Month: January 2021

David Gilmour – Self-Titled

Pink Floyd Hot Stamper Pressings Available Now

  • You’ll find superb nearly Triple Plus (A++ to A+++) sound on both sides of this wonderful pressing – just shy of our Shootout Winner – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • The bass is killer, tight with real weight, and the drums are punchy – exactly like the better Pink Floyd albums
  • For my money, this is a better sounding recording than The Final Cut or the Roger Waters solo debut
  • “By the time of Gilmour’s solo debut, he had not only established himself several times over as an underrated, powerful guitarist in Pink Floyd, but as a remarkably emotional singer…”

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Letter of the Week – “You said ‘killer copy.’ Spot on! It is fantastic.”

Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of Led Zeppelin Available Now

One of our good customers had this to say about a Hot Stamper pressing of Houses of the Holy he purchased recently:

Hey Tom, 

Got the record. You said “killer copy.” Spot on! It is fantastic.

In addition to The Rain Song, Over the Hills and D’Yer Mak’er really amazed!

I definitely enjoyed the whole record though.

Thanks!

Sanjay

Sanjay,

Great news, glad to hear our records are sounding right to you, they sure sound right to us.

Enjoy. It will become more and more awesome sounding with every system upgrade. The Song Remains the Same is a tough test for any stereo.

TP

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Ella Fitzgerald – The Rodgers & Hart Song Book, Volume 1

  • A superb copy with outstanding Double Plus (A++) sound from first note to last – exceptionally quiet vinyl for a pressing of this vintage
  • The 1956 recording quality is excellent, with orchestral space and midrange richness that puts this pressing well above most of what we played
  • 5 stars: “The arrangements by Buddy Bregman for the string orchestra and big band only border on jazz but she manages to swing the medium-tempo numbers and give sensitivity to the ballads. With such songs as “You Took Advantage of Me,” “The Lady Is a Tramp,” “It Never Entered My Mind,” “Where or When,” “My Funny Valentine,” and “Blue Moon,” it is not too surprising that these recordings were so popular.”

This ’50s LP has the kind of Tubey Magical Midrange that modern pressings barely BEGIN to reproduce. Folks, that sound is gone and it sure isn’t showing any sign of coming back. (more…)

John Baldry Knows One Thing: It Ain’t Easy Finding Good Sounding Pressings of His Albums

A Record We may Never Shootout Again

Some records were just too much work to find, too expensive to buy and resulted in sales that never really justified the investment in time and money required to find Hot Stamper pressings of them.

This is one such album, and the link above will take you to many more.

xxx

  • For its debut on the site, we present this amazing sounding British original pressing, with a Triple Plus (A+++) side one (the Rod Stewart side)
  • Side two (the Elton John produced side) was outstanding as well, earning a Double Plus (A++) for its rich, tubey sound
  • No wonder side one sounds like the best of Rod Stewart & The Faces’ early-’70s albums – Mike Bobak engineered them
  • “The backing band on Stewart’s side include fellow Face and future Rolling Stone, Ron Wood, on electric guitar and acoustic guitarist Sam Mitchell, who appeared on many of Stewart’s early-’70s solo albums.”

Here’s how this shootout got started.

A few years ago while I was working on the site I had music on youtube playing. The song “Flying” came on from the It Ain’t Easy album, and when the chorus came in I could not believe how big, rich and powerful it sounded — this, on computer speakers! (more…)

The Brahms Violin Concerto – Unplug or Suffer the Consequences!

Hot Stamper Pressings Featuring the Violin Available Now

The massed strings here, such as those found at the opening, are close-miked and immediate as befits the Mercury recording style.

Your electricity had better be good when you play this record, because it presents a test many of you will have trouble passing at even moderate levels. 

We’ve often encouraged our readers and customers to go about unplugging things in their homes in order to test the effect of clean electricity on their playback systems.

The opening of this record is a perfect example of the kind of material everyone should be testing with in order to hear these changes.

I’d be very surprised if the strings on this record don’t sound noticeably better after you’ve unplugged a few things in your house, and the more the better.

The effect should not be the least bit subtle. It’s certainly not subtle in our listening room.

The same would be true for any of the tweaks we recommend. The Townshend Seismic Platform or Hallographs would be a godsend for proper playback of this record. Hard to imagine what it would sound like without them. (To tell you the truth, we don’t really want to know.)

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Al Green – I’m Still In Love With You

  • You’ll find outstanding Double Plus (A++) sound on both sides of this superb pressing of Al Green’s 1972 release
  • One of the fullest, richest, smoothest, cleanest and most energetic copies we played in our shootout – this is how good the album can sound
  • 5 stars: “[It] shares many surface similarities with its predecessor, from Al Green and Willie Mitchell’s distinctive, sexy style to the pacing and song selection. I’m Still in Love With You distinguishes itself with its suave, romantic tone and its subtly ambitious choice of material. There isn’t a wasted track on I’m Still in Love With You, and in many ways it rivals its follow-up, Call Me, as Green’s masterpiece.”

This is The Memphis Sound at its best — big Hammond organs with whirring Leslie speakers, funky drums, punchy brass blasts, and lovely string arrangements.

Al Green’s vocal performance is superb, of course, but one thing that really stands out after hearing the best Hot Stamper copies is the quality of the musicians’ performances. The rhythm section on this album really drives the music. Just listen to the punchy kick drum and deep, note-like bass on a song like Love and Happiness — the band is rockin’.

The Hodges Brothers — the house band at Hi Records, known for their “telepathic interplay” — deliver rock solid musicianship just brimming with energy and soul. The brass is handled by the truly great Memphis Horns, of Stax Records fame.

Just play the beginning of I’m So Glad You’re Mine to hear what we’re talking about. The drummer opens with a tight, funky beat that gets the song going right out of the gate. The kick drum is as punchy as they come, and just listen to that big room around the rimshots.

When the rest of the band joins in, you’ll be treated to some of the best Hammond organ sound you’ll ever hear. You can really hear the effect of the rotating Leslie speaker. When Al joins in on vocals with a very emotional, expressive performance, you’ll understand just why we’re so crazy about this record — it’s pure soul magic, baby! (more…)

Crisis? What Crisis? – The Exception that Probes the Rule

Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of Supertramp Available Now

This commentary is from more than fifteen years ago, so please take it with an oversized grain of salt. The best domestic and import pressings kill this audiophile record. That said, the best Half-Speed copies are surprisingly good.

This Hot Stamper A&M Half Speed of Supertramp – Crisis? What Crisis? today joins a VERY ELITE GROUP: Half-Speeds that hold their own in a head to head shootout against some of the BEST Hot Stamper Non-Audiophile pressings we can find. There are presently a total of three titles that fit the description: Dark Side of the Moon on MoFi, Crime of the Century on MoFi, and this title on A&M.

Most half-speed mastered records we throw on our table have us scratching our heads and asking, What the hell were they thinking? They SUCK! Tubby bass, recessed mids, phony highs, compression — the list of bad qualities they almost all have in common is a long one. Playing these kinds of records on a properly set-up modern system is positively painful.

You have to wonder how bad a stereo system has to be to disguise the shortcomings of records that sound as wrong as these. Then again, is Heavy Vinyl any better? (more…)

Crowded House – Self-Titled

Reviews and Commentaries for Crowded House

  • A stunning sounding copy with Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound from start to finish
  • Both sides here are super punchy, musical, clean and clear with a solid bottom end – what album from 1986 sounds as good as this one?
  • The best sounding Crowded House album ever recorded? It gets our vote!
  • Great songs like Don’t Dream It’s Over, Something So Strong and World Where You Live
  • “… the record was blessed by good timing, and the majestic ballad “Don’t Dream It’s Over” became an international hit, while its follow-up, the breezy “Something So Strong,” also turned into a hit. Both revealed different sides of Finn’s talents, with the first being lyrical and the second being effervescent…” – All Music

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Paul Revere and the Raiders – The Spirit of ’67

More Paul Revere

More Sixties Pop Recordings

  • Both sides here are full-bodied and Tubey Magical, the right sound for America’s answer in 1966 to those pesky Brits and all their chart-topping songs
  • 4 stars: “The Spirit of ’67, Paul Revere and the Raiders’ third gold-selling, Top Ten album to be released in 1966, marked the triumph of the group’s in-house writing team of lead singer Mark Lindsay, Paul Revere, and producer Terry Melcher… Paul Revere and the Raiders were riding high.”

This vintage Columbia 360 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 band, this is the record for you. It’s what vintage all analog recordings are known for — this sound.

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Letter of the Week – “Everything is so clear. I can hear every word clear as day”

More of the Music of Supertramp

This letter is about a Supertramp album but I have no record of which one, sorry!

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

Hey Tom, 

I am sitting by the door in anticipation as I type this. It’s my birthday to boot, so it will make an awesome present, once the dang Fed Ex guy gets here. Right before I hit send, the doorbell rang. I had been playing records all day in anticipation, warming up my system for this album. Everything was sounding great, and my stereo was begging for some Supertramp.

I was going to listen to my old copy first to compare it. Ah, NO F***ING NEED. Holy hell. This copy you just sent me blew the windows out of my house, and didn’t rip my head off while doing so. Everything is so clear. I can hear every word clear as day, the bass is tight and clear, every instrument in its place and sounding magnificent.

This is truly an incredible pressing and it is night and day [better] even though my old copy was still a $250 Hot Stamper. Thank you. Your services are greatly appreciated. (Not by my neighbors however). Looking forward to my next one already.

Jeremiah H.