- This Milestone 2 LP set has outstanding sound on all four sides
- We know of no better way to hear these legendary mono recordings – these are by far the best sounding pressings of both these albums we’ve yet to play
- The 1979 transfers of tape to disc by David Turner are superb in all respects – this is remastering done right
- 4 1/2 stars: “When Thelonious Monk first signed with Riverside Records in 1955, producer Orrin Keepnews thought that it would be a good idea for the unrecognized giant to record an album of Duke Ellington compositions and follow it up with a set of standards so as to discount his eccentric and forbidding image. The results were quite satisfying, trio performances that made Monk’s playing seem more accessible to the regular jazz audience without watering down his style.”
Reissue=Best
Randy Newman / Self-Titled – The Later Pressings Win Shootouts
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- The sound here is rich and full-bodied with much less grain and much more Tubey Magic than every other copy we played
- 4 1/2 stars: “”Randy Newman creates something new under the sun,” read the banner on the back of Newman’s debut album, but it was more that, in keeping with the intended irony of the statement. . . this was an audacious first album by a major, if extremely quirky, talent.”
The original cover for the album is pictured to the left. It has been our experience that the copies with the second cover and using different metalwork tend to sound a bit better.
Any given pressing can beat any other given pressing, but if you have a stack of these cleaned up and ready to play, the winner will almost certainly be the later pressing.
This vintage Reprise 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.
The Pretenders – Learning To Crawl
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- A superb pressing of the band’s third studio album with Nearly Triple Plus (A++ to A+++) sound from start to finish – just shy of our Shootout Winner – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
- It takes years to get a shootout for this album going – three to five is my best guess, so get while the gettin’s good if you’re a fan of the most muscular rock album this band ever recorded
- Both sides of this (very specific and hard to find) import pressing were richer, clearer and more energetic than virtually any of the others we played
- With Robbie McIntosh having joined the band, this is first and foremost a guitar rock record – his brilliant, jangly, grungy riffs drive every song
- 5 stars: “Three albums into her recording career, Chrissie Hynde found herself having to put the past to bed and carve out a new beginning for herself with Learning to Crawl, but she pulled it off with a striking mixture of courage, strength, and great rock & roll; with the exception of the instant-classic debut album, it’s the Pretenders’ finest work.”
Cannonball Adderley – Know What I Mean?
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- This outstanding pressing boasts solid Double Plus (A++) sound on both sides
- 1961 recording technology coupled with the mastering chops of the very gifted George Horn results in the top quality sound found here
- These guys are playing live in the studio and you can really feel their presence on every track — assuming you have a copy that sounds like this one
- 4 stars: “It’s hard to imagine any fan of mainstream jazz not finding much to love on this very fine recording.”
Roy Orbison – Roy Orbison’s Greatest Hits
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- You’ll find outstanding Double Plus (A++) sound or BETTER on both sides of this Monument stereo pressing
- The amazingly talented Bill Porter recorded many of Orbison’s classic songs from the early ’60s that are found on this compilation
- Only a copy this good shows you how phenomenal these timeless songs can sound – rich, open, clear, solid and musical
- Among monster hits, like “Crying,” “Only the Lonely,” and “Running Scared,” this album includes new releases “Love Star” and “Evergreen” as well
If you think that buying original pressings of an album like this one is the way to find the best sound, you are sorely mistaken. The originals and most reissues on the Monument label are mostly dreadful sounding.
The monos sound bad and the originals sound bad, which means that all the conventional wisdom of record collectors and audiophiles alike has failed to produce the desired result: a good-sounding pressing of the album. What’s a mother to do?
Well, you could do what we did: try them all! If you keep at it long enough eventually you will run into the right pressing, and then you can focus on getting a large enough batch which will allow you to find one that sounds great and plays quietly.
Or you could just buy this one. We already did all that other stuff and this is the pressing that resulted from our labors. (more…)
Tchaikovsky / Symphony No. 6 (Pathetique) / Monteux
The Music of Tchaikovsky Available Now
More Records that Sound Better on the Right Reissue
This review is from more than a decade ago.
This remastered Victrola version of the original Living Stereo pressing (LSC 1901) is guaranteed to KILL any and all originals — Shaded Dogs, White Dogs, Red Seals — you name it, this pressing will beat the pants off of it, guaranteed. I’ve played many copies of the earlier RCAs and I have surely never heard one sound like this, with so much LIFE and CLARITY. Where is all the old cutter head distortion, congestion and frequency limiting? It’s sure not here!
Side one is Super Hot (A++) and side two is EVEN BETTER, earning our coveted Top Grade of A Triple Plus! You may have noticed that not many vintage RCA recordings make it to the site with stellar grades such as these, so that makes this a very special pressing indeed. (more…)
Tchaikovsky – Concerto for Violin & Orchestra / Oistrakh
More of the music of Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
More Hot Stamper Pressings Featuring the Violin
- Presenting THE sleeper Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto recording of the (previous) century
- One of the better sounding copies we played with outstanding Double Plus (A++) sound throughout
- The orchestra is big, rich and tubey, yet the dynamics and transparency are first rate
- One of the most shockingly REAL and full-bodied violins we have yet to hear on record
Traffic – Mr. Fantasy
More of the Music of Steve Winwood
- This outstanding Island British pressing boasts solid Double Plus (A++) sound from top to bottom
- Big, full-bodied and lively, with huge amounts of space and off the charts Tubey Magic, the sound here is Hard to Fault – thanks Eddie and Jimmy!
- “Winwood is simply incredible. He has a top group of musicians with him and they have made an album which is one of the best from any contemporary group.” – Rolling Stone, 1968
- For our newest take on the sound of the various labels and stampers of Mr. Fantasy, please click here.
This is one of the best sounding Traffic records ever made. Musically it’s hit or miss, but so is every other Traffic record, including my favorite, John Barleycorn. The best songs here are Heaven Is In Your Mind, Dear Mr. Fantasy, and Coloured Rain. The first of these is worth the price of the album alone, in my opinion. It’s a wonderful example of late ’60s British psychedelic rock. (more…)
Sarah Vaughan – Dreamy
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More Pop and Jazz Vocal Albums
- You’ll find outstanding Double Plus (A++) sound on both sides of this Emus pressing of Sarah Vaughan’s Dreamy album
- Forget the honky originals – our killer Hot Stamper reissues of this 1960 All Tube Recording are rich and relaxed, just the way they should be
- And please don’t confuse the good reissues we offer from decades past with the mediocre crap being pressed today – there is no simply no comparison, not when it comes to sound quality anyway
- “Trumpeter Harry ‘Sweets’ Edison contributes some soft, melodic trumpet but the focus is very much on the singer during such numbers as ‘The More I See You,’ ‘Star Eyes,’ ‘My Ideal,’ and ‘Crazy He Calls Me.'”
The original release for Dreamy is on Roulette, a label we have often found to have problems in the sound department (not to mention notoriously bad vinyl). The originals we’ve played over the years have much too much honk and hardness in the midrange to be taken seriously, at least by us anyway, and certainly not at these prices. When we stumbled upon these good Emus reissues, the skies opened up and the sun shone down upon Sarah’s wonderful 1960 album of ballads as it had never done before. (more…)
Frank Sinatra – I Remember Tommy
More Frank Sinatra
Another Record We’ve Discovered with (Potentially) Excellent Sound
- This vintage Reprise pressing offers the critical listener incredible Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound on the first side and solid Double Plus (A++) on the second
- We were shocked to hear how good the originals can sound on this album, and just as shocked to hear other copies that can actually beat the best of them
- The richness of these Tubey Magical Reprise pressings makes them the clear choice for the heavy-on-the-brass sonics (if you have the right stampers)
- “… there are a handful of gems included on the record, making it worthwhile for dedicated Sinatra aficionados.” – All Music
You’ll find relaxed, rich, natural big band reproduction on this copy, with the trombones and woodwinds sounding especially good. Those of you who have a good selection of recordings from this era will recognize the glorious sound of vintage tubes, a sound that has been lost to the world for decades now, but one that is in full flower on this very record.
Frank is of course in top form and his voice on this album sounds about as good as it does on any recording you can find on our site.
Copies with rich lower mids and nice extension up top (to keep the brass from becoming blary) did the best in our shootout, assuming they weren’t veiled or smeary of course. So many things can go wrong on a record! We know, we heard them all. (more…)