Squeeze Box reviews

[haroldwaide]

That Boy could Dance was never one of my favorites either. Hopefully the remaster will help it grow on me as I continue to listen to it. Fun fact: Al once stated on the Dr. Demento show (I believe it was during his interview for "Even Worse" but I'm not sure as my copy was lost/destroyed long ago) that the song "That Boy Could Dance" was almost a direct rip from "Jack the Idiot Dunce" By none other then The Kinks, who also wrote "Lola"

[ajv2001]

Squeeze Box has treated me okay...ish

My [vinyl] set has a ridiculous amount of static that can't eliminate despite many attempts with record brushes, cleaners, antistatic fluids, etc.
Currently communicating with PledgeMusic, but besides the static, I LOVE Squeeze Box--especially Medium Rarities.

[Morimoto]

How’s your communication with PledgeMusic going? They have not responded to me, and it sounds like the same for everyone on the pledgemusic discussion page.

edit: they have responded:

Hi Mark,

I just wanted to update you! The label is currently sourcing more booklets and CDs. They are also creating a COA for Weird Al to personally sign.

I will update you further once we have more info.

Thanks for your patience!

Cheers,

Kristine
PledgeMusic

[Big Spoon]

Gonna stop reviewing each album 100%, but just wanted to say how amazing Velvet Elvis sounds! It had always been one of my beige curtains of Al songs (not great, not awful, just there.) But it really popped out at me listening to it just now. Still not one of my favorites, but it's definitely moved up on my list.

[weird_el]

One CD a day since I got it. I'm even listening to the songs I don't like - some for the first time in 17 years. Gotta Boogie, Mr Popiel, Girls Just Wanna Have Lunch, Toothless People ... still bad
The songs I like do sound better though. My Bologna and Yoda on Medium Rarities sound especially good. My first memories of Al.

One of the fun things about listening to Al CDs in an isolated way is that each is a time capsule of its era.

[ajv2001]

How’s your communication with PledgeMusic going? They have not responded to me, and it sounds like the same for everyone on the pledgemusic discussion page.

edit: they have responded:

Hi Mark,

I just wanted to update you! The label is currently sourcing more booklets and CDs. They are also creating a COA for Weird Al to personally sign.

I will update you further once we have more info.

Thanks for your patience!

Cheers,

Kristine
PledgeMusic

My communication is about the same. The responded quickly to fix my t-shirt dilemma (they sent the wrong size) but a lot of hurry-up-and-wait on fixing bigger issues
Hopefully I get a better answer soon, but I got a similar message saying they'd update me when they get more information and thanking me for my patience.
I wish Legacy issued the preorders and stuff directly, it'd probably be much easier to communicate with them...plus they actually HAVE a phone number (via parent company Sony)
Hopefully we get answers soon!

[ergalthema]

Squeeze Box has treated me okay...ish

My [vinyl] set has a ridiculous amount of static that can't eliminate despite many attempts with record brushes, cleaners, antistatic fluids, etc.
Currently communicating with PledgeMusic, but besides the static, I LOVE Squeeze Box--especially Medium Rarities.

Anyone else have the vinyl? Would especially like to hear from audiophiles who have good gear. I'm getting concerned about the quality I might receive.

[ajv2001]

Squeeze Box has treated me okay...ish

My [vinyl] set has a ridiculous amount of static that can't eliminate despite many attempts with record brushes, cleaners, antistatic fluids, etc.
Currently communicating with PledgeMusic, but besides the static, I LOVE Squeeze Box--especially Medium Rarities.

Anyone else have the vinyl? Would especially like to hear from audiophiles who have good gear. I'm getting concerned about the quality I might receive.

My equipment is good enough that it cuts down on static when played, but when I convert to digital, the static is much much easier to hear
If it's static-y and you're just listening to it, you should be fine.

[Achilles00]

So, I finally decided to open the magnets and play around with them.

They're pretty terrible. They don't layer well; the magnets aren't strong enough, and the shapes/sizes don't match up very well, either. There's also a lot of white space around each piece, which makes the connections even more unsatisfactory. I wasn't expecting much, but they're basically unusable, which is too bad. It was a fun thought, anyway.

[ergalthema]

I have the vinyl version and I've listened to the S/T through Off The Deep End. Pretty happy with the mastering and vinyl quality. Most of the time I don't even notice the typical limitations of vinyl (pops, surface noise, etc.). Seems like a pretty clean pressing so far. (Once or twice I've heard some brief anomalies.)

I really think they should have included 24-bit digital downloads with all Squeeze Box purchases. I managed to find some files, and I will typically listen to those (as I do with most music in my vinyl collection). But I like having the vinyl for my collection, and I will listen to them on special occasions.

The album covers have nice artwork. Some people are disappointed that they are thin and don't have spines with labels, etc. I can understand that. The sleeves already have a bit of a circular imprint where the records are. I am putting all the records in Mo-Fi sleeves and keeping them outside the accordion (multiple reasons - I don't like the paper sleeves, easier access, etc.)

The book has slight indentions where the straps on the accordion hold it, but not a big deal. I might try to find a place to keep the book so it's not always under the pressure of the straps. The book itself is a pretty good collection of pics. It could have been even nicer if there were more pages with fewer, bigger pics on each page.

Everyone on /r/weirdal so far has said that one of their "Bass" button stickers is upside down. Mine is as well. No big deal.

That's me being super-critical. Overall it's a great collectors item. I was obsessed with Weird Al as a kid through the 80s-90s. My first instrument was an accordion and I still play occasionally. So, I'm glad that I had the extra cash available to get this. It's a good reason to listen through his whole catalog again during this introspective season.

I'm glad that the vinyl has played back well. Fingers crossed for the remaining albums I will listen to soon.