Month: December 2019

Paul Mauriat / More Mauriat

Paul Mauriat — you may remember him for his big hit “Love Is Blue” which hit Number One in 1968 — must have been a very busy man in 1967 when this album came out — he released six that year! I would bet that most of them do not sound very good — hell, side two of this album doesn’t even sound good — but side one sure does. 

We gave it a sonic grade of A++ for the better sounding tracks on that side. It’s Super Hot all right, 3-D and Tubey Magical like you will not believe. If you have a big, rich, even lush-sounding system, this record is going to blow your mind!

Try tracks 2,3 and 5; talk about fun ’60s pop with great sound!

Side one A++

Side two No Grade, way too shrill and smeary (more…)

Haydn / Symphonies No. 89 & 90 / Somogyi

More of the music of Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)

More Classical ‘Sleeper” Recordings with Demo Disc Sound

This White Hot Stamper side two (Symphony 90) is some of the BEST SOUND we have ever heard for any Haydn Symphony, and recently we heard some awfully good ones such as those performed by Dorati for Mercury. I rank these performances right up there with Dorati’s, and on this side two I would have to say that the sound found on this early Westminster pressing (WST 17043) is EVEN BETTER than the sound of that Hot Stamper Merc. This pressing is nothing short of SUPERB in every way. Who knew? 

This record on side two is so amazing that we guarantee it will sound as good or better than any Golden Age classical recording you own. (Unless of course you have some of our White Hot Stamper classical pressings, in which case we guarantee it will give them quite a run for their money.)

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Ready For Freddie – Reviewed in 2006

More Freddie Hubbard

More Ready For Freddie

This is a QUIET Blue Note ’70s pressing with wonderful music and pretty good sound. The trumpet here sounds excellent with lots of breath and just the right amount of bite. The track Crisis on side two should particularly appeal to audiophiles — just check out that well-recorded bass and all the cool little drum breaks.  

We hardly ever see clean copies of this album, so we don’t imagine we’ll ever have the resources to do a proper shootout. I don’t imagine that you’ll find a much better sounding copy of this album that plays this quietly.

The reproduction of the trumpet on practically every track is nothing less than superb. It jumps out of the speakers front and center and forces you to listen to it. (more…)

Genesis – Live – Reviewed in 2010

Hot Stamper Pressings of Genesis Available Now

More Prog Rock

Superb sounding but somewhat noisy British Original (or what appears to be) pressing on the Charisma label. This album sounds RIGHT ON THE MONEY. I don’t think you can find a better sounding version than this one.

“A well-recorded showcase of the early group’s concert sound, much of what is here actually works better than the studio versions of the same songs…” AMG 

Gaite Parisienne – Reviewed in 2005

Hot Stamper Pressings of Living Stereo Titles Available Now

This is one of the pressings we discovered with reversed polarity. a very long time ago, 2005, before we got our EAR 324p phono stage that has a switch for reversing polarity.

Superb sound! The top end of this record is PERFECTION. When you hear all the percussion instruments, — the tambourines, triangles, wood blocks and whatnot — they just sound so lovely.

The overall sound is rich and sweet, just like a good vintage RCA should sound. Some may find the sound colored, but I find it enchanting.

Side two, however, sounded fairly unpleasant when I first played it. As I listened more and more, I came to the realization that the absolute phase was probably inverted. The orchestra, rather than being back behind the speakers where they belong, was coming AT me, a sure sign that something is funny. One way to think about it is the sound stage becomes convex instead of concave.

So I switched my headshell leads and sure enough everything got much better — the orchestra now had depth and the strings became less forward and shrill, and the horns took on more body and had less of that blary quality they sometimes do. (more…)

Henry Mancini / The Pink Panther

Living Stereo Titles Available Now

Both sides are rich, sweet, and smooth. We didn’t hear any other copies that could keep up with the presence and energy on BOTH sides here. The overall sound is airy, open, spacious, and SUPER transparent. The brass sounds AMAZING. You’re not going to believe all the ambience, especially around the drums!

I gotta tell ya, this was quite a fun shootout. We obviously love finding the classic rock Hot Stampers, but this wonderful Mancini album was a nice change of pace.

The Byrds – Untitled

More of The Byrds

WOW! The best pressing to ever hit the site, and it’s Triple Plus (A+++) on ALL FOUR SIDES. The overall sound is really rich, full-bodied, and open with impressive transparency and presence. Features a 16 minute Eight Miles High on the live disc that just kills — especially on a lively copy like this.

On the better copies songs like Chestnut Mare reveal a huge soundstage with delicate guitars, sweet vocals, and lively drums. Most of the pressings we’ve played over the years were nothing to get worked up about, but the sound here is wonderful. It’s exceptionally musical and natural with a nice, fat, tubey quality to the guitars and real strength and definition down low. (more…)

Clear Spot – Ted Templeman Is The Man

Reviews and Commentaries for the Music of Captain Beefheart

The producer, Ted Templeman, (Doobie Brothers, James Taylor) brought his mainstream talents to bear on this music, and when the Captain’s free-form tendencies smashed into Templeman’s conservatism the result was this musical supernova — out there, but not too far out there. (Play Trout Mask Replica sometime if you miss that feeling from your old hippie days of being on acid. With that music drugs are entirely superfluous.) I don’t know how many audiophiles like Captain Beefheart, probably not too many, but if you’re ever going to try, this is the place to start: his masterpiece.

I’ve been listening to this album for 50 years, all of my adult life. I still have my original copy in the clear plastic sleeve even. It never grows old and it never grows tired. I have the CD in the car and return to it regularly.

I’ll be disappointed if few of you try this one, but probably not too surprised. Great stereo equipment offers the listener a window on the wonderful world of music. Why do so many audiophiles keep that window opened just a crack?

What to Listen For

These German pressings, the only ones we can find with quiet enough vinyl and good sound, have a tendency toward hi-fi-ishness, with a bit of boost on both ends, the famous EQ “Smile Curve”.

The worst ones are phony as all get out, but the good ones have no trace of hyped-up extremes.

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Miles Davis – A Tribute To Jack Johnson

More Miles Davis

More of Our Best Jazz Trumpet Recordings

Two White Hot Stamper sides on quiet vinyl for this 5-Star Jazz/Rock Fusion classic! If you love the crazy music that Miles was making with John McLaughlin in the early ’70s, I’m sure you’re already a fan of this album, but I bet you’ve never heard it sound like this.

Check out the especially insightful Five Star All Music Guide Review linked above to get a better feel of what this album is all about. We’ve been trying to track down a good copy for ages, so it was a treat to hear this crazy, progressive jazz finally sound right. (more…)

Mozart / Eine Kleine Nachtmusik / Walter – A Very Good Columbia Pressing

This Odyssey budget pressing has long been favorite of ours here at Better Records. It’s too bad that most of them don’t sound very good, with the shrill, hard string tone we’ve come to expect from Columbia in the ’60s. Fortunately this pressing does not have that problem! We played a number of these recently, and this copy was the best of them all on BOTH sides!

Side one is really rich and warm with lovely, smooth strings that don’t get shrill. It’s very hard to believe that there’s a much better sounding copy out there. Side one of course has the complete Eine Kleine Nachtmusik.    (more…)