Elliott Smith – XO

Amazing pressing. Mine had the “Made In Germany” sticker in the back. Clean and quiet pressing. Really dynamic. The best Elliott Smith pressing I own so far. No issues whatsoever.

I've owned several copies of this pressing through the years and not a single one of them has had the fabled skip in Sweet Adeline. That info seems to come from one single user here, and he uses a Steve Hoffman forum thread with two entries as proof. Well, of course he "worked in a record store when this was released" and "every single copy had the skip". XO came shrinkwrapped when it was new, so this record store apparently opened and test played every single copy they had, so many copies he could make the assumption that pretty much the entire pressing batch had this skip. I don’t believe it.

But sure, I could be wrong, does anyone else have a copy that skips on Sweet Adeline?

Only very reluctantly do I set about to share my listening history of this version,since it is -pure bliss!
Found a sealed copy at Amoeba on Haight Street in 2004,and have cherished it ever since as one of my best performing records.No issues here whatsoever.
On the other hand the sonics are so outstanding that I'm having a hard time thinking of words to describe.
Well,Dynamics are very good,the instruments have a sparkling vigor to them,and Elliott Smith's voice is the most haunting intensity imaginable.
Never have technical parameters been so important and so neglectable at the same time,since they're just the steps to take the listener into the music-once you're in,they're obsolete.Dynamics,separation,overall tonal balance,depth of image and resolution are parts of the equation how this Vinyl creates an immersing listening experience,but by no means should they be the outcome,the result itself.One of my former teachers used to comment on this deviation:"High End that sounds like High End,is no genuine High End"
So what this proficiently and beautifully crafted Vinyl almost effortlessly accomplishes,is to guide you to that sweet spot where there's only the music and the listener.Some people call this bliss.

Glad they didn’t reuse the plain plates for this one. I agree with the previous reviewer that it sounds kind of dull and compressed though, so don’t expect to be blown away by the mastering on this one. My copy unfortunately came with a lot of defects, including lots of surface marks and scratches that cause some noise, and even a skip on the first 10 seconds of everybody cares everybody understands. All of the above is not removable by cleaning. A little bummed but given it was $20 I’m not surprised. Hoping to find the euro 2017 reissue for a reasonable price at some point, as I’ve heard it’s the best sounding version and has much better QC.

nice to have this on vinyl, but i think this sounds compressed and dull. nothing overtly 'wrong' or defective with it, it just sounds boring to listen to. i could be wrong, but i'm gonna guess that this was sourced from a CD (which unfortunately might be the best source that exists at this point). after comparing, i think the original CD actually sounds better—significantly more alive. oh well, at least i've got the big artwork from the record i guess?

listening setup: rega p6, ortofon mc cadenza bronze cartridge, stein music 'the perfect interface' carbon mat, liberty b2b-1 preamp, hegel h95 integrated amp, elac debut b5 speakers

Best version of this album out there. Had the original but its inferior. Waltz #2 never sounded this good! This vinyl master has lovely clarity, warmth and great bass.

the beginning of both sides have a bit of crackling for the first track, but other than that, this is relatively clean. there are intermittent pops, but they aren’t as frequent as others are saying (at least for me). the soundstage could be better, but it’s far from bad. on tracks like “amity” it really shows how mediocre is. but, if “sweet adeline” or “waltz #1” are your favorite tracks on XO, maybe stay away due to the surface noise. low-end 4/5 from me. this definitely needs a proper press for its 25th anniversary.

So, I tried to buy the 2017 EU pressing given all the reviews, but this is what I was sent. It was sealed, and I didn’t know until I opened it. There’s no runout info on that pressing’s page, so I can’t say this with 100% certainty, but this seems to be the same cut, given the comments there. Dynamic, great separation, silent noise floor. For anyone in North America, buy this press with confidence and save the Euro/UK shipping costs!

As much as I’d like to be, I don’t consider myself skilled at critical listening. That being said, this pressing sounds pretty dull to me. Came to read these reviews for confirmation and found it. Maybe there’s hope for me yet. Love the album, but this pressing doesn’t do it justice. Pitseleh tho melts me every time.

Echoing what others have said here. This is a really nice pressing. What I noticed most is it has a nice soundstage and details pop out. Bass is nice. Honestly one of the better ES albums I’ve heard. I think the Back to Black series of his albums have some really good sound although their reputation has been hit and miss in the past…they did a good job on his reissues. Please note, there is a recent repress on the market from the same metalwork but my copy did not have the Back to Black sticker. Everything else is the same.