More Records with Exceptionally Tubey Magical Sound
More Vintage Columbia Pressings
- Lover’s Luau makes its Hot Stamper debut on this original Columbia 6 Eye Stereo pressing with Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound on both sides -exceptionally quiet vinyl too considering this record came out in 1959
- This recording is the very definition of Tubey Magic, and should serve as a Demo Disc / Reminder – use it to demonstrate to friends and family just how far we have fallen in terms of recorded sound
- “The sound of Les Paul and Mary Ford is so unique, it has never been duplicated. The genius of Les Paul from his pioneering of multi track recording to the absolute mastery of the guitar, is without question the best.”
This original Columbia 6 Eye 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 band, this is the record for you. It’s what vintage all analog recordings are known for — this sound.
Need a refresher course in Tubey Magic after playing too many modern recordings or remasterings? These vintage Columbia pressings are overflowing with it. Rich, smooth, sweet, full of ambience, dead-on correct tonality — everything that we listen for in a great record is here.
THIS is the sound of Tubey Magic. No recordings will ever be made that sound like this again, and no CD will ever capture what is in the grooves of this record. There actually is a CD of this album, and youtube videos of it too, but those of us with a good turntable couldn’t care less.
What the Best Sides of Lover’s Luau 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 pressings offer the kind of Tubey Magic that was on the tapes in 1959
- Tight, note-like, rich, full-bodied bass, with the correct amount of weight down low
- Natural tonality in the midrange — with all the instruments having the correct timbre
- Transparency and resolution, critical to hearing into the three-dimensional studio space
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 qualities we discuss 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 We’re Listening For on Lover’s Luau
- Energy for starters. What could be more important than the life of the music?
- Then: presence and immediacy. The vocals aren’t “back there” somewhere, lost in the mix. They’re front and center where any recording engineer worth his salt would put them.
- The Big Sound comes next — wall to wall, lots of depth, huge space, three-dimensionality, all that sort of thing.
- Then transient information — fast, clear, sharp attacks, not the smear and thickness so common to these LPs.
- Tight punchy bass — which ties in with good transient information, also the issue of frequency extension further down.
- Next: transparency — the quality that allows you to hear deep into the soundfield, showing you the space and air around all the instruments.
- Extend the top and bottom and voila, you have The Real Thing — an honest to goodness Hot Stamper.
Golden Age All Tube Chain Recording Quality
What do we love about the best Six Eye pressings? The timbre of every instrument is Hi-Fi in the best sense of the word. The instruments on this vintage recording are reproduced with remarkable fidelity.
Now that’s what we at Better Records mean by “Hi-Fi,” not the kind of Audiophile Phony BS Sound that passes for Hi-Fidelity these days. There’s no boosted top, there’s no bloated bottom, there’s no sucked-out midrange. There’s no added digital reverb (Patricia Barber, Diana Krall, et al.). The microphones are not fifty feet away from the musicians (Water Lily) nor are they inches away (Three Blind Mice).
This is Hi-Fidelity for those who recognize The Real Thing when they hear it. I’m pretty sure our customers do, and whoever picks this one up is guaranteed to get a real kick out of it.
TRACK LISTING
Side One
Drifting And Dreaming
Song Of The Islands
King’s Serenade
Sweet Leilani
Hawaiian Charms
To You Sweetheart, Aloha
Side Two
Blue Hawaii
Golden Sands
My Little Grass Shack
Pacific Breeze
On The Beach At Waikiki
Farewell To Thee (Aloha Oe)
Amazon 5 Star Rave Review
The sound of Les Paul and Mary Ford is so unique, it has never been duplicated. The genius of Les Paul from his pioneering of multi track recording to the absolute mastery of the guitar, is without question the best. The only other man that can compare is another genius named: Tony Mottola. These artists had their very own “sound” . By the way, Les is still alive and kicking. Lives in Mawah NJ and still performs regularly (locally).