Gil Scott-Heron / Brian Jackson* – Winter In America

Seeing a lot of negative reviews so I wanted to offer my experience with this reissue.

Clean right out the sleeve, sounds great after a cleaning. I’ve played it twice, and to my ears it sounds fantastic. I have an original and prefer to play this copy as to avoid any wear on the OG.

I’d recommend this pressing to anybody looking for a copy of this FANTASTIC album. Still hopeful to see a true audiophile reissue with the new Strata East reissue campaign.

Does anyone have a copy where the obi is printed with: RSD Black Friday exclusive, French Import? The only references to this I can find on the web say it was a 2023 release, but I don't see it on here only 2024. Its a nice clean pressing no defects or noise... any info appreciated.

So, I purchased two copies of this album from Target, since they were doing "Buy 2, get 1 free" promo again this year. I was reading the reviews and decided to open and listen before I filed it away (the other is a gift and already boxed up to shop but not sealed).
Yes, removing the sleeve was difficult because it could have easily scratched either side. But it also doesn't sound like it was "blended together" for lack of a better word? Maybe it's me, but it doesn't feel fully mixed? Each part still seems like a separate component part, and not a song as a whole.
I am going to open the other one as well, and run them both through the Humminguru and see how it sounds then.
I would appreciate any . Thanks in advance.

I have a scratch also halfway side 2 on The Bottle that runs into the second song ( Song For Bobby Smith) with the quieter intro. Would be interested to know how many copies show that defect…it looks like one of the stampers was damaged and nobody checked it before running the press.

First copy was terrible and I brought it back. Second copy much better and a slight surface noise on a few tracks. Mastering & sound is good!

Beautiful gatefold, but the paper inner sleeve is a problem. It was SO HARD to remove my Lp due to excess static and tight fit. Once I finally got the colored vinyl out, I did a serious preclean and transferred it to a proper inner sleeve. I love the black and white swirl colored vinyl. The sound is very good. Nice bass and mid ranges. Slight surface noise, but it's not a big problem. It'll probably decrease with future spins. I really wish a digital code was included as a bonus to update my digital library. All in all, 'Winter In America' is a nice addition to my collection.

My copy is very silent and sounds great. I am happy with this pressing.

The mastering and sound on this release are actually pretty decent. Vocals are very alive sounding with good instrumental separation. The pressing quality is mediocre - light surface noise here and there throughout the LP. Low pressing quality is becoming really common with RSD releases. But I am happy to have a decent copy of this album.

Had to take two of these back to the record store and get my money back. Halfway through track one and at the beginning of track two ruined by pressing error noises. Both copies were identical so it wasn’t a scratch. I’ll just have to go back to my 90’s CD and wait for an official Strata release on vinyl

My copy also came with a huge, deep scratch causing a loud tick at every single rotation from start to finish. With such crap the mastering and packaging don’t matter no more.