Folk Rock, British/Irish

David Bowie – Pin-Ups

More of the Music of David Bowie

  • An outstanding import copy of Bowie’s 1973 classic, here with solid Double Plus (A++) grades from start to finish – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • A Top Ten Poster Boy for Tubey Magical Richness, thanks to the engineering of Ken Scott, the man behind all the best Bowie recordings
  • The bottom end is huge, as would be expected from anything Ken recorded, and if you don’t believe me, check out “Baby You’re a Rich Man” from MMT
  • A really fun listen, with Bowie running through covers of his favorite Sixties hits in true Demo Disc sound
  • Turns out he’s a great interpreter, turning in passionate versions of songs by The Who, Pink Floyd, The Yardbirds and more

Bowie puts a unique spin on tracks originally played by The Who, The Yardbirds, Pink Floyd and other British rockers. It’s a fun, intriguing album that stands up well to repeated plays. Bryan Ferry did the same thing in 1973 with some of his favorite pop songs. Oddly enough, both albums entered the charts on the very same day in November of that year.

The sound is lively and full-bodied with nice transparency throughout. Bowie’s voice sounds correct and the bottom end is huge.

The bass here is deep and not nearly as sloppy as on most copies. Listen to the vocals, which sound just right and have lots of texture to them. The harmonica on “I Wish You Would” is amazing. When has a harmonica ever sounded so rich and full? You’ll also want to check out the sax solo on “Sorrow,” which just plain rocks.

So what were some of the worst copies we heard? One was a British original, believe it or not. They tend to be dull, thick, and lifeless — not a good match for this punky, energetic material. There may be some very good sounding Brit originals but, having said that, to date they have never won a shootout.

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Richard & Linda Thompson / Sunnyvista

More of the Music of Richard Thompson

  • Boasting two solid Double Plus (A++) sides, this original UK Chrysalis pressing (one of only a handful of copies to hit the site in years) is doing just about everything right
  • None of the domestic copies we played were more than passable, and even worse, most of the Brit originals we played were almost as smeary, veiled and opaque
  • Both of these sides are simply bigger, more present, more energetic and just plain more fun than most others in our recent shootout
  • If you’re a fan, this is the only way we know of to hear this album sound the way it should
  • 4 1/2 stars: “…the wittiest and most joyous album Richard & Linda made together.”

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Van Morrison – Saint Dominic’s Preview

More of the Music of Van Morrison

  • With solid Double Plus (A++) grades or close to them from top to bottom, you’ll have a hard time finding a copy that sounds remotely as good as this vintage Green Label pressing
  • It’s unusual (to say the least) to find copies of Moondance or Astral Weeks that sound anything like the better copies of Saint Dominic’s Preview (or His Band and Street Choir, an equally good recording)
  • One of the better sounding Van Morrison albums, thanks to the superb engineering skills of Donn Landee at Wally Heider’s and elsewhere
  • 5 stars in Rolling Stone: “The coexistence of two styles on the same record turns out to be very refreshing; they complement each other by underscoring the remarkable versatility of Van’s musical imagination… the best-produced, most ambitious Van Morrison record yet released.”

We’ve been huge fans of this album for ages and don’t understand why it doesn’t get more respect. This is the album that comes right after Tupelo Honey and His Band And The Street Choir, so that should tell you something.

The piano has real weight, the bottom end is solid, and the brass sounds lively and rich, never squawky. (more…)

The Kinks – Something Else

More of the Music of The Kinks

  • Boasting very good Hot Stamper grades from top to bottom, this original Tri-Color Steamboat label copy will be hard to beat
  • 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
  • Drop the needle on “No Return” for wonderful sound and music – it’s got a bit of a Jobim vibe
  • 5 stars: “Part of the album’s power lies in its calm music, since it provides an elegant support for [Ray] Davies’s character portraits and vignettes. From the martial stomp of ‘David Watts’ to the lovely, shimmering ‘Waterloo Sunset,’ there’s not a weak song on the record, and several — such as the allegorical ‘Two Sisters,’ the Noël Coward-esque ‘End of the Season,’ the rolling ‘Lazy Old Sun,’ and the wry ‘Situation Vacant’ — are stunners.”
  • 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

I don’t think you’ll be able to find a better sounding Kinks record without going through a bunch of different copies — and they don’t come cheap, no matter where you shop.

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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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Van Morrison – Wavelength

More of the Music of Van Morrison

  • This vintage pressing (only the second copy to hit the site in over four and a half years) boasts STUNNING Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades or close to them on both sides
  • Richer, warmer and bigger than practically all of the other copies we played, here is the kind of analog smoothness that’s essential to the sound of Morrison’s music
  • His biggest selling album to date? Seems hard to believe but that’s what is says on Wikipedia – it went gold in 3 months
  • Marks in the vinyl are sometimes the nature of the beast with these vintage LPs – there simply is no way around them if the superior sound of vintage analog is important to you
  • Time magazine raved: “Morrison has made two, maybe three albums that rank high among the finest of all rock ‘n’ roll. Wavelength is good enough to stand close by Morrison’s best work, a record of sinuous, sensuous magic. The man just can’t be beat.”

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Van Morrison – Avalon Sunset

More of the Music of Van Morrison

  • Here is a vintage Polydor import pressing (one of only a handful of copies to ever hit the site) with solid Double Plus (A++) sound throughout
  • Both of these sides give you the richness, Tubey Magic, clarity and resolution few copies can touch
  • “Van Morrison scored one of his biggest commercial successes with Avalon Sunset, a record highlighted by the gorgeous ‘Have I Told You Lately,’ one of his most heartfelt love songs and a major radio hit which helped introduce his music to a new generation of listeners.”

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Jethro Tull – Thick As A Brick

More of the Music of Jethro Tull

  • An early Reprise pressing that was doing just about everything right, earning solid Double Plus (A++) grades on both sides – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • One of the few copies we’ve found lately with audiophile sound and surfaces – most of the copies we find are just too noisy for the first few minutes, but this one’s intro held up nicely
  • A Top 100 title and the best sounding album Jethro Tull ever recorded – allow us to make the case
  • A stunning Demo Disc to rule them all – sure to be the best you’ve ever heard this band sound, assuming you have the kind of system it takes and a room big enough to hold it
  • Marks in the vinyl are sometimes the nature of the beast with these Classic Rock records – there simply is no way around them if the superior sound of vintage analog is important to you
  • 4 1/2 stars: “A masterpiece in the annals of progressive rock – a dazzling tour de force, at once playful, profound, and challenging, without overwhelming the listener.”
  • “Whether or not Thick As A Brick is an isolated experiment, it is nice to know that someone in rock has ambitions beyond the four or five minute conventional track, and has the intelligence to carry out his intentions, in all their intricacy, with considerable grace.”
  • TAAB is also one of those albums that helped us dramatically improve our playback quality

The kind of tonal accuracy you hear on the better copies of this album practically disappeared from records over forty years ago, which explains why so many of the LPs we offer as Hot Stampers were produced in the 70s and before. That’s when many of the highest fidelity recordings were made. In truth this very record is a superlative example of the sound the best producers, engineers, and studios were able to capture on analog tape during that very decade.

Which is a long way of saying that the better copies of Thick As A Brick have pretty much everything that we love about vinyl records here at Better Records.

Furthermore, I can guarantee you there is no CD on the planet that will ever be able to do this recording justice. Our Hot Stamper pressings — even the lowest-graded ones — have a kind of Analog Magic that just can’t be captured on one of them there silvery discs.

The Best Sounding Jethro Tull Album Ever Recorded

  • The better copies are shockingly dynamic. At about the three-minute mark the band joins in the fun and really starts rocking. Set your volume for as loud as your system can play that section. The rest of the music, including the very quietest parts, will then play correctly for all of side one. For side two the same volume setting should be fine.
  • The recording can have exceptionally solid, deep punchy bass (just check out Barrie “Barriemore” Barlow’s drumming, especially his kick and floor toms. The guy is on fire).
  • The midrange is usually transparent and the top end sweet and extended on the better pressings.
  • The recording was made in 1972, so there’s still plenty of Tubey Magic to be heard on the acoustic guitars and flutes.
  • 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).
  • The better copies can be as huge, wide and tall as any rock record you’ve ever heard, with sound that comes jumping out of your speakers right into your listening room.
  • Unlike practically any album recorded during the 80s or later, the overall tonal balance, as well as the timbre of virtually every instrument in the soundfield, is correct.

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Cat Stevens – Teaser & The Firecat

More of the Music of Cat Stevens

  • A Teaser and The Firecat like you’ve never heard, with solid Double Plus (A++) grades throughout this vintage Island Pink Rim pressing – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • Here are the sides that will rock your world with their size, richness, clarity and energy, the likes of which you may have never experienced on vinyl
  • A brilliant classic folk rock recording but only the right pressings have the potential for Demo Disc quality sound
  • 5 stars and a Top 10 album – in some ways it’s surely the Best Sounding record Cat Stevens ever made
  • This Folk Rock Masterpiece from 1971 is one that belongs in every audiophile’s collection
  • “Tuesday’s Dead,” “Morning Has Broken,” “Bitterblue,” “Moonshadow” “Peace Train” – and that’s just side two! What side of any album has five songs of such quality?

Before I get further into the sound of this record, let me preface my remarks by saying this is a work of GENIUS. Cat Stevens made two records which belong in the Pantheon of greatest popular recordings of all time. In the world of folky pop, Teaser and the Firecat and Tea for the Tillerman have few peers. There may be other recordings that are as good but there are no other recordings that are better.

When you hear The Wind, Changes IV, or If I Laugh on this copy, you will be convinced, as I am, that this is one of the greatest popular recordings in the history of the world. I don’t know of ANY other album that has more LIFE and MUSICAL ENERGY than this one. (more…)

Richard and Linda Thompson – Hokey Pokey

More of the Music of Richard Thompson

  • Superb sound for this classic Richard and Linda Thompson album, with both sides earning solid Double Plus (A++) grades – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • Clearly one of the better copies from our most recent shootout, with much more body, punchier bass and more detail than most others we played
  • Everything you want in the sound of a good British Folk Rock album is here in abundance on this original UK Island pressing – enjoy!
  • Marks in the vinyl are sometimes the nature of the beast with these vintage LPs – there simply is no way around them if the superior sound of vintage analog is important to you
  • 4 stars: “The Thompsons, from the opening Irish fiddle derivation of a Chuck Berry riff, through Linda’s exquisite performance of ‘A Heart Needs a Home,’ to their cover of Mike Waterson’s ‘Mole in a Hole’ which closes the record, once again create a timeless amalgam of folk and rock…”

This is one of Richard and Linda Thompson’s better releases, their second in fact, following the luminous I Want to See the Bright Lights Shine from a year earlier. Rich and full-bodied, with big bass and gobs of studio ambience, this pressing presents the music the way it was meant to be heard (more…)