BOSTON S/T HALF SPEED MASTERED NM- 1976 Epic 1ST PRESS HE 34188

$

80

Vinyl:  NM- Play Graded. Sounds Great!   Has some marks that don't affect play.  Epic Labels are Clean.   This is the 1980 HALF SPEED MASTERED Pressing of the Epic 1976 Release!.  HE 34188.   This method of Mastering allows for unprecedented extended range recording to give you an uncanny experience of being "in the room" with the musicians.  And with an album such as this, it was a good choice for Epic to make, as the production was already above average with Tom Scholz use of state of the art (for 1976) 12 track recording and his "Wall of Sound" Arena rock-Like guitar(s) sound... You could pretty much call this Boston's Greatest Hits!  Every one is a winner here.  Classic Rock defined!   all music gives it 4 1/2 stars!!! See Review Below!
In the dead wax:   Side 1:  HAL 34188-2J  ((STAMPERS))  1T  Side 2:  HBL 34188-2E  ((STAMPERS))  1T    E4    and the glyph for the Jacksonville, IL Pressing Plant
Cover: EX+ (see photos; has a name written on the top of the front cover that's hard to see as it blends in with the color it's written on)  Includes the original "envelope" style clear sleeve it was sold in, that has a flap that allows easy access to the cover.  The "Mastersound" hype sticker is also on the sleeve, with a tiny portion of it also on the cover.
Goldmine Standards.   I play test every album that I sell on eBay as I have found you can't rate an LP accurately by just visually inspecting an album.  I wipe the dust off of every cover with clean, unscented baby wipes.  I professionally clean the vinyl.
U.S. Shipping:  $4 Media Mail.  50 cents additional shipping per additional album, when the shipment is combined.   If you wish to take advantage of my COMBINED SHIPPING deal, simply select your records by clicking on "ADD TO CART" on the main listing page.  Do this for all of your selections and then go to your cart to checkout.  Your combined shipping discount will be computed automatically.  Free domestic shipping if you spend $100 or more!
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Why buy a first or early pressing and not a re-issue or a ‘re-mastered’ vinyl album? 
First and early pressings are pressed from the first generation lacquers and stampers. They usually sound vastly superior to later issues/re-issues (which, in recent times, are often pressed from whatever 'best' tapes or digital sources are currently available) - many so-called 'audiophile' new 180g pressings are cut from hi-res digital sources…essentially an expensive CD pressed on vinyl.  Why  experience the worse elements of both formats?  These are just High Maintenance CDs, with mid-ranges so cloaked with a veil as to sound smeared.  They are nearly always compressed with murky transients and a general lifelessness in the overall sound.  There are exceptions where re-masters/re-presses outshine the original issues, but they are exceptions and not the norm. 

First or early pressings nearly always have more immediacy, presence and dynamics. The sound staging is wider.  Subtle instrument nuances are better placed with more spacious textures. Balances are firmer in the bottom end with a far-tighter bass. Upper-mid ranges shine without harshness, and the overall depth is more immersive.  Inner details are  clearer.  

 On first and early pressings, the music tends to sound more ‘alive’ and vibrant.  The physics of sound energy is hard to clarify and write about from a listening perspective, but the best we can describe it is to say that you can 'hear' what the mixing and mastering engineers wanted you to hear when they first recorded the music.   

AllMusic Review by Vik Iyengar

Boston is one of the best-selling albums of all time, and deservedly so. Because of the rise of disco and punk, FM rock radio seemed all but dead until the rise of acts like Boston, Tom Petty, and Bruce Springsteen. Nearly every song on Boston's debut album could still be heard on classic rock radio decades later due to the strong vocals of Brad Delp and unique guitar sound of Tom Scholz. Tom Scholz, who wrote most of the songs, was a studio wizard and used self-designed equipment such as 12-track recording devices to come up with an anthemic "arena rock" sound before the term was even coined. The sound was hard rock, but the layered melodies and harmonics reveal the work of a master craftsman. While much has been written about the sound of the album, the lyrics are often overlooked. There are songs about their rise from a bar band ("Rock and Roll Band") as well as fond remembrances of summers gone by ("More Than a Feeling"). Boston is essential for any fan of classic rock, and the album marks the re-emergence of the genre in the 1970s.