Deep Purple – Fireball

A great rem/rei. Full sound and good detail. The lows, middle and highs are well enough presented. The pressing by Rainbo is faultless. Recommended!

While looking through the collection I came across the reviews listed below. and decided to do my own test. tested this release. comparing with the album IN THE ROCK. -America-2016. HÖR ZU. Machine Head-72-America. and APRIL- original.
all Americans have the same recording. The high frequencies are reduced and the low frequencies are increased. sounds spacious and clear.
after the twentieth year the situation changed for the better. If you listen to the originals. I don’t yet know the quality of the remasters; I’m afraid to buy them. I have experience... unfortunately.
written in an easy-to-understand text without audiophile

Hideous pressing. No dynamic range whatsoever, everything has been brick walled, no nuance at all - you can’t even hear Lord’s Hammond clearly as it’s buried completely in the mix since it has to compete against thunderous guitars and drums all the time. Make sure to avoid this.

I'm surprised there's no reviews on this release. But then again, maybe I shouldn't be?

The mix on this Friday Music release I think is terrible. To be honest, it doesn't even sound like it's in stereo either. I'm sure it probably is but it doesn't sound right. I don't know how to put a finger on what exactly the problem is with the sound but I don't like it.

The wording on the back cover describing the source this came from is pretty vague. I have a strong feeling it's a digitally sourced pressing and it even has that kind of sound to it. No, I can't listen to a record and tell you if it's from an analog or digital source most of the time. But sometimes a person can do that when things don't sound right and the warmth and surrounding sound of a recording is just not there. I feel like doing a rip of this LP and looking at the waveform to see what it looks like. I kind of wonder if it may be brickwalled as well? Both the highs and the lows don't seem to be independently present. And I really do wonder if it may be a mono copy also. That would be easy to tell looking at the waveform.

My copy came brand new but it was full of artifacts. There was quite a bit of snap, crackle, and pop throughout the LP. There were some pretty bad pops about halfway through on both sides also. It definitely did not sound like a brand new record should sound.

I thought this was going to be a really great experience when I got the LP. But right off the bat, I heard the crackling and noticed the sound wasn't right. It is pressed on 180g vinyl and it is a limited edition remaster. But all that cool stuff did not add up to satisfaction even if the record had sounded mint as far as the artifacts go.

I decided to go to Amazon Music and listen to it streaming in their ultra HD quality. It sounded a lot better. It didn't sound at all like this Friday Music LP pressing did and it made me wonder what other Friday Music releases I had so that I could go back and check those various artist's recordings. I had thought that they were a good company and pressed some really great stuff. And maybe they have? But this definitely is not one of their good ones. It has a really flat sound to it and the vibrance of the original release has been erased.

I'm going to give this Friday Music copy one more listen tomorrow with a fresh perspective and see if anything sounds any different. I'm still upset about the artifacts but the new copy I got came from the 2010 stock of these pressings I guess and who knows how it's been handled over the last 12 years. It did come with an extra LP cover sleeve. I don't know if Friday Music does that or if this was more like something used record stores do when they sell an album. The shrink wrap was tight but very wrinkled making it hard to read the text on the back cover. I don't think I got a copy previously used and then resealed. But that is a possibility if Friday Music is known for good pressings. And there were no hype stickers either which I would expect from a label on a 180g limited edition remaster. I'm really not sure what Friday Music's reputation is but I have heard good things about them as well as complaints online. Still, I really don't think the sound, or really the lack of sound, is going to change with a fresh listen tomorrow.

If anything changes in my opinion, I'll come back and reply to this thread updating it. I was definitely disappointed though as I listened today to this Deep Purple Fireball Friday Music released. And as I've already explained, it just doesn't sound right!

I'd be interested in any other opinions from anyone who has an opinion regarding this label or has listened to this Deep Purple pressing...