Reviews

needledrop

Captain Beefheart - The Spotlight Kid as reviewed by needledrop

September 20, 2025
You're making the mistake that lots of others make in assuming Rhino is still Bill Inglot's Rhino. They're only "Rhino" in name now. It's WEA pretending to be a boutique label and ignoring "lesser" artists that Rhino once championed by dumping out sought-after material as RSD cash grabs and one-and-done limited editions. Did you know that these deluxe Beefheart releases are now available as downloads as of two months ago? Nobody did, because Rhino and their social media mouthpieces said nothing about it. Why? Because it's Beefheart. And the new Monkees deluxe set that they've been stonewalling for years was just "accidentally" released as a download a week before it was announced. Why? Because it's The Monkees. Rhino only in name.
needledrop

Jethro Tull - Heavy Horses (New Shoes Edition) as reviewed by needledrop

March 13, 2025
Berne was not "already released as Bursting Out". That was album was a compilation from several different shows.
needledrop

The Animals - Animalism as reviewed by needledrop

January 19, 2025
It's a scarce album because it was exclusive to North America and was released at a time when they were simultaneously changing managers, record labels and personal. So it got lost not only outside of the USA but in general. But it's a hidden gem for sure.
needledrop

The Mothers Of Invention* - Freak Out! as reviewed by needledrop

January 28, 2024
There are perfect vinyl transfers of this and Absolutely Free on a famous blog. Look around. No need to pay money for this crap.

The same applies to concert loophole bootlegs falsely presented as broadcasts that people foolishly purchase.
needledrop

The Who - Who's Next | The Who Live At The Civic Auditorium, San Francisco 1971 as reviewed by needledrop

December 7, 2023
The live stuff is a terrible mix. As bad as it gets with mixing on vintage Who live material. Weird EQ on the instruments, stereo expansion effects, an irritating fake crowd loop mixed in and out. The old mixes of individual tracks sounded light years better. Massive fail.
needledrop

13th Floor Elevators - Fire In My Bones as reviewed by needledrop

November 5, 2023
They will never fix it. There is a legit garage rock series where half of the volumes are listed as unofficial including two volumes I still cannot find. I have been asking them to fix it for years. They don't care.
needledrop

Captain Beefheart And His Magic Band* - Safe As Milk as reviewed by needledrop

February 24, 2022
"an incredibly talented audio engineer using the best available sources, made the best possible mono mix he could. But we should trust your expertise, and AVOID!, because you read an article you obviously don't understand?"

Hahaha you're clueless. The "talented audio engineer" created a FAKE mono mix by making a bad vinyl transfer and folding down the stereo mix and then frankenstiening them together. Then he lied in the press hype by saying it was the original mono mix from the original master tapes. Keep drinking that Kool Aid.
needledrop

Margo Guryan - Take A Picture — needledrop

February 3, 2021
I don't have a sample handy but it has been inspected by people I trust and it's 100% a fold-down. Not the authentic mono mix. Typical of Sundazed at this point.
needledrop

Margo Guryan - Take A Picture — needledrop

February 3, 2021
Wrong. It's a scam. You should always look at the authenticity of the mix before considering the sound quality.
needledrop

Margo Guryan - Take A Picture — needledrop

February 3, 2021
Guess again. It's 100% fake. Another scam from the least trustworthy reissue label.
needledrop

The Rolling Stones - The Brussels Affair '73 — needledrop

September 8, 2020
They added piles of reverb to the GHS box set version and it's brickwalled too.
needledrop

The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are You Experienced as reviewed by needledrop

July 3, 2020
Horrible sound quality, made from poor copy tapes. Don't waste your money. Buy an old 2nd pressing Barclay instead.
See 1 reply
needledrop

The Velvet Underground & Nico (3) - The Velvet Underground & Nico — needledrop

January 22, 2020
It's excellent. Best digital release IMO. No frills right from the master tape.
needledrop

Weston - A Perfectly Good Dishwasher — needledrop

May 12, 2019
This material was recorded in 1992, but this 7" was an "official bootleg" released in early 1997.
needledrop

Various - The World Ain't Round, It's Square! (17 Paint-Peeling Garage-Punk Monsters!!!) — needledrop

October 8, 2017
This is NOT an unofficial release! Please change the designation.
needledrop

Various - Teen Jangler Blowout! (Cool Teen Clang N' Jangle Lowdown!) — needledrop

October 8, 2017
At least this one hasn't been blocked like some of the others. *angry*
needledrop

Various - Teen Jangler Blowout! (Cool Teen Clang N' Jangle Lowdown!) — needledrop

October 8, 2017
This is NOT and unofficial release! Please change the designation.
needledrop

Various - "Howlin' For My Darlin'!" (Maximum R&B! Yankee 60s Punk R&B Stomp Mayhem!) — needledrop

October 8, 2017
This is NOT an unofficial release and it should NOT be blocked from sale!
See 1 reply
needledrop

Various - "I'm Gonna Stay" (Target: Fuzz!) — needledrop

October 8, 2017
This is NOT an unofficial release and it should NOT be blocked from sale!
needledrop

Various - "No Tease..." (Primi-Teen Pounders. Inept, Outta-Tune Teen Romp From The (W)rec(k) Room!) — needledrop

October 8, 2017
This is NOT an unofficial release, and it should not be blocked from sale!