Cocteau Twins – Blue Bell Knoll

I have what looks like this version, including the download code. The matrix codes on mine appear slightly different though - it looks like CAD 3419-A-RE-1 (really hard for me to read but it doesn't look like MPO after the A/B). Is this a variant not listed here?

Also, I've never heard an original but this sounds better than the remastered Heaven Or Las Vegas LP that I sold. Still a bit flat and thin sounding and lacking in dynamic range but not awful. Will probably seek out an original 88 press someday.

Some tracks sound a touch thin? Everything is well balanced but I used to have a first press and remember it sounding a little fuller. Can anyone here offer a sound comparison between a first press and this reissue? The vinyl plays quiet with no pops, clicks or defects. The cover is matte like the first pressing but a single pocket instead of gatefold. Includes printed inner sleeve. I got my copy for under $20 so overall I’m happy with it.

Does anyone knows if this or the 91' Brazilian version comes with insert?

i don't like this album nearly as much as all their previous ones. i have all of them up til this one, including their complete singles box collection, but this one is just a little too mainstream for me. it's odd to hear so many people say that this is one of their favorites. my personal favorite is 'victorialand' but i like all of them up to this one; including their earlier, harder stuff like 'garlands.'

great tunes total shame about the digital recording and therefore paper-thin drum sound; that silky crystalline fused sound all digital gives .... i still cannot believe all those years later how musicians could accept this fat-free ersatz product .... but hey many things puzzle 🙃😉 for my ears the experience is really wrecked by this would rather listen to earlier Cocteau with full analog sound .... what a waste

Does anyone else have sibilance issues with their pressing? Trying to troubleshoot.

Does anyone else have sibilance issues with their pressing? Trying to troubleshoot.

Excellent clean, crisp sound. Zero surface noise. Flat pressing.
"Made In Czech Republic" sticker on back of shrink wrap.
No seam split issue as mentioned in other review.

A remarkable and somber album. Utterly beautiful at times and achingly sad in moments. Do not listen to this if you had a bad breakup. Favorites include Cico Buff, Suckling the member and Ella Megalast Burls Forever, Not a bad song on here though. Some towards the first half just have tough memories tied to them now. I tend to like Heaven and Las Vegas and Four-Calendar Cafe more because they are a bit more dreamy and uplifting where this album feels a bit more somber. But there is hope thanks to the 2nd half of the album. Maybe that was the direction they took and why this album seems to be one of their most loved. Its a bit of their early stuff and a bit of their later stuff. Production wise, possibly their last colder sounding album. Thin in the lower range compared to Heaven and Las vegas. And maybe because its moving from 4AD to mainstream label. All and all i give this album a 84/100. Very, very strong.

Record sounds good. However, Am I the only one who notices that on the pressings where the jacket is made in Czech it immediately gets a small seam split at the top of the jacket. This also happened to me with the first Interpol album