The Verdict
- Place 0. Okay, this is not entirely accurate, not being the first cut and all. But on the whole, the UK offers the smoothest overall impression, strong basses and the instruments flowing seamlessly with the vocals. A pleasant listen, slightly marred by slight murkiness in the final tracks of each side.
- Place 1. Hands down, the NL version. Very true to the UK in terms of EQ, but with a wider panorama, more details and still sounding very pleasant overall. That will most probably become my version of choice, along with the UK.
- Place 2. German 2nd cut from 1972. While being a bit reserved on the bass side, it’s still nice, detailed, and quite pleasant to listen to.
- Place 3. Japan 1972. Rather poor in the bass section, while still being murky on the last tracks on each side. Plus, the sibilance.
- Place 4. German 3rd cut from 1980. It seems they tried to fix the problems of the tape used for the 2nd cut with some EQ trickery. Alas, it sounded both bloated and brittle at the same time, and in times really was getting on my nerves.