Author: niu1970

Duke Ellington and Ray Brown – This One’s For Blanton

More of the Music of Duke Ellington

  • You’ll find solid Double Plus (A++) grades or close to them on both sides of this early Pablo pressing
  • This side one is remarkably dynamic, with an abundance of Tubey Magic and that big, bold sound we can’t get enough of here at Better Records, and side two is not far behind in all those areas
  • 4 stars: “For this set of duets, pianist Duke Ellington is teamed up with bassist Ray Brown in performances a bit reminiscent of Duke’s work with Jimmy Blanton three decades before. In addition to the four-part ‘Fragmented Suite for Piano and Bass,’ the duo plays five standards (including ‘Pitter Panther Patter’ from the Blanton days and three other Ellington-associated tunes). Delightful and often-playful music.”

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Beethoven – Symphony No. 7 / Solti

More of the Music of Beethoven

  • Solti and the Vienna Phil’s commanding performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 (CS-6777) debuts on the site with big, spacious, and lively Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it throughout this vintage London pressing
  • 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
  • These sides are doing practically everything right – they’re rich, clear, undistorted, open, and has depth and transparency to rival the best recordings you may have heard
  • The texture on the strings is captured perfectly – this is an area in which modern pressings fail utterly, and without good string reproduction, especially in the lower registers, a Beethoven symphony is simply not a pleasurable experience on highly resolving equipment

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Bill Evans – We Will Meet Again

More of the Music of Bill Evans

  • With STUNNING Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades from top to bottom, this copy of Evans’s final studio session is certainly as good as we have ever heard
  • 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
  • Both of these sides are lively, dynamic and full-bodied, and there’s real weight to the piano, a key quality we look for on all the piano recordings we play
  • 4 stars: “The thoughtful session is full of lyrical melodies and strong solos; even Evans’ electric keyboard work on a few tunes is distinctive.”

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Red Garland – Soul Junction

More Jazz Recordings Featuring the Piano

  • This vintage Prestige recording pressed on OJC vinyl (the first copy to ever hit the site) boasts INCREDIBLE Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) MONO sound or close to it from first note to last
  • These sides are doing practically everything right – richer, fuller, better bass, more Tubey Magic, and the list goes on
  • Another top jazz recording from Rudy Van Gelder – big, bold and lively, just the right sound for this music
  • We refer to the Dark Blue Prestige label copy we played in the notes you see below, a label we tend to like, but in this case it let us down with sound that was smaller and less tubey than our Shootout Winner
  • 4 stars: “Pianist Red Garland’s very relaxed, marathon blues solo on the 16-minute “Soul Junction” is the most memorable aspect of this [release]. With such soloists as tenor saxophonist John Coltrane and trumpeter Donald Byrd, plus steady support provided by bassist George Joyner and drummer Art Taylor, Garland gets to stretch out on the title cut and four jazz originals, including ‘Birk’s Works’ and ‘Hallelujah.’ Coltrane is in excellent form, playing several stunning sheets of sound solos.”

This vintage Prestige recording 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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Overtures in Hi-Fi / Wolff

More Imported Pressings on Decca and London

  • This vintage London Stereo pressing was doing practically everything right, with both sides earning KILLER Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades
  • 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
  • Both of these sides are big, clear, rich, dynamic, transparent and energetic, and will surely put to shame any pressing of the album you own
  • Although not long, every second is packed with color and energy, exactly what a good overture needs (And it even has a glockenspiel! How can you go wrong?)
  • Also notable is the choice of material, with a few of the more obscure overtures really brought to life here, such as the opening piece by Adam on side one: “Si j’etais roi”

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Pearl Jam – Vitalogy

More Rock and Pop

  • Vitalogy appears on the site for only the second time ever, here with incredible Nearly Triple Plus (A++ to A+++) sound throughout this original Epic pressing, just shy of our Shootout Winner – remarkably quiet vinyl too
  • Both of these sides are tonally balanced from top to bottom, with more vocal presence and rock and roll energy than practically any other copy we played in our shootout
  • This is not a hard title to find on vinyl, but it is hard to find without pressing defects, which caused us to return a high percentage of the copies we bought, even some sealed ones!
  • 4 1/2 stars: “Thanks to its stripped-down, lean production, Vitalogy stands as Pearl Jam’s most original and uncompromising album.”

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Peter Tosh – Bush Doctor

More Reggae, Soul, Blues, and R&B

  • Tosh’s third studio album debuts on the site with KILLER Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades from start to finish
  • 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
  • Bigger and bolder, with more bass, more energy, and more of the “you-are-there-immediacy” of vintage analog that set the best pressings apart from reissues, CDs, and whatever else you care to name
  • “…the title track, ‘I’m the Toughest,’ ‘Stand Firm,’ and a remake of an old Wailers’ track ‘Dem Ha Fe Get a Beatin,’ complete with I-Threes-style backing vocals, are some of Tosh’s best songs.”

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Deep Purple – Burn

More British Blues Rock

  • The Hot Stamper debut of Burn, here with STUNNING Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades or close to them on sides of this early import pressing – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • Turn it up and you will hear sound that is incredibly powerful and natural with amazing presence, energy and weight down low
  • Forget the dubby domestic pressings and whatever crappy Heavy Vinyl record they’re making these days – the UK LPs are the only way to fly on this album
  • 4 1/2 stars: “The phenomenal title track started things off at full throttle, actually challenging the seminal ‘Highway Star’ for the honor of best opener to any Deep Purple album, while showcasing the always impressive drumming of Ian Paice. Up next, the intro to the equally timeless ‘Might Just Take Your Life,’ however simple from a technical perspective, remains one of organist Jon Lord’s signature moments; and the downright nasty ‘Lay Down, Stay Down’ roared behind wildly careening starts and stops and a fantastic Ritchie Blackmore guitar solo which left no doubt as to who was the band’s primal force, regardless of lineup.”

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Herbie Hancock – Blow-Up (The Original Sound Track Album)

More Jazz Recordings of Interest

  • You’ll find solid Double Plus (A++) grades on both sides of this early MGM pressing
  • Full-bodied, warm and natural with plenty of space around all of the players, this is the sound of vintage analog – accept no substitutes
  • If you want a jazz primer that introduces you to the different ways jazz groups are arranged, we can hardly think of a better record
  • 4 1/2 stars: “A young Herbie Hancock contributed the bulk of the score to Michelangelo Antonioni’s 1966 screen classic, evoking the ambience of swinging London with grooves that create effective bluesy moods on the slow pieces, and funky ones on the up-tempo tracks.”

Herbie Hancock manages to get a lot of different jazz artists to play some of the most interesting jazz I’ve ever heard. I have no idea who all is playing but each of the different songs involved different players playing in different groupings: sometimes it’s guitar and organ, sometimes it’s saxophone-led quartet; it pretty much runs the gamut of jazz. And the amazing thing is every track is great. And the sound is great.

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Ultravox – Vienna

More Rock and Pop

  • A Vienna like you’ve rarely heard, with very good Hot Stamper grades throughout this early UK Chrysalis pressing – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • We guarantee there is more space, richness, presence, and performance energy on this copy than others you’ve heard or you get your money back – it’s as simple as that
  • 4 1/2 stars: “…Vienna kicked off Ultravox’s second phase with former Rich Kids vocalist Midge Ure at the helm. Trading [departed vocalist] John Foxx’s glam rock stance for Ure’s aristocratic delivery, Vienna recasts the band as a melodramatic synth pop chamber ensemble with most of the group doubling on traditional string quartet instruments and the synthesizers often serving to emulate an orchestra. It was a bold move that took awhile to pay off, but when the monolithic title track was released, the Ure lineup became the band’s most identifiable one almost overnight.”

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