Pharoah Sanders – Thembi

After a wash my copy sounds pretty large and in charge. A little noise here and there but mostly fine. Definitely sounds more analog than playing Tidal through a hi-res streamer. I got it a few years ago for $30. Can’t say I would pay inflated prices much higher than that.. Worth having for sure

With some of Pharoah’s albums being reissued lately (including Africa, Karma, and Black Unity, among others), does anyone know if Thembi is getting a repress?

Excessive distortion, as already mentioned, indicates that something went very wrong in at least some of the copies, judging from the ratings. I've had the vinyl for 2 years and barely managed to listen to a complete side. It's a shame because such disappointments, especially from Impulse, detract from the vinyl experience...

When I got this as a present for Christmas from my girlfriend two years ago, I went straight back to the store that sold it because I thought my copy was faulty, that maybe some liquid had been spilled over it or something. But then they opened another one there and we listened to it together and it was the same. Especially the high frequencies sound really distorted, which really confused me, this being an official contemporary Impulse repress in a beautiful gatefold, and the first one in ages. Is there no one at the record company listening back to the test pressing who would notice that?

This is an awful pressing really. I sold my copy and acquired an early (pre-digital) repress for not much more, and boy the difference in quality. Plus that gorgeous musty aroma inside the gatefold.

Slightly wraped, dirty, little surface noise all along the record, poor sound...
Got it on sale fortunately, but this is release is shamefull, considering what music it holds...

There aren't a ton of noises like I read here. Maybe I washed mine so well or my copy is just the lucky one. The sound is pretty good actually.

Same here! Awful pressing unfortunately! Record is wobbly and warped. Dirty smudges on vinyl and many pops and clicks. Waste of money. The album is beautiful and deserves a good pressing. Not like this!!

Wow. Terrible pressing. Record was warped, it had scuffs on both sides. I rinsed it off before playing it for the first time and surprised to find it play ok with no pops or clicks but to have a record in 2021 look so bad tells me they really only want our money and quality is not something they care about. So far all the new Impulse pressings of different records I have received have been terrible. Save up for old pressings or stick with the CDs.

Thought it sounded a bit distorted when listening to it the first time, and obviously I'm not the only one. Also surface noise and scuffs present on brand new vinyl. Seems to be some kind of quality problem?