Poison - Flesh & Blood - Amazon.com Music (original) (raw)

I was genuinely excited to finally open and play this limited edition green glass vinyl reissue of Flesh and Blood by Poison. I already own an original U.S. pressing from the era, which sounds absolutely fantastic — full, dynamic, and well-balanced. I knew that the artwork and inserts in this reissue might not match the original in terms of paper and print quality, but I was not prepared for the shockingly poor audio.

The album begins with “Strange Days of Uncle Jack,” which has a vintage "radio effect" by design, so I initially thought everything was fine. But as soon as “Valley of Lost Souls” kicks in, it becomes painfully clear that the entire record suffers from a severely compressed, lo-fi sound — as if the whole album was being played through a cheap old transistor radio. There's no depth, no punch, and no presence in the mix. It’s flat, muffled, and lifeless.

I own a Colombian cassette version from back in the day — and that notoriously bad pressing sounds better than this vinyl. I’ve also compared this experience to other colored vinyls I own, and this is by far the worst-sounding pressing in my collection.

This isn't just a case of the aesthetic compromises of colored vinyl. It's a mastering issue, a pressing issue, or both. It’s truly disheartening when a beautiful-looking release fails so miserably where it matters most: the music.

Collectors and audiophiles, beware. If you care about sound quality, stay away from this edition.