Me'Shell NdegéOcello – Peace Beyond Passion

Bittersweet indeed having this on vinyl at long last. Been listening to vinyl for over half a century so naturally I find it more engaging than CD but as much as I want to love this impeccable album on vinyl I'm afraid it falls slightly short.

So what"s wrong with it? The mastering IS strange. Presumably there was access to the original master tapes because a number of tracks have been extended with sections of music missing from the original CD (nice, but will take a bit of getting used to!). BUT there is something going on with the compression which means the music doesn't breathe like such a soulful record ought to. My gut feeling is the parts were maybe committed to tape (or file) with lots of compression anyway in the first place so that probably couldnt be 'undone'. So the engineer can maybe 'remaster' the mix but not re-EQ or change the compression within it. That said, there's been a lazy approach to this preparation for vinyl, there's no excuse I don't think for losing so much air in the top end. 'Make Me Wanna Holler' is so rounded off that I got up and cleaned my stylus! Nope it's not dust. It's the mastering. "QUIET" yes. "MUDDY" yes, same here. H'mmm. :(

Ok that's the master. Now the pressing. I gave it a soaking with isopropyl alcohol before the first play. There are indeed, as another reviewer said, moments where there's noise in the right speaker (fffff ffff) and yep, a repetitive click for a minute or so on the beginning of Side Four (a shame because that's a new track to me, that one!). Are we looking at a fault on the original lacquer then?
The more I type the more dissatisfied I realise I am. We're connoisseurs out here, us Me'Shell fans, and we've not been served with respect. The people behind this vinyl issue are either too young or too lazy or too stoned or...they imagine we're just going to LOOK at the pretty colour of the splattered vinyl (nope we want a quality product).

Yep I feel robbed. Did they listen to it? Did they check it? Oh yeah..and the reproduction of the cover art isn't high res. Jeez. Oi, you lot who put this together...this thing's not fit for purpose! Three stars.

Sounds warm and funky . The BASS!!
Can hear a little background ssh during track 3 side 3 , not perfect but still a fine listen

The CD sounded better, weird mix, very quiet and muddy.
somehow the second Lp sounds better than the first?
Artwork is a bad copy of the CD artwork.
The colored vinyl is beautiful
Luckily I bought this discounted rather cheap and not for the very high retail price,
which its quality does not warrant.

Une horreur, ultra compressé, pas de niveau il manque 10dB environ,mastering minable, vinyl à fuir!!!. C'est quasiment la 1ère fois que le même CD sonne beaucoup mieux que le vnyl sur un systéme à plus de 100 000€il!!! HALLUCINANT ce marketing présenté comme une nouveauté n'est en fait qu'une vague escroquerie!!!! Une fois de plus cela démontre que les vinyls colorés,marbrés voire picturalisés sont indignes par rapport à la version noire basique!!!!!! HONTEUX pour un pur album ultra bien enregistré et produit avec classe à la base!!!

I got lucky with my copy. Sounds funky as ever. As far as the album artwork, I think she was trying capture and "old record sleeve feel" with the cover art (notice the worn white edges look) just my 2¢ ...cheers :)

A reference quality recording and digital transfer captured perfectly on this CD edition.

Love the ~180 gram 2 LP set in marbled blue. Mine was absolutely flat and had little noise whatsoever. The poly lined inner sleeves are perfect and probably helped keep static away…hence quiet pressing. The Bonus tracks on side 4 are outstanding.

Gatefold was thick and high quality. The only issue I have was the pixelated cover photo. Smh….At any rate, this is an essential album from the 90’s. Love this stage of Me’Shell’s career. Bring on ‘Cookie: The Anthropological Mixtape’ album next!

Pressing is flat out flawless and GAT DAMN is this album a flat out vibe. Essential neo soul no doubt about it

Oh and those bonus tracks? Whew....waaaaaaay worth having

My copy sounds excellent - no clicks or pops, and fantastic mastering.

The pressing leaves something to be desired: quiet pressing, with significant noise in the right channel.