Heavy Vinyl review

[MHND71F@prodigy.com (STEVE MARSHALL)]

MCA INTRODUCES NEW "HEAVY VINYL" SERIES
by Steve Marshall

On October 24th, MCA will debut its latest effort in the
audiophile realm -- the new "Heavy Vinyl" series.  Each
title is remastered from the original master tapes, without
any noise reduction or bass roll-off. Pressed on 180 grams
of pure virgin vinyl, all of the titles in the series are
limited editions. The packaging on each title in the series
is very nicely done. The original artwork and liner notes
are intact on all 5 titles, and in some cases, expanded
upon. The pressings on all five albums were excellent --
virtually no surface noise at all, and free of any distortion.

The  first title of the series to be reviewed is John
Barry's Academy Award winning score to the motion picture
"Out of Africa". The orchestra sounds very warm and resonant
throughout the album. However, unless you're a big fan of
the movie itself, you'll be fighting to stay awake by the
time you get to the end of the album. "Out of Africa" is
impressively recorded, but there isn't enough happening at
any given time to engage the listener.

Next up is the self-titled second album from rock and roll
legend, Buddy Holly. The sparse arrangements of the material
on this album make it a prime candidate for an audiophile
pressing. The instruments are all easily distinguishable
from each other and very clear. Songs like the classic
"Peggy Sue" and the Fats Domino penned tune "Valley of
Tears" never sounded better.  The new Heavy Vinyl version of
"Buddy Holly" contains additional liner notes as well.

Moving on to the third title in the series, we come to the
classic Buddy Guy album,  "I Was Walking Through the Woods".
Originally released on the Chess label in 1970, "Woods"
contains songs recorded live in the studio as they happened
and also a collection of singles and (at the time)
unreleased cuts.  The channel separation on the classic
"First Time I Met the Blues" is stunning. Probably the best
test of the quality of a Buddy Guy recording is in the
guitar sound and the vocal transients. The Heavy Vinyl
pressing passed with flying colors. Like "Buddy Holly", this
album also contains additional liner notes.

Dave Mason's solo debut, "Alone Together" is the next title
in the series.  Containing the classic hit single "Only You
Know and I Know", and FM radio staples such as "Look at You,
Look at Me" and "World in Changes", the album remains
Mason's greatest accomplishment. The dynamic range on the
1970 recording is outstanding. The sound quality on the
album is markedly improved over the original release. All of
the instruments and vocals are clear and very distinct.

Probably the most eagerly awaited title in the new Heavy
Vinyl series is The Who's 1971 release, "Who's Next".  Who
fans take note -- this is now the definitive version of the
album. The sound quality has never been better. Even the
superb Japanese pressing can't hold a candle to the Heavy
Vinyl version. The individual instruments and vocals can all
be heard clearly, even from a different room! Released in a
gatefold cover (as are all of the albums in the series so
far), there are two new photos on the inside.

The albums in MCA's new Heavy Vinyl series are manufactured
using the latest innovations in mastering technology, and
are designed to take advantage of high-end audiophile
turntables and cartridges. As a result, these albums are
competitive with their compact disc counterparts in terms of
sound quality. All five titles have extremely high
resolution, spaciousness and clarity that is unmatched in
any format.