The Smiths – The Queen Is Dead

My copy of this record has a gold promotional stamp on the front and came enclosed with a slip of paper that says "INSPECTED BY #13".

Not a big fan of the Smiths US Sire pressings. For the most part they’ll do. But they lack the clarity and definition I hear in the UK Rough Trade releases. The Sire pressing of this album doesn’t necessarily lack low end, the bass sounds really good at times but it can become easily buried in the mix along with the guitar. The vocals are also not as pronounced and blend and sound very cold and hollow. The soundstage is more narrow and direct and not as open as in the UK releases. The Sire’s end up sounding like victims of sterile 80s production techniques. Some records just weren’t mastered for vinyl properly in the age of the CD and unfortunately this is one of them. It’s not horrible though at all let me say that though too. I wonder if the Smiths LPs sold well in the US back then or if most people just bought the CDs. If most people just bought the CDs then why would the label put a lot of work into the vinyl? The inner sleeves on the Sire release are also paper while the UK releases are a nice thick stock. I think the UK releases are just better quality all around and have better bass definition and more robust dimensional qualities to the music. I try to seek out the original UK Rough Trades whenever possible.