In 2014, Universal Music Enterprises launched a campaign to reissue the entire Kiss back catalog on vinyl. This campaign was very well-received among audiophiles, who gave mostly favorable reviews. But the common answer to the question “Do you recommend Kiss’ 2014 vinyl reissues?” is “you will be fine with any of the 2014 reissues. Just stay away from Ace Frehley’s”. The Spaceman’s solo album from 1978 is the only album in the 2014 reissue campaign that is maligned by audiophiles. I never owned an original US pressing of this album and that’s why I was very curious, but finally I was able to get a copy. So, here you can hear an original 1978 US pressing and the 2014 reissue of Ace Frehley’s first solo album and decide if it’s actually as bad as audiophiles say it is or not. “New York Groove”, the song chosen as the album’s single, is the track selected for this comparison.

You can click on the following time marks to quickly jump between pressings:

(00:00) Video intro

– (00:42) Original US pressing 01
– (01:04) Original US pressing 02
– (01:24) Original US pressing 03
– (01:54) Original US pressing 04
– (02:19) Original US pressing 05
– (02:49) Original US pressing 06

– (03:52) 2014 US reissue 01
– (04:13) 2014 US reissue 02
– (04:33) 2014 US reissue 03
– (05:04) 2014 US reissue 04
– (05:29) 2014 US reissue 05
– (05:59) 2014 US reissue 06

Numark TTXUSB turntable – Nagaoka MP-500 phono cartridge – ART DJPRE II phono stage preamp – Vinyl record vinilo LP