Blue Bell Knoll

I'm maybe a bit "odd", in that I don't always subscribe to the "vinyl is best" opinion - but in this case there is a noticeable improvement in the audio quality compared to my CD copy. I've had this album since it's release. In 1988 I was a poor first-time buyer of a flat, when interest rates rocketed to 15%, so money was REALLY tight - but I managed to buy the cassette version of this (of my favourite band) on its release. Replaced in the 90's on CD, my OCD personality loves the clean, clear audio. This vinyl version was a gift from my son for Father's Day - a bit of a novelty, to be honest, and I didn't have high expectations - but the sound quality is amazing - I'm well-impressed, and it actually outperforms my CD. I have original vinyl from the 60's and 70's, and this beats most of my collection "hands down" for sound quality and aesthetic presentation.

Leaving the dark stance of a urban depressed decade that produced such important records such as Victorialand, the Cocteau Twins preserve their well orchestrated baroque art, changing their soundscapes from dark moonlit scenes (still present on the first track Blue Bell Knoll) into a spring morning vibrant with light. Songs like Athol-Brose and For Phoebe Still a Baby, immerse the listener in the feeling of the late eighties: The Bomb was unlikely to bring us together, the wall was about to fall and Reagan was on its way out. Strings and synthesisers work to paint the sparkling backdrop for the spiralling feminine voices.Listening to Athol-Brose, however, it seemed that the vinyl edition possessed a greater sound depth than this remastered version.

What can you say about this, hauntingly beautiful

I never heard this album before and didn't know of it's existence but I saw a bit about this album on here (Amazon) and I thought, "give it a try" ,I'm glad I DID AS IT IS A FINE PIECE OF WORK FROM THE Cocteau TWINS.

mixed reaction bit hit and miss

This is a great album by the Cocteau Twins maybe one of their best

Fantastic album by The Cocteau Twins a vinyl record is the way to get the best sound my copy was flat with no surface noise.

This is the 5th Cocteau Twins album I have bought so that gives a good idea how much I rate this timeless band!Superb, mesmerising and absorbing.Worth every penny.