Placebo (2) – Ball Of Eyes

Anyone care to chime in on the quality of this pressing? ...how does it compare to the white version from the same year, or the 2014 version? Thanks for any help!

Wow, fantastic album. Sounds really fresh and crisp. Great find!

Edition of 1500 copies, Have it here 1612. It's ok

My pressing was a real mess. Looked like a defect so perhaps not a universal issue, but definitely slipped passed quality control. Huge chip on the edge of the record and a significant stain/spot of about 2-3 inches where it seems excess lacquer was dropped and covered the grooves entirely.

My copy looks and plays great. My only complain is the sleeve is not gatefold as the original.

Hot on the heels of Miles Davis and Nucleus, PLACEBO was the first Belgian group to advance in jazz-rock territories. Leader Marc Moulin (already a veteran by the early 70's since he started in 63 with saxman Scorier) was the main composer of this rather large group (they had a four-man brass section) somewhere between Nucleus and a funky Chicago Transit Authority but with that bizarre and sometimes weird/silly Belgian spirit/absurdism.

Their three albums (from 71 to 74) were widely played on the alternative scene in the early 70's, so much so, that they appeared in concert on National TV (still to be released commercially but aired two years ago). Their debut "Balls Of Eyes" is maybe their better one (it won a prize at 1972's Montreux Jazz Festival), but the 1973 album is not far behind. After a rather disappointing eponymous album (on the Harvest label), they slowly disbanded, giving their last concert in 76. Marc Moulin will then have a long solo career (his best album being Sam Suffy in 75), diddle in Eurovision spoof-group Telex, work with great Belgian group Cos (see their entry), produced many artist (Philip Catherine a.o.), host his own radio show, had his own record label and for the last 15 years has been a precursor in acid-jazz.

Actually their records gained back some interest since they were sampled a few times for Trip-hop records. Marc Moulin left us on Sept 26, 2008 at the age of 66

The first album of Placebo was a real shock in Belgium, and nobody was really prepared for it. All that had come about before was a few proto-prog groups such as Waterloo, Wallace Collection (actually a pop outfit) and a few others. So 71 saw Arkham (who never released an album per se) and Placebo (Lagger Blues Machine was to follow the year after). Leader Marc Moulin was already a veteran by the time of this album, but this was his first project.

The sound on this album oscillates between Bitches Brew and Nucleus's debut on one side and Chicago Transit Authority on the other. If there are some really superb tracks on this album, it is also somewhat uneven with some rather surprising (and clumsy) covers of Marvin Gaye and Isaac Hayes, but clearly the highlights are the self-penned tracks. From the superb Aria with an infectious groove greatly underlined by Moulin's electric piano, to Planes with its superb semi-free jazz intro and impeccable crescendo, and Humpty Dumpty's haunting slow pace, this album is a slap in the face to most historians not knowing of this group. Showbiz Suite being another highlight, it is clear that Moulin was a bandleader in the jazz style, providing a great platform for the other musicians - the four-man horn section is plenty of frontman - so he stays content of providing the solid base (rarely taking the spotlight to himself at this point), but he is the chief composer and pulls of some real stunts in making his role quite interesting.

I cannot compare to the original, but I believe this is a scorpio repress. The sound quality is pretty underwhelming, but the music is amazing.

I see the other reviews here saying that the pressing of this release is bad, but my copy of this is clean and clear. Pressed loud on 180gm. The scanned artwork on the sleeve could be better. I picked up all three Placebo 2014 RSD issue LPs and they are all tip top.

This unofficial release has not so good (but not bad) gatefold/artwork. But the sound is still warm & vintage, not bad at all. Nice solution, maybe better than MOV which came with some flaws.

I cant even play side 2 the whole glue center label white stain is on the side, outrageous!