the magic spot for 200g? Believe me, I've been tryin...

Cheers
qdrone
1,041 posts
 
Take it to heart,The Sundazed recordings are in my opinion one of the best deals out there. I have been very happy with the stuff i have purchased from them and buying direct in bulk you save some swag. I have purchased the Love Lp's,Paul Butterfield Blues Band LP's and The Iggy and the Stooges LP's.Not a bad pressing in the bunch.
rushton's avatar
rushton
2,445 posts
 
Tfkaudio, with respect to your tangerine... (enjoyed that expression - thanks! :)) While I've always loved "Who's Next," it has never struck me as a masterful recording job with exquisite resolution of the sort of acoustic detail you describe in the Dylan. In all of it's iterations that I've heard, I've always thought of it as an above average processed/synthesized rock recording, but nothing more. Are we expecting more from the mastertapes than is there?
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tfkaudio OP
591 posts
 
You make a good point, Rushton. What has always bugged me about "Who's Next" (1971) is the fact that the earlier album "Tommy" (1968) was sonically much better. It never made sense to me that the best sounding Who album was the one they made when they were furthest in debt... By the time "Who's Next" came out, they were rich and powerful rock stars with access to the best recording gear and the best recording engineers. Maybe that's just it - maybe "Tommy" was recorded on crappy old tube gear (And the tube fans in the audience go wild!...)?

"Who Knows" ? :)

Cheers.
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