This is a wonderful Kenny Rankin album. I played side one all the way through and enjoyed it immensely. I don’t know why this record is so rare — it’s got great songs like Blackbird and People Get Ready, which to me sound like they should have been hits for Kenny.
A great pressing of one of our favorite albums! These are not easy to come by, so we don’t get to shoot these out as often as we’d like. This is not your typical audiophile-friendly rock album, to be sure. There are lots of weird sounds, out-of-tune instruments and other Eno craziness. We’re big Eno fans here — Taking Tiger Mountain and Before And After Science are other big favorites here. If you’ve got a taste for avant-garde art rock, this album should be right up your alley. (more…)
A dynamic and excellent pressing. This record has lovely string tone. Lots of tubey magic. Not one of the rarest Londons, but certainly one of the most enjoyable.
[This is a very old commentary so take it for what it’s worth.]
For our newest take on the sound of the various labels and stampers for Mr. Fantasy, please click here.
This British Sunray Label pressing has THE BEST SOUND I’VE EVER HEARD FOR THIS ALBUM!
None of the Pink Label originals that we played had the deep, powerful, punchy bass that this pressing has, coupled with an extended, sweet top end.
This is one of the best sounding Traffic records ever made. Musically it’s hit or miss, but so is every other Traffic record, including my favorite, John Barleycorn. The best songs here are Heaven Is In Your Mind, Dear Mr. Fantasy, and Coloured Rain.
The first of these is worth the price of the album alone, in my opinion. It’s a wonderful example of late-60s British psychedelic rock.
Hot Stamper Pressings of TAS List Super Disc LPs in Stock
The sound is big, open, rich and full, with the performers front and center (as well as left and right). The highs are extended and silky sweet. The bass is tight and punchy. And this copy gives you more life and energy than others by a long shot. Very few folk records offer the kind of realistic, lifelike sound you get from this pressing, on both sides!
This original Gold Label stereo LP also has the MIDRANGE MAGIC that’s no doubt missing from whatever 180g reissue has been made from the 50+ year old tapes. As good as that pressing may be, we guarantee that this one is dramatically more REAL SOUNDING. It gives you the sense that Peter, Paul and Mary are right in the room with you.
They’re no longer a representation — they’re living, breathing persons. We call that “the breath of life,” and this record has it in spades. Their voices are so rich, sweet, and free of any artificiality, you immediately find yourself lost in the music, because there’s no “sound” to distract you.
’Very Last Day’, Don’t Think Twice It’s All Right’, and ’Freight Train’ sound particularly nice here.
Warners pressings are all over the map. When you find a good one, you can be pretty sure it’s the exception, not the rule. That’s been our experience anyway.
Liner Notes by Bob Dylan
These Nearly White Hot Stamper pressings have top quality sound that’s often surprisingly close to our White Hots, but they sell at substantial discounts to our Shootout Winners, making them a relative bargain in the world of Hot Stampers (“relative” being relative considering the prices we charge). We feel you get what you pay for here at Better Records, and if ever you don’t agree, please feel free to return the record for a full refund, no questions asked.
The soundstage width, depth and height of this spacious recording are huge and three-dimensional. (more…)
There’s lots of deep, note-like bass to go a long with plenty of extension up top. The transparency is mindblowing — you can really hear the sound of the musician’s breath moving through the horns. (more…)
Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of Ambrosia Available Now
Our good customer Ed likes doing his own shootouts, and to that we say Hear Hear — more power to ya. He had about a dozen copies of Ambrosia’s debut on hand and thought he might actually have one or two that were pretty special. Then he popped for one of our Super Hot Stamper copies and heard why we’ve been such big fans of the album. Here is his story.
So let’s assume that you have either spent enough on good advice or evolved a stereo system that simply resolves what is in a vinyl groove.
Let’s also assume that you have discovered that there ARE actually substantial audible differences among the various copies of a given vinyl record title i.e. harmonics, resolution, detail, musicality, transparency, micro-dynamics, macro-dynamics, “whomp” factor, IGD (inner groove distortion), all kinds of surface noise and defects (film, dirt, grit, burnt regrind, scrubbed record label particles, and oh yes, the end products of styli that were never replaced until they fell off. Whoops, almost forgot the Mastering Engineer. (more…)
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