John McLaughlin – The Inner Mounting Flame

Quite amazed at some of the below reviews slating the sound on this one. My copy is rich, full and expansive. Its not as bright as the FM KPG cut but its not dull. Tape issues? Not a hint of them for me and i cant stand major tape issues. The pressing is dead flat and nigh silent without even needing a clean as Pallas/SC are one of the few labels that offer this. Recommended unless you want a lighter and brighter cut in the form of the KPG/FM clear vinyl and those with dull systems will likely want to go that way

I recently purchased this Speakers Corner vinyl release. Unfortunately I missed these reviews. And indeed, I have better Speakers Corner releases in my collection. First of all, the sound level is too soft, I have to turn the volume 15% higher than normal.
There are some tracks that could have a bit more dynamic. But I understand the original 1971 recordings weren't great either. So the blame for the lower quality (than used to at Speakers Corner) is probably not entirely their fault. The pressing is otherwise very quiet and clean.
And musically? A beautiful timeless classic!

I got a pretty good copy, sometimes you can hear hiss in the background but its fairly rare

My copy sounds great. Flat clean pressing. Have to turn it up a bit but no problem.

Excellent pressing. Unbelivable that there are people here finding it „horrible“.

Great pressing, clean, flat and no pops. It is true that it is pressed a bit quiet but the sound is awesome. Cover photos could have been brighter though.

I have an original US press, and the only differences are in the signal level - a bit lower on this reissue, but when you crank it up, it's pretty much on par in clarity and richness of tone, albeit with a bit more vinyl noise, but who gives a shit when you're jamming this fantastic fusion masterpiece ? Would recommend as a suitable substitute for the original, and totally disagree with the naysayers here.

I have to say, my OG pressing sounds way better than this Speakers Corner pressing and the photos on the SC cover are blurry, like they just took a photo of the OG cover.
Very disappointed.

Freaking Awakening sounds like the tape is flaking off the reel while it's playing... I thought it was me ... It was atrocious .... I was going to mention I thought Friday Music version kicked ass but on here there gone I bought that for 20 bucks !!! sealed.and on RTI on this cool clear colored vinyl .. The originals are shot Very Good all over the place I know they were over played as they probably would be I bought a original of what I thought was Between Nothingness & Eternity and it's just shot It's on MOV but damnit EU and they're shipping shit they are out of they're EU minds ..

This was a record that came from another planet ... I just was born 2 years before it came out so I can only imagine what the fans of probably Miles and John thought of this innovating 1st album.

frankly this sounds horrible, speakers corner should have never released this title, so bad it actually might be the worst sounding record in my very well preserved "audiophile" collection