Ohhhhhhh….I’ve been waiting for this one! Great video. I have something like 14 Exiles but they are all American pressings with the exception of one 1979 UK repress. This is my favorite album. I may have to do a comparison between all 14 pressings…that should be interesting. 😂
Another fun shootout. Have you considered providing the Discogs link to the specific pressings that you do shootouts for? While it may create a frenzy of buyers (and more work for you), it will allow us to know exactly which apple you're comparing with which orange, specially when "1st pressing" in the US can mean pressings at different plants in that time frame...
Glad to see this Stones presentation. I am taking it that the your title should have been "Best Exile in my Collection". I was hoping to find out what pressing would be the "overall" overwhelming choice. I do not know if that is possible to even do, as it is still all about personal taste.
Thanks. It is not just about my collection. When buying I focussed on the general acclaimed best pressings (UK and US) and on generally available (how big is the difference).
I have a 1979 NZ repressing, it’s gatefold but it sounds quite good. I wouldn’t know if it would compare to any of the 1st pressings but it definitely has power & my set up is pretty average atm.
A shame there's no good reissue of this classic. I am still trying to sort my 5 pressings: Presswell Promo US, Monarch US, CSM US, Kinney Canadian, 80's Japanese. So far, the CSM (Santa Maria) US is the best. But the others are also great.
I have a US pressing with the Artisan stamp in all four runouts that came from the Presswell plant. It does sound great. However, I also heard a US pressing from the Specialty plant that had the Artisan stamp in all runouts except Side 1. The funny part is that Side 1 without the Artisan stamp sounded better than the Side 1 with the Artisan stamp, and in spite of the fact that it was actually in worse shape. Yes, there was much more noise, but the music itself sounded clearer and more detailed. The Artisan Side 1 had inner-groove distortion. I know they always say to look for the Artisan stamps, but who knows? Maybe my Presswell copy just needs a better cleaning. I cleaned the hell out of the Specialty copy because it was moldy.
That is very interesting. Do the stampers indicate anything else beside the absence of the Artisan logo? (I know there is a UK pressing that doesn’t have the Artisan logo). And in what regard is the sound better? Could it indeed be a cleaningjob? Very interesting!
@@top5records796 I looked at my Presswell plant pressing with the Artisan stamp, and the matrix ends in "E" - perhaps cut #5? The full matrix is "RS-ST-72250 E". There is not much else besides "PR" (for Presswell) and "Rolling Stones Records", plus the Artisan stamp. This side is definitely VG+, with only some light sleeve staining. I do not have the Specialty pressing anymore. I was selling it for my friend's dad. But I checked my Discogs notes. That Side 1 matrix actually ended in "A", which you'd think would make it earlier. Of course, that might just mean it was the first lacquer cut by another mastering studio (even if they had the assignment after Artisan). There was no other mastering studio credit. This copy was only in G condition visually. Both copies are on the Rolling Stones Records label with the 1841 Broadway address, which was replaced in mid 1973. As for the difference in sound, I thought the Specialty pressing was more dynamic and lifelike. Due to its condition, there were lots of annoying crackles and pops. However, there was clearly no groove wear, as the music itself was distortion-free. The Presswell pressing had far less surface noise, but there just seemed to be a little less "life." Plus Tumbling Dice had that inner-groove distortion I mentioned. However, I have a feeling the crappy plastic inner sleeves I put the Presswell copy in a decade ago probably left a film, as I have seen this happen to other records I put in these plastic inner sleeves. Don't worry, it cleans off. I am going to give the Presswell copy a nice cleaning and see if that "veil" comes off, so to speak. I will say, though, if that Specialty pressing still sounded great musically (not including the constant damn crackles and pops) and was only G (no skips), I can only imagine what a NM copy sounds like.
If that’s Tumbling Dice there is usually distortion on that song due to inner groove…I have it on my pressings too. I’ll have to compare all of my Exiles to hear if there is an improvement in any particular pressing.
Quite satisfied with my German Warner first pressing (I think its the US artesan mastering correct me if I am wrong) and the 80ies EMI German pressing.
