Sufjan Stevens: Illinois - Special 10th Anniversary Blue Marvel Edition (Colored Vinyl) Vinyl 2LP

Wonderful album full of nostalgia and a longing for a past not quite remembered. I live in Jacksonville. Pretty brilliant.

The record plays well, a wonderful album to have pressed. Thank you for the good service.

Great record

Disc one was punched off center, which prevents the record from rotating on a normal axis. It is so far off that the edge of the record contacts the plastic stand of the needle/stylus on the record player preventing it to spin (see photo). LOVE the album, but production quality isn't there for the vinyl.

Great!

So this album is amazing. I think Sufjan doesn't get enough credit for recording this masterpiece mostly by himself. Comparing this record with the last pressing of this album. This two LP even when cleaned sound a bit underwhelming. I guess the issue's I have was thinking when they went back to make a new lacquers and re mix the album they would improve on some things. That's not really the case, also I'm wondering were this record company is pressing their records. Its seems like ever color record they make has a ton of surface noise. This is the issue I have with Sufjan latest album while that's also amazing the record has issues as well with vinyl bumps stuck into the record. Just seems like quality control is kind of a hit and miss with this pressing plant they are using. Saying all that I am still happy I have this album as the 12 inch star LP has very cool demo of Chicago that is great to listen to. The blue and white vinyl matches the new supper heroin the cover which I really like. This Lp also comes with a bandcamp download code that is very nice touch to get the album on any mp3 or Flac or any other format file you want. The only sad thing is sadly the Chicago demo is not included for a free download. If your a big fan of this album I would recommend on still getting this, but if your like me and own this LP already like me, and was looking for something a bit more...wait till this is on sale.

I already own the original, so I picked this up just as a collectors piece. I was somewhat apprehensive about it, seeing as some reviews state the holes were punched off center on disc one. The discs were punched just fine, and I experienced no issues with them making contact in any unwanted areas. The fidelity of the record was no worse than the pressing I already owned either. My only complain was the sleeve of the record was slightly damaged when I took it out of the box but that could have been for a slew of reasons that aren't the merchants fault. All in all I'm very happy with this purchase.

I hate to agree with the poor ratings to date, but they are correct. I had hoped for a loving remaster of a classic album, but this edition lacks in sound quality. Illinois is celebrated for Sufjan's masterful layering of instruments, but the sound here is muddled, especially during complex passages. Additionally, the pressings are noisy and off-center, as noted in other reviews. All in all, a disappointing release.Update: I dug around a bit more and discovered that this "Blue Marvel" release uses the same stampers as the 2015 remaster by SAE Mastering. I also have the 2005 pressing mastered by AcousTech Mastering, and it sounds great. I did a back-and-forth comparison last night, and the difference in sound quality is significant. I suggest skipping this edition and buying the AcousTech vinyl instead.