Comparing Queen News of the World, 1st UK Vs. 1st US 

Update: Played it. First off, here are my runouts (for proper context): Side 1: 6E 112 A SRC NICK W 1-1 Side 2: 6E-112-B-1 1-2 SRC I thought the vocals on my copy sounded somewhat subdued. Freddie can still power through on most tracks, but Brian's vocals seem to get a bit lost. They actually get a bit more lost on All Dead, All Dead than on Sleeping On The Sidewalk, even though the former is a quieter song. Freddie does get muffled on Sheer Heart Attack, but obviously that song is supposed to sound "rough." I was able to hear Roger singing along in spots, though, and you can't always hear him. Roger's vocal on Fight From The Inside is a big muffled, but again, it's that "rougher" production. It fits. Interestingly, you'd think Freddie would really pop out on Who Needs You, panned hard-right like that, but the acoustic guitar panned hard-left actually pops out more. I would say the whole album has a lot of compression. Definitely a "crunchy" sound. I listened twice, first on headphones, then on my speakers. The headphones I use usually reproduce records quite well, but I found the compression really distracting while listening on them. Over the speakers, the effect worked. Crunchy, but BIG. Funny, these two elements kind of come to a head on My Melancholy Blues. Freddie's vocals are very present, but are a bit distorted from the compression. And it does not sound like inner-groove distortion. The piano sounds wonderful (although different frequencies are affected differently). "Whoopty-doo! What does it all mean, Basil?" Not sure, but it's fun to listen critically. I would love to hear a UK. If your US Specialty does not have "NICK W"-and some do not-then I really want to hear it, as well.

Thank you! I have a Thorens TD160 with Ortofon Blue for stereo and Ortofon White for mono. The receiver is a Marantz 2216 and I have Dynaudio BM MK6a MK I speakers.