Beck – Mellow Gold

Can anyone confirm that there is a locked groove at the end of Sweet Sunshine on the A Side… or is my copy flawed?

There are so few opportunities to own an official press of this album. At least in excellent condition, and that doesn't cost a fortune! I had a bootleg vinyl and it was horrible! If you're reading reviews, you obviously love the album. I love everything Beck does, but this was my introduction to his music. Great pressing here, and even at the inflated prices as this is again OOP, this was a good investment for me to own it. Don't waste your time with the bootlegs, find one of the reissues like this one, or keep searching for a 94 in good condition!

How is there such a high markup for this pressing when there were apparently 2,016 of them produced?

Perfect sound on my end. Great dynamics, and no flaws in the pressing. BTW I got it on the UK Bong Load site for RRP.

Oh, boy. Read on.

Bought new from a third-party seller, because Bong Load refuses to ship to Canada when copies remained for purchase from their website. That was the first annoying part. Second part: expensive as hell. Lowest price for a sealed copy as of this date, including shipping and duty charge: $120 CDN. Okay, fine... I love this album, so I'm willing to take the hit for my tastes' sake. But third and worst of all: this Bong Load re-press is half-assed, at best. (This copy is #1,076/2,016.)

First side has a piece of dirt pressed into the record, plus a visible bump between tracks that is audible during playback. Even after properly cleaning the disc (twice!), there's a noisy floor of subtle pops and clicks beneath the music that continues throughout the whole record, especially the second side. And as if that wasn't bad enough, the second side is noticeably pressed off center, so watch that tone arm sway side to side like a tugboat at sea.

Final irony: the mastering is actually very good, ha! Also, you gotta love the Bong Load logo that proclaims: "25 YEARS - HIGH QUALITY SINCE 1991" Very funny, guys. (Are they loading the bong before or after inspecting pressings like these, I wondered.) It's pretty bad when even the recent Geffen budget re-press of Odelay is better than this. And no, I'm not joking, so caveat emptor, people.

Also, I don't know what another on here is smoking, but this isn't the "Mother Load" edition with the longer, demo-ish version of "Pay No Mind." Matter of fact, the run-off matrix has the disc labeled as "silver load" and contains the polished three-verse version with that amusing "BURN THE ALBUM!" sample introducing the track. And yes, this edition finishes with "Analog Odyssey" as the secret track.

These are still available on Bong Load’s website. Just got mine yesterday for $35 and it sounds outstanding. I’ve noticed a huge improvement over one of the earlier BL versions that I own. See below for a link - don’t overpay here:

https://www.bongloadrecords.com/product-page/cd-roman-carter-never-slow-down

Final batch of these are still available on the Bong Load site for $35. From what I hear this version is the best of the three when compared to the VMP pressing and the standard reissue.

https://www.bongloadrecords.com/product-page/cd-roman-carter-never-slow-down

I believe bong load released a 2nd (3rd?) wave of these on their website!

The thing about colored vinyl sounding bad, I don't buy it. I think that poor sound quality would have to do with the quality of the pressing and nothing to do with the colors. This record sounds great by the way, the vinyl color looks amazing, and Bong Long put together an overall fantastic package. I really hope that Bong Load puts out reissues of Mutations as well as Midnight Vultures.

Alternate longer version/ alternate mix of 'Pay No Mind'.