Chris Stapleton – Starting Over

Best album off 2000s makes simple sound next level incredible

My copy of this variant sounds excellent, clear, no background noise.

Sound quality is pretty good, definitely not an audiophile pressing, there is a slight consistent background noise, isn’t very noticeable when the music is pumping, but more so in the quiet moments and in between tracks. Still worth retail and would recommend getting.

Great album, possibly one of my favorite county albums of all time.

Luckily, I don’t have too bad of a pressing. The one thing I notice is a lot of the vocals on the first disc are way too loud and blaring, even at low volumes. Other than that, sounds excellent, but it seems as though a lot of pressings have issues. Don’t let that deter you from enjoying this album as an album though.

First disc (A,B) sounds dull. Not ridiculously dull, just sounds off, even after a good cleaning. Second disc (C,D) sounds pretty good, actually. Really full sound, unlike the other disc. Weird.

Add me to the list of those who have received a less than stellar pressing of this album (mine was from Amazon). LP1 was cup-warped but playable - however, in the middle of the second track on the first side ("Devil Always Made Me Think Twice"), there was a loud one-second static like I've never heard on vinyl before. There was no noticeable flaw on the surface of the vinyl, but I verified it is NOT in the original recording by listening to the song on Apple Music. I did not even look at LP2 - and I am returning the album for an exchange with fingers crossed....

Chris has a Cash quality that makes just about every song a winner. The quality of his music takes it all over the top. Love this double LP

Starting Over is a wonderful record. This excellent pressing definitely does it justice. I'm so glad they spread it over 4 sides. Easily a Top Ten vinyl for 2020 for me.

I was relieved that this was a decent pressing, as his other albums are hit or miss, especially the US pressings.

I can't speak to how it sounds before and after a cleaning, as I wood glue all my albums before ripping them, so only ever heard mine clean. Others have said cleaning really made a difference.

Overall, my copy is a slightly above average pressing. It isn't perfect, but the records are centered with relatively little background noise, though there still is some. No pops/clicks. Both discs were very slightly warped - I honestly think it might be because they were packaged so tightly.

Nice to finally have a decent, widely available US pressing of a Chris Stapleton album!

although this music isn't really for me, I can still hear that it pretty good. its a little standard but that also has its charm.
3/5