Elliott Smith – XO

I have a bunch of copies on vinyl and this one is the best sounding yet!

Bought this to have the alternate version of "Some Song" on vinyl. I can't say anything that hasn't been said; sounds good enough, packaging feels nice, and XO is a great album :)

I have listened through twice now - speakers and headphones - and A/B with my 2016 Bong Load pressing.

(I've never heard the Plain, the 2017 Geffen repress using the Plain parts, or the 2021 Geffen with different mastering.)

It seems reasonable to assume that we STILL have yet to see a reissue of XO (on vinyl at least) that has been done to maximise listening quality. For a start, the programme material is a bit excessive for a single disc.

From the s I have read, Elliott was in good form personally both on the earlier recordings at Jackpot! studios (tracked to 16-track tape) and the more 'polished' recordings at Sunset Sound (upped to 24-track) - the sessions were disciplined and focused.

Still, I don't suppose the intention ever was - and didn't end up being - to engineer some kind of Alan Parsons-eque 'audiophile' recording. I've always heard some 'rough edges' in XO - some songs more than others - going right back to when I first purchased the UK CD in 1998.

Given the era, I am guessing that final production master for the CD was DAT.

Again, given the era and the nearly-dead status of the vinyl format at the time, did Bong Load really get a better source than DAT to cut the OG vinyl from? I've never heard the OG Bong Load, but I hear many copies had pressing defects.

I have been living with the 2016 Bong Load reissue for the past 8 years. I read that the source was a "hi-res digital file". As is well-documented, the 2016 Bong Load is certainly a noisy pressing/vinyl formulation. But mine is flat and centred. The mastering engineer chosen was not from the top flight names.

The mastering is - overall - quite hot. There's plenty of treble energy. This gives a crispness to the sound that - in the best examples (eg. more acoustic ages) - makes the sound pleasingly detailed and etched. However, on busier ages of music this can quickly become strident and brittle. "Bled White" is an example, worsened no doubt by being the final track on Side One, it's squished grooves right up against the label. A 2-LP version of the main album is surely a good idea, purely on the physics?

What of the 2024 IVC pressing?

The mastering is very noticeably balanced more towards the midrange. I assume this is a GZ in-house cut? Further, it seems possible (if not probable) that GZ got the same "hi-res digital file" to cut from as did Bong Load in 2016. Even if not, essentially the length of the programme material on a single disc - and whatever is baked into the original recordings - imposes definite limits on what can be achieved sonically on any single disc XO reissue. We might, though, speculate that the source here (and 2016 Bong Load) was at least better than the Plain/2017 Geffen reissues? Seems possible that - for the main album - this 2024 IVC is a straight repress of the 2021 Geffen?

Taking all this in the round, the more midrange-centric 2024 mastering conveys benefits in parts of the album (less stridency in the busier, more complex "full band" musical ages) but downsides, too - especially there is a loss of detail even in acoustic ages. My copy is also dished and slightly off-centre.

Over all, I'll have reason to play disc two again - which is nice to have and mastered perfectly adequately - but I think I'll stick with the 2016 Bong Load for main album playback. That pressing is compromised but, to my taste/ears (in my system and room), those compromises are preferred to the ones chosen in 2024.

SYSTEM
Technics SL1200G (w/ DS Audio HS-001 Headshell, Oyaide BR-12 Mat & STB Weight)
Benz Micro Glider SL
Cyrus Phono Signature (w/ PSX-RS Power Supply)
Icon Audio Stereo 30 SE
Icon Audio HP8 Mk2 SE (with NOS KenRad & RCA tubes)
Graham Slee CuSat 50 interconnects
ProAc DT8
Sennheiser HD800S

Sounds really great! Very happy with this release overall. Glad this one was done well.

sounds way better than the plain pressing words words words

Finally! A great sounding vinyl edition of this masterpiece! Every other pressing (going back to the OG Bong Load) has been bunk.

This pressing has absolutely no noise. It sounds amazing on the more acoustic-oriented tracks. However, I think it lacks a bit of the crispness that the CD master has. It sounds a bit compressed, especially in the songs with a full band + string section. However, from what I've read about the previous pressings, this seems like the best press of this album out there.

This album finally breathes like it should. Very dynamic, great soundstage, and the acoustics when Sweet Adeline start are so clean and crisp. Never had the Bong Load pressing but had Plain (worst ever) and Geffen (just average) so I'm so happy to have this in my collection.
Overall a very quiet and noiseless pressing. There are still some siblance issues but nothing overwhelming.
My labels for side A and B are reversed however which kind of sucks but I'll survive.
Buy it, worth the price.

First time listening to Elliot Smith. Few tracks here and there I really liked but not really my thing. Presentation, album color and everything was very well done. I like the non glossy, suede feel of the jacket. The sound sadly did not impress me much. Very little surface noise which was nice, but the album sounds very compressed to me. With all of the various instruments and vocally driven songs, they really could have done this album justice. Not really getting any separation of the instruments.

Overall, it is a solid release and the music is good. Just don't expect to be blown away sonically.

Just got it. Just spun it. It sounds great to me.