Elliott Smith – XO

I’ve heard horror stories about many of Elliot smiths vinyl pressings, so I was skeptical about this one but picked it up because it was cheap. Happy to say the vinyl is flat, silent, and crackle free. However I’ll agree it’s definitely not the most dynamic record I own. That said, you can just crank up the volume and it sounds good, just don’t expect to be blown away by the mastering on this one! Worth it for the price in my opinion, as one of the only cost efficient ways to get this masterpiece album.

My copy has different runouts. All laser etched. No mention of Plain.
Side 1: 10-8825 / B002609001 - A 209101E1/A
Side 2: 10-8825 / B002609001 - B 209101E2/A
I thought it sounded fine; I A/B'd with digital file and this sounded better. I did have to crank up my pre-amp a bit to bring it to life.

My copy was noisy, after a wet clean it got better but still not a great noise floor. Smith's tracks have never sounded more dull. Vinyl was flat and the jacket has nice color, but it's flimsy and the inner sleeve seems too snug for the record. The life of the album has been drained out of this pressing. Get it if you really like the music, but seek out any alternative first. UMG can do better than this. Let's hope we get a better reissue on the next big anniversary of this album.

Picked this up on a whim at a record store on vacation because I was shocked that a major label reissue would be under $20. After one listen, now I know why. Completely lifeless and dull master. What a letdown for such a beautiful album.

Garbage pressing, I wish someone with skill would master this and Figure 8

I thought it sounded great. I'd like to hear it on cassette!

I bought the bullet and paid extra for the new BONGLOAD re-issue. Surface noise aside, it appears to be the best sounding this of this release...at least for now.

Meh.. Vinyl is fine, not much in the way of surface noise. Mastering is flat and lifeless.. This material deserves better!

The quality of the cover/sleeve art is inferior to the Bong Load reissue - I compared them side by side. Wish I'd known ahead of time of the connection to the the Plain mastering - this will stay unopened and promptly be returned to UMe. Disappointing.

I just picked this up yesterday. Bear in mind that I do not have any other pressings to compare this to, so I'll take Kaitou's word for the source. I do have the Plain Figure 8 pressing which was mediocre at best, expensive paperweight at worst. The price of this Geffen pressing is what it should be. It's on the low end of the price spectrum, which is fine considering the quality. The album art is decent and I assume they had access to the original artwork and did not need to scan the CD artwork. While it's nice to look at, you still want to know how it sounds. Well, it's stuffy and muddy as all hell. You have to crank this pressing up to notice details, which I assume is the same issue people had with the Plain pressing. That's typically my experience with Plain. Disappointing? Yes. Silver Lining? Price.