Various – Nice Enough To Eat

I really enjoyed listening to this compilation with my wife. We gave most of the songs two thumbs up. The number one reason I searched this record out was due to its inclusion of one of my favorite artists, Nick Drake. And to my surprise, I found this at a thrift shop in Morgantown, WV that had a small vinyl section. Some of the best eight bucks I've ever spent.

I bought this compilation specifically for "I Keep Singing That Same Old Song" by Heavy Jelly, which appears here as a stereo remix. This Orlake pressing on the pink Island label presents it quite well. It is mastered lower than the preceding tracks on Side 1, but I think this was a good idea considering it is a long track at the end of the album side. Just adjust your volume accordingly, and it sounds great. Given what a rowdy track this is, I was expecting quite a bit of inner-groove distortion, but it was not an issue. Yes, the drums are still in the red, but that's just how they were recorded. To me, the telling part is that the other elements of the mix are all pretty clean, and certainly not "swallowed up" by the drums. And don't worry, the drums are still ferocious as always (as they should be).

I did play it with finer styli (Micro Line and then Special Line ), so obviously that helps with inner-groove distortion. However, my copy is only VG. No matter how good your stylus is, it won't fill in information that simply wasn't cut into the original lacquer in the first place or which was cut but then lost from the vinyl record itself due to wear to that specific copy. Finer styli also won't make up for surface noise, but surface noise was not an issue on this track, despite it being cut at a quieter level. Of course, the fact that it is a very full recording helps make it possible to cut it low without a lousy signal-to-noise ratio resulting.

My copy has runouts ending in A2 and B (just B, no number after it). I recommend this pressing to those who are interested in this release for that track in particular.

One of my first Samplers in early 7-ties and still one of my favourites!
Fine selection of progressive and alternative music of that Era.

Track B5 Quintessence - Gunga Mai is not on the album 1970 Quintessence.
It appears on 1969 Nice Enough To Eat, and is found on their earlier album 1969 In Blissful Company.