IQ - The Wake - 2024 Vinyl Reissue

[JAMOOL]

yea, noticed that too, was gonna buy that + The Wake together from them but my local shop is still trying to get a copy so I didn't want to end up with two. oh well! the idea is to get the prices down on these albums so I would imagine they'll eventually make more!

[Garyhead]

yea, noticed that too, was gonna buy that + The Wake together from them but my local shop is still trying to get a copy so I didn't want to end up with two. oh well! the idea is to get the prices down on these albums so I would imagine they'll eventually make more!

Just checked the GEP website and Dark Matter is available again. Must have received a new shipment. Bought one this time.

[Rael]

Just checked the GEP website and Dark Matter is available again. Must have received a new shipment. Bought one this time.

Yikes! Shipping to the US is almost as much as the LP itself.

[Garyhead]

Yikes! Shipping to the US is almost as much as the LP itself.

Yup. It’s a bummer. GEP is keeping a tight reign on this special release…..For the first one, The Wake, they allocated a few copies to Burning Shed….but not Dark Matter. This series may be more limited than originally thought. I bought The Wake from BS but they had a higher MSRP with cheaper shipping……I saved $3.00. Oh well, I’m an IQ Fanboy so there’s that. Like The Archive Collection, they will probably offer a complete Box Set but it ain’t gonna be cheap! Disclaimer….im not “in the loop” just a fan.

[kid_runningfox]

I still have my original vinyl copy of the The Wake from 1985, and must admit that absent a comprehensive remix I'm struggling to see what the attraction of a vinyl reissue of this album actually is. The tunes are great, but the production really is pretty rough, and unlike others have said in this thread I don't think the poor sound quality either serves the music or was what the band would have intended it to sound like had they been able to produce better results at the time. Add in the inevitable degradation of vinyl over time - even the best quality pressings - and buying this version of the album seems very hard to justify to me if a CD equivalent is available, especially at the prices vinyl commands in 2024. I'd be much more interested in a remixed, sympathetically mastered CD version of the album that goes at least some way to reducing the original's glaring sonic deficiencies (IQ could also do a similarly-remixed version of Tales From The Lush Attic while they're at it). As it is, I'm afraid I just can't see the point of this reissue.

[Drake]

I still have my original vinyl copy of the The Wake from 1985, and must admit that absent a comprehensive remix I'm struggling to see what the attraction of a vinyl reissue of this album actually is. The tunes are great, but the production really is pretty rough, and unlike others have said in this thread I don't think the poor sound quality either serves the music or was what the band would have intended it to sound like had they been able to produce better results at the time. Add in the inevitable degradation of vinyl over time - even the best quality pressings - and buying this version of the album seems very hard to justify to me if a CD equivalent is available, especially at the prices vinyl commands in 2024. I'd be much more interested in a remixed, sympathetically mastered CD version of the album that goes at least some way to reducing the original's glaring sonic deficiencies (IQ could also do a similarly-remixed version of Tales From The Lush Attic while they're at it). As it is, I'm afraid I just can't see the point of this reissue.

I respect your opinion of course.

To me The Wake stands out so much compared to so much of the neo prog at the same time. The punk-ish attitude. The darkness. The chord sequences (the other bands played four chords all the time more or less). All of this is reinforced by the garage-y sound of the album, the roughness. I mean, this is the year of Misplaced Childhood …

To clean up this album would be to create something different. Something I don’t need at all.

Each to his own of course.

[Rael]

I respect your opinion of course.

To me The Wake stands out so much compared to so much of the neo prog at the same time. The punk-ish attitude. The darkness. The chord sequences (the other bands played four chords all the time more or less). All of this is reinforced by the garage-y sound of the album, the roughness. I mean, this is the year of Misplaced Childhood …

To clean up this album would be to create something different. Something I don’t need at all.

Each to his own of course.

That's how I feel. I *love* the almost DIY sound quality of the first couple of IQ albums. As much as I enjoy most of IQ's output in general-there's something special about the low budget feel of those albums that are really special for me.

[Rael]

Yup. It’s a bummer. GEP is keeping a tight reign on this special release…..For the first one, The Wake, they allocated a few copies to Burning Shed….but not Dark Matter. This series may be more limited than originally thought. I bought The Wake from BS but they had a higher MSRP with cheaper shipping……I saved $3.00. Oh well, I’m an IQ Fanboy so there’s that. Like The Archive Collection, they will probably offer a complete Box Set but it ain’t gonna be cheap! Disclaimer….im not “in the loop” just a fan.

Yep, I decided to bite. Dark Matter is the only IQ album I don't have on vinyl and it's going for a stupid amount of money now. And check out what sellers want for Road of Bones on Discogs! Geez.

[Garyhead]

I came to IQ a bit late. I had no vinyl of the 80’s or 90’s. Only CDs.
I posted on another thread that Peter & Mike had a special nostalgia for the vinyl. The recent Subterranea release was an homage to ELP’s Welcome Back My Friends triple vinyl release when we’s was all young in’s.

[Garyhead]

…..and I got a shipping confirmation today for Dark Matter. So…..no more pre-sales…..when GEP has physical copies they sell them and ship the next day. Last one (the Wake) arrived from Blighty in a few days…..less than a week.

[Garyhead]

I see today 2/26, that Dark Matter is again Sold Out.

....aaand now 2/27, It is for sale again....This time in Red.

My copy left the UK last Saturday......should be here soon.

[JAMOOL]

well it turns out my local store was able to get a copy! but I also ordered it along with Dark Matter from the official store, so now I have two of The Wake (both purple I assume)...if anyone in America needs a copy, shoot me a line!

threw it on yesterday...sounds about the same as the MP3 copy I've got, though it is very quiet for a modern pressing. unfortunately I don't think there's really a good sounding copy of the album out there. who knows. I just realized now it's 49 minutes long, which is stretching it for a single LP - Dark Matter is 53 minutes I believe, so I'm really curious how that's gonna sound. the good news is nearly every Genesis album is really long too and they generally sound alright, so hopefully these do too!