Jethro Tull – Aqualung

lp was digitally remastered. I must have a bad pressing. Pressing issue... had static off and on in quite spots on a clean record. Going to hunt down original LP.

My Copy Has Exactly Same Labels but On Runouts: ILPS 9085-13// HP 20507-1-Y-8 All Etched

This pressing is actually pretty decent sounding. The beginning of Aqualung is the "one-riff" version.

Recently found a sealed copy (#307) at an Indie record shop priced at $99 so I was thrilled to get this. Apparently someone had turned this in from their collection so they put it in the used bin for a discount. The title track has a little bit of surface noise but it plays pretty clean thereafter. The clarity vinyl that Analogue Productions uses is NOT as quiet as the black they use for their regular gatefold double 45 lps. I will arm wrestle you over that fact. Aqualung was not an awesome audiophile recording to begin with and this UHQR does nothing great sonically to make me change my mind. And as many of you have already said the Wilson mix is the best out there. Still happy to have stumbled upon this collectable though.

Probably the noisiest CD I've ever heard. Not a bad release, but not as good as later re-re-releases on CD format as it definitely has a very thin sound to it. It's also lacking in just a general hutzpa in of areas like bass or mids. This causes most of the vocals to get buried in the mix of backing instruments in most if not all the tracks. Like seriously just try to understand what words he's saying in "Cross-eyed Mary" without the lyrics in front of you. I have both the Vinyl and CD (same Chrysalis release/mix) and personally hated this LP-based version of the album due to it's carbon-copy weakness of being a early CD release. Many of these (Who's Next comes to mind) just copy and paste whatever the vinyl sounded like (warts and all). The remixes from 2011, the newer restored releases of Aqualung all sound unbelievably cleaner and punchier all around. This is a version I would avoid.

Get a clean copy of this pressing and your good to go with this fantastic album! ++++

Side 2: CHR1044 31194-19 is a completely different Tull album. Mispress with Aqualung label

This pressing is really good. Compared to the Steven Wilson remix, it isn't as crystal clear and well defined, but it sounds great with a nice warmth and broad soundstage. I don't hear the distortion or thin sound of another review. Nice bass, clear mids and the highs sit perfectly in the mix. All in all, after a wet clean and a run through the ultrasonic, the surface noise is pretty minimal for a 50 year old vinyl. I actually think I prefer the warmth of this one over the Wilson mix.

I’m getting terrible surface noise from just the right channel.
Think I might have a poor pressing :o(

Really weird pressing... The songs are of completely different loudness, which is damn annoying. You can barely hear the vocals and guitar in the quiet parts of Wind-Up and the guitar ballads in the tracklist are so loud that the vocals distort. Also, Aqualung starts with the riff only played one time before the drum fill plays. The most tracks sound okay though.