Needle Time

  The Sisters Of Mercy - Temple Of Love [MRX 027 UK 1983 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] Just a brief follow-up on last week's MoFi Floodland . I may have mentioned before that I was never a Goth, but I did spend too many nights in cramped, hot, dirty and dubious nightclubs in Manchester basements between 1982 and 1984. I did appreciate that some of the so-called goth bands were turning out some damn good music and this particular single was one of the biggest dance floor bangers for all those fish-netted, back-combed, leather trousered doom merchants. This is my original UK twelve in it's full-length glory which has cleaned up remarkably well to produce one hell of a rip.  I also have learned to appreciate TSOM's cover of Gimme Shelter more and more over the years. The levels have been kept considerate so that you can blast this out as loud as you like. A1 Temple Of Love (Extended Version) B1 Heartland B2 Gimme Shelter

  The Sisters Of Mercy - Floodland [MOFI 1-021 USA 2013 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] So then, just how many 'original PCM digital masters' of an album can there possibly be? I know we have all come to question Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab's honesty in source marketing techniques these days, but maybe, as we found with the Thriller one-step, the finished studio product could sound very different to the eventual commercial release.  This MoFi Silver Series release is mastered much quieter than the original 1987 European release, but to these ears it sounds quite different. My assumption is that they wanted the drum sounds more prominent on the original release, however on this version, they are much more controlled and more distant in the sound stage. Is it better? I am undecided, it sounds less dynamic but there seems to be a bit more going on. I am sure there are internet forums for TSOM fans everywhere where the matter has been mused at length. What we do know is that Patricia M...

  The Sisters Of Mercy - First Last And Always [MOFI 1-006 USA 2011 USA 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] Much like Mark E. Smith & Adolphus Newton, Andrew Eldritch is clearly a musician who is difficult to get along with as The Sisters Of Mercy seemed to change line-up with each release. The band's first album was recorded by the classic line-up of Eldritch, Hussey, Adams, Marx plus of course Doctor Avalanche. After those independent years, WEA came along waving the cheque book and shortly after release in 1985, found themselves with just Eldritch as a solo artist. Thankfully a few years later, along came Patricia Morrison who assisted TSOM with their best selling releases. This is a 2011 Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab Silver Series release, cut by Krieg Wunderlich direct to lathe from the original analogue master recording - like many other MoFi releases, it tends to be cut a little quiet, which reveals a little too much of the slightly noisy vinyl used, however crank this up and i...