US Exile on Main St. Vinyl 1st -2nd Press?

Have read all the old posts - and these are cited as the best vinyl versions of this album. Question is: Can one tell a 1st US press vs 2nd US press? I just aquired a Mint condition US copy that sound fantastic! Cover is trashed, but it has the old 1841 Broadway address on back. Dead wax has hand inscribed "rolling stones records" and small circle with two angled lines crossing through the bottom: pressing plant indicator(?). There is no 1-A etc. to indicate stampers. Any clues to identify a true 1st pressing?

 

I have no idea; however, 'complete' copies include a set of postcards (or 8 of the same postcard, don't see them often). I have a copy with a bizarre 'goats head soup' insert that may be a hint to the next album. Or not. The cover opens in the middle (a 'Shorepak') rather than being the two-sided one used later. It's likely that is the main interest.

Complete UK pressings are a premium. I believe they're the same mastering as the US. I'm pretty sure I've seen 1841 Broadway discs with 'Rolling Stones' dead wax in the regular cover with no inserts.

 

I ran across one of these the other day, with postcards and RSR dead wax inscription, but passed at 25 bucks... is this the original? a good pressing?

 

That's Artisan's mastering mark.
They didn't do any pressing. You can tell the pressing plant by the code at the bottom of the label. In my case it's PRC in Richmond, IN. The code on my Side 1 is ST-RS-722507RI. The "RI" means pressed by PRC for Atlantic product. Yours may have been pressed at another plant.

Isn't it "Unipak" (inside loader)? Or were some "Shorepak"?

 

I have an early 80s USA pressing of Exile (bar code, no postcards) and it sounds wonderful.

 

Still confused. So if it is a unipak sleeve, with postcards, and RSR in the dead wax, pretty safe it is a first pressing right? but sonically (I know this album is not known for its sonics) is this the best sound we can get?

What did you mean "they didn't do any pressing"? Artisan? Ya lost me...

 

What's in the dead wax?

 

They're a mastering house, not a pressing plant. They cut lacquers, but don't press vinyl records.

 

Right, reread the original post in regards to that question. So is an US orignal Artisan the best pressing of this? OR does the UK pressing best it, as is often the case?

Regarding pressing plants, is it safe to assume that different plants used differing quality of vinyl as the 1970s progressed, leading to some of the less satisfactory pressings? I'm thinking of the Capitol? thread and 1970s decline.

cheers,

 

Hmm. Maybe that's the UK trade name for the same thing. They had them too, on Columbia product for a while in the late 60's/early 70's. Yes, it's the inside loader type cover with one flimsy flap.

I believe the UK is the best sounding - if it is, I'm pretty sure it's a pressing issue. Rolling Stones UK discs were variously contracted to EMI, Philips, or CBS pressing plants as the need arose. It takes some experience to spot the differences when they're not marked. Remember it's very likely that the UK press runs were much shorter than the US ones, simply based on the size of the market. This is just one of the many reasons UK pressings can sound the best.

 

That depends on who you want to listen to. We've had this discussion before.
I have mint pressings of both. Both have the Artisan deadwax. I prefer the UK, but they are close. Some here like the US better, some like the UK, some prefer the non-Artisan cut from Japan (with green OBI).

 

Thanks, Mike. That makes sense. My US edition, that I've had since the release date, has "UNIPAK U.S. Patent No. 3,426,960 Printed in U.S.A." on the inside spine.

 

Atlantic pressings, especially those pressed by Monarch (M in a circle) are hard to decipher I've found. I believe that after the ST-RS number you will see a dash and a letter. On many Atlantics this equates to what I believe is a lacquer cutting. Sometimes you will see one or more of the same letters (very light) following it. Not sure if that means additional masters or mothers made from the cutting though....
Then there is often a number in a circle at some point after the letter, which on other Atlantic pressings appears to be related to a cutting (to confuse things).

Also, for example on my original Exile, there is another number in parenthesis following the 'triangle + 5-digit number' typical to Monarchs. These seem to follow no rational sequencing - only the letters after the ST number seem to be sequential.

 

So, it would seem the 1st and 2nd pressings may be indistiguishable - same unipak cover, inserts and matrix's ? This would seem likely considering the large number of units sold that summer in the US (1972). As a side note, before finding this copy I thought my Japanese pressing was perfect. Big difference between the two - the US jumped out of the speakers like a hungry tiger while the Japanese slinks around like a siamese (if you please...) Both are nice tho...

 

this is a record that i could care less how the pressings sound..it was recorded to sound like ****...its not an audiophile thing..its a dirty messy rocking record...its meant to sound kind of muddy..

i consider the shorepak/unipak what have you to be original

 

I've never understood the criticism of the way Exile sounds. It does indeed have a kind of rough around the edges approach, but it's very pleasing to my ears. On the other hand, albums like Sticky Fingers and especially Goats Head Soup sound like the tapes are covered in goop!! And yet I seldom hear people talk about the sound quality of those albums.

 

It seems the Artisan lacquers have been used all around the world fort the first/early pressings of Exile. I have a German pressing with postcards, RSR and the Artisan mark in the deadwax. Recently I even saw an Austrian pressing with the Artisan mark (unfortunately it was badly warped).

This German pressing sounds great (jumps out of the speakers as George Blair put it) - never understood the criticism of the Exile sound either. Soundwise I prefer it to my early US-Sticky Fingers, which appears to be considered as the better recording by many here. I expect a Canadian Sticky within a few days. Maybe this will change my perspective.

 

"Not an audiophile thing..." Well, I guess you're right, but what does it mean? Would you really want to sterilize Keith's basement and have this sound like Aja?

 

Does anyone know who was cutting at Artisan at this time? My side 3 of EOMS has distinctively different handwriting in the dad wax than the other three sides. It matches my Artisan cut David Crosby "If I Could Only Remember My Name" (which sounds fantastic) and looks a lot like the scrawl on my RL Sterling cut Led Zeppelin HOTH. Did RL work independently at Artisan at this time but not sign his initials on certain records?

 

Anyone?

 

Not so in terms of Sticky Fingers! The sound is great on this lp. I highly recommend the mofi pressing, irregardless of what Tom Port may have to say. Wait till you hear the bass on "Can't you hear my knocking."

 

Kevin Grey?

later, chris

 

No idea, but I have a first and second pressing of Exile. First was the UNipak, no writ on the spine. Second, gatefold, same wax, writing on the spine. No postcards in mine. First, did.

 

A few years ago, I purchased a NM US pressing that I play regularly, and I think that it might be a first press, because it is a promo. It is a single-pocket jacket, with a sticker in the bottom right corner of the front cover that reads "PROMOTIONAL COPY NOT FOR SALE", and there is a 1/2" sawcut in the bottom left corner. The sticker with the tracklisting is stuck to the back of the jacket. There is a ton of crap in the deadwax:

Side One: ST-RS-722507-AA (1) ROLLING STONES RECORDS (R) [triangle] 16944 (4) PR [written upside down]

Side Two: [Artisan symbol] ST-RS-722507-AA (1) [checkmark] ROLLING STONES RECORDS (R) [triangle] 16944-X (3) AT PR [written upside down]

Sides Three and Four are similar, except that "ROLLING STONES RECORDS" is stacked on top of the ST-RS-722507.

I'm not a vinyl guy, so I have no idea what all this means, but I think that this sounds great. Far from being "sludge", most of it is nice and warm and certain cuts (Torn & Frayed, Let it Loose, Loving Cup) are wonderfully open and airy.

One of the most disappointing purchases of my life was the RTI HQ-180 limited edition "audiophile" pressing - just awful. I don't know how they came up with such a terrible sounding record. I thought of selling it on Ebay, but I couldn't bring myself to sell such a crappy pressing - against my principles. So it sits on my shelf.

 

The RTI HQ-180 limited edition "audiophile" pressing of "Some Girls" was every bit as crappy :thumbsdn: