Month: October 2020

Love for Three Oranges Suite on Classic Records Heavy Vinyl

More of the music of Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953)

Reviews and Commentaries for the Music of Sergei Prokofiev

The standard Classic Records failings are as obvious and as irritating on this remaster as they are on practically all of the others.

A lack of ambience. Smeary and hard strings. A lack of Tubey Magic. Overall veiled and recessed presentation.

The Bottom line: This is not a good sounding record.

It should go without saying that the real Mercury pressing is none of these things.

It has long been our judgment that Classic Records made very few good records. Why should this one be any different?

These Mercury releases apparently fooled a lot of audiophiles though.  Allow me to quote a writer with his own website devoted to explaining and judging classical recordings of all kinds. His initials are A.S. for those of you who have been to his site.

Classic Records Reissues (both 33 and 45 RPM) – These are, by far, the best sounding Mercury pressings. Unfortunately, only six records were ever released by Classic. Three of them (Ravel, Prokofiev and Stravinsky) are among the very finest sounding records ever made by anyone. Every audiophile (with a turntable) should have these “big three.”

Obviously we could not disagree more. I’ve played all six of the Classic Mercurys. The Ravel and Prokofiev titles are actually even worse than the Stravinsky we reviewed here on the blog.

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Bob Dylan – Self Portrait

  • A superb copy of Dylan’s 1970 release with outstanding Double Plus (A++) sound or BETTER from first note to last
  • We guarantee there is dramatically more richness, fullness and presence on this copy than others you’ve heard, and that’s especially true for whatever godawful Heavy Vinyl pressing is currently being foisted on an unsuspecting record-buying public
  • “… it’s a fun, affectionate, sometimes beautiful, often entertaining, occasionally goofy record. As a tangle of roots and enthusiasms, it looks forward to Dylan’s two early-90s albums of folk-song covers, to his eclectic satellite-radio show, which ran on Sirius from 2006 to 2009, and to his recent string of albums with their timeless-sounding fusion of blues, country, folk, and pop.” – Bruce Handy, Vanity Fair

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The Notting Hillbillies – Missing…

  • A superb sounding copy with solid Double Plus (A++) sound from start to finish
  • These sides get the sound of the plucked instruments with all the speed. body and harmonic information they need to sound their best
  • 4 stars: “… a low-key, joyous run-through of mostly traditional, blues-based songs with a handful of originals… Despite the high-profile presence of Knopfler, the Notting Hillbillies succeed in sounding like a band with Knopfler often taking a backseat to his bandmates… a delightful record that doesn’t overstay its welcome.”

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The Choir of King’s College / Evensong For Ash Wednesday from the TAS List

TAS List Super Discs with Hot Stampers

Reviews and Commentaries for TAS Super Disc Recordings

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We were very impressed with the sound of side one of this Dutch stereo pressing. For those not familiar with the album, it basically consists of a church service with readings and singing by soloists and choir. Recorded in a huge church, the clarity, naturalness and spaciousness are hard to fault.

Imagine our surprise then when we dropped the needle on side two and heard EVEN BETTER sound — bigger (my notes say “huge in fact”), with a wider and deeper soundstage and even more transparency and resolving power. I suppose it could get better but you will have to prove it to me. Until then I’m calling this one a legitimate Demo Disc for vocal reproduction on side two. I know of none better.

Side one earned a sonic grade of A++, for the sweetness and naturalness of the voices more than anything. This is not a sound that’s easy to capture or reproduce, making this a great test disc as well as a Demo Disc par excellence.

A+++, even better! Compare the two sides and see if you don’t agree with us that side two is even more amazing than side one!

Consisting of hymns, psalms and readings, this is a regular event in the King’s College calendar.

Letter of the Week – “I’m hooked on the Hot Stampers. Wish I had the money to buy more than I do.”

One of our good customers had this to say about some Hot Stampers he purchased recently:

Hey Tom, 

I’m having the time of my life with the new speakers and the VPI turntable. Before I stumbled across your website I was using the bottom of the line Rega turntable and my speakers were so small I don’t even want to mention them. Although they had ribbon tweeters and excellent sound they were nothing like the Legacy Focus. So I thank everyone at Better Records for all that I have learned. You guys steered me to the right equipment.

I used to go to the used record store every weekend and buy a handful of records. I won’t be doing that anymore. I’m hooked on the Hot Stampers. Wish I had the money to buy more than I do. I think it’s better to treat myself to one good Hot Stamper than a bunch of cheap used records. You don’t get tired of listening to them. There’s no listening fatigue. I find it hard to stop and eat while I’m listening. Anyway you can tell I’m thrilled. (more…)

Roy Orbison – The Orbison Way

More Roy Orbison

Reviews and Commentaries for Roy Orbison

Only the second copy to ever hit the site and boy is it KILLER — Triple Plus (A+++) or very close to it throughout. If you love hearing INTO a recording, actually being able to “see” the performers, and feeling as if you are sitting in the studio with the band, this Tubey Magical record for you.  (more…)

Johnny Cash – Blood, Sweat and Tears

More Johnny Cash

  • A stunning copy of Cash’s 1963 release, with Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it from top to bottom – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • Both sides here are just about AS Good As It Gets — full-bodied, Tubey Magical and super present with plenty of extension on both ends
  • “The delivery is plain, simple, and never overly sentimental, but the thing that makes the record really work is the fact that the album consists almost entirely of first-rate material, without much of the unintentionally corny history lessons that weigh down most of Johnny Cash’s Americana records.”

This vintage Columbia 360 Stereo pressing has the kind of Tubey Magical Midrange that modern records can barely BEGIN to reproduce. Folks, that sound is gone and it sure isn’t showing signs of coming back. If you love hearing INTO a recording, actually being able to “see” the performers, and feeling as if you are sitting in the studio with the legendary Man in Black, this is the record for you. It’s what vintage all analog recordings are known for — this sound. (more…)

Tea For The Tillerman – Live and Learn, Circa 2006

Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of Cat Stevens Available Now

A blast from the past, this time from 2006.

I have to admit that I was dead wrong when I said that the best copies of this album were the Brown Label A&M pressings. I see now how I made this error.

We played four pink label copies and our best A&M LP is only better than three of them.

But it sure isn’t better than this one! I’ve heard a good dozen or so Pink Labels and this is the first one that ever blew my mind. I thought I knew this record, but this copy changes everything.

The above statements may have been true for 2006 but they are not true anymore.

The early Island pressings win every shootout and no domestic pressing has in years.

It’s simply the result of better cleaning technologies and better playback, something we refer to often on this blog as the revolutionary changes in audio we’ve partaken of over the last twenty or so years.

Our White Hot Stamper Commentary from 2006 follows:

This White Hot Pink Label Original British pressing is the ALL TIME CHAMPION Tea For The Tillerman. After a somewhat frustrating daylong search where nearly all of the best sounding copies were also the noisiest, we dropped the needle on this copy, and immediately something became clear. The sound we were hearing on this relatively quiet vinyl was ALMOST TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE.

You may remember one of the comments we made about the Hot Stamper Bookends in which we said we felt as though we had threaded up the master tape and hit play — that’s how unbelievably correct and REAL the sound was. Well, we spoke too soon. THIS record is the record that sounds like you’ve threaded up the master tape. I’ve been playing this album for more than thirty years and I can tell you I have never heard ANYTHING like it.

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Al Stewart – Zero She Flies

This is an AMAZINGLY RARE CBS Import LP.  We were pleasantly surprised when we flipped to side two and heard lots of tubey magic. The sound was rich and full with Al’s voice both present and natural.

It’s very unlikely that I will find another copy anytime soon and who knows if it would sound as good as this one does anyway. It’s certainly not likely to be in this kind of IMMACULATE condition either. Side two is where the real Hot Stamper action is on this record. If it were part of a Hot Stamper shootout we guess that side two would rate about A++. (more…)