Blues, Electric Blues and R&B

The Vaughan Brothers – Family Style

More Stevie Ray Vaughan

More Electric Blues

xxxxx

  • This pressing of Jimmie and Stevie Ray’s 1990 release has superb Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound on both sides – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • Space, clarity, transparency, and in-the-room immediacy were off the charts on this pressing – it beat every copy we had hands down
  • “Jimmie makes his vocal debut on ‘White Boots’ and ‘Good Texan,’ and the brothers blur the lines between their expected guitar styles — Stevie sometimes going for a less sustainy twang, Jimmie moving into Albert King territory.”

(more…)

T-Bone Walker – Stormy Monday Blues

More T-Bone Walker

xxxxx

  • A KILLER sounding copy with Triple Plus (A+++) sound on side one – nothing could touch it
  • Both sides here are clean, clear and spacious, with full-bodied, present vocals and the relaxed naturalness that comes from an authentic All Analog vintage vinyl pressing
  • “The high level of creativity in play here isn’t obvious on a cursory listen, since a lot of the tracks favor the same sort of midtempo blues shuffle, but a closer listen reveals a stunning guitarist who plays the blues with a jazzman’s soul.. when he cuts loose a little on guitar, the sparks fly with elegant tension.” – All Music

(more…)

B.B. King – Lucille Talks Back

More B.B. King

More Electric Blues

  • B.B. King’s superb 1975 release finally arrives on the site with Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it from first note to last – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • Unusually rich, full-bodied, lively and present sound which brings out the best in this music
  • “I’m always impressed by how crafted the music sounds on this album while still managing to feel spontaneous and natural. This is exactly what this sort of jazz/blues music should sound like. The percussion, the horns, the guitar solos, the vocals. Everything just sounds so right in a low-key but effective way. All the parts fit together perfectly. …Energy, passion and emotion flow through this album; B. B. King and company make it all sound effortless.”

(more…)

The Fabulous Thunderbirds- Tuff Enuff

More of The Fabulous Thunderbirds

xxxxx

  • The band’s 1986 release makes its Hot Stamper debut here with Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it throughout – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • Rich, full and balanced with Blues-Rock energy to spare, this is a killer copy of a fun album
  • “Their breakthrough success. The title track and soul covers point the band in a new, more mainstream direction.”

(more…)

John Mayall – Back to the Roots

More John Mayall

xxxxx

  • A stunning copy with all four sides earning Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades or very close to it
  • The sound throughout is clean, clear, present and spacious with lots of bottom end weight
  • “John Mayall gathered together prominent musicians who had played in his bands during the past several years, including Sugarcane Harris, Eric Clapton, Johnny Almond, Harvey Mandel, Keef Hartley, and Mick Taylor… the sidemen frequently shine, especially Clapton.” – All Music

(more…)

Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee – Sonny and Brownie

More Sonny Terry

More Classic Blues Albums

xxxxx 

  • A STUNNING pressing of this famous collaboration with Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it throughout
  • This early pressing puts a Folky-Bluesy jam from 1973 live in your living room, showcasing two of the true masters of the form
  • The immediacy, clarity and transparency are excellent, but the key element is Tubey Magical warmth, and these vintage pressings have plenty of it
  • 4 1/2 stars: “John Mayall and John Hammond, Jr. are among the ‘youngsters’ on this powerful statement that includes a definitive version of Randy Newman’s wickedly subtle anti-slavery tune Sail Away.”

This is easily one of better Folkie Blues albums to hit our table in a while. The music is SUPERB. Among the highlights are great covers of Curtis Mayfield’s “People Get Ready” and Randy Newman’s “Sail Away.” (more…)

Janis Joplin – Pearl

More Janis Joplin

  • Richer, clearer and more tonally correct, with more energy and presence, all qualities that help to bring this music to life
  • Janis’s vocals sound right on the money here – smooth enough to let you crank this one up good and loud without the sound getting hard and edgy
  • 5 stars: “Janis Joplin’s second masterpiece (after Cheap Thrills), Pearl was designed as a showcase for her powerhouse vocals, stripping down the arrangements that had often previously cluttered her music or threatened to drown her out.”

Vintage covers for this album are hard to find in clean shape. Most of them will have at least some amount of ringwear, seam wear and edge wear. We guarantee that the cover we supply with this Hot Stamper is at least VG, and it will probably be VG+. If you are picky about your covers please let us know in advance so that we can be sure we have a nice cover for you.

Both sides are noticeably sweeter and more open up top than the average copy. Most everything that we look for in a Hot Stamper Pearl is happening on this copy: presence to the vocals; weight to the piano; texture and definition to the bass; a Tubey Magical midrange; freedom from grit and grain and so forth.

It’s not a perfect record — no copy of Pearl will ever be — but it’s better in all the ways that make the music really work. That’s what a Hot Stamper is all about!

None of this is to say that you’ll put this one on your top shelf with your Ajas and your Tea for the Tillermans, but this copy has the kind of sound you’d never guess was possible listening to the average copy. (more…)

Stevie Ray Vaughan – The Sky Is Crying

More Stevie Ray Vaughan

A Top 100 Title

  • This STUNNING pressing boasts insanely good Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound on the first side and solid Double Plus (A++) sound on the second, which means the nearly seven minutes of Little Wing on this side one is guaranteed to present you with some of the most amazing sound you’ve ever heard
  • Some of the most blistering performances of electric blues we have ever had the pleasure of rocking out to
  • Hands down the best sounding SRV recording — Little Wing is an absolute monster on this side one and a Demo track to beat them all
  • 4 stars: “Doing away with vocals, Vaughan augments Hendrix’s concise two-and-a-half minute original, turning the track into a nearly seven-minute-long electric tour de force. The cover would earn Vaughan his sixth Grammy, for Best Rock Instrumental Performance, in 1992.”

This is one of the most blistering recordings of electric blues we’ve ever played. Few other records recorded in the ’80s have this kind of BIG, BOLD sound. Maybe none. The sheer impact and wallop of this music is a real treat, but only if you have the right pressing (and the right kind of stereo to play it on, of course).

Stevie’s take on Jimi’s Little Wing is the surest proof that SRV was one of the greatest Electric Blues Guitarists of All Time. I know of no other guitar showcase to compete with it.

Turn it up good and loud and you will be amazed at how dynamic the guitar solos are.

Sonically it’s a knockout, with one of the tallest, widest, and deepest soundstages I have ever heard on record. It brings to mind Gilmore’s multiple solos on Money from the hottest Dark Side of the Moon pressings, high praise indeed.

Little Wing deservedly won SRV the Grammy in ’92 for Best Rock Instrumental.

And, if you want to hear Stevie channel Wes Montgomery instead of Jimi Hendrix, take a listen to Chitlins Con Carne. (more…)

Jimmy Witherspoon – Witherspoon Mulligan Webster At The Renaissance

More Jimmy Witherspoon

xxxxx

This is an original Hi-Fi Records Mono LP from 1959. Jimmy is joined on stage by Gerry Mulligan and Ben Webster, with support from Mel Lewis, Leroy Vinnegar and Jimmy Rowles. Now that is some group of top jazz talent.

The sound is decent, but the music is the real thing, as you can imagine from the list of players. There’s also some slight groove distortion which is almost unavoidable on vintage pressings such as this.

Eric Clapton – Unplugged

More Eric Clapton

  • The sound of this superb import is rich, full-bodied, lively, and warm, with solid bass and breathy, clear vocals
  • 4 1/2 stars: “Unplugged is the concert and album that established the MTV program as a classy, tony showcase for artists eager to redefine themselves via reexamination of their catalogs, which is what Clapton cannily did here.”

(more…)