My review of the No Code reissue

[eciglover]

Okay, I don't own an original copy of the vinyl, but from what I've been reading both No Code and Yield were digital/CD masters. I do have an original Yield and it sounds pretty great. It sounds better than the CD, at least to me, so I'm not 100 percent certain the originals are digital masters. But thats the consensus. I can do a review of Yield if anyone is interested once I get a copy.

Cons.
My copy has a bit of noise on both sides of the record. Considering the price of this, there should not be any noise. Its really not that big of an issue as its mostly audible on the quiet parts, namely Present Tense (which is a freaking shame, really) and I'm Open. Also, Who You Are has that stupid "avalanche, falling fast" part instead of "circumstance, clapping hands". I can't understand why they did that. I get that its Ed's artistic expression and blah blah blah. But it almost ruins the song considering Ed smoked a million or two cigarettes from the time that song was recorded to the time he re-recorded the line; its pretty noticeable. Anyway, you guys already know this.

Pros.
It sounds pretty good. Nice separation of instruments and the drums pack a good punch. Deep lows. Also a very quiet press excluding the noise I already mentioned. It would definitely benefit from a double lp especially at 45rpm. The packaging is quite nice and the vinyl is at a good weight.


If No Code is your favorite PJ album, buy it. Overall, its good. But if these gripes are a deal breaker for you, then don't buy it. I have not heard the EU press, but I would say its most likely better than the US press because lets face it, most of the time we can't press a quality record in America. I know the Music On Vinyl label in Europe pressed vs and vitalogy and supposedly they're much better than the US pressing from years back. I own several MOV records and everyone of them sound incredible. Maybe they will do a press of no code and yield?

Haven't seen a thread on this. so theres my review.

[Wendy Carlos's Twin]

So now they are re-recording parts of songs and replacing the originals? WTF is that about? Seriously!

[tragabigzanda]

pearl jam sucks now

[epilogue]

Wait, the "avalanche" line was recorded later, and not just spliced in from a different take? Wasn't this the lyric on the greatest hits comp too?

Yes it is on the best of/greatest hits/whatever collection.

I have no idea if it's a different take from the same original sessions back in 95/96/whatever or if it was recorded later (like a lot of the shit on Lost Dogs). But either way it is an alternate lyric and should have NO PLACE ON THE ALBUM PROPER.

If the reissue has the alternate line, that's fucking stupid. I'm so glad I have an original pressing. I guess I should fucking lock it in a vault somewhere because Pearl Jam can't stop George Lucasing their shit.

[EJ]

I guess I should fucking lock it in a vault somewhere because Pearl Jam can't stop George Lucasing their shit.

Well said.

Its really indefensible.

[swan]

Who You Are has that stupid "avalanche, falling fast" part instead of "circumstance, clapping hands"

FUCK that

Knew I shouldn't have bought this..

[McParadigm]

Also, Who You Are has that stupid "avalanche, falling fast" part instead of "circumstance, clapping hands".

Pros.
It sounds pretty good. Nice separation of instruments and the drums pack a good punch. Deep lows.

Based on this, I would bet dollars to doughnuts that these are mastered from the same 24/96 files that were submitted for the Mastered for iTunes program. Given the timing and everything, it seems unlikely that they wouldn't just piggyback the two.

It also seems very likely to me that the original line from Who You Are was flown in from a different vocal take than the line that follows it, and that when they have gone back to the song in the years since they just haven't remembered/cared about/noticed rhe discrepancy.

[Kevin Davis]

Wait, the "avalanche" line was recorded later, and not just spliced in from a different take? Wasn't this the lyric on the greatest hits comp too?

Hard to say from whence this line originates. They were big into re-recording vocals around the '03-'04 era. Really dumb.

[eciglover]

Hard to say from whence this line originates. They were big into re-recording vocals around the '03-'04 era. Really dumb.

yeah that was really dumb.pretty much all of lost dogs had something re-recorded on it. Like why did U have matt re-do the drums and eddie sing new vocals?

[eciglover]

UPDATE:

I took the vinyl back to my local record store and the guy heard the same thing I did. Even opened up another copy and it was the same. So I imagine its all the US pressings, that or I just didn't have any luck with this album. Its happened to me before. I'll keep it and hope for a better EU press. They generally have their act together in that department and press quality vinyl.

[tragabigzanda]

pearl jam sucks now

[McParadigm]

There's a ton of tape his on that record, and it should be more pronounced in a high quality master.

[tragabigzanda]

pearl jam sucks now

[McParadigm]

I think of it as more half-produced than "pedestrian." It's not the basement at Nelcotte or the pool table at SIR, but it's a step in that direction.

[Kevin Davis]

"No Code" sounds really nice, but to my ears it sounds more like the producer is just getting a good sound at the source and getting out of the way (Neil is a good comparison in that regard; that was basically David Briggs's entire philosophy). The actual manipulation of sound, to the extent that it's there, feels pretty unobtrusive, very much the opposite of the Brendan V2.0 records. I think the "amazing production" is really more a series of amazing band performances that the recording simply allows to happen.

This could be way off, I know virtually zip about audio engineering, but it's a lot of what I've always liked about the album.

[BurtReynolds]

now i may just be a simple country lawyer, but whatever they did on that one, they should keep on doing it.

[CopperTom]

I hate the song either way, but the alternate line in Who You Are is likely from an alternate recording during the No Code recording sessions. No way is it from 2004 or 2016.

[bune]

Hmm, I wonder how the hdtracks versions sound.

[lecherouslittlestump]

But it almost ruins the song considering Ed smoked a million or two cigarettes from the time that song was recorded to the time he re-recorded the line; its pretty noticeable

The fuck? It doesn't sound like that at all. It's likely just an alternate take from 1996.

The shit that gets complained about on this forum is unbelievable sometimes

[eciglover]

But it almost ruins the song considering Ed smoked a million or two cigarettes from the time that song was recorded to the time he re-recorded the line; its pretty noticeable

The fuck? It doesn't sound like that at all. It's likely just an alternate take from 1996.

The shit that gets complained about on this forum is unbelievable sometimes

Does for me. To me, it sounds like Ed during the riot act era. Sounds very tired and exasperated. Sounds like its been re-recorded since that was around the time they did lost dogs and they re-recorded a lot of stuff then, ex: alone, U, drifting, etc.