Art Rock

Kate Bush– Lionheart

More of the Music of Kate Bush

  • An original UK pressing of Kate’s sophomore LP (only the second copy to ever hit the site) with INCREDIBLE Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it from start to finish
  • We shot out a number of other imports and the midrange presence, bass, and dynamics on this outstanding copy placed it head and shoulders above most of the other pressings we played
  • Both of these sides are dramatically richer, fuller and more Tubey Magical than all others we played, with Kate’s exceptionally present and breathy vocals front and center where they belong

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Talking Heads – Stop Making Sense

More of the Music of Talking Heads

 

  • A vintage Sire pressing with STUNNING Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it from start to finish – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • Every five years, like clockwork, we do a shootout for this superb title — our last was in 2021
  • Both of these sides are big, bold and dynamic, with the kind of energy that you rarely find outside of the live event
  • “. . . ‘A bona fide classic,’ opined Neil Jeffries in a five-star review of the reissue for Empire, ‘a perfectly measured snapshot of a widely loved and respected band playing at the height of their powers … No other band could do this. No other music movie soundtrack sounds this good.'” -Wikipedia

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Talking Heads / Remain In Light

More of the Music of Talking Heads

  • Here is a vintage Sire pressing with solid Double Plus (A++) grades from start to finish – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • Everything we were hoping for from this music is here and more — richness, sweetness, great energy, big time presence, weight down low, punchy drum sound and so on
  • Both of these sides are also open and transparent with lots of space around the different parts
  • The sonics have extraordinarily high-resolution, which lets you hear all the detail and texture of the crazy synths
  • 5 stars: “Even without a single, Remain in Light was a hit, indicating that Talking Heads were connecting with an audience ready to follow their musical evolution, and the album was so inventive and influential, it was no wonder.”

It takes an exceptional pressing to get all the elements correct — the funky bottom end; the processed, multi-tracked vocals; the Brian Eno production weirdness and so on.

This is a brilliant album but a typically problematic record. Most copies get some things right but fail in other areas. There are smeary copies that can’t deliver the punchy bottom you need, grainy copies that make the vocals painful to listen to, and plenty of copies that are just too dark or flat sounding for anyone to enjoy. Note that the first track on both sides will sound the worst. The sound gets better, though, as you get further into the album.

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Kate Bush – The Kick Inside

More Women Who Rock

  • A vintage copy of Kate’s debut LP with an INCREDIBLE Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) side two mated to a solid Double Plus (A++) side one
  • Forget the domestic pressings (with the different cover), forget all the lame reissues that have come or will come down the pike – if you want to hear this album right, a Hot Stamper British pressing is the only way to go
  • Our last shootout was over a year ago and we will not be in a hurry to do another one anytime soon – with so many incompetent “record dealers” in the game now, getting clean copies of Kate Bush’s albums across the pond was much more difficult and expensive than it should have been
  • Includes Bush’s hit “Wuthering Heights,” and a number of tracks written by this precocious artist at only 15
  • 4 stars: “… the sound of an impressionable and highly precocious teenager spreading her wings for the first time… a mightily impressive debut.”

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Peter Gabriel Names a Third Record After Himself

More of the Music of Peter Gabriel

  • You’ll find solid Double Plus (A++) sound or close to it on both sides of this vintage UK copy – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • Finding clean, quiet, early pressings of this album has been especially difficult for some time now and it doesn’t seem to be getting any easier
  • A Must Own for Gabriel fans, this album is widely considered his breakthrough work as a solo artist
  • Listen closely and you’ll recognize Phil Collins’ now-signature (but at the time revolutionary) drum sound on several of the tracks, including “Intruder,” one of the best tracks on the album
  • 5 stars: “Generally regarded as Peter Gabriel’s finest record, his third eponymous album finds him coming into his own, crafting an album that’s artier, stronger, more song oriented than before.”
  • If you’re a fan, this is a Peter Gabriel classic from 1980 that belongs in your collection.

With this, his third release, Gabriel established himself as a true force in the rock world. (more…)

Al Stewart – Time Passages

More of the Music of Al Stewart

  • Amazing sound throughout this vintage British import, with both sides earning INSANELY GOOD Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades
  • The better sides have the kind of analog richness, warmth, and smoothness that make listening to records so involving
  • Standout tracks include “Song on the Radio” and “Time Passages” (an edited version of which made it all the way to #7 on the Pop charts)
  • 4 1/2 stars: “…this is exceptionally well-crafted, from Stewart’s songs, where even three-minute songs seem like epics, to Alan Parsons’ cinematic arrangements and productions. [O]ne of Al Stewart’s very best albums.”

Our Hot Stampers of Year Of The Cat are always a big hit, and this, the 1978 follow-up, shares many of the same qualities. Alan Parsons is a pretty good producer and engineer it turns out.

This copy is richer and sweeter than most, with a big, bold, three-dimensional sound that perfectly suits the kind of Big Productions that are his stock in trade. The bigger the better we say!

Standout tracks include “Song on the Radio” and “Time Passages” (an edited version of which made it all the way to #7 on the Pop charts.) Both of these songs are more than six minutes long on the album.

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Frank Zappa / Hot Rats

More of the Music of Frank Zappa


  • Here is a vintage Bizarre pressing with two solid Double Plus (A++) sides
  • The overall sound here is musical, natural and balanced with an abundance of Tubey Magic that only the better early pressings can offer
  • If you know the album well – and I know it very well, having played it literally hundreds of times – the Classic Records reissue is positively unlistenable and will never come close to the big, rich analog sonics of the real deal we’re offering here
  • 4 1/2 stars: “Hot Rats still sizzles; few albums originating on the rock side of jazz-rock fusion flowed so freely between both sides of the equation, or achieved such unwavering excitement and energy.”
  • This is a Must Own album from 1969, one that should have a place in any audiophile’s collection

It takes us years to find copies that sound like this one. Bernie’s version for Classic beats a lot of copies out there, but it can’t hold a candle to this one.

I’ve been listening to Hot Rats since I was in high school. It’s still remarkably fresh and original, even now. This is not music for the faint of heart. Audiophiles who prefer a steady diet of Patricia Barber and her like will find little of interest here. But for those of you who want to explore something completely original and a bit “out there,” this should be right up your alley — and be sure to check out Waka Jawaka, too.

Reading in the liner notes today, I see that one of the engineers on this album is Jack Hunt, the famous half-speed mastering engineer who cut records for Mobile Fidelity and Direct Disc Labs. Oh how the mighty have fallen.

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Al Stewart – Year Of The Cat

More of the Music of Al Stewart

  • Incredible sound throughout this vintage Janus pressing of Stewart’s 1976 Masterpiece, with both sides earning Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades or close to them
  • With engineering by Alan Parsons, the top pressings are every bit the audiophile Demo Discs you remember
  • The best sides have Tubey Magical acoustic guitars, sweet vocals, huge amounts of space, breathtaking transparency, and so much more
  • The sound may be too heavily processed and glossy for some, but we find that on the best copies that sound really works for this music
  • 4 1/2 stars: “A tremendous example of how good self-conscious progressive pop can be, given the right producer and songwriter — and if you’re a fan of either prog or pop and haven’t given Al Stewart much thought, prepare to be enchanted.”

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Pink Floyd – Dark Side Of The Moon

More of the Music of Pink Floyd

  • A vintage copy of this mindblowing recording that is guaranteed to rock your world with superb Double Plus (A++) sound on both sides – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • The transparency, the clarity, the energy, the power – it’s all here on this very special import pressing
  • A Top 100 album (Top Ten actually) and Demo Disc to rival the most amazing sounding records of all time
  • 5 stars: “…what gives the album true power is the subtly textured music… no other record defines [Pink Floyd] quite as well as this one.”
  • A Top 100 album (Top Ten actually) and a Rock Demo Disc to rival the most amazing sounding records of all time
  • 5 stars: “…what gives the album true power is the subtly textured music… no other record defines [Pink Floyd] quite as well as this one.”

This vintage import pressing has the presence, the richness, the size and the energy you always wanted to hear on Dark Side — AND NOW YOU CAN!

Take the clocks on Time. There are whirring mechanisms that can be heard deep in the soundstage. On most copies, you can’t even tell they are there. Talk about transparency — I bet you’ve NEVER heard so many chimes so clearly and cleanly, with such little distortion, as you will on this copy.

One thing that separates the best copies from the merely good ones is super-low-distortion, extended high frequencies. How some copies manage to correctly capture the overtones of all the clocks, while others, often with the same stamper numbers, can barely hint at them, is something no one can explain. But the records do not lie. Believe your own two ears. If you hear it, it’s there. 

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Ambrosia – Life Beyond L.A.

More of the Music of Ambrosia 

  • With superb Double Plus (A++) grades from start to finish, we guarantee you’ve never heard Life Beyond L.A. sound this good – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • These sides are dramatically bigger and richer, and have more vocal presence and hard-rockin’ energy, than a lot of the others we played in our most recent shootout
  • The sound is solid and rich, the vocals breathy and immediate, and you will not believe all the space and ambience – which of course are all qualities that Heavy Vinyl records have far too little of, and the main reason we have lost all respect for the bulk of them
  • “[The album] marked a bit of a move away from their lush arrangements and introduced a more raw, aggressive progressive rock / jazz influence.”

This Hot Stamper Ambrosia LP has the kind of sound you would never expect to find in the grooves of this album. It was a thrill to hear, especially at the volumes at which we played it! The transparency and openness were excellent. We’re big fans of this band here at Better Records — we love their take on complex, Big Production Arty Rock.

The Music

Life Beyond L.A. may not be especially well known in audiophile circles but it is certainly an album we know and love here at Better Records. I’ve been playing it regularly for decades. There’s so much good music on the album that, now that we can hear it right, we’ve come to appreciate it all the more. It rocks in a more straightforward manner compared to the first two albums. It’s still got plenty of proggy elements and breakdowns, but now there’s an entirely new jazz element introduced into the mix, which comes to the fore strongly on the wonderful “Apothecary.” Side one is exceptionally strong from first note to last.

Side two starts out brilliantly with the dynamic, energetic “Dancin’ By Myself,” a song that ranks with the best by the band. It’s followed by “Angola,” a tongue-in-cheek staple of their live act these days, and then on to the wonderful ballad “Heart to Heart,” pointedly reminiscent of “Holdin’ On To Yesterday,” right down to the violin solo. The last track is a bit of a downer, but everything before that is superb.

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