Radio-Friendly Pop

A lot of great music got played on the radio, and we don’t hold that against them.

The Hollies – He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother

More of The Hollies

  • Some of the best Hollies sound we’ve heard
  • Richer and smoother than most of the copies we’ve played
  • Surprising immediacy and bottom end weight on both sides
  • Engineered by Alan Parsons, but most copies don’t deliver

EXCELLENT SOUND for both sides of this classic Hollies album. We collected these for a long time in hopes of finding a copy that could really deliver, and this one certainly fits the bill! Most people are probably most interested in the title track — and I’m pleased to report it sounds wonderful here — but this album is actually quite solid with a number of good songs. The immediacy and bottom end weight on both sides surprised us and really helped the music come to life.

Many copies we played were too dry and grainy to enjoy. This one is richer and smoother, with only a touch of the grit that we heard on copy after copy. The presence is superb and there’s tons of energy. The overall sound is clean, clear and open with good separation between the instruments. Allan Clarke’s vocals sound natural and full, without the pinched quality we heard on many pressings. We gave both sides A++ grades, it will be very tough to find a copy that performs any better from start to finish. (more…)

Wham! – Make It Big

Pure Pop Albums Available Now

  • Two incredible sides each earning Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades or very close to it
  • Both sides here are super big, full-bodied and Tubey Magical with wonderfully present vocals and a solid bottom end
  • Exceptionally quiet vinyl throughout — Mint Minus to Mint Minus Minus
  • “They succeeded on a grander scale than they ever could have imagined, conquering the world and elsewhere with this effervescent set of giddy new wave pop-soul, thereby making George Michael a superstar… It was an instant classic, and it was the first indication of George Michael’s strengths as a pop craftsman…” – All Music, 4 1/2 Stars

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Roy Orbison – Roy Orbison’s Greatest Hits

More Roy Orbison

  • You’ll find outstanding Double Plus (A++) sound or BETTER on both sides of this Monument stereo pressing
  • The amazingly talented Bill Porter recorded many of Orbison’s classic songs from the early ’60s that are found on this compilation
  • Only a copy this good shows you how phenomenal these timeless songs can sound – rich, open, clear, solid and musical
  • Among monster hits, like “Crying,” “Only the Lonely,” and “Running Scared,” this album includes new releases “Love Star” and “Evergreen” as well

If you think that buying original pressings of an album like this one is the way to find the best sound, you are sorely mistaken. The originals and most reissues on the Monument label are mostly dreadful sounding.

The monos sound bad and the originals sound bad, which means that all the conventional wisdom of record collectors and audiophiles alike has failed to produce the desired result: a good-sounding pressing of the album. What’s a mother to do?

Well, you could do what we did: try them all! If you keep at it long enough eventually you will run into the right pressing, and then you can focus on getting a large enough batch which will allow you to find one that sounds great and plays quietly.

Or you could just buy this one. We already did all that other stuff and this is the pressing that resulted from our labors. (more…)

The Everly Brothers – Both Sides Of An Evening

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More Recordings by Bill Porter

  • You’ll find outstanding sound on this WB Gold Label Stereo original with Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound on the second side and solid Double Plus (A++) sound on the first
  • Another amazingly Tubey Magical recording from the legendary Bill Porter (which may explain why Chet Atkins plays on it) 
  • About as quiet as these early copies come – Mint Minus Minus – records pressed in the early ’60s rarely play even this quiet
  • “In some ways, Both Sides of an Evening was the duo’s most ambitious and mature record to date…”

This ’60s stereo pressing has the kind of Tubey Magical Midrange that modern pressings cannot BEGIN to reproduce. Folks, that sound is gone and it sure isn’t showing any sign of coming back. (more…)

The Hollies – Hollies Sing Hollies

More Hollies

More of our favorite Sixties Pop albums

  • Both sides here were doing everything right — clean, clear and full-bodied with a big punchy bottom end
  • “After delving into more “serious” music with the Dylan album, the Hollies return to their pop roots with this fine effort… as usual, there is inconsistency in the quality of songwriting. However, even the most inconsequential tunes boast a good melody and solid musicianship… this is a good effort that maintains a balance between lightweight and serious pop material.” – All Music

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The Hollies – Live Hits

More Hollies

This is a Minty and wonderful British import Red Label Polydor LP from 1976. The sound is quite good — a bit of hardness creeps in to the loud sections from time to time, but the music is so enjoyable it’s easy to look past that. The Hollies wrote and performed so many great songs in the sixties that I grew up with, playing this record was a real joy. Allan Clarke has such an incredible pop voice, and his bandmates harmonize with him beautifully, it reminds me of how good the radio used to be when I was growing up. They sure don’t sing ’em like this anymore!

Graham Nash is missing, and his high harmony vocal would be a nice addition, but you can’t have everything. What you can have is a  beautifully sung pop album full of great songs.

This is an Older Review.

Most of the older reviews you see are for records that did not go through the shootout process, the revolutionary approach to finding better sounding pressings we developed in the early 2000s and have since turned into a fine art.

We found the records you see in these older listings by cleaning and playing a pressing or two of the album, which we then described and priced based on how good the sound and surfaces were. (For out Hot Stamper listings, the Sonic Grades and Vinyl Playgrades are listed separately.)

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The Beach Boys – Sunflower

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  • A KILLER copy of Sunflower with Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound from first note to last
  • This pressing is surprisingly rich and smooth, with excellent bass and the kind of breathy immediacy to the vocals that only vintage vinyl can offer
  • 4 1/2 stars: “[Sunflower] signaled a creative rebirth for the band, a return to the beautiful harmonies and orchestral productions of their classic mid-’60s material.”

This album — like Surf’s Up, which was released just after it — can really sound wonderful on a good pressing. If you love Pet Sounds, you’ll find plenty of the Beach Boys’ signature harmonies here, all recorded with real richness and warmth. (more…)

Elvis Presley – Pot Luck

More Elvis Presley

  • Excellent Double Plus (A++) sound from first note to last on this surprisingly good sounding record
  • Recorded in Nashville by the brilliant Bill Porter, and with the Jordanaires singing backup, what’s not to like?
  • If you want to know just how rich, spacious, natural and Tubey Magical Elvis’ records can sound, look no further
  • “Pot Luck was a great vehicle for Presley’s voice as it was evolving — ‘She’s Not You’ brilliantly showcased the softer, more intense singing style that had manifested itself just a few months earlier with ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love.'”

If you’ve been on the site for any time at all you know how rare it is for any Elvis album to show up in Hot Stamper form. (more…)

America – Hearts

More America

  • This outstanding pressing boasts solid Double Plus (A++) sound on both sides
  • With George Martin producing and Geoff Emerick engineering, maybe it’s not surprising that this album sound so good!
  • We guarantee there is dramatically more space, richness, vocal presence, and performance energy on this copy than others you’ve heard, and that’s especially true if you made the mistake of buying whatever Heavy Vinyl pressing is currently on the market
  • “This album was a big hit in the US, reaching number 4 on the Billboard album chart and being certified Gold by the RIAA. It produced three hit singles: ‘Sister Golden Hair’, ‘Daisy Jane,’ and ‘Woman Tonight.'” – Wikipedia

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The Mamas and The Papas – The Papas and The Mamas

More of The Mamas and The Papas

  • An outstanding pressing of The Papas and The Mamas with solid Double Plus (A++) sound or BETTER throughout
  • Both of these sides are cleaner, clearer, more present and more Tubey Magical than many of the other copies we played against it
  • “An often misunderstood album, this album was the final record by the Mamas & the Papas. It has held up incredibly well over time, and sounds better today than when it was released in mid-1968. The centerpiece of the album is “Dream a Little Dream,” which very well may be the finest cover version that the group ever recorded, and in the end, was a very nice way to end the group’s short but incredible career.”

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