Frank Ocean – Blonde

screw scalpers, and frank ocean's greedy lazy ass. PLEASE DROP BRO

Gets reissued every year and people still pay over $100 lol

Decidedly so-so pressing! Mastered quiet, so surface noise is a factor on my copy (and will almost certainly be a factor on yours, given the fact that this was pressed at GZ). It's important to remember that the source material is digitally sourced and isn't particularly high fidelity to begin with - for what it is, this sounds fine. I remember the OG sounding slightly more open, but it's been a while since I've heard it (sold it a few years back when it was going for silly prices), so I can't say with certainty. The music is, of course, phenomenal.

This pressing sounds incredible. My copy arrived in perfect condition, straight from his web store. This is one of the best sounding in my collection, and I’ve had no sibilance issues.

First off, this sounds great. Packaged well, and I have no noticeable issues.

Second, stop paying these insane prices. This album is regularly restocked on Frank Ocean's website. Do not give these numbskulls any money.

First of all, as of today, Frank just restocked a batch of it on blonded.co.
I received mine in a week only, which is pure luck I guess considering how random blonded.co delivery time can be sometimes.
The inner sleeves are in shitty condition, which is a bit scandalous when you know that I paid 100 euros with the shipping and all.
Beside of that, the records are in perfect shape and sounds absolutely perfect (no background noise that I'm aware of), the packaging is lovely too.
If you don't have it, as of today 11/08/2024, it is still available, hurry up !

You can order it again on his website 👍🏻
It went live 6/11 2024.

I just posted a very extensive review on the page for the 2016 XL pressing comparing that first pressing to this 2022 Blonded repress, and the differences honestly took me by complete surprise. I'm not going to make another super long review, but when I had originally received my copy of the 22 repress, part of me was skeptical of the sound of it at first mainly due to the Made In Czech Republic sticker on the back and how I've had nothing but terrible experiences in the past with modern Czech pressings. The sound on this pressing is incredibly good.

After years of trying to get a copy for a decent price, I ended up finding what is essentially a VG+/NM copy of the 2016 XL pressing sometime last year, a few months after I had received my Blonded copy. Thanks to the repress, prices for the OG went down and I managed to snag one up for way below what the asking price used to be on it. I would alternate between which one I'd spin every so often, but I had never actually sat down and listened to both pressings back to back. So I decided to take some time to closely listen to both records side by side and finally find out which pressing was the better one.

Going into it I had initially thought that the 2016 pressing was going to beat out the 2022 repress, but to my surprise the 2016 pressing pales in comparison to the 2022 repress. It's not terrible, but after hearing each side being played back to back it's night and day. The 2022 repress sounds like it was properly mastered for the vinyl format and has tons of clarity, whereas the 2016 OG pressing's sound has moments of weakness that make it sound a bit meh at times. The 22 repress isn't perfect though, as I had noticed that the two pressings shared the same exact issue in common: sibilance/distortion. Both the XL 2016 and Blonded 2022 pressings have sibilance issues. Again, nothing terrible, but it's not like the 2022 repress is free of any issues. The distortion is honestly not that bad on both, I didn't get super bummed out by it but I know that there are people out there who feel like something like that would ruin the listening experience for them, so be aware of that.

Packaging-wise I love how the gatefold of the repress feels sturdy, my copy still looks brand new because of how there is little to no shelf wear due to the strong gatefold. The 2016 pressing has great packaging but it's not nearly as thick/sturdy. I will say though, I have always preferred the black & white cover for the album over the white/standard cover, so part of me likes the OG's gatefold more, but the repress has more to offer with the little extras that are included.

Again, I'm not going to go as in depth as I did in my other review, if you want to hear about the specifics of each pressing's pros and cons you can find it on the XL 2016 pressing page, but I just wanted to leave a review on this one as well incase if anybody here is on the fence of which pressing to get (especially after the recent restock sold out on the Blonded site).

I would recommend to get this pressing and I now personally prefer spinning this one, but I can't deny that the OG pressing is super cool and is a nice collector's piece. Here's to hoping that Channel Orange gets an official vinyl pressing someday!

lol at the people paying scalper prices when this is still available on his site

Anyone else ever notice the similar lyrics in Depeche mode-"world full of nothing" and Frank oceans nikes ? Though its not love it means something........we're not in love but ill make love to you!!