Boasting two STUNNING Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sides, this vintage A&M pressing could not be beat
A tough shootout, as no other copy earned a 3+ grade on either side, which simply means that when you find a top copy, it sets such a high standard that everything else ends up getting marked down
The sound is huge – big, wide, deep, and open, with a punchy bottom end and rhythmic energy to spare, as well as cleaner, smoother, sweeter upper mids and a more extended top
Analog at its Tubey Magical finest – you’ll never play a CD (or any other digitally sourced material) that sounds as good as this record as long as you live
4 1/2 stars: “An enjoyable and even infectious collection that, in its sophistication, certainly avoids being just some sort of dry run for [Quincy] Jones … producing Michael Jackson’s wildly successful Off the Wall and Thriller albums…”
Ol’ Blue Eyes Is Back debuts on the site with a KILLER Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) side one mated to a solid Double Plus (A++) side two
On a copy this good, Frank will appear as living, breathing (albeit disembodied) person right in your very own listening room – we call that “the breath of life,” and this record has it in spades
“Frank Sinatra returned from his brief retirement in 1973 with the appropriately titled Ol’ Blue Eyes Is Back. Released amidst a whirlwind of publicity, the album was a commercial success, earning gold status and nearly climbing its way into the Top Ten…. ‘Send in the Clowns’ and the moving ‘There Used to Be a Ballpark,’ both featuring sublime, subtle arrangements from Gordon Jenkins and outstanding singing by Sinatra.”
Into the Hot debuts on the site with INSANELY GOOD Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades on both sides of this vintage ABC Impulse pressing
A tough shootout, as no other copy earned a 3+ grade on either side, which simply means that when you find a top copy, it sets such a high standard that everything else ends up getting marked down
These sides are big and rich, with loads of Tubey Magic, wonderful transparency and lots of space around the players
Exceptionally spacious and three-dimensional, as well as relaxed and full-bodied – this pressing was a big step up over every other copy we played
Green’s 1964 release, here with very good Hot Stamper grades on both sides of this vintage Blue Note pressing
It’s richer, fuller and with more presence than the average copy, and that’s especially true for whatever godawful Heavy Vinyl pressing is currently being foisted on an unsuspecting record buying public
This is true of even our lowest-priced, lowest-graded copies – they are guaranteed to sound much better than any pressing you can find on the market today, as well as any pressing you may already own
Feel free to explore whatever reissues might suit your fancy, but one pressing you should probably steer clear of is anything on the Music Matters label — they really made a mess of Grant’s Green Street album, so unless you have return privileges, you are asking for trouble buying any of their records
Rudy Van Gelder was masterful at this kind of spacious, low-distortion, dynamic, energetic sound
This vintage Jazzland recording pressed on remarkably quiet OJC vinyl boasts solid Double Plus (A++) sound or BETTER from first note to last
Both of these sides are remarkably rich, clear and transparent with sound that positively jumps out of the speakers
4 stars: “A stirring set, to be sure, with good solo work all around and a rhythm section that, in addition to its flawless time-keeping, is all spunk and fire” – Down Beat
This original Plum Label Mercury pressing of Starker’s sublime performances boasts two textured, sweet, and natural Double Plus (A++) or BETTER sides
It’s also fairly quiet at Mint Minus Minus, a grade that even our most-well-cared-for vintage classical titles have trouble playing at
The cello is present and immediate, with sound that is wonderfully full and harmonically natural on this copy of SR-90409
This recording is not your typical dry, bright, nasaly, upper-midrangy Merc – the sound is rich and smooth like a good London, with a big stage and lovely transparency
The Hot Stamper debut of the band’s 1983 release with solid Double Plus (A++) sound or BETTER throughout this original British import pressing
We shot out a number of other imports and this one had the midrange presence, bass, and dynamics that were missing from most other copies we played
Forget the dubby domestic LPs and whatever dead-as-a-doornail Heavy Vinyl record they’re making these days – the UK pressings are the only way to fly on Genesis
“…as of this record, Genesis was now primarily a pop band. Anybody who paid attention to ‘Misunderstanding’ and ‘No Reply at All’ could tell that this was a good pop band, primarily thanks to the rapidly escalating confidence of Phil Collins, but Genesis illustrates just how good they could be, by balancing such sleek, pulsating pop tunes as ‘That’s All’ with a newfound touch for aching ballads, as on ‘Taking It All Too Hard.'”
Three Great Violin Concertos debuts on the site with roughly Nearly Triple Plus (A++ to A+++) grades on all SIX sides of these vintage Blue Angel Stereo pressings – just shy of our Shootout Winner (sides two and five actually won the shootout)
Exceptionally spacious, rich and smooth – only vintage analog seems capable of reproducing all three of these qualities without sacrificing resolution, staging, imaging or presence
The immediacy of Milstein’s violin is simply in a league of its own, with some of the sweetest, richest, most “rosiny” violin tone we’ve had the good fortune to hear
The Hot Stamper debut of What’s New, here with KILLER Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound throughout this early Stereo Verve pressing
A tough shootout, as no other copy earned a 3+ grade on either side, which simply means that when you find a top copy, it sets such a high standard that everything else ends up getting marked down
Exceptionally spacious and three-dimensional, as well as relaxed and full-bodied – this pressing was a big step up over all other copies we played
The brilliant Ray Hall engineered – anyone hearing this copy will understand exactly why we love to find his fabulous 60s recordings here at Better Records
4 stars: “With the exception of Evans’ ‘Time Out for Chris’ and the ‘Spartacus Love Theme,’ the songs performed on this date would fit securely in the Miles Davis repertoire of the late 50s. Steig is in particularly fine form on the program which includes tunes such as ‘Straight No Chaser,’ ‘Autumn Leaves,’ and ‘So What.'”
Bossa Nova Pelos Passaros, here with solid Double Plus (A++) sonics throughout this early Riverside on the early Black Label pressing – amazingly quiet vinyl too considering this record came out early in the 60s
Big, balanced, lively and musical, these two sides had some of the best sound we heard in our most recent shootout
Here is the Tubey Magical richness, size and space that only the better vintage pressings are capable of conveying to the critical listener with the highest quality equipment
