Alice Cooper (2) – The Last Temptation

Got my copy today. Steller sound, great dynamics, brilliant mastering, zero surface noise :)
I own the CD since 1994 and listened many times to it, but i was surprised by the level of yet unheard details on this vinyl release.

Unbelievably good pressing. Surface is dead silent, music is clear, loud, dynamic with great separation. For the life of me I can't figure out how they made such a good pressing for 50+ minutes album as there is no inner groove distortion. Album itself is one of the Alice's best.

Almost certainly remastered using a lossless 1994 CD rip, judging by the way the minor clipping lines in the waveform that are present in the original CD are still visible in the waveform of the new CD. The waveforms of both CD rips also line up perfectly, despite the fact that the original was likely recorded in analog. Very little effort was involved in of the mastering of the main album, with no discernable changes to the EQ, and with only a maximizer and limiter slapped on top of the original CD audio, resulting in a consistent DR of 6 for all but the last 3 tracks. The first 3 bonus tracks are taken from "Alice Cooper Trashes the World" and the last is a B-side for the "Poison" single and also appears on the Japanese edition of the "Trash" album. Why the label decided to add tack these tracks to an album they have little connection to is beyond me. They could've easily just tacked on the "Live at Electric Lady" bonus CD that was a bonus for the deluxe edition of this album back in 1994 and it would've made more sense, but hey...

The packaging is just a standard digipak that is nicely printed, and comes with the bonus of a booklet that is physically attached to the package, which I think is a nice feature that I've never seen a soft digipak like this have. Do buy if you like loudness and want to be able to easily turn up the volume when you don't have a great amplifier while enjoying the artwork.

One of Alice's best, and most certainly the best of the Epic years. Worth having for 'Sideshow' alone.
I have this on CD as well as this MOV LP which is superb quality; lovely, clean sound with great dynamics.

The same barecode MOVLP 1846, reisuue black vinyl, not numbered

This is one of Alice Coopers best albums. He pulled some great superstars together to make it. Great muscians , writers and singers. This is a masterpiece of hard rock / heavy metal. The story line is errie and somewhat haunting as Alice does better than anyone. 🤘

This or From the Inside is probably my favorite Alice album ever. I love the theme on this one, the songs rock hard, and Alice sounds great. This may be Alice's most underrated album ever.

OK, so I pulled the trigger and got this. And since no one else wanted to review this version, I figured I would.

The packaging is nice. It seems like years of just OK or sometimes mediocre quality printing on their covers, Friday Music has finally gotten it together.

The vinyl itself, still needs some work. As I've said in other reviews of Friday Music vinyl releases, they are very hit and miss. This isn't a miss, exactly, but it isn't a home run either. There is some noise in spots, and a few ticks each side. This is the sound right out of the package. Perhaps after a cleaning with my record cleaning machine these anomalies will lessen/go away. My copy is also pressed a little off center. So for a pressing from RTI, which is supposedly one of the better pressing plants in the US, I expect more.

As for the audio, it's not bad. I own the original US CD, and this release is easily on par with it. Keep in mind, this album came out in 1994, before "The Loudness Wars" began, so the CD isn't badly mastered to begin with. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the CD and this LP shared the same or similar dynamic range (especially since they probably used the CD master to make this release). Also, this album was mixed by Andy Wallace, so it's kinda hard to make this sound bad. Every instrument is pretty clear, nothing is too upfront.

The only problem (some) listeners may have is the overall volume. This album is about 49 minutes long. That's almost 25 minutes a side. Of course, you can just crank the volume a bit and you're there. Only problem is cranking the volume also increases surface and background noise in the vinyl.

So, is it worth it? Yes, if you're an Alice Cooper collector, or you've always wanted a vinyl version of this album without paying the ridiculous prices the original commands. But if sound quality matters, or you're just getting into Alice's later work, then skip this and get the original US CD.

Friday Music seems to be better now than when they first started coming out with vinyl, but they still have a lot of work to do. They seem to release good titles, and obviously have a great working relationship with these labels to be able to release them, but quality should always come first. ESPECIALLY when you market yourself as an audiophile label.

Bonjour, est-il possible de voir des photos recto verso de ce vinyle ?
Cordialement, Julien.