In 1966 John Coltrane told Frank Kofsky he chose the songs on Ballads. His producer, Bob Thiele, told Kofsky it was "sort of a joint effort."

If you're buying Ballads, Reference Checks Nº 14 is live: the chain from 3 sessions to the copies you can buy. referencechecks.fm

#Vinyl #JohnColtrane

If you're buying "The Colour of Spring" this month, the new 40th-anniversary half-speed does not say where its master came from. The album was cut 4 times in 1986, in 4 countries.

Reference Checks Nº 13 is live. referencechecks.fm

#Vinyl
#TalkTalk

Two Oasis records, one edition. Owen Morris mastered both himself, loud on purpose. Start with a two-minute check on your own "Slide Away." Free: referencechecks.fm #oasis #vinyl #oasis27

Buying The Velvet Underground & Nico: the 1967 Verve original is identified by REV on side 1 of the run-out, and by nothing on the sleeve or the label.

PRC in the run-out is a repress from 1973 to 1985 in a 1967 catalogue number.

referencechecks.fm

#Vinyl #VelvetUnderground

MGM's royalty statement for the Velvet Underground breaks the first album's American sales in two: 13,336 mono and 45,140 stereo through February 1969. Three of every four buyers took the stereo home.

Reference Checks Nº 12: referencechecks.fm

#Vinyl #VelvetUnderground

Four lacquers went out under one catalogue number on this record in 1967, and the run-out groove is what separates them.

Reference Checks Nº 12, The Velvet Underground & Nico. referencechecks.fm

#Vinyl #VelvetUnderground

Factory offered members of Joy Division and A Certain Ratio 15 pounds each to paste sandpaper onto 2,000 album sleeves by hand.

Reference Checks Nº 11: referencechecks.fm

#Vinyl #DuruttiColumn

Three modern editions print a track listing their vinyl does not play.

Reference Checks Nº 11, The Return of the Durutti Column. Full verdict: referencechecks.fm

#Vinyl #DuruttiColumn

Some records are hard to identify. This one prints the wrong answer on the sleeve.

Reference Checks Nº 11, Tuesday.

#Vinyl #DuruttiColumn

Two vinyl references. Neither outranks the other.

The 1988 original, CAD 807 — all-analog, cut from the tape they made in that room.
The 2014 reissue, CAD 3419 — uncompressed, tracking the original peak for peak.

Different grounds, equal standing. referencechecks.fm

#Vinyl #CocteauTwins

The original and the highly compressed version are one letter apart.

Reference Checks Nº 10, Blue Bell Knoll. Full verdict: referencechecks.fm

#Vinyl #CocteauTwins

Some records are hard to identify. This one is hard to identify by one letter.

Reference Checks Nº 10, tomorrow.

#Vinyl #CocteauTwins

The Dark Side of the Moon spent 736 weeks on the Billboard 200 between March 1973 and July 1988.
Full verdict at referencechecks.fm

#vinyl
#pinkfloyd

The number printed on the spine will not tell you what you are holding. You can spend upward of $750 on a sealed pressing of The Dark Side of the Moon. Both of the objects that win start near $35. Full verdict: referencechecks.fm

#vinyl
#pinkfloyd

I had no idea I lived 10 minutes from where Boxer was being made. Reference Checks Issue №1 on The National's 2007 record. The chain that produced it, the version closest to the recording, what John Dent's vinyl cut still gets right in 2026. referencechecks.fm/p/boxer

@thenationalhq.bsky.social