Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of Elton John Available Now
Sonic Grade: B (or better)
I think these are the labels for the copy we played, It came out around 2000-2005. It’s not Speakers Corner, Simply Vinyl or Back to Black. Those are labels best avoided in our experience.
Hey, they really did a good job with this one. We are going to listen to it again at a later date to see if our initial impressions were correct [I guess by now it should be clear that we are never going to do that, sorry], but it sure sounded good to us when we played it recently during our big GYBR shootout.
I’m guessing no domestic copy can beat it, and certainly no audiophile half-speed mastered pressing can hold a candle to it. Those records are pretty awful.
Hi – I’ve read really good things about the Speakers Corner version of GYBR, so have you compared that one to these? Was surprised there was no 50th Anniversary release, and as the ’78 yellow vinyl is a disaster, wanted to just find a really nice sounding press instead of a ‘special’ one!
Dear Ben,
The Speakers Corner pressing sells on Discogs for an average of $413.68 as of 1/2025.
Seems it must be pretty special!
If you just want a good sounding pressing of the album, find a British original, or something close to an original. Anything else is a real crap shoot. Or ridiculously expensive. Or both.
Best, TP
Thanks! I do have an early copy, but it’s a little tired so wanted a new copy. Always fancied the yellow vinyl version for something different – have tried four now, and have resigned myself to that one being a very noisy press. Might give the one you’ve pictured a go, as that seems to be reasonably priced, if I can’t source another early (mint) copy!
Hi – do you think the dating might be incorrect for this? Those labels appear to be from an early 80s press? Might try it as those can be picked up fairly reasonably!
Dear Sir,
The record we discuss in our review came out in the early 2000s.
I was selling imports on Heavy Vinyl back then and that was one of the ones we sold.
The label is probably wrong but I could not find a listing for the record so I just guessed.
Best, TP