Greyson
Super Member
If you're a fan of Radiohead and you collect music on vinyl, you're probably aware of the Parlophone vs. Capitol debate.
Parlophone is the original label on which the records Pablo Honey, The Bends, OK Computer, Kid A, Amnesiac, and Hail to the Thief were released. All of these releases have since gone out of print, and in the case of their albums from the early to late 90's, they've been out of print for a while. In 2008, Capitol re-issued every Radiohead album made prior to In Rainbows on 180 gram vinyl as part of the "From the Capitol Vaults" series. The re-issues are still in print and much easier to come by than the Parlophone records which are harder to find and considerably more expensive.
So the question most people have is wether or not it's worth it to buy the more expensive Parlophone release, over the readily avilable Capitol re-issue. The answer in my opinion is yes, and below i'll explain why.
Let's start with the Jacket
The original Parlophone releases are pressed on standard 160 gram vinyl, while the newer Capitol re-issues are on 180 gram. The problem is, Capitol didn't make jackets sized for records of that thickness, so where the original records slid easily in and out of the jacket with their cardboard inner sleeves, the 180 gram re-issues barely fit into their covers, often warping the shape of the jacket when left in shrink wrapping for too long. It's not a nice feeling when you take the records out, either.
The Parlophone jacket is of notably better quality, it's also considerably thicker which allows the cardboard inner sleeves to slide in and out with no friction. Here's a comparison image I shot of O.K Computer, the Capitol re-issue is on top, the Parlophone release is on bottom.
An easy way to tell which is which from the outside (if the record happens to be sealed) is to look at the barcode on the back. The Parlophone release has "Printed in U.K" and other information indicated in the barcode, where the Capitol re-issue is blank. There is also a small Parlophone or Capitol trademark in the botton left corner of the jacket on the back. It's also worth pointing out that the linear notes include credits to Parlophone, all of which is just copied verbatim in the Capitol re-issue.
So how do they sound?
Well the Parlophone release is better. Alright, alright, i'll elaborate.
The Parlophone release has a considerably blacker background, i'd go so far as to say it's near CD-quality in terms of background noise. It is an extremely quiet pressing, whereas the Capitol release has quite a bit more noise in the background and the lead-in groove. The Parlophone release has better quality control, all of the labels are perfectly centered and so is the spindle hole, I noticed some lateral wobbling on the Capitol.
I also noticed some odd distortion on certain songs which was not present in the Parlophone release. Let Down had audiable distortion during the introduction sequence when hitting high notes which was absent in the Parlophone release, it just sounds better. It's also worth noting that my copy of O.K Computer from Capitol had a manufacturing defect which made the entire first track of Side B unlistenable.
If you're a big fan of Radiohead and you want these albums on vinyl, spend a bit more and find a good copy of the original Parlophone release. Buying from Capitol will be a crapshoot as to wether you'll get a good copy or a dud, I purchased two seperate copies of Hail to the Thief from Capitol, both of which were warped, and one of which had a manufacturing defect as well as an off-centre spindle hole. If you buy the Capitol release, you'll just end up wanting something better.
Parlophone is the original label on which the records Pablo Honey, The Bends, OK Computer, Kid A, Amnesiac, and Hail to the Thief were released. All of these releases have since gone out of print, and in the case of their albums from the early to late 90's, they've been out of print for a while. In 2008, Capitol re-issued every Radiohead album made prior to In Rainbows on 180 gram vinyl as part of the "From the Capitol Vaults" series. The re-issues are still in print and much easier to come by than the Parlophone records which are harder to find and considerably more expensive.
So the question most people have is wether or not it's worth it to buy the more expensive Parlophone release, over the readily avilable Capitol re-issue. The answer in my opinion is yes, and below i'll explain why.
Let's start with the Jacket
The original Parlophone releases are pressed on standard 160 gram vinyl, while the newer Capitol re-issues are on 180 gram. The problem is, Capitol didn't make jackets sized for records of that thickness, so where the original records slid easily in and out of the jacket with their cardboard inner sleeves, the 180 gram re-issues barely fit into their covers, often warping the shape of the jacket when left in shrink wrapping for too long. It's not a nice feeling when you take the records out, either.
The Parlophone jacket is of notably better quality, it's also considerably thicker which allows the cardboard inner sleeves to slide in and out with no friction. Here's a comparison image I shot of O.K Computer, the Capitol re-issue is on top, the Parlophone release is on bottom.
An easy way to tell which is which from the outside (if the record happens to be sealed) is to look at the barcode on the back. The Parlophone release has "Printed in U.K" and other information indicated in the barcode, where the Capitol re-issue is blank. There is also a small Parlophone or Capitol trademark in the botton left corner of the jacket on the back. It's also worth pointing out that the linear notes include credits to Parlophone, all of which is just copied verbatim in the Capitol re-issue.
So how do they sound?
Well the Parlophone release is better. Alright, alright, i'll elaborate.
The Parlophone release has a considerably blacker background, i'd go so far as to say it's near CD-quality in terms of background noise. It is an extremely quiet pressing, whereas the Capitol release has quite a bit more noise in the background and the lead-in groove. The Parlophone release has better quality control, all of the labels are perfectly centered and so is the spindle hole, I noticed some lateral wobbling on the Capitol.
I also noticed some odd distortion on certain songs which was not present in the Parlophone release. Let Down had audiable distortion during the introduction sequence when hitting high notes which was absent in the Parlophone release, it just sounds better. It's also worth noting that my copy of O.K Computer from Capitol had a manufacturing defect which made the entire first track of Side B unlistenable.
If you're a big fan of Radiohead and you want these albums on vinyl, spend a bit more and find a good copy of the original Parlophone release. Buying from Capitol will be a crapshoot as to wether you'll get a good copy or a dud, I purchased two seperate copies of Hail to the Thief from Capitol, both of which were warped, and one of which had a manufacturing defect as well as an off-centre spindle hole. If you buy the Capitol release, you'll just end up wanting something better.
