Music Genres

Free / Fire and Water on the Second Label

More British Blues Rock

  • Fire and Water, here with very good Hot Stamper sound on both sides of this copy of the band’s third release – exceptionally quiet vinyl for this title too
  • The best copy we played in our shootout pressed on the second label earned these 1.5/1.5 grades — most won’t sound nearly this good
  • 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
  • Top 100 and 4 1/2 stars: “From Paul Kossoff’s exquisite and tasteful guitar work, to Paul Rodgers’ soulful vocals, this was a group that was easily worthy of the mantle worn by Cream, Blind Faith, or Derek & the Dominos.”
  • This is our pick for Free’s best sounding album. Roughly 150 other listings for the best recording by an artist or group can be found here on the blog.

This is one of our favorite recordings and a member of our Top 100, but it only works when you get the right pressing.

This is the sound of a real rock ‘n’ roll band — no gimmicks, no tricks — just guitar, bass, drums, and vocals.

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U2 – Boy (UK)

More Rock and Pop

  • You’ll find solid Double Plus (A++) grades or close to them throughout this early UK Island label pressing of Boy
  • Note that the best of the UK pressings, though dramatically better than the wrong domestic LPs, were not competitive with the better domestic pressings of the album
  • The sound on side one is big, open, rich, full-bodied and spacious, with the performers front and center (as well as left and right), and side two is not far behind in all those areas
  • 4 stars: “From the outset, U2 went for the big message – every song on their debut album Boy sounds huge, with oceans of processed guitars cascading around Bono’s impassioned wail. It was an inspired combination of large, stadium-rock beats and post-punk textures.”

Recordings from the 80s are always a bit tricky in terms of sound quality, and U2 is not a band we have ever associated with the highest audiophile-quality sonics. We’ve been through quite a number of their albums now, including War, The Unforgettable Fire and The Joshua Tree.

While Demo Disc sound may never be in the cards for these guys, over the years we’ve stumbled upon (stumbling being the only way to go about it) pressings that are much better at communicating their music than others, and certainly a great deal better than any Heavy Vinyl reissue or digital source.

It’s not often that we come across audiophile-quality sound for U2’s early titles. The average copy of this record sounds as dry and flat as a cassette. Not this one, or to be more precise, not this pressing.

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The Band – The Last Waltz

More Roots Rock LPs

  • The Last Waltz, here with seriously good Double Plus (A++) sound or close to it on all SIX sides of these vintage Palm Tree pressings
  • Sides two, three, four, five and six are rich, dynamic and natural sounding, with low end weight, midrange smoothness and powerful, punchy bass, and side one is not far behind in all those areas
  • Features an A-list of brilliant artists, including Van Morrison, Ringo Star, Joni Mitchell, and Muddy Waters, just to name a few, and it’s surely the reason that this record is so hard to find and so expensive when you do find it
  • 4 stars: “It’s the Band’s ‘special guests’ who really make this set stand out — Muddy Waters’ ferocious version of ‘Mannish Boy’ would have been a wonder from a man half his age, Van Morrison sounds positively joyous on ‘Caravan,’ Neil Young and Joni Mitchell do well for their Canadian brethren, and Bob Dylan’s closing set finds him in admirably loose and rollicking form.”
  • If you’re a fan of The Band, and what audiophile wouldn’t be?, this triple album from 1978 belongs in your collection

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The B-52s / Wild Planet

More New Wave Rock

  • Wild Planet returns to the site for the first time in years, here with INCREDIBLE Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades or close to them throughout this vintage Warner Bros. pressing – remarkably quiet vinyl too
  • The sound is lively, punchy, and powerful – with all due respect, it should murder whatever copies you may have
  • Both of these sides are bigger and richer than practically all of what we played, and they also have more vocal presence and hard-rockin’ energy, two qualities that we found to be key to the best sounding pressings
  • 4 1/2 stars: “While Wild Planet is not the rarefied wonder their first platter is, it’s still darn good. The best songs here are ‘Private Idaho,’ a wonderfully jittery number that employs a variant on the famous melodic snippet from the Twilight Zone theme music, and ‘Devil in My Car,’ a delightfully loopy hoot that lays the craziness on very thickly.”

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Roger Waters – The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking

More of the Music of Pink Floyd

  • Boasting two INCREDIBLE Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sides or close to them, this original UK pressing is guaranteed to blow the doors off any other The Pros and Cons… you’ve heard
  • Like the recordings of Floyd, the sound is big, with lots of energy, excellent midrange presence and real weight down low
  • A tough album to find with this kind of sound, which is why so few copies have ever hit the site
  • 4 stars: “The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking continues to showcase Waters’ unprecedented knack of addressing his darkest thoughts and conceptions in a most extraordinary fashion.”

Let me tell you, it is no walk in the park to find a copy of The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking that sounds as good as this one and plays as quietly. Those of you who like Floyd’s The Final Cut will probably get a lot out of the album. (more…)

The Zombies – The World of The Zombies

More Rock and Pop

  • This early Decca import pressing was doing practically everything right, with both sides earning KILLER Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades or close to them – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • Big, rich, energetic, with an abundance of analog Tubey Magic, this UK copy has the right sound for this music
  • Copies of the album on the original label, in audiophile playing condition, are getting more expensive and more difficult to find every year, but what a great record – it’s a classic example of just how amazingly well-recorded some mid-60s Tubey Magical pop was
  • “The Zombies’ obvious appreciation for adeptly crafted melodies and rich vocal harmonies likewise made them favorites of pop fans as well as more discerning listeners.”

The World of the Zombies is for all intents and purposes a reissue of their 1965 debut album, Begin Here, with a few track changes, the most important of which is the addition of “Tell Her No.”

The drums here are clear and punchy and the bottom end is solid.

The vocals do not get too bright as they have a tendency to do on some copies.

When you get a Tubey Magical copy like this, that Hammond B-3 sound is glorious.

Smooth sweet vocals and dead on tonality complete the sonic picture here.

Just for fun sometime go to popsike.com and check out what the original first Zombies record on Decca sells for. Try $1500 and up! And people think our prices are high — we ain’t never charged that kind of bread.

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Stevie Wonder – The Secret Life of Plants

More of the Music of Stevie Wonder

  • This stunning copy of Stevie’s wonderful documentary soundtrack from 1979 boasts roughly Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades or close to them on all FOUR sides
  • The sound here is bigger and livelier than on practically all other copies we played – above all it’s balanced, avoiding the tonality issues we heard on so many other pressings
  • “… there is beauty here. Stevie’s unquenchable desire for experimentation and love for melody are in full effect, and some of the magic and mystery of the botanic planet is evoked.”

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Gerry Mulligan – Gerry Mulligan ’63

More Jazz Recordings Featuring the Saxophone

 

  • You’ll find solid Double Plus (A++) sound or close to it throughout this original Verve All Tube Chain Stereo pressing – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • This copy is hard to fault – big, open, clear, with space and three-dimensionality that modern pressings fail miserably to reproduce (particularly on side one)
  • “With originals by Bob Brookmeyer, Gary McFarland and the baritonist/leader (in addition to the standards ‘Little Rock Getaway’ and ‘My Kind of Love’), this is a high-quality if rather brief program. Trumpeter Clark Terry and guitarist Jim Hall co-star with Mulligan in the solo department. It is a pity that this orchestra could not prosper; all five of its recordings are worth getting.”

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Madonna – Like A Virgin

More Rock and Pop

  • Here is an original Sire pressing with very good Hot Stamper grades from start to finish – fairly 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: “…there’s no discounting the best songs on the record, the moments when her grand concepts are married to music that transcends the mere classification of dance-pop. These, of course, are ‘Material Girl’ and ‘Like a Virgin,’ the two songs that made her an icon, and the two songs that remain definitive statements.”

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Grover Washington, Jr. – All The King’s Horses

More of the Music of Grover Washington

  • An early Kudu pressing of Washington’s sophomore release with a STUNNING Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) side two mated to a solid Double Plus (A++) side one
  • There’s so much life in these grooves – the sound jumps out of the speakers and right into your lap
  • Credit must go to Rudy Van Gelder for recording and mastering this album so well, and to Bob James for his brilliant big group arrangements
  • We cannot recommend this album highly enough – if you have the big speakers a big group of musicians need to perform live in your listening room, his record is going to be nothing less than a thrill
  • 4 stars: “. . . this set has assumed its proper place in Washington’s catalog: as one of his more ambitious and expertly performed sessions.”
  • This is a Must Own jazz album from 1972, one that deserves a place in any audiophile’s collection

Both sides of this original Kudu pressing are OUT OF THIS WORLD. The sweetness and transparency of Grover Washington Jr.’s breathy sax went beyond any copy we’ve ever played. Who knew it could sound like this? We sure didn’t!

It’s spacious and full of life with virtually no distortion. Of special note, this copy has amazingly articulate bass which brings out the undeniable funkiness of the music in a way that no other copy did.

The early 70s were a good time for Rudy Van Gelder. All the King’s Horses from 1972 is an amazing Demo Disc for a large group. But it only sounds good on the copies that it sounds good on, on the pressings that were mastered, pressed and cleaned right, a fact that has eluded most jazz vinyl aficionados interested in good sound.

But not us. We’ve played the very special pressings that prove the album can sound amazing.

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