So is "For Sale" now the best-sounding and produced Mats LP?

[teddinard]

I haven't had time to listen to it carefully on my home system. But I played the Sorry Ma "Takin a Ride" against the For Sale one on my computer speakers, and there was no comparison, though I love the studio cut. It could be a Loudness Wars effect though.

What would be the competition for you? I love the production on Pleased to Meet Me, and I think Litt made All Shook Down just the way it's supposed to sound.

But I'm wondering if For Sale will take the top spot of presenting the band sounding their best, the platonic ideal of the Mats sound. I don't think Let It Be or Sorry Ma quite do that, and the less said about the sound of Tim (my favorite record) the better.

[chisel93]

It almost sounds TOO good! Not complaining.....

[Freddy]

I haven't put on my vinyl yet either, but in my headphones and in the car, it sounds pretty damn good. Very rich for a live recording.

[leftofthedial09]

Does the vinyl come with a download code?

[teddinard]

Oct 7, 2017 12:08:32 GMT -5 leftofthedial09 said:

Does the vinyl come with a download code?

Yes it does, at least from Amazon. I haven't received the LPs yet, but downloaded the MP3s yesterday.

[mudbacktodirt]

Yeah, the sound quality is good. I agree with the comment about Tim. Great, great songs that don't sound as good as they should because of the mix (or what producers and engineers thought music should sound like in the 80's).

Everyone dumps on Don't Tell a Soul's mix and sound (and they're right to). Tim has great songs but I've always liked live versions of those same songs far better than the studio album.

Pleased to Meet Me and All Shook Down sound right to me. I'm in the minority in that All Shook Down is one of my favorites. I'd agree that those are well produced/engineered and that the sound quality is as it should be.

[oldmatsfan]

Got my digital download yesterday before I went to work, CD in my mailbox when I got home.   Far better sound quality than "Murder At The Maxwell", simply a great show.

[timx1386]

This record is fantastic. Cranked up the vinyl - looking the packaging/pictures and reading the insert... super cool that they dug this up and released it.. this just rotting in a vault never to be heard again would have been a crime. This is a solid solid f’n record. I definitely see what all the excitement is about .. I mean I thought all we’d ever see is just maybe more remastered stuff if anything.. but a time capsule gem like this ? Just wow.

[leftofthedial09]

Oct 7, 2017 12:45:06 GMT -5 teddinard said:

Oct 7, 2017 12:08:32 GMT -5 leftofthedial09 said:

Does the vinyl come with a download code?

Yes it does, at least from Amazon. I haven't received the LPs yet, but downloaded the MP3s yesterday.

Ah, ok. Weird. I bought vinyl in store and there is no code inside :/

[leftofthedial09]

Oct 7, 2017 12:45:06 GMT -5 teddinard said:

Oct 7, 2017 12:08:32 GMT -5 leftofthedial09 said:

Does the vinyl come with a download code?

Yes it does, at least from Amazon. I haven't received the LPs yet, but downloaded the MP3s yesterday.

Ah, ok. Weird. I bought vinyl in store and there is no code inside :/

[oldmatsfan]

Oct 7, 2017 16:11:53 GMT -5 leftofthedial09 said:

Oct 7, 2017 12:45:06 GMT -5 teddinard said:

Yes it does, at least from Amazon. I haven't received the LPs yet, but downloaded the MP3s yesterday.

Ah, ok. Weird. I bought vinyl in store and there is no code inside :/

Perhaps that's an Amazon.com thing only?

[Jer]

Oct 7, 2017 12:58:10 GMT -5 mudbacktodirt said:

Pleased to Meet Me and All Shook Down sound right to me. I'm in the minority in that All Shook Down is one of my favorites. I'd agree that those are well produced/engineered and that the sound quality is as it should be.

PTMM was cool because it had the screaming guitars that Tim was for the most part lacking. The band wasn't restrained like they were on Tim, trying to be something in the studio that they weren't live (in spite of the great material). The drums still have an 80s sheen to them, which I think is the biggest flaw with the recording, and I'm not a fan of that version of CHW, but it's recorded and mixed better than DTAS. 

All Shook Down was not their best record as far as material, IMO, but the recording approach was probably the most organic of anything they did. The drums sound like drums, the guitars are raw, there's not an overabundance of reverb. It feels disjointed and tense, too loose with all the guest musicians, but it sounds like people in a room playing music. 

I've maintained that Let It Be is the best produced record in the end. It's a little muddy, but in a good, Exile on Main Street sorta way. It sounds like they were supposed to sound. It's aged very well. The material, of course, helps a lot.

Not sure you can count a live album like Maxwell's in the discussion. It's an entirely different thing.  But I agree that it sounds incredible, and those first few months of 1986 were the high point for the band.  We're lucky that show was recorded so well. 

[TomT]

Got the cds and just heard it up through CHW. Wow. This plays loud really well. I mean if you had a great sound system in your back yard and played this, your neighbors would think you had the most kick ass band on your patio. this is time travel to 1986. I love it!

[timx1386]

I’ve listened a handful of times now, this might be my favorite thing at the moment. Still crazy to think this was just locked away somewhere all these years.

[TomT]

I like the two guitars separation with Bob in the right Handel and Paul in the left. It's particularly nice on Johnnys Gonna Die. Paul's gotta little flourish on it.

[TomT]

Should read channel.

[megan]

I've listened to it a couple times now and it's a stellar addition to my Mats shrine. I envy all who got to see them live! Maybe maybe maybeeeeeeee this could be the catalyst for another Replacements reunion?! *crosses fingers* 


I probably shouldn't hold my breath though. 


P.S.
Does anyone know where I could get a set of the Mats paper dolls? They're so very cool. 

[brianlux]

I'm amazed by how good Maxwell's sounds! What a great record!!!

[raccoon]

Glad they didn't 'burn this tape'
Found some interesting tidbits about Maxwells on Wiki. Anybody ever been? :

At a time when one of the Fallon siblings wanted to divest their interest in the business, Peter Buck (guitarist for R.E.M.) bought their piece to help his friend Steve Fallon keep it open as a resource for enthusiasts of new music.

When Fallon wanted completely out, he and his partners sold Maxwell's in December 1995 to William (Silverback) Sutton,who then turned it into a brewpub. Abramson,Steve Shelley (drummer of Sonic Youth) and Dave Post of the Amazing Incredibles and Swingadelic arranged to bring Maxwell's back, and renovated and reopened it on July 26, 1998.While some longtime patrons missed the more freewheeling Steve Fallon days, Maxwell's again became as vital a part of the independent music community as it was in the 1980s and 1990s.

Parts of the music video for Bruce Springsteen's "Glory Days" were filmed at Maxwell's on May 28, 1985.The music video was directed by Hoboken resident John Sayles.

The video for the song "Away" by the Feelies, directed by Jonathan Demme, was recorded at Maxwell's in 1988. After a 17-year hiatus, the Feelies reunited to appear at Maxwell's in July 2008,and they made appearances again every July from 2009 through 2013.

While on tour supporting their debut album Bleach, Nirvana appeared at Maxwell's on July 13, 1989. Early in the day, before the show, photographer Ian Tilton took several pictures of the band around Hoboken while John Robb interviewed them for a Sounds front cover feature. The picture of frontman Kurt Cobain has since been used in dozens of magazines, newspapers and websites before and after his death.

[jimmyrock]

Oct 7, 2017 12:58:10 GMT -5 mudbacktodirt said:

Yeah, the sound quality is good. I agree with the comment about Tim. Great, great songs that don't sound as good as they should because of the mix (or what producers and engineers thought music should sound like in the 80's).

Everyone dumps on Don't Tell a Soul's mix and sound (and they're right to). Tim has great songs but I've always liked live versions of those same songs far better than the studio album.

Pleased to Meet Me and All Shook Down sound right to me. I'm in the minority in that All Shook Down is one of my favorites. I'd agree that those are well produced/engineered and that the sound quality is as it should be.

I pretty much in line with this