#good lps

[audio-luddite]

Cat Trouble.

As in Cat Stevens AKA Yusuf. I have two CS albums dating to the 1970s. I bought them back then when I was in Uni. So they are 50 ish years old, well loved and enjoyed.

I have been seeking out fresh copies of many of my old LPs, and have succeeded in finding not only fresh, but gourmet versions. I have a double 180 skateboard trick of Fleetwood Mac, and Dire Straits and some others that were just half speed remasters. Knowing I like the music makes the process much easier.

My favorite CS album is Catch Bull at 4. I am not going to discuss the place in his life that this represents and all that. Frankly I do not care for the earlier hippy stuff like "peace train" and such. I lived in that era and it was not great times. CB@4 is more abstract and interesting. A collision of head spaces I actually experienced, or wanted to.

I was looking for one of these, preferably half speed, or something. My copy is not bad, and has some amazing sound qualities. A gourmet copy would be very nice. So looking about I was.

I was living in the USA back then and I found that the Canadian issue was mastered at Sterling Labs by one of the good cutters. Not sure that the US copies had that. I have to look at mine closer, but I digress.

There are no Mofi versions. There are no A&M CB@4 half speeds out there. I find it surprising as all records with good sound usually end up redone with gourmet treatment. There was a reissue and remaster in 2022 for the 50th anniversary. I found a couple of those, for curiously little money. There is an A&M CS greatest hits but it does not have the songs I want.

I found a copy of the 2022 LP and almost purchased it. Hesitated looking for reviews of its quality.

I then found a lot of negative comments online mostly slagging the Album as not having any real hits, while still being CS best seller. One geek forum I saw a shot of one track of the reissue showing serious compression compared to an earlier version. The comments being that it fell victim to the loudness wars and really bad treatment.

After dinner I found that the "remastered" version was on Apple music, so I played a couple tracks from that. I was very disappointed.

The original 50ish year old LP has some remarkable tone and texture. The Drums, piano, guitar all have a special something. This streamed version had none of that. Oh the songs were there, but the cool details were just gone. Was it compression and re-equalization, or just ham-fisted screwing up?

My absolute favorite track is O Caritas. It is sung mostly in Latin, with exotic instrumentation and things that tick my boxes. All that was bad. If this represents the 2022 issue accurately it is not going to be added to my collection.

Digital streaming has potential for great sound, but if you muck up the source material you get muck.

I still would like a fresh copy, but no point is buying another 50 year old LP. At least I know the provenance of my copy.

[flatluigi]

i watched all of a nice sa lp of the la mulana remake that went over how you were Supposed to solve all the puzzles and it made me happy (and now i want to play through la mulana)

it's not finished yet (hell temple and bonus videos for the main lp, a good chunk of the game for the side lp of hard mode) but if you're looking for something to watch it's a good one

[flatluigi]

The Last Express is an obscure and basically unmarketed point and click mystery adventure game, which is sad because it's honestly one of the best put-together and effortful adventure games I've ever come across. You'd only really have heard of it if, like me, you dug through the files of Myst back when it came out on CD and saw the trailer for this game.

The author does a better job summarizing the LP, so I'll let them speak for themselves:

This, my friends, is one of the best interactive mystery-adventure games I've ever played. The Last Express is a video game created by Jordan Mechner and Smoking Car Productions, published in 1997 by Interplay and Broderbund. If that last one sounds familiar, it's because it should: Broderbund also published the original Myst, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, and Prince of Persia. Jordan Mechner should also be a name you recognize, as he's the brains behind the entire Prince of Persia franchise. The game is set on the Orient Express, only days before the start of World War I. It's one of the few video games that attempts to simulate real time realistically, but despite very positive reviews and critical response, the game sold poorly due to the entire marketing department quitting weeks before the game was released.

[...]

[T]he game is set on the Orient Express before World War I in 1914. The game begins in medias res as our avatar, Robert Cath, boards the Orient Express to meet a friend. Once on the train, we quickly discover that the Orient Express is a hotbed of intrigue, danger, treachery, and lies, and we must do all we can to survive and discover the truth behind unfolding events. I can't reveal more than that because this game is really good at drawing out the mysteries and allowing you, the player, to speak with other characters, investigate their possessions, and learn things for yourself.

[flatluigi]

how to make a good lp:

pick at least one of the following:

be intensely prepared, informed, and researched about the game and what you play to make the experience smooth and entertaining, showing off all of what the game has to offer and giving appropriate backstory and interesting information about various elements to make the LP better than playing the game yourself [research indicates' trespasser, geop's assassin's creed, supergreatfriend's deadly premonition, egomaniac's siren, etc]

find a friend who you can chat with about the game as it's being played (or in post-commentary), especially if they have not experienced it before so that your LP has the benefits of including honest first reactions to the content without suffering from a lack of preparation and direction like standard blind LPs [chip + ironicus' LPs]

find multiple friends who you have good rapport with to the point of being inherently entertaining to listen to and to watch play, making that the goal of your LP over presenting the actual game for whatever reason [freelance astronauts' NSMBW, pokecapn+co playing sonic 2006/four swords adventures, etc]

do not be a terrible bigoted person who makes rape jokes or drops un/ironic slurs every few minutes of footage [pretty much everyone except pewdiepie]

[flatluigi]

[Ongoing Thread #2 for Paragon Tier and 13th Age]

I've recommended this before -- I even liveblogged my reread of it here for the people without SA accounts + archives before Zorak decided to mirror it -- but it's worth bringing back up. I don't play Dungeons and Dragons (and neither did the majority of the people in the LP before it started), but this has been an incredibly entertaining LP and a really good entry to the types of shenanigans that go on in a well-ran game with great players.

If you're looking for an LP to leave on as a podcast-type thing while you draw or game or similar things, this is perfect - the video of them moving the pogs around and making fun of Syrg's poorly-drawn maps is nice, but you don't miss too much without it. It even comes as a podcast (heroic, paragon)! 

edit: there are a lot of links here! whoops! the main ones to click on are either the title or the liveblog link, both list the first thread's videos in order (my liveblog comes with fanart and sidebars dug out of the thread, though, which may help your decision)

[flatluigi]

siren is a really atmospheric horror game with some really interesting plot and presentation tricks! egomaniac LPed this game already about seven years ago as his first LP but he's decided to redo it now since he's gotten much better at LPs & technology + video quality has progressed to the point where you can actually see the details he's pointing out in the videos

the first LP has always been one of my favorites and this redux version has been a really really good watch! you should watch it too!

[flatluigi]