'Loveless'

Gorilla · Post by **Gorilla** » Tue May 06, 2008 12:56 pm

There's a very good Loveless book in the 33 1/3 series that has interviews with a lot of people in the band.

You can buy it hear and read my amazon review too.

http://www.amazon.com/My-Bloody-Valenti ... 666&sr=1-1

It addresses a lot of the non-recording details surrounding the album and business of the band but also has a lot of important details like for example that Colm was too sick during the recordings to play on the album - Shields says something to the effect that the drums would have been recorded exactly like he programed them.

In terms of the volume I can only assume they intended the album to be played loud (even if it had to be turned up) as they had a reputation as an extremely loud band and as I recall toured with Dinosaur jr., one of the loudest bands of that era.

Jeff White · Post by **Jeff White** » Wed May 07, 2008 9:08 am

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/n ... -anythingi

Interesting news.

MoreSpaceEcho · Post by **MoreSpaceEcho** » Wed May 07, 2008 12:14 pm

i fear the worst but i'll likely buy it anyway.

Jeff White · Post by **Jeff White** » Wed May 07, 2008 1:02 pm

MoreSpaceEcho wrote:i fear the worst but i'll likely buy it anyway.

+1

asmara · Post by **asmara** » Wed May 07, 2008 2:17 pm

I hope they re-master and re-release all the EPs from MBV. Those were brilliant as well.

vvv · Post by **vvv** » Sat May 10, 2008 9:36 am

I just saw the are coming to Chicago: info.

chris harris · Post by **chris harris** » Sat May 10, 2008 3:49 pm

vvv wrote:I just saw the are coming to Chicago: info.

I got tickets today! thanks for the heads up!

ec · Post by ec » Fri May 16, 2008 12:46 pm

Someone (I don't have the record in front of me) is pressing vinyl copies of Loveless again. I found a new copy in my local record shop the other day, shat a brick, bought it, and went directly home and cranked it up. Review: it sounds light years better than the CD versions I've had. It might be a vinyl thing, but I suspect that the mastering for the new vinyl version is simply better. The main thing that I noticed right away is that the drums sound really thunderous, kind of like they do on the CD if you set your volume knob somewhere between "offensive" and "illegal". The dynamics and depth are much better, and it doesn't sound nearly as tinny. I highly recommend it.

Oh, and Ride's Nowhere actually came out a while before Loveless. (Late 1990, iirc.)

thieves · Post by **thieves** » Mon May 19, 2008 8:43 am

ec wrote:Someone (I don't have the record in front of me) is pressing vinyl copies of Loveless again. I found a new copy in my local record shop the other day, shat a brick, bought it, and went directly home and cranked it up. Review: it sounds light years better than the CD versions I've had. It might be a vinyl thing, but I suspect that the mastering for the new vinyl version is simply better. The main thing that I noticed right away is that the drums sound really thunderous, kind of like they do on the CD if you set your volume knob somewhere between "offensive" and "illegal". The dynamics and depth are much better, and it doesn't sound nearly as tinny. I highly recommend it.

Oh, and Ride's Nowhere actually came out a while before Loveless. (Late 1990, iirc.)

i finally opened this thread today and ran through it and was going to mention/ask about the recent vinyl issue. i assumed it would be remastered just given the process of pressing new vinyl, but now with the news of the upcoming cd remasters, i'll probably just wait for those. i have a feeling shields is well aware of the loudness issues and isn't going to let some ME just completely ruin his albums by digitally clipping them.

MoreSpaceEcho · Post by **MoreSpaceEcho** » Mon May 19, 2008 9:14 am

ec, can you give us any info on that vinyl?

bipedal · Post by **bipedal** » Mon May 19, 2008 11:58 am

Yeah, I'm interested in that vinyl too -- the drum sound on the CD always bugged the sh@$ out of me, so your description of the LP sound caught my attention...

In the U.S., looks like an LP was released in 2003, then another version just released in '08. Curious if you've got the newest version...

ec · Post by ec » Mon May 19, 2008 1:19 pm

I'll look up the info on the LP when I get home tonight and report back. If I understood the guy at the record store correctly, this is the 2008 pressing.

Yeah, the drums really bothered me on the CD copies I've had of it, at least at normal volumes. I had a really weird experience with that. For the first few years I knew about the album, I was convinced that there was almost no drum part to speak of in "To Here Knows When". Then I happened to be playing the album very loud, and noticed that the tom part is actually really thunderous---it's just mixed really low. When it's loud enough to actually hear, the drums sound absolutely huge, but like they're a mile away. Very trippy. Anyway, I think this pressing does some very good things for the drums.

bipedal wrote:Yeah, I'm interested in that vinyl too -- the drum sound on the CD always bugged the sh@$ out of me, so your description of the LP sound caught my attention...

In the U.S., looks like an LP was released in 2003, then another version just released in '08. Curious if you've got the newest version...

ec · Post by ec » Tue May 20, 2008 8:20 am

The copy I have is the 2003 Plain Recordings version on 180 gram black vinyl. (PLAIN105) There is also a 2008 version from Plain Recordings, and seems to differ only in that the vinyl is colored and that it's a numbered limited edition.

The 2008 version we've been talking about is the Sony/BMG remaster. It looks like this isn't out yet: it's definitely referred to in the future tense in the Pitchfork article, and a quick check on Amazon shows that they're only selling the 2003 Plain version. Rate Your Music gives a release date of June 16th for both the CD and vinyl remasters:

http://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/ ... veless_f8/

I have a feeling I'm gonna have to pick up the Sony/BMG version when it comes out. I'm certainly not above keeping two different versions of this record around. If/when I acquire that new version, I'll be happy to post a side-by-side comparison of the two mastering jobs.

Cheers,
-Erik

ec wrote:I'll look up the info on the LP when I get home tonight and report back. If I understood the guy at the record store correctly, this is the 2008 pressing.

Knight79 · Post by **Knight79** » Tue May 20, 2008 7:14 pm

Loveless is one of those albums much like Pet Sounds and Bowie's Low where when I first got a hold of it I locked myself away, put it on repeat and didn't talk to anyone for a month. Its one of those albums thats so amazing it consumes you, takes you to a place and keeps you captive until you are ready to leave. To be honest I don't really listen to it that much anymore because it is so intense and there is so much to digest.

My favorite shoegaze album has to Whirlpool by Chapterhouse. I love those songs and I love the mix and I can listen to it anywhere at anytime. Its dense but not overbearing like Loveless can be at times.

Tears of Rage · Post by **Tears of Rage** » Fri Jun 13, 2008 9:15 am

ec wrote:The copy I have is the 2003 Plain Recordings version on 180 gram black vinyl. (PLAIN105)

I have this edition on vinyl as well. Great album!

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