Uriah Heep – Look At Yourself

Meine Anlage und DR-Wert

Hifi System:
Rotel A12 - PreAmp + DAC
Coax: Cordial, Opt. Oehlbach
Cinch: Neo by Oyaide

KSD C8 Reference Active LS
Powercord: Isotek EVO V3
Cinch-XLR: Neo by Oyaide

Technics SL1210 MK7
ATVM95ML (2.2g)
AVM PH 30.3 - MM/MC Pre
Cinch: Cordial, Oehlbach

Sonic Tools - DR avg. is 12.5db

Top Album, gute Pressung. Look at yourself stimmlich etwas dünn, rest wesentlich besser, auf Seite 2, letzter Song paar Knackser.

IMHO the master problem is massive use of limiters over all recording tracks.
No dynamics from UK firstpess to all remasters I've heard.
No punch at all from Kerslake's drums.
Very good music way under possibilites of production.

I bought this 1st pressing by Phillips when it was released in 1971. I've played it quite a bit over the years, always with a good TT, needles & 1gram tracking force. Still sounds awesome. Great dynamics and fidelity.

First copy:
- strange repetitive popping/clicking sounds throughout.
- deep audible scratches on several tracks especially on July Morning (the best track) which caused repeating loud pops.

Cleaning did not improve the issues above so it must have been poorly handled at the factory. The record comes in a card inner sleeve which was stuck tightly to the vinyl due to static, so any dirt particles between the card sleeve and vinyl could probably have scratched the surface.

Second copy:
- none of the popping/clicking issues above. Plays just fine.

Sound quality:
- I am no audiophile but it sounds nice. Lots of bass.

The record itself is not crystal clear but more cloudy or ‘smokey.’ Still goes nicely with the cover which itself has a blurred mirror as opposed to the original version.

I have some soft crackling on both sides especially on the right channel repeating with every round the record does. You can hear it during low volume parts, like in the quiet parts of "July Morning" or on "What Should Be Done" and the beginning of "Love Machine" as well as between the songs. The whole record is affected by this. I can imagine for some listeners this already a bit too annoying. It shouldn't be like that on a new record. Other than that the general sound of this edition is pretty good in my opinion. Especially the acoustic guitars within some songs sound especially good. However, it's still Uriah Heep, so do not expect something audiophile here.

Having neither heard the original German press nor the later RSD or other re-issue(s), I can only compare to digital versions I have listened to, but this pressing seems comparable to other Uriah Heep albums I have. This is a solid pressing, very quiet, maybe lacking some dynamics in the mastering, feels a tad muffled despite being a very clean (and cleaned) copy.

i like how you can clearly tell the first image was taken with a computer

i don’t know if there are better pressings than this but this sounds very very nice. i got a fantastic copy here for a very moderate price.

Inersting and nice looking reissue from Spain and Island Records ltd. It is not bad, but I have heard better sounding pressings.

Her we have an intersting Spanish reissue by Island Records ltd, and the sound is well balanced and is generaly good. The jacket is solid and has a nice "mirror" on it.