Given how much I enjoyed listening to this album myself, and how many others also appear to enjoy it, I have decided to do something a little different here. For the first time, I will continue to update this post with new pressings as I get them and listen to them. I know, I know, I kind of specifically said I wouldn’t do this, but my blog, my rules, alright? I’m not saying I’m definitely going to get all the colors, or even that I really support the idea of artists doing such things, but… this is different. This is a deep dive into audio fidelity and pressing quality across a wide range of samples. The colors are cool, too. After all, as the man himself says:
“The road to hell is paved with gold, they’ll tell you
All the things that you don’t need, they’ll sell you”The Piper’s Call – from Luck and Strange by David Gilmour (Polly Sampson)
As I add new pressings/versions, this post will be updated with the current date and a photo of whatever the latest pressing currently is. If you are interested and such things, check back here and follow me on Instagram to keep up with the latest.
12/10/24 – Blu-spec CD (Japan) – So far, the vinyl variants of Luck and Strange have been underwhelming at best, and disastrous at worst. Will I find anything different with the blu-spec CD version? It seems almost impossible that this wouldn’t be better, right? By now, if you are a normal individual and not an insane audiophile type, you are probably wondering what the hell a blu-spec CD even is. Well, since I am bothering to write this article, I guess I am pretty much obligated to give you at least a cursory explanation. This is not me talking down to you, audiophile community member or not. You’d be forgiven for not knowing what the blu-spec format is because we don’t hear about it much in the west. This is because it’s almost certainly total BS.
Unlike, say, SACD or SHM-CD, which provide some actual value, blu-spec appears to be close to, if not complete and utter, horse shit. As a matter of fact, I don’t personally know a single collector who buys into this hype. Honestly the discs don’t sell for anything more than a regular CD, so I’m not sure why manufacturers are even making these things. Basically, a blu-spec CD is a CD that is (supposedly) cut using a laser that’s normally used to make Blu-ray discs. Could this possibly make the CD sound better? Nope. That’s the short answer. If you want a more detailed explanation, you’ll have to wait until I do a separate article or look up the information for yourself. However, I promise you can trust me on this. If there was any difference in the fidelity between a regular CD and a blu-spec CD, I would be talking about it non-stop. I wish there was, but there just isn’t.
With talk about this snake-oil, hi-fi format out of the way, I can comfortably say that this is an awesome version of Luck and Strange. In fact, unless you are a die-hard vinyl exclusive collector, this is the copy you should pick up. Why? Well, for starters, this is by far the best sounding version. Every vinyl variant is a total click, pop and surface noise fest, and you’ll obviously get none of that on this CD. I didn’t pick up the regular, non blu-spec CD, but I must imagine it’s absolutely no different sound wise.
In other ways though, I think the blu-spec version is superior, and probably the copy you should pick up if you are choosing between the two. For me, I really like the deluxe Japanese packaging complete with the obi. Obviously, this is something we don’t get with western releases. Does it make a difference in the sound? Of course not, but it sure looks cool. One thing that this version does have that the regular CD does not have though, is an extra bonus track. While the normal CD comes with 2 bonus tracks (“Yes, I Have Ghosts” and “Luck and Strange” Barn Jam), the blu-spec also includes a third track, which is the orchestral version of “Scattered”. And yes, I believe it’s worth spending a couple extra dollars and seeking out this specific version for that track, because it kicks ass.
Considering the price of all the other available formats, the blu-spec CD is far and away the winner in providing the best value for Gilmour fans who want to experience this masterpiece of an album. I still have a few other vinyl variants to list here (UK Orange, Amazon White and EU Silver), but I am doubtful that they are going to trump this CD version. For the record though, you can also get these bonus tracks plus more if you decide to shell out for the “Deluxe” version of the album (with or without special print, on CD or vinyl… if you can still find a copy). Like a psycho, I’ll be finishing out this project by reviewing all these and more, very soon. And if you’ve read this far, you are now among the first to know that something extra special is coming. If you attended or even missed the Luck and Strange concerts and you are looking to get another taste of the magic… stay tuned. Something unofficial this way comes…
12/10/24 – Clear Bottle Glass – When all the Luck and Strange variants were announced, I thought the bottle glass was probably the best-looking one of the lot. I still hadn’t picked it up by the time the Hollywood Bowl concerts came around, though. When I got there, I noticed they were selling copies of that variant, along with the Live at Pompeii box set, at the show merch stalls. Not wanting to have to carry around a full-size LP for the duration of the show and on the return trip home from LA, I decided to buy one right then and there from the David Gilmour website. It was supposed to be a web store exclusive, but we know how much of that stuff turns out to be true nowadays. If the live shows are the only other place it turns up, I’ll be surprised.
The bottle glass variant arrived at my door pretty quickly, even as I still await the arrival of my LA tour exclusive hoodie (that I also bought on the website). When I unwrapped it, I was certainly impressed by how it looked. If you have ever bought a “bottle glass” or “Coke bottle” variant of a record before, this is the exact same thing. It’s kind of a milky green. Sort of, but not quite, a clear type of vinyl. If how things looked dictated how things sounded, this would be the best-sounding David Gilmour record in the world!
Alas, that’s not how things work, and that’s not how the “bottle glass” variant of Luck and Strange ended up sounding. Honestly, there’s no point in dragging this out. The packaging and physical record look great. Same as with every other pressing we have discussed so far. The main difference here though, is that so far, this is the worst sounding color of the lot. By far. It just sounds awful. Surface noise for days. It grinds and has bad sibilance. I know it looks cool, but if you haven’t committed to this one yet, don’t bother. It’s not the album, it’s the pressing. Skip this one.
10/21/24 – Emerald Green – I’m hoping to add to this list a little bit faster now that I have some more of these colored pressings in my collection. I imagine that most of these updates will be shorter, as the difference between the remaining editions should be much smaller than everything else compared to the Japanese edition.
The green edition has everything that the other issues have, minus the market exclusive stuff for the Japanese release. I believe that this is an EU only color, and I had to order it from an importer. Before I even received mine, I had been reading what people had been saying about it. Apparently, these green copies have a major problem with being warped. I was hoping that it might have been corrected or something since I got mine quite a bit later than everyone else, but I too was out of luck.
My copy had a noticeable edge warp to it, which to me, is the worst warp you can get. It wasn’t so bad that it was entirely unplayable, but I really didn’t like the noise it made when I spun it. Thankfully, I have a record flattening machine, so I decided to try and fix this one. In my experience, edge warps are harder to fix than (most) dish warps, but the Record-Pi comes with attachments to deal with both. After two 2.5-hour sessions in the machine, the record was dead flat and ready to spin. Since it had been in the machine, I went back and cleaned it on the VPI a second time.
Surprisingly, after the record was flat, I thought this pressing sounded very good. There was a little surface noise at the beginning of both sides, but it went away when the music started. As far as the soundstage and everything, it sounded great just like the other copies, of course. The only real issue I had was on Side B during “Scattered”. Once again, there was major sibilance here. I guess this is just going to be an issue with all the vinyl versions of this record. All I can think is that it must have been a problem with the master, and somehow, they just didn’t catch it. That really seems crazy to me.
Most of the time, when you get a warped record, it’s a one-off case. Maybe the dealer didn’t store it correctly, it got too hot in the mail, or the post office straight up crushed it. I have had all this happen to me. Many times. Reading other people’s experiences, however, leads me to believe that this is more of a production problem with this particular color rather than a single case or two. Most people can’t repair a warped record, so several people have just returned or exchanged them.
Considering all these reports of warps, I would suggest that you probably stay away from the “Emerald Green” version of Luck and Strange unless you are trying to get all the variants. If you are looking for a single playing copy, at this point, I still have to recommend getting the Japanese version. It’s quite a bit more expensive, but so far, I can say that it sounds the best out of the versions I have… if for no other reason than it’s not defective. There are still several more to come on this list though, including the Blu-spec CD and Amazon exclusive white variant, which are up next. -Indrid Cold
Japanese Issue (Orange) – So, I’ve had this one on order since the album was first announced, and I just actually got it today. Normally, I clean my records and allow them to languish in a crate for an extended period of time until I feel like listening to them, but this was a same day affair. I just had to know if it was going to be better than the absolute dumpster fire that was the “Translucent Sea Blue” version (pressed in the US, apparently) that came from Target. So, I followed my usual cleaning procedure and gave this one a spin.
Before we get into that, I noticed a few things right away. First of all, any thoughts I might have had about leaving this copy sealed went out the window when I noticed that this pressing wasn’t sealed to begin with. No shrink wrap of any kind, but it was placed in a standard record sleeve. CD Japan always does a fantastic job with shipping, and they certainly had me covered here. The record was padded and double boxed. It arrived with zero shipping damage, and only took a few days to get to me DHL from Japan. Before anyone gets their hopes up, this record was not pressed in Japan. It’s an EU pressing, and as of now, I’m not sure how this particular orange version differs from the HMV (claimed exclusive) “Orange Crush” version. We will, however, be finding out, so stay tuned on that one.
What’s unique about the Japanese copy, then? Well, it comes with the same high quality lyrics book that I covered in my initial review, but it also comes with an extra-large size booklet exclusively for the Japanese market. I might translate this at some point, but these types of booklets are pretty common in Japan. Also, there is an insert in the back printed on glossy paper which is just a copy of the back cover. I’m not sure what the purpose of this is and wouldn’t exactly call it a bonus. The jacket itself is certainly of a much higher quality than the blue version I have. Of course, we also have a beautiful obi attached to the jacket that indicates, among other things, that what we have here in an orange copy of the album.
I’m going to attempt to keep these updates short, so I’ll cut to the chase. The sound quality of this European pressed disc is night and day better than the one pressed in America. There is still a little vinyl noise, but we’re talking about going from a 10/10 noise-fest to a 2/10, pretty much standard analog comfort zone sort of area. Nice and warm with a little character, but not auditorily offensive by any means. The soundstage is fantastic and well defined, and the album sounds punchy and crisp in all the right ways. There was a bit of sibilance during “Scattered”, but it’s nothing serious. While it was spinning, I noticed a very slight edge warp, but you would really have to be looking for it and it didn’t affect play in any way.
In conclusion, this one is a 10/10 on the packaging and 8.5/10 on the pressing. Remember, that score doesn’t reflect the mix or anything, which right now I believe is a solid 10/10. This score might change when the Blu-spec CD arrives from Japan, but of course I’ll let you know in a further update. I have no idea if there are any copies of this Japanese version remaining, but if you are interested, I would get on the hunt immediately. These just landed domestically for us here in the US in the last day or two, so there may still be some out there at retail prices.
As of now, I have the Orange Crush HMV version on the way from the UK, and the Emerald Green version on the way from Denmark. The Blu-spec is caught up in customs hell en-route from Japan, but will hopefully will also be arriving shortly. Until the next update… – Indrid Cold