- This Milestone 2-LP set boasts solid Double Plus (A++) grades or BETTER on all FOUR sides
- We know of no better way to hear these legendary MONO recordings – these are by far some of the better 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
- Can anybody working today make a record that sounds as good as this one? We can think of only two, and one of them we only know by his work, not by his name, as there is no trace of it in the credits for the great sounding Bill Evans title he remastered!
- 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.”
Album Compilations with Potential
Fleetwood Mac – The Original Fleetwood Mac
More of the Music of Fleetwood Mac
- Here is an original UK import pressing with KILLER Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades or close to them on both sides – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
- Most of the time this album sounds like Fleetwood Mac is playing live in the studio, which they probably were, and on big speakers at loud volumes that is a glorious sound
- 4 stars: “An undeniably strong collection culled primarily from the band’s first incarnation, featuring John McVie, Mick Fleetwood, Peter Green, and Jeremy Spencer.”
- If you’re a Fleetwood Mac fan, and what audiophile wouldn’t be?, this Peter Green era title from 1971 is one of their best sounding
The music on this album was recorded when they were still a blues band — tracks left off their early albums for one reason or another.
As is so often the case with unreleased material, these songs do not have that overproduced, too-many-generations-of-tape sound. This sounds like Fleetwood Mac live in the studio most of the time. In other words, awesome.
If the drum sound on the first track isn’t enough to convince you this is an amazing sounding record, I don’t know what would.
These British imports are the only way to go. The domestic copies are definitely made from dub tapes. They can sound good, but they sure don’t sound this good! (more…)
Traffic – The Best of Traffic
More Music on Island Records
For those who wish to find their own Hot Stamper pressings of the album, we say more power to you. Our helpful advice can be found at the bottom of the listing,
- This original Pink Label Island pressing was doing practically everything right, with both sides earning killer Nearly Triple Plus (A++ to A+++) grades, just shy of our Shootout Winner – fairly quiet vinyl too
- Here are the full-bodied mids, punchy lows and clear, open, extended highs that let this 1969 release come alive
- This amazing compilation boasts superb sound, often dramatically better than the very same tracks on many of the original British releases
- Top 100 and 4 stars: “The entire second side of the LP, comprising ‘Medicated Goo,’ ‘Forty Thousand Headmen,’ ‘Feelin’ Alright,’ ‘Shanghai Noodle Factory,’ and ‘Dear Mr. Fantasy,’ was the kind of progressive rock that would define Traffic and give it its place in the rock pantheon.”
- For our current take on the sound of the various labels and stampers for Mr. Fantasy and The Best of Traffic, please click here.
Sonny Rollins – Taking Care Of Business (Work Time, Tenor Madness and Tour de Force)
More of the Music of Sonny Rollins
- With outstanding Double Plus (A++) grades or BETTER on all FOUR sides, these vintage Prestige pressings are guaranteed to blow the doors off any other Taking Care Of Business you’ve heard
- The complete Tenor Madness album is found here, with big, full-bodied, MONO jazz sound at its best, courtesy of the great one, Rudy Van Gelder
- This is what classic 50s jazz is supposed to sound like – they knew how to do these kinds of records 70+ years ago, and those mastering skills are in short supply nowadays, if not downright extinct
- The transfers from 1978 by David Turner are in tune with the sound of these recordings – there’s not a trace of phony EQ on this entire record
- “Tenor Madness was the recording that, once and for all, established Newk as one of the premier tenor saxophonists, an accolade that in retrospect, has continued through six full decades and gives an indication why a young Rollins was so well liked, as his fluency, whimsical nature, and solid construct of melodies and solos gave him the title of the next Coleman Hawkins or Lester Young of mainstream jazz.”
This Two-Fer includes all of Tenor Madness and most of Work Time and Tour De Force.
Top jazz players such as Ray Bryant, John Coltrane, Red Garland, Kenny Drew, Max Roach and Paul Chambers can be heard on the album.
Little Feat / Hoy-Hoy Sampler – A Demo Disc Disc Like No Other
More Rock and Pop Demo Discs
- Knockout Demo Disc Rock and Roll sound for this amazing Little Feat EP, with both sides earning INCREDIBLE Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades or close to them – fairly quiet vinyl too
- This is the Big Rock Sound we love – huge and punchy with plenty of space and a big bottom end
- This EP may only hold four songs, but each is a Demo Disc track of the highest order
It may contain only a handful of tracks from the Hoy Hoy album but, folks, stunning sound doesn’t begin to do justice to this EP. I would state categorically that there is not a single rock record on the TAS List that can hold a candle to it in terms of live-rock-in-your-living-room blasting power. This is one of the most Amazing Demo Discs of All Time. If it were an album I would put it on a Top Ten Best Sounding Rock and Pop List (if we had such a thing).
It’s really not fair to judge the Harry’s List by records like this, which have never been the man’s forte. We, on the other hand, know these kinds of records about as well as anyone can, and to prove it we would love to send you this copy.
And do you know how we discovered it many, many years ago? We had a couple of these promos lying around, and after shooting out the Hot Stamper Hoy-Hoys, we figured what the hell, throw one of them on just for fun. To our shock and dismay, it blew the doors off our BEST Hot Stamper pressings song for song. As good as those album sides sound, the EP took the same material to an entirely new level of sonic splendor.
Miles Davis / Basic Miles – Here Is the Hot Stamper Sound of Kind of Blue
More of the Music of Miles Davis
- Demo Disc Jazz sound for this wonderful collection, with both sides earning killer Nearly Triple Plus (A++ to A+++) grades, just shy of our Shootout Winner – fairly quiet vinyl too
- Opening side two, the 9+ minutes of “On Green Dolphin Street” has some of the coolest jazz you will ever hear, on any record, at any price
- We’re talking Bill Evans, John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderley in their prime, 1958, with top 1958 sound to match
- If you want to know what the better copies of Kind of Blue sound like, this pressing will tell you, because it has that sound
- And that means it is absolutely NOTHING like the MoFi 45 RPM 2 LP set that some audiophiles (and the reviewers who cater to them) seem to like so much, why, we cannot begin to fathom
Want to know how good our Hot Stamper Kind of Blue pressings sound?
Listen to this very record.
If you play the tracks that were recorded in 1958, the year before Kind of Blue, you will hear practically the same lineup of musicians.
That means Stella By Starlight and Little Melonae on side one, and Green Dolphin Street and Fran-Dance (Put Your Little Foot Right Out) on side two.
The nine-minute plus Green Dolphin Street that opens side two is nothing short of amazing, some of the coolest jazz you will ever hear. With Fran Dance on the same side, that gives you about 17 minutes of great-sounding jazz by Miles’ classic Kind of Blue lineup.
Side one has the same cats playing for more than 12 minutes. By my calculation, that’s close to another album’s worth of material from the group. The rest of the material on this compilation is best seen as gravy; maybe not essential, but never less than interesting. (more…)
Sonny Rollins – Alternate Takes
- You’ll have a hard time finding a copy that sounds remotely as good as this vintage Contemporary pressing
- One of our favorite Sonny Rollins records for sound – both sides here are incredibly big, full-bodied and Tubey Magical
- 4 1/2 stars: “This LP contains alternate versions of selections from two famous Sonny Rollins albums: Way out West and Sonny Rollins and the Contemporary Leaders. These ‘new’ renditions… hold their own against the classic versions. [T]he music is hard-swinging and frequently superb.”
- If you’re a 50s and 60s jazz fan, this Must Own compilation of recordings originally released in 1958 surely belongs in your collection
The album is made up of alternate takes from the Way Out West and Sonny Rollins and the Contemporary Leaders sessions, and as such there is a bit of sonic variation between these tracks and the ones on the actual albums. The best-sounding songs here, particularly the material from Way Out West, can sound amazing.
All Tube in ’58
The best copies are rich and tubey; many pressings were thin and modern sounding, and for that they would lose a lot of points. We want this record to sound like something Roy DuNann recorded with an All Tube chain in 1958, and the best copies give you that sound, without the surface noise and groove damage the originals doubtless suffer from.
Some copies have much more space; some are more present, putting the musicians right in the room with you; some are more transparent, resolving the musical information much better than others, letting you “see” everyone in the studio clearly. Some have more rhythmic drive than others. On some the musicians seem more involved and energetic than they do on the average pressing.
The copies that do all these things better than other copies are the ones that win our shootouts.
FM Radio Sound on Blue Vinyl, Courtesy of a Mr. Gene Thompson
Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of The Beatles Available Now
Here is how we described a recent Shootout Winning copy of 1967-1970:
This vintage import 2-LP compilation set boasts STUNNING Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it on all FOUR sides. These pressings are rich, smooth and sweet, with plenty of Tubey Magic and little of the grain and grunge of most Brits (and don’t get us started on the domestics).
You get clean, clear, full-bodied, lively and musical ANALOG sound from first note to last. Like most compilations, some songs sound better than others, but “Don’t Let Me Down” and “Come Together” are two that really stand out here. For those of you out there who have never tried one of our Hot Stamper Beatles records, this may be the best sound you’ve ever heard from them. The CDs — even the new ones — sure don’t sound like this!
We are on record as finding the British pressings of 1967-1970 too bright; certainly most of them are anyway. The original domestic pressings, as anyone who has ever played one can attest, mastered at Sterling no less, are absolutely godawful.
Allow us to add one more to that group of pressings to avoid, the blue vinyl domestic pressings mastered by Gene Thompson. Based on how awful this pressings sounds, it would probably be wise to avoid his work in general.
The only artists who have earned the honor (ahem) of having their very own page on this blog are The Beatles. For those of you interested in learning more about their often amazing recordings, feel free to dig in to your heart’s delight.
Buffalo Springfield – Retrospective
More of the Music of Buffalo Springfield
- With solid Double Plus (A++) grades or close to them on both sides, this original Atco pressing will be very hard to beat
- Big, full-bodied, clear and present, the Tubey Magical richness of the better pressings is a joy to hear on modern high resolution equipment (particularly on this side two)
- “Kind Woman” and “I Am A Child” are just two of the best sounding songs – listen to all that space around the voices and instruments (particularly “I Am A Child” on this side two)
- And the Pysch stuff – “On the Way Home,” “Broken Arrow” and “Expecting to Fly” – is guaranteed to be more three-dimensional than you’ve ever heard it
- 5 stars on AllMusic – this is Must Own Music from one of the most groundbreaking and accomplished groups of the late-60s (even though they never cracked the Top 40 Album chart)
Richard Thompson / Action Packed: The Best of the Capitol Years
Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of Richard Thompson Available Now
UPDATE 2025
Note that this review was written in 2001 when the record came out and we were still selling sealed new releases based on the audition of a single copy. (I had the play copy of this record in my personal collection for years and never got around to playing it, one of the downsides of having to play records all day to make money, resulting in little time to play the recordings of favorite artists that lack a customer base.
We have no idea what Action Packed would sound like these days on the much more revealing system we use now. I do know that the CD is very good. It’s probably the best way to approach the music initially. If you become a fan, consider the vinyl.
We would love to do a shootout for this title, but at a hundred bucks or more a pop it’s hard to imagine that a decision to devote the resources to such a project would be wise on our part.
We already do plenty of shootouts for records that are hard to sell, of titles that should be more popular with audiophiles but for some reason just aren’t.
Our Review from 2001
Another top outing on TWO clear vinyl LP’s from the master of modern electric folk music. It doesn’t get any better than this.
The sound is excellent and the music is some of the best Richard Thompson has ever made. If I had to choose one later Richard Thompson album, this would probably be it.
Almost every one of these pressings is very slightly dished, but this should not have any effect on the sound, which is excellent.
Thompson’s lovely duet with his son on Persuasion is worth the price of the album.