Demo Discs – Rock, etc.

Here you will find about 150 rock, pop and soul recordings that sound absolutely amazing on big speakers at loud levels.

On a dynamic, powerful system in a big room, the best pressings of these recordings are Demo Discs guaranteed to beat any other version you’ve heard, or your money back.

Jethro Tull – Aqualung

More of the Music of Jethro Tull

  • Incredible sound for Jethro Tull’s fourth studio album, with a Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) side one mated to a solid Double Plus (A++) side two
  • The sonics are outstanding from start to finish – big, punchy, present, tubey and bursting with rock and roll energy
  • A Better Records Top 100 title that still floors us on the best copies, with sound that will jump right out of your speakers
  • Marks in the vinyl are sometimes the nature of the beast with these vintage LPs – those on “My God” are especially bad – but if you can tough those out, this copy is going to blow your mind
  • 4 1/2 stars: “… one of the most astonishing progressions in rock history… the degree to which Tull upped the ante here is remarkable… Varied but cohesive, Aqualung is widely regarded as Tull’s finest hour.”
  • We think Stand Up is musically an even better album, but it’s hard to argue with the big, bold sound of Aqualung

Folks, for hard-rockin’, Tubey Magical, 70s Arty Proggy Rock in ANALOG, it just does not get much better than Aqualung. You need the right pressing to bring it to life though, and this one is certainly up to the task.

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Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – Deja Vu

More of the Music of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

  • Boasting two solid Double Plus (A++) sides or close to them, this early pressing of CSNY’s magnum opus is doing just about everything right
  • The sound is huge throughout – lively, present and rich in a way that nothing you’ve heard can compete with (particularly on side two)
  • And that’s especially true if you own any audiophile pressing of any kind – none of the ones we’ve heard can begin to compete with the real thing we are offering here
  • One of our all-time favorite albums at Better Records and one that almost never sounds this good (unless you know exactly which stampers to buy, of course)
  • We find ten to fifteen RL Zep II’s for every Déjà Vu with the right stampers – we’ve only done three shootouts since 2020, if that tells you anything
  • 5 stars: “…this variety made Déjà Vu a rich musical banquet for the most serious and personal listeners, while mass audiences reveled in the glorious harmonies and the thundering electric guitars…”

If you play this copy at serious levels and have the kind of full range system that’s both loud and clean like live music, we guarantee you will be nothing less than gobsmacked at the size and power of the music on this album, the band’s inarguable masterpiece.

Both sides here are super high-resolution, tonally perfect, Tubey Magical and ALIVE. The vocals are silky and sweet with very little strain or grain (a very common problem in the loudest choruses). The highs are extended, the bass is deep and punchy, and the overall clarity is breathtaking.

Just listen to the guitars during the solos — you can really hear the sound of the pick hitting the strings. The rhythm guitars sound meaty and chunky like the best sounding copies of Zuma and After The Gold Rush. (more…)

Neil Young – Harvest

More of the Music of Neil Young

  • This vintage Reprise pressing was giving us the sound we were looking for on Neil’s undeniable classic, with both sides earning solid Double Plus (A++) grades or BETTER
  • It’s practically impossible to find an early pressing with sound this good and vinyl that plays as quietly as this
  • I don’t know how many early pressings (which are the only ones that ever sound any good) we would have to play in order to find one this quiet, but my guess is 15 or 20, and that’s probably a conservative estimate
  • A Top 100 album and a sublime recording no audiophile should be without
  • 4 1/2 stars: “…the love songs and the harrowing portrait of a friend’s descent into heroin addiction, ‘The Needle and the Damage Done,’ remain among Young’s most affecting and memorable songs.”
  • If you’re a Neil Young fan, and what audiophile wouldn’t be?, this title from 1972 is clearly a Must Own
  • Harvest is one of the titles that helped us dramatically improve our playback over the course of many years

When you have this kind of open, extended top end, the grit, grain and edge just disappear, leaving you with a clear, Tubey Magical sound that’s way beyond anything you have ever heard for Harvest (or we will happily give you your money back).

Tubey Magical acoustic guitar reproduction is superb on the better copies of this recording. Simply phenomenal amounts of Tubey Magic can be heard on every strum, along with richness, body and harmonic coherency that have all but disappeared from modern recordings (and especially from modern remasterings).

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The Beatles – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band

More of the Music of The Beatles

  • With two solid Double Plus (A++) sides, you’ll have a hard time finding a copy that sounds remotely as good as this vintage UK Parlophone LP – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • Huge, spacious and detailed, with the Tubey Magic of a fresh tape, this is the way to hear Sgt. Pepper in all its analog glory, not remixed and not remastered (and ruined, of course)
  • Most pressings – especially the new ones – have nothing approaching the resolution, Tubey Magic, space and energy of this LP
  • A Better Records Top 100 – “It’s possible to argue that there are better Beatles albums, yet no album is as historically important as this.”
  • It’s hard to conceive of any list of the best rock and pop albums of 1967 that would not have this record on it, and there is a very good chance it would be perched right at the top of that list
  • Quite a few customers have written us letters telling us how much they enjoyed the Hot Stamper pressing of Sgt. Pepper we sent them

The sound here is so big and rich, so clear and transparent, that we would be very surprised, shocked even, if you’ve ever imagined that any pressing of Sgt. Pepper could sound this powerful and REAL. (more…)

Supertramp – Crisis? What Crisis?

More of the Music of Supertramp

  • This UK import copy was doing most everything right, earning solid Double Plus (A++) grades on both sides
  • Lots of quiet passages make this title one of the most difficult to find in audiophile playing condition, but here one is!
  • Most pressings are painfully thin and harsh, but this one had much more of the richness and smoothness we were looking for, miles away from the painfully bad original domestic pressings we know to avoid
  • Credit the man behind the board, Ken Scott (Ziggy Stardust, Honky Chateau, Crime of the Century, A Salty Dog, Magical Mystery Tour, America and more), who knows a thing or two about Tubey Magic
  • A Desert Island Disc for TP, from all the way back in 1975 when I first gave it a spin on my Ariston RD 11 turntable
  • “Even simple tracks like ‘Lady’ and ‘Just a Normal Day’ blend in nicely with the album’s warm personality and charmingly subtle mood. Although the tracks aren’t overly contagious or hook laden, there’s still a work-in-process type of appeal spread through the cuts, which do grow on you over time.”

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Bad Company – Self-Titled (UK Press)

More of the Music of Bad Company

  • Bad Company’s classic debut LP, here with very good Hot Stamper grades from start to finish
  • 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
  • A member of the Better Records Rock and Pop Top 100, and a Must Own Classic Rock title from 1974
  • 4 1/2 stars: “Bad Company’s 1974 self-titled release stands as one of the most important and accomplished debut hard rock albums from the 70s … it was one of the most successful steps in the continuing evolution of rock & roll.”
  • If you’re a Classic Rock fan, then Bad Company’s killer debut album from 1974 belongs in your collection.

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XTC – English Settlement

More of the Music of XTC

  • With outstanding Double Plus (A++) grades on all FOUR sides, these early Virgin UK import pressings will be very hard to beat
  • You won’t believe how good these records sound – on a big system with lots of firepower down low, this is a sonic tour de force, a monster Demo Disc
  • These sides have huge amounts of open studio space and that Tubey Magical, rich, fat, dense, bass-heavy British Rock Sound we love
  • It takes us years to get this shootout going – what happened to all the clean British pressings? They have disappeared over the last five years it seems
  • 4 stars: “There are plenty of pop gems – ‘Senses Working Overtime’ stands as one of their finest songs — but the main focus seems to be the more expansive sound…the textural sound of the album is quite remarkable.”

This is an AMAZINGLY well-recorded album, with huge amounts of open studio space and that Tubey Magical, rich, fat, dense British Rock Sound. That sound isn’t easy to reproduce, but this copy absoluely nails it. Nothing else in our shootout came close to it!

If you have big speakers and the room to play to play them good and loud , this is quite the sonic tour de force.

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Rod Stewart – Every Picture Tells A Story

More of the Music of Rod Stewart

  • You’ll find solid Double Plus (A++) grades on both sides of this vintage Mercury pressing
  • If you’re a fan of big drums in a big room, with jump-out-of-the-speakers sound, this is the album for you
  • The drum solo in “(I Know) I’m Losing You” is one of the best reasons any red-blooded audiophile should have big dynamic speakers, a big room, and enough power to drive them to very loud levels
  • A Top 100 album, and Rod’s best music and best recording by far – nothing can touch it
  • 5 stars: “It’s a beautiful album, one that has the timeless qualities of the best folk, yet one that rocks harder than most pop music — few rock albums are quite this powerful or this rich.”
  • f the best folk, yet one that rocks harder than most pop music — few rock albums are quite this powerful or this rich.”
  • On big speakers at loud levels, this is a Demo Disc of the highest order

This is a superb recording, and on a pressing like this, it is a Demo Disc with little competition (if you have the kind of system designed to play these sorts of records).

Not too many of our Hot Stamper titles are going to ROCK the way this one can. We put it in a class with Zep II, Sticky Fingers, Nevermind, and Back In Black — elite company to say the least. In other words, no album rocks harder.

The opening track on side one has drums that put to shame 99% of the rock drum kits ever recorded. The same is true of I Know I’m Losing You on side two. It just doesn’t get any better for rock drumming, musically or sonically. Micky Waller is brilliant throughout. Kenney Jones, who only plays on the show-stopping “(I Know) I’m Losing You”, is clearly out of his mind.

Some of the best rock bass ever recorded can be found here too — punchy, note-like and solid as a rock. If you have the system for it you are going to have a great time playing this one for your friends, audiophiles or otherwise. (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.

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Blood, Sweat & Tears – Self-Titled

More of the Music of Blood, Sweat and Tears

  • Here is a superb copy of BS&T’s self-titled LP with Double Plus (A++) sound or close to it throughout
  • The only versions of the album we sell are the 360 originals, but most of the dozen or more stamper numbers we know cannot hold a candle to this pressing
  • The sound is huge, rich, dynamic and powerful (particularly on side two) – BS&T is a permanent member of our Top 100 and a Demo Disc par excellence
  • This is Roy Halee‘s engineering masterpiece, and here’s the kind of pressing that, given the right equipment, room, and setup, really makes our case (also particularly on side two)
  • There are some marks (as is sometimes the nature of the beast with these vintage LPs) on “Variations on a Theme by Erik Satie (1st & 2nd Movements),” but once you hear just how good sounding this copy is, you might be inclined to stop counting ticks and just be swept away by the music
  • 4 1/2 stars: “Their finest moment and a testimony to the best of the jazz/rock movement … The album is bold, brassy and adventurous.”

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