Demo Discs for Size and Space – Jazz, Vocals, Easy Listening, etc.

Marty Robbins – Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs on Six Eye in Stereo

More Country and Country Rock

  • You’ll find stunning Nearly Triple Plus (A++ to A+++) sound on both sides of this original 6-Eye Stereo pressing – just shy of our Shootout Winner
  • This copy is remarkably clear and open, superior to practically all others in that regard, with smooth and rich vocals to boot
  • Transparency and Tubey Magic are critical to the sound of the arrangements, and you will find both in abundance on these sides
  • Is the original 6-Eye stereo the only way to go on this record? Based upon our recent shootout, the first one we’ve done since 2023, the answer is a resounding yes
  • Marks and problems in the vinyl are sometimes the nature of the beast with these early pressings, but once you hear how killer sounding this copy is, you might be inclined, as we were, to stop counting ticks and pops and just be swept away by the music
  • 4 1/2 stars: “The single most influential album of Western songs in post-World War II American music. The longevity of the album’s appeal is a result of Marty Robbins’ love of the repertory at hand and the mix of his youthful dynamism and prodigious talent…”
  • 1959 was a phenomenal year for audiophile quality recordings – as of 2025 we’ve auditioned and reviewed more than one hundred and seventy titles and we’ve found close to 50 that we think belong in any audiophile record collection worthy of the name.

These Nearly White Hot Stamper pressings have top-quality sound that’s often surprisingly close to our White Hots, but they sell at substantial discounts to our Shootout Winners, making them a relative bargain in the world of Hot Stampers (“relative” meaning relative considering the prices we charge). We feel you get what you pay for here at Better Records, and if ever you don’t agree, please feel free to return the record for a full refund, no questions asked.

Two incredible sides, with the kind of 50s Tubey Magical analog sound that’s been lost to the world of recorded music for decades — decades, I tell you! Nobody can manage to get a recording to sound like this anymore and it seems clear to us that no one can remaster a recording like this nowadays, if our direct experience with hundreds of such albums counts as evidence.

Albums such as this live and die by the quality of their vocal reproduction. On this record, Mr. Marty Robbins himself will appear to be standing right in your listening room, along with the other other musicians on the sessions of course.

Each of the huge studios the music was recorded in are captured faithfully here. The height, width and depth of the staging are extraordinary. We are not big soundstage guys here at Better Records, but we can’t deny the appeal of the three-dimensional space to be found on a recording as good as this.

This vintage 6-Eye Stereo 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.

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Dave Brubeck Quartet – Time Further Out 6-Eye in Stereo

More of the Music of Dave Brubeck

  • Outstanding sound throughout this vintage Stereo 6-Eye pressing, with both sides earning solid Double Plus (A++) grades
  • It’s bigger, richer, more Tubey Magical, and has more extension on both ends of the spectrum than most other copies we played
  • This copy demonstrates the big-as-life Fred Plaut Columbia sound at its best – better even than Time Out(!)
  • 4 1/2 stars: “The selections, which range in time signatures from 5/4 to 9/8, are handled with apparent ease (or at least not too much difficulty) by pianist Brubeck, altoist Paul Desmond, bassist Eugene Wright, and drummer Joe Morello on this near-classic.”

Time Further Out is consistently more varied and, dare we say, more musically interesting than Time Out.

If you want to hear big drums in a big room, these Brubeck recordings will show you that sound better than practically any record we know of. These vintage recordings are full-bodied, spacious, three-dimensional, rich, sweet and warm in the best tradition of an All Tube Analog recording.

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Martin Denny / Quiet Village

More Exotica

  • Quiet Village returns to the site for only the second time in years on this original Stereo Liberty pressing with solid Double Plus (A++) sound or close to it throughout – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • This side two is huge and rich, with a big stage, Tubey Magic and correct tonality from top to bottom, and side one is not far behind in all those areas
  • The tonality is right on the money – it’s remarkably lively, with tight, clear bass (particularly on side two)
  • Listen to how open the drum sound is (also particularly on side two) – that sound is just not to be found on popular albums anymore

This superb sounding copy of Quiet Village has a lot in common with the other Bachelor Pad / Exotica titles we’ve listed over the years, albums by the likes of Esquivel, Dick Schory, Edmundo Ros, Arthur Lyman and others.

But c’mon, nobody really buys these records for the music (although the music is thoroughly enchanting). It’s all about the Tubey Magical Stereoscopic presentation, the wacky 3D sound effects (of real birds and not-so-real ones) and the heavily percussive arrangements. In all of these areas and more this record does not disappoint.

If you’re an audiophile, both the sound and the music are crazy fun. If you want to demonstrate just how good 1959 All Tube Analog sound can be, this is the record that will do it.

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Deodato – Prelude

More Deodato (Music and Arrangements)

  • A vintage CTI pressing that is doing everything right, with INSANELY GOOD Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound from first note to last
  • Here are just a few of the things we had to say about this amazing copy in our notes: “great size and space and energy”…”very rich brass”…”dynamic and weighty and accurate low end”…”top detail and space” (side one)…”jumping out of the speakers”…”3D midrange”
  • The brass and percussion are amazing on “2001” (and every other track) thanks to RVG, a man who knew how to do these kinds of big jazz productions better than practically anyone alive in 1973
  • We had no idea there was space this huge in the recording until we heard the better copies
  • 4 stars: “Though overshadowed by ‘2001,’ the other tracks also hold up well today, being mostly medium-tempo, sometimes lushly orchestrated, conga-accented affairs that provide velvety showcases for Deodato’s lyrical electric piano solos… it still makes enjoyable listening.”
  • This title from 1973 is clearly Deodato’s best album, his best sounding recording, and the only album of his (as a leader) than anyone will ever need to play

Both sides are surprisingly sweet and Tubey Magical, nice qualities for a CTI record to have since so many of them are aggressive and edgy to the point of distraction.

Listen to the trumpet on the second track on side one — it’s so immediate, it’s practically JUMPING out of the soundfield, just bursting with energy. Rudy can really pull off these big productions on occasion, and this session was clearly one of them. If you have the kind of stereo that’s right for this music (the bigger the better) you could easily find yourself using this record as a demonstration disc. It’s very unlikely your audiophile friends have ever heard anything like it.

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Return to Forever – Romantic Warrior

More Jazz Rock Fusion

  • Boasting two excellent Double Plus (A++) sides, this vintage pressing is guaranteed to blow the doors off any other Romantic Warrior you’ve heard
  • Our favorite Jazz Rock Fusion Album of All Time – on the right stereo this is a Demo Disc like no other
  • None rocks harder – of course that wouldn’t mean much without the music being so exciting and brilliant, and we’re happy to report it is!
  • These are four instrumental pyrotechnicians – the band is absolutely on fire like no other album they recorded together
  • 4 stars: “Romantic Warrior is the sound of a mature band at the top of its game, which may help explain why it was Return to Forever’s most popular album, eventually certified as a gold record, and the last by this assemblage. Having expressed themselves this well, they decided it was time for them to move on.”
  • If you’re a Jazz Fusion guy, this title from 1976 is surely a Must Own
  • If you’re looking for the best sounding jazz from the 70s and 80s, you might want to check out these titles

If you’re a fan of ’70s jazz fusion there aren’t many albums better than this. (It’s the only RTF record we bother to carry as a matter of fact.) It’s an absolutely phenomenal recording, and if you have any doubts about that fact, these two pressings are more than capable of disabusing you of such like. (more…)

Barney Kessel / Barney Kessel Plays Carmen

More Barney Kessel

  • Solid Double Plus (A++) grades bring Kessel’s inspired jazz album to life on this early Contemporary stereo LP (one of only a handful of copies to hit the site in years)
  • Tubey Magic, richness, sweetness, dead-on timbres from top to bottom – this is a textbook example of Contemporary sound at its best
  • The sonics are gorgeous – all tube, live-to-two-track, direct from the Contemporary studio to you, on glorious un-remastered analog vinyl
  • Marks in the vinyl are sometimes the nature of the beast with these early pressings – there simply is no way around them if the superior sound of vintage analog is important to you

The Sound We Love

For those of you who appreciate the sound that Roy DuNann (and Howard Holzer on other sessions) were able to achieve in the 50s at Contemporary Records, this LP is a Must Own (unless you already have it, which is doubtful considering how hard it is to find a copy in clean condition). Their stuff just doesn’t get any better than this.

From an audiophile point of view, how can you beat a Roy DuNann recording of so many instruments? It’s audiophile heaven.

Talk About Timbre

Man, when you play a Hot Stamper copy of an amazing recording such as this, the timbre of the instruments is so spot-on it makes all the hard work and money you’ve put into your stereo more than pay off. To paraphrase The Hollies, you get paid back with interest. If you hear anything funny in the mids and highs of this record, don’t blame the record. (This is the kind of record that shows up audiophile BS equipment for what it is: audiophile BS. If you are checking for richness, Tubey Magic and freedom from artificiality, I can’t think of a better test disc. It has loads of the first two and none of the last.)

Two of the best sounding jazz guitar records in the history of the world were made by Barney Kessel for Contemporary: this one, and Music To Listen To Barney Kessel By. I used to have them both in my collection, but they long ago were sent to good homes.

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Carlos Montoya – From St. Louis to Seville

Living Stereo Titles Available Now

  • Flamenco meets Jazz in this extraordinary Living Stereo all analog recording from 1958
  • Both of these sides are exceptionally big and rich, with clear guitar transients, an abundance of three-dimensional space and Tubey Magic that will have your jaw on the floor
  • …”Carlos Montoya, the great flamenco guitarist, played for the first time on record with a jazz rhythm accompaniment, giving his unique and expressive interpretation of five pop tunes, best of which is a virtuoso treatment of ‘St. Louis Blues.’ The rest of the album spotlights the exciting flamenco guitar work on three Montoya originals, and a couple of Spanish popular gypsy songs.” – Fresh Sound Records.com
  • The three-dimensional space and Tubey Magic are superb on this copy
  • An amazing Webster Hall Living Stereo all analog recording from 1958 – nothing else sounds like it
  • It’s yet another recording we’ve discovered with (potentially) excellent sound
  • When you’ve played as many Living Stereo titles as we have (250+ and counting), you’re bound to run into this kind of Demo Disc sound from time to time – it’s what makes record collecting fun

Ed Begley is the engineer here and he knocked this one out of the park. What an amazing sounding Living Stereo recording.

Need a refresher course in Tubey Magic after playing too many modern recordings or remasterings? This record is overflowing with it. Rich, clear, natural, sweet, overflowing with space and ambience, absolutely correct tonality — it’s all here.

The rhythm accompaniment is made up of three top players from New York. Sally Montoya noted at the time: “Carlos just recorded the first Flamenco jazz record for Victor, with Osie Johnson and Milt Hinton and Barry Galbraith on electric guitar. A most relaxed and informal session. The other musicians said it was unique in their experience.”

It’s certainly a unique record in my experience, with mind-blowingly good sound and engaging music.

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Edmundo Ros – Rhythms of the South

More Exotica Recordings of Interest 

  • An original London Stereo pressing with solid Double Plus (A++) sound or BETTER from start to finish – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • Side two was very close in sound to our Shootout Winner – you will be amazed at how big and lively and tubey the sound is
  • This copy is super spacious, sweet and positively dripping with ambience — talk about Tubey Magic, the liquidity of the sound here is positively uncanny
  • These sides are simply bigger, clearer, richer, more dynamic, transparent and energetic than most of what we played

It’s unfortunate that Edmundo Ros and his orchestra command so little respect these days from the record buying public. As for audiophiles, it’s doubtful that many even know who he or they is/are. We at Better Records are doing our best to change all that.

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Charles Mingus – Tijuana Moods

More Charles Mingus

  • Tijuana Moods is back on the site for only the second time in four years, here with solid Double Plus (A++) grades or close to them on both sides of this vintage RCA pressing
  • This is Sixties Living Stereo at its best – big, rich and Tubey Magical like you will not believe (particularly on side two)
  • 5 stars: “Mingus at the time said that this was his greatest recording, and it certainly ranks near the top. The passionate playing, exciting ensembles, and high-quality compositions make this a real gem, and it represents one of Charles Mingus’ finest hours.”

This is the way it must have sounded in 1957, when legendary RCA engineers BOB SIMPSON and RAY HALL were sitting behind the board in the New York studios where it was recorded. (more…)

Miles Davis – Sketches of Spain on 360

More Miles Davis

  • Seriously good sound throughout this Miles Davis classic, with both sides earning Double Plus (A++) grades – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • This early Stereo 360 LP is full-bodied, high-rez and spacious, with Miles’s horn uncannily present, a sound you just cannot find on Heavy Vinyl no matter who makes it
  • If you have the big system and dedicated room a record of this quality demands, you can put Miles right in the room with you with a Hot Stamper pressing as good as this
  • Vintage pressings that play this reasonably quiet and are free of scratches and groove damage are few and far between, but here’s one, perfect for even the most demanding audiophile
  • Another engineering triumph for Fred Plaut at Columbia’s legendary 30th Street Studios – the man is a genius
  • Musically this is one of our very favorite Miles albums, and the sound is Demo Disc quality on the better copies
  • 5 stars: “Sketches of Spain is the most luxuriant and stridently romantic recording Davis ever made. To listen to it in the 21st century is still a spine-tingling experience…”
  • This pressing is clearly a Demo Disc for orchestral size and space
  • Although the right 6-Eye originals will always win our shootouts, the 360 stereo reissues still sound quite good to us, just not as good

On the better pressings of this masterpiece, the sound is truly magical. (AMG has that dead right in their review.) It is lively but never strained. Davis’s horn has breath and bite, just like the real thing. What more can you ask for?

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