- Stunning sound throughout with Triple Plus (A+++) sound on side one and solid Double Plue (A++) sound on side two
- Big, full-bodied and Tubey Magical with much smoother, noticeably more natural sound than practically any other copy we played
- Include’s the trio’s biggest hit, “The Doctor”, which sounds phenomenal on this White Hot Side one
- “Their debut album, Why Dontcha, continued with the heavy blues and rock templates already familiar to fans of both Cream and Mountain… a wonderful effort by some amazingly talented musicians… Cream meets Mountain… put it on, and turn it up…loud.” – Consequence of Sound
West, Bruce & Laing
What the best sides of this Classic from 1972 have to offer is not hard to hear:
- The biggest, most immediate staging in the largest acoustic space
- The most Tubey Magic, without which you have almost nothing. CDs give you clean and clear. Only the best vintage vinyl domestic pressings like this one offer the kind of Tubey Magic that was on the tapes in 1972
- Tight, note-like, rich, full-bodied bass, with the correct amount of weight down low
- Natural tonality in the midrange — with all the horns, guitars, drums and percussion having the correct sound for this kind of record
- Transparency and resolution, critical to hearing into the three-dimensional space of the studio
No doubt there’s more but we hope that should do for now. Playing the record is the only way to hear all of the above, and playing the best pressings against a pile of other copies under rigorously controlled conditions is the only way to find a pressing that sounds as good as this one does.
What to Listen For
Less grit – smoother and sweeter sound, something that is not easy to come by on WB&L.
A bigger presentation – more size, more space, more room for all the instruments and voices to occupy. The bigger the speakers you play this record on the better.
More bass and tighter bass. This is fundamentally a rock record. It needs weight down low to rock the way this power trio wanted it to.
Present, breathy vocals. A veiled midrange is the rule, not the exception.
Good top end extension to reproduce the harmonics of the instruments and details of the recording including the studio ambience.
Last but not least, balance. All the elements from top to bottom should be heard in harmony with each other. Take our word for it, assuming you haven’t played a pile of these yourself, balance is not that easy to find. Our best copies will have it though, of that there is no doubt.
Side One
Why Dontcha
Out Into The Fields
The Doctor
Turn Me Over
Third Degree
Side Two
Shake Ma Thing (Rollin Jack)
While You Sleep
Pleasure
Love Is Worth The Blues
Pollution Woman
Consequence of Sound Review
Their debut album, Why Dontcha, continued with the heavy blues and rock templates already familiar to fans of both Cream and Mountain. The combined elements didn’t break new ground or achieve the status of Creamountain, but they did deliver some powerfully rocking blues. And when you consider the numerous connections between band members, it was almost inevitable for this group to have formed.
Rather than worry about what it could have been or should have been, we should just embrace this album as a wonderful effort by some amazingly talented musicians. On paper, it looks and sounds amazing: the growling guitars of West, the heavy pounding from Laing, and Bruce’s jazzed-out blues-rock on bass. Cream meets Mountain… put it on, and turn it up…loud.