New Order – Power Corruption & Lies = 権力の美学

I think that in general, everything from this era that was pressed in Japan sounds much better than almost all other pressings. It’s one reason these albums are highly coveted and they cost a lot more than other pressings. I that the very first Japanese pressing I purchased was from a large store called “Peaches Records and Tapes” because CDs hadn’t been invented yet. It was a copy of The Cure - Boys Don’t Cry. I had to order it through the store and pay for it up front. It took me about a month to get this album. I have another copy of this exact album now, because my stepbrother was into bands like April Wine and Heavy Metal and scratched it up. It’s why I have no with any of my step siblings now, nor do I ever wish to see them. They we’re older and just mean. They blamed their dad because their mother was having an affair with the preacher. Enough personal information, so here’s what I think about this incredible album.

I have almost all of the Japanese pressings by New Order and several 12”singles that are Japanese pressing as well and they all sound superior to any other pressing I own or have ever heard. I being told that Japanese pressings sound better because of the fact they used virgin vinyl for their pressings. That most pressing facilities in the U.S. and other countries swept up the excess vinyl and filtered it to get out the particles and they used the excess to produce other albums. This may be just a rumor but I buying a few albums that were brand new and they had pops in them that you couldn’t get out no matter how much you cleaned them. I purchased most of my Japanese pressings from a local man who was downsizing his stuff and moving into an apartment. He had mint condition Japanese pressings. He had every single New Order studio pressing except “Technique” which I’ve been hunting down for years now. He was also the original owner.

This album is the best sounding version I’ve ever owned and It sounds incredible as most of my Japanese pressings do to any other reissue or even first pressings.

Even the few Japanese copies of other artist that I’ve purchased from Japanese sellers have been in exceptional condition. I think it’s just a cultural thing that we American’s just don’t have. The Japanese people seem to take much better care of their stuff than we do. I guess we feel like if we screw it up, we can just go buy another copy.

It’s also worth noting that many of the Mobile Fidelity early pressings where Japanese pressings and they are extremely coveted by collectors like most Japanese vinyl pressings. I am also a huge fan of the way they store their vinyl in resealable outer sleeves as it keeps out the dust and makes keeping any pressing more manageable with less attention to cleaning them as often, just a few turns with a carbon brush does the trick.

This is by far the best pressing I have heard of this. Best 5 different pressings in back to back shootouts. A must have