Soul / RnB / Reggae, etc.

Michael Jackson / Thriller – A Rock, Pop and Soul Masterpiece

More of the Music of Michael Jackson

  • With solid Double Plus (A++) grades from top to bottom, we guarantee you’ve never heard Michael Jackson’s Masterpiece of hard rockin’ funky pop sound this good – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • The sound is huge – big, wide, deep, and open, with a punchy bottom end and rhythmic energy to spare, as well as cleaner, smoother, sweeter upper mids and a more extended top
  • A Top 100 title and 5 stars on AMG: “This was a record that had something for everybody, building on the basic blueprint of Off the Wall by adding harder funk, hard rock, softer ballads, and smoother soul — expanding the approach to have something for every audience.”
  • In our estimation, there are about 40 Must Own rock, pop and soul records from the 80s, and if there’s any album that belongs on that list, it’s Thriller
  • There is a version cut at Half-Speed by Mobile Fidelity, and as you can imagine, we did not much care for it

This is some of the best High-Production-Value rock/pop/soul music of the 80s. The amount of effort that went into the recording of Thriller is comparable to that expended by the engineers and producers of bands like Supertramp, The Who, Jethro Tull, Ambrosia, Pink Floyd and far too many others of our favorites to list. It seems that no effort or cost was spared in making the home listening experience as compelling as the recording technology of the day permitted.

Sound that came lumping-out-of-the-speakers coupled with driving rhythmic energy were the hallmarks of the best copies. These qualities really brought this complex music to life, gave it room to breathe, and made it possible for us to enjoy the hell out of it. This is yet another definition of a Hot Stamper — it’s the copy that lets the music work as music. (more…)

Otis Redding and Carla Thomas – King and Queen

More Soul, Blues and R&B

  • An early Stax Stereo pressing of this superb collaboration with seriously good Double Plus (A++) grades or BETTER from top to bottom
  • These sides are doing just about everything right — they’re bigger, richer, fuller, with better bass and more Tubey Magic than most other copies we played
  • The Heavy Vinyl may be passable, but if you want a vintage pressing of an album like this, one that is so difficult to find in audiophile playing condition these days, it is going to cost you – sorry!
  • There’s Tubey Magic, sweetness and spaciousness all over this recording – you won’t believe how good it sounds
  • 4 1/2 stars: “Redding and Thomas enjoy an undeniable chemistry, and they play off each other wonderfully; while sparks fly furiously throughout King & Queen . . . their battle of the sexes reaches its fever pitch in supremely witty fashion.”
  • If you’re a fan of Sixties Soul, this early pressing from 1967 must surely belong in your collection.

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Aretha Franklin – Live at Fillmore West

More of the Music of Aretha Franklin

  • A vintage pressing of this classic live album with an INCREDIBLE Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) side one mated to a solid Double Plus (A++) side two – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • Aretha’s cover of “Bridge Over Troubled Water” is truly amazing, but really, there’s not a weak track here – her covers of current material take those songs to another level entirely
  • 4 1/2 stars: “The music here sparkles and crackles with the energy of a top-flight rhythm section — Cornell Dupree on guitar, Bernard Purdie on drums, and Jerry Jemmott on bass, with Billy Preston on organ, Curtis on saxophone, and the Memphis Horns… the most dramatic and deeply satisfying of Aretha Franklin’s live recordings, and is a historical document that every soul fan should own…”

Aretha’s cover of Bridge Over Troubled Water has STUNNINGLY GOOD SOUND and check out how good Ray Charles’s voice sounds when he guests on Spirit In The Dark!

Please note that there is some low-level stage buzz behind the music at times. It’s noted in the liner notes, so it’s obviously not a problem with this copy. It’s mildly annoying, but it’s certainly not a dealbreaker. The music and sound are still very enjoyable. One other note — side two seems to be cut a little lower than side one, so give side two a little extra volume for best results.

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Aretha Franklin – Aretha Now

More of the Music of Aretha Franklin

  • A killer sounding pressing of this early Atlantic label LP with Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it on both sides
  • Here is the kind of Tubey Magical Midrange that modern pressings barely begin to reproduce – folks, that sound is gone and it sure isn’t showing any sign of coming back
  • Problems in the vinyl are sometimes the nature of the beast with these early pressings – there simply is no way around them if the superior sound of vintage analog is important to you
  • 4 1/2 stars: “… this still caught Aretha Franklin at the peak of her early form. ‘Think,’ ‘I Say a Little Prayer,’ ‘See Saw,’ and ‘I Can’t See Myself Leaving You’ were all big hits.”

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Isaac Hayes – Shaft

More Soul, Blues, and R&B

  • Superb Double Plus (A++) grades or close to them bring Hayes’s 2-LP soundtrack album to life on these vintage pressings – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • It took us close to two years to find enough copies with good sound and decent vinyl to do a shootout, and these outstanding pressings are the result of all that digging, cleaning and evaluating
  • 4 1/2 stars: “Isaac Hayes was undoubtedly one of the era’s most accomplished soul artists, having helped elevate Stax to its esteemed status… And with ‘Theme from Shaft,’ he delivered an anthem just as ambitious and revered as the film itself, a song that has only grown more treasured over the years, after having been an enormously popular hit at the time of its release.”

This copy of the Shaft Soundtrack has wonderful sound throughout, and that ain’t no jive talkin’! We collected a bunch of these and after putting them through the shootout process we were delighted to find out that some of the material on here can sound amazingly good on the best pressings. What earned these four sides such good grades? They’re simply richer, fuller and livelier than most. They’re also more open and transparent, with notably improved clarity, much less smear, and tighter, more note-like bass.

Find your favorite song on here, drop the needle, and see if the dramatically improved sound doesn’t bring back some special memories, and maybe even inspire you to bust a move. (more…)

Al Green – Green Is Blues

More Soul, Blues, and R&B

  • Green Is Blues returns to the site for only the second time in nearly four years, here with solid Double Plus (A++) sound from first note to last
  • A tough title to find in audiophile playing condition – good luck finding one any quieter
  • Remarkably spacious and three-dimensional on both sides, as well as relaxed and full-bodied – this pressing was one of the better we played in our most recent shootout
  • A superb collaboration between Al and Willie Mitchell, whose brilliant and skillful production elevated Al’s music to new heights
  • “[Green] sang with the conviction and talent that provided the final component in an artistically and commercially satisfying union.”

What an album! For soul-infused vocals we know of nobody who did it better than Al Green recording for Hi Records.

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Prince – Around The World In A Day

More of the Music of Prince

  • With INCREDIBLE Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades from top to bottom, we guarantee you’ve never heard Around The World In A Day sound this good – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • This copy was just bigger and richer than any other we played, with rock solid energy to beat them all
  • Clean and clear and open are nice qualities to have, but rich and full are harder to come by on this record – but here they are!
  • “If Prince had streamlined and rocked up his approach for global domination, now he was creating something more intimate, cerebral, and challenging… a brave and deeply personal project, exploring sounds and ideas that were almost shocking coming from a pop icon at his peak.” – Pitchfork

The best copies sound pretty much the way the best copies of most Classic Rock records sound: tonally correct, rich, clear, sweet, smooth, open, present, lively, big, spacious, Tubey Magical, with breathy vocals and little to no spit, grit, grain or grunge.

That’s the sound of analog, and the best copies of this title have that sound.

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David Bowie – Let’s Dance

More of the Music of David Bowie

  • With two excellent Double Plus (A++) sides, this vintage pressing can rock with the best of them – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • It’s all here: huge amounts of solid bass, clear guitar transients, breathy, natural vocals, and jump out of the speakers presence and energy
  • A real Demo Disc on the right system – “Modern Love,” “China Girl” and the title track are knockouts when you play them good and loud
  • On a Hot Stamper pressing that sounds as good as this one does, Omar Hakim’s drumming will rock your world like nothing you have heard
  • Top 100, of course – Let’s Dance is one of the best sounding Bowie albums ever recorded – this superb pressing is proof
  • One of the best releases of 1983, although that may not be saying much, since by 1983 popular music was definitely headed downhill — Bowie himself would never again release an album as good as Let’s Dance

Bowie is without question one of the all time great frontmen and producers. This is his last good album and a Must Own for audiophiles, especially if you have big dynamic speakers. Like we say, with this one you are in for a treat.

Hearing a top copy of Let’s Dance is truly a special experience; the damn thing is amazingly well recorded, especially considering it came along well after the Golden Age of Rock Recording (the ’60s and ’70s, don’t you know). The sound is analog at its best; rich, full and super-punchy.

I have never heard a CD in my life with this kind of Tubey Magical richness and sweetness. That medium never does justice to the sound of recordings like this one, in my experience anyway. People who exclusively play CDs have forgotten what that sound is; that’s why they can happily live without it. I sure can’t. At present, this sound is exclusively the domain of analog and likely to remain so well into the future.

In addition, the musicianship is Top Notch and then some. Omar Hakim’s drumming is powerful, energetic, and performed with military precision. The guy is out of his mind on this album.

The combination of Nile Rodgers and the Legendary Stevie Ray Vaughn on guitar makes for a tasty, intricate mix of subtle rhythm work and searing leads. Or is that soaring leads? Hey, on this album it’s both.

If you’re a fan of big drums in a big room, this is the album for you.

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Stevie Wonder – Talking Book

More of the Music of Stevie Wonder

  • This is a Talking Book that sounds the way you always hoped it would, with solid Double Plus (A++) grades from top to bottom – fairly (and unusually) quiet vinyl for this notoriously problematic title
  • Richer, warmer, more natural, more relaxed, this is what vintage analog is all about, that smooth sound that never calls attention to itself and just lets the music flow
  • So many great songs: “You Are the Sunshine of My Life,” “Tuesday Heartbreak,” “You’ve Got It Bad Girl,” “Superstition,” and many, many more
  • “Superstition” is one of the funkiest songs ever recorded, with my favorite clavinet work of all time
  • Add in moog bass and, with big speakers playing at loud levels, you now have yourself a Demo Disc for funky low end that’s so good it’s hard to believe
  • Finding copies with audiophile sound and surfaces, and no scratches that play, is no mean feat, which makes this a very special one indeed
  • 5 stars: “What had been hinted at on the intriguing project Music of My Mind was here focused into a laser beam of tight songwriting, warm electronic arrangements, and ebullient performances — altogether the most realistic vision of musical personality ever put to wax…”
  • One customer who loved his Hot Stamper pressing of the album took our critics to task in a letter he wrote to us not long ago
  • If I could recommend one Stevie Wonder album to every audiophile and music lover, it would be Fulfillingness’ First Finale. No record collection should be without it, and Innervisions as well, the two albums which happen to be his best sounding with his best music. (Talking Book and Songs in the Key of Life, in that order, would be right behind them.)

Those of you familiar with this record will not be surprised to learn that these shootouts are TOUGH. Very few copies are any better than mediocre, and the Motown vinyl holds many of the better sounding pressings back with excessive noise and grain.

This copy is more dynamic, open and transparent than most pressings by far. There’s ton of space around all of the instruments, the bass is big and punchy and the vocals are present, warm and tonally right on the money. (more…)

Ray Charles / The Genius After Hours

More of the Music of Ray Charles

charlgenius

  • The Genius After Hours debuts on the site with INSANELY GOOD Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) MONO sound from first note to last
  • Both of these sides are doing everything right – richer, fuller, better bass, more Tubey Magic, and the list goes on
  • We wasted a lot of time and money chasing after early pressings, but no matter what stampers they might have, none of them could compete with this late reissue, and it wasn’t even close
  • This collection of instrumentals gives you a taste of Ray’s prowess at the piano, with amazing sound to boot
  • 4 1/2 stars: “Taken from the same three sessions as The Great Ray Charles but not duplicating any of the performances, this set casts Charles as a jazz-oriented pianist in an instrumental setting. Fine music – definitely a change of pace for Ray Charles.”

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