More of the Music of Gerry Rafferty
In 2012 we wrote:
This Gerry Rafferty White Hot Stamper LP has the best side one we’ve ever heard. So good in fact that we had to go above and beyond our usual top grade of three pluses and award this amazing copy a huge A++++!
- Our lengthy commentary entitled outliers and out-of-this-world sound talks about how rare these kinds of pressings are and how to go about finding them.
- We no longer give Four Pluses out as a matter of policy, but that doesn’t mean we don’t come across records that deserve them from time to time.
- Nowadays we most often place them under the general heading of breakthrough pressings. These are records that unexpectedly revealed to us sound of such high quality that it changed our understanding and appreciation of the recording itself.
- We found ourselves asking “who knew?” Perhaps a better question would have been “how high is up?”
It’s guaranteed to put to shame any UK import you may have. Since those are the only pressings with any hope of sounding good, it simply means that we are very confident in the sound of this copy.
The original domestic pressings may be cut by Artisan, but they are brighter and dramatically more congested and distorted than the better UK imports, and should be avoided at any price.
We award this copy’s side one our very special Four Plus grade, which is strictly limited to pressings (really, individual sides of pressings) that take a recording to a level never experienced by us before, a level we had no idea could even exist. We estimate that less than one per cent of the Hot Stamper pressings we come across in our shootouts earn this grade. You can’t get much more rare than that.
This side one gets everything right — it’s open, transparent, rich, full, tubey and sweet. It has a wonderfully extended top end and presence that’s off the charts.
This side is As Good As It Gets (AGAIG), folks.
Side two is a step down but still sounds great. It’s smooth and rich with lovely clear vocals. If you kick the volume up a bit it starts to sound even better.
In addition, we are especially delighted to report that not only is the sound better than ever, the music is too. The album as a whole, unlike so much of what came out in 1978 (Do Ya Thnk I’m Sexy asks Rod Stewart, followed by stony silence) does not seem to have dated in the least, with the possible exception of the big hit Baker Street, which is arguably somewhat over the top but still works for what it is — a radio-friendly folk pop song with a compelling narrative.
Surprisingly, the same is true for most of the British early pressings we had acquired over the last year or so (at significant expense I might add). Most of them simply have no top end to speak of whatsoever. The bells at the beginning of Baker Street sound like somebody in the studio must have thrown a blanket over them.
We were forced to narrow the pool of good sounding candidates quite significantly from those that we had hopes for. The DCC gold CD sounds very respectable; Hoffman did his usual excellent job.
But it’s still a CD, and no CD has the kind of warmth, sweetness and Tubey Magical qualities that can be found on a properly mastered and pressed LP. Which is of course where we come in.
Side One
The Ark
Baker Street
Right Down the Line
City to City
Stealin’ Time
Side Two
Mattie’s Rag
Whatever’s Written in Your Heart
Home and Dry
Island
Waiting for the Day