Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of Joe Jackson Available Now
There are basically four elements that go into the making of Night and Day: vocals; keyboards (mostly the piano); percussion (in the mids and highs) and rhythm (drums and bass).
No two copies will get all of these elements to sound their best. The trick to finding the hottest of the Hot Stamper pressings is to find copies of the album that reproduce these four elements clearly and correctly. They should be balanced with one another, and distributed throughout a large, three-dimensional studio space.
It may sound easy but I assure you it is not. With this many instruments in the mix, it’s a lot to get right.
Vocals
Pop records live and die by the quality of their vocals and Night and Day is no different in that respect. The vocals have to be front and center. Veiling in the midrange costs a fair number of points. They should also be smooth, not thin or edgy. I would rather have slightly veiled vocals relative to thin and edgy ones, but some copies manage to give you full, clear, present vocals, and those are the ones we tend to like the best.
Keyboards
When the sound is thin in the lower midrange and upper bass the piano will lose its weight and solidity. In the denser mixes it can easily get washed out, and nobody wants a washed out piano.
There is no guitar on this record. The piano carries much of the structural energy of the music. You need to be able to hear the piano clearly and hear that it is both full-bodied and percussive. (more…)
