There somehow exist copies which have an A-side whose deadwax reads “Wly” but not the B-side, and vice versa. He also mastered a highly regarded purple-label Capitol series of Beatles catalog releases which were released in the ‘80s.įor the Boston LP, once the metal parts for the original Wally pressings could no longer be used, different engineers used the same master tapes to make their own lacquers and mothers. You might notice that his name graces the deadwax of early original RSO copies of the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. Wally worked for Capitol Records, but his mastering jobs were so exquisite that Capitol allowed him to work on records by bands who didn’t record for Capitol Records. ![]() The other mark is a handwritten “Wly”, which is the signature of the record’s original mastering engineer, Wally Traugott. For this Boston LP, look for the presence of a machine-stamped “MASTERED BY CAPITOL” on one or both sides of the record. ![]() Look in the record’s deadwax for two specific markings.Ī record’s deadwax area is the blank part of the vinyl between the end of the recorded portion and the label it usually houses the run-off groove plus whatever information about the pressings that the cutting engineer saw fit to include.In this case, that means orange Epic labels. If hearing the album as originally intended is something you value, search out a record with label designs consistent with the era in which the record was released. Also, mastering revisions at times inadvertently or purposefully produce updated sound choices consistent with the era in which the remastering occurred at times, an ‘80s remastering could have a sound more consistent with the ‘80s than with the sonic trends of 1976. While CBS/Epic Records for the most part was pretty good about later pressings not being too lackluster in quality, to go back to a known-earlier pressing period reduces your chances of buying a deficient-sounding copy. As years go by, as the mastering engineers at a label have to repress an album for future record buyers, the opportunity for corner-cutting and shoddy quality control in the cutting stage of the album presents itself. In many ways, the closer that a record is to its first pressing, the higher the chance you’ll be hearing what the artists’ original sonic ideas were. The presence of an orange label will give you a clue that it was pressed between 19, which was the year that Epic changed its design to the blue label with the varsity-script Epic logo. Search for orange-colored Epic record labels. ![]() Since Boston cared so obsessively about its sound, here are some tips to help you find the most ideal LP copy of Boston’s debut LP, so you can hear for yourself the album as it was originally intended to sound. The album is chock-a-block full of timeless classics it boasts “More Than A Feeling” and “Foreplay/Long Time”, as well as “Peace Of Mind” and “Hitch A Ride”. ![]() It’s a miracle that the music sounds as natural as it does, considering that the album also seems to be so obsessively crafted. The guitars chime with crystalline precision, and the massive amount of echo and reverb that they were able to apply never comes off as contrived or artificial. The songs are perfectly constructed not a note is out of place. When you listen to the celebrated first LP by Boston, it’s obvious that the band’s leader Tom Scholz was a studio geek and a major control freak, which anecdotal evidence seems to bear out. Vinylology 101: Boston’s debut LP, 1976, Epic Records
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