Sufjan Stevens – Carrie & Lowell

Stunning on vinyl. Silent and full sound. One of the best albums of the 2010s

Yeah mine doesn't sound perfect either. Good bit of groove distortion and side C has a big scratch which causes a clicking throughout the Eugene demo. Might reach out about a replacement but not sure if it will be possible

Must have got a bad one. Scratches on both sides of both discs and pops and clicks on pretty much every track, sometimes through entire songs. Records were also very dirty, no sound improvement after ultrasonic cleaning. Looks like AK is sold out of this edition so not sure what to do about a replacement (sounds like purple edition also has QC issues. Anyone have a good experience with the black vinyl?). Such a bummer for such incredible music. Packaging is really nicely done at least (except for the non-poly sleeves which probably contributed to the scratches).

How’s the black vinyl edition sound? Purchased the blue and white - arrived with scratches on both sides of both discs and pops and clicks on pretty much every track, sometimes through entire songs.

have tried to get a good pressing of this for my son’s mom many times and as many can attest to there has not been anything that really did this justice. i had preordered the blue/white which came with C scratched violently through tracks 1 & 2 then after i arranged return she told me she really adored the violet she saw a friend get 🤦🏻‍♂️

this violet one has non-fill throughout side A except track 2 which is mostly perfect as is side B. there was also a three inch strand of flashing they did not trim off edge that was folded over between disc and sleeve. i can not tell if this damaged the grooves visibly and there is no obvious scratch, but it another sign of poor qc from this plant that so many amazing records are ruined by.

thankfully disc 2 is nearly flawless having just a few small ticks here and there i have decided to just let her have both as this lets her have two close-to-perfect discs and sell the replacement blue/white from asthmatic kitty.

while this seems to have finally worked out it was a pita and i am sure there are plenty of bad copies out there people will have to deal with. which is a real shame as the mastering and rest of the pressing are incredible with no background noise at all and the music is so detailed and dynamic, having truly never sounded better.

i really hope something gets done regarding the pressing quality that es these days. of all my records from my youth and many used 70s-2000 records play perfect unless scratched or abused
with a bad stylus or too much pressure. nowadays i return 1/7 purchases due to non-fill, scratches, weird cigarette burn looking scuffs or a combo of all. if you get a bad copy these days return it and if that is bad return it. if your store won’t offer refund/credit for two bad copies of a release then do a chargeback and don’t shop there as they need to send a clear message to their suppliers that it costs less to produce quality pressings that sell well and don’t sit for years than to deal with most of a run refunded. i would personally buy 3-4x more new vinyl if i had confidence i would not waste gas and time dealing with a pointless return.

This album finally gets the deluxe pressing it deserves. Wonderful sound, hauntingly present.

the tracklist is actually a misprint, as eugene is falsely placed at track 8 when it really is track 5 after drawn to the blood. I was listening to the cd when I noticed this! I wonder if that means all anniversary CD copies are in the wrong order then.

Does it sound better than the atrocious Limited Edition Clear vinyl release ? I am not complaining about the pressing quality but really the mastering who is meh and lifeless

Absolutely blown away, especially given what past AKR pressings have been like. I'll say that I've never had an unlistenable one, but the quality has never been that high either. Until now, and it couldn't be more appropriate that it's an anniversary pressing of Sufjan's best record to date. The album means a great deal to me personally, so to have what feels like the definitive edition of it, and for it to sound this damn good has made me the happiest bunny. Incredible.

giant scratch across disc 2 right from start through song 1 and into most of song 2 on side c. major bummer.