Soul / RnB / Reggae, etc.

Dr. John – Dr. John’s Gumbo

More Roots Rock

  • Dr. John’s Gumbo returns to the site for only the second time in years, here with solid Double Plus (A++) grades or BETTER on both sides of this original Atco pressing – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • Full, lively, and solid, this copy has just the right sound for this collection of quintessential New Orleans Rhythm and Blues tracks
  • The superbly talented Keith Olsen engineered – just one year later he would record Buckingham-Nicks, and two years after that Fleetwood Mac
  • 4 1/2 Stars: “Dr. John’s Gumbo bridged the gap between post-hippie rock and early rock & roll, blues, and R&B… that sly fusion of styles makes Dr. John’s Gumbo one of Dr. John’s finest albums.”

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Jimmy Witherspoon – Handbags and Gladrags

More Jimmy Witherspoon

More Soul, Blues, and R&B

  • With INSANELY GOOD Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound from start to finish, this vintage ABC pressing is certainly as good a copy as we have ever heard
  • These sides are doing everything right – they’re super big, rich and lively, with an abundance of extension at both ends
  • Spacious and transparent, this copy has the three-dimensional soundstaging and natural vocal reproduction that makes these kinds of records such a joy to play (and in the process a record this good makes a mockery of the veiled, lifeless, ambience-free sound of the modern Heavy Vinyl reissue)
  • Sorry about the ABC vinyl — it’s the rare copy that plays much quieter, one of the main reasons you never see this title on the site

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Bob Marley – Babylon By Bus

More Island Records

  • These vintage British pressings boast solid Hot Stamper grades or BETTER on all FOUR sides – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • As you can imagine, any Reggae Island UK import is very hard to come by – not to mention expensive – with audiophile playing surfaces, but here’s a very good one
  • It’s richer, fuller and with more presence than the average copy, and that’s especially true for whatever godawful Heavy Vinyl pressing is currently being foisted on an unsuspecting record buying public
  • 5 stars: “Arguably the most influential live reggae album ever, Babylon by Bus captures Bob Marley and the Wailers during the European leg of their Kaya tour in the spring of 1978. The success of this set was not entirely unexpected, however. If the universal and widespread acclaim of Live! – their first concert recording – was an indicator, all involved knew that a Bob Marley & the Wailers performance contained unique energies and a vibe all of its own … an integral component of any popular music collection.”

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Earth, Wind and Fire – Raise!

More Earth, Wind and Fire

  • With STUNNING Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it throughout, this vintage copy is guaranteed to blow the doors off any other Raise! you’ve heard – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • These sides are doing practically everything right – they’re big, full-bodied and remarkably present with an abundance of space around all of the players
  • “In such songs as the hit single “Let’s Groove” and the fast, cutting “Lady Sun,” the horn section screams like a car running a red light. This is city music, a welcome departure from the somewhere-over-the-galaxy mooniness that group leader Maurice White has too often succumbed to in the past. On Raise!, White’s romanticism is slinkier, more seductive. The lyrics of “My Love” may prattle, but the guitars that frame the tune are light and sexy. Even at his dizziest – e.g., “Evolution Orange,” a variation on seeing the world in a piece of fruit, White roots his music in the earth.” – Rolling Stone

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Roberta Flack – Featuring Donny Hathaway

More Roberta Flack

More Soul, Blues, and Rhythm and Blues

  • This vintage Atlantic pressing of two of the greatest voices in soul music earned STUNNING Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades or close to them on both sides
  • Here are just a few of the things we had to say about this incredible copy in our notes: “very full, rich, and punchy”…”breathy vox”…”fully extended from top to bottom”…”jumping out of the speakers”…”big and weighty”
  • The overall sound here is rich, full-bodied and lively, with solid and present vocals, as well as excellent clarity all around
  • “The combination of Donny Hathaway and Roberta Flack undeniably ranks atop the all-time great duet parings in the history of R&B. Any opportunity to have one guest on the other’s recordings brought out a sensual energy not to be denied… Flack’s distinct and beautiful voice brings a level of class to this outing that few of her contemporaries were able to achieve.” (more…)

Booker T & The M.G.’s – Melting Pot

More Booker T & The M.G.’s

  • This vintage Stax pressing (the first copy to hit the site in over two and a half years) boasts solid Double Plus (A++) grades or BETTER from start to finish – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • Side two was sonically very close to our Shootout Winner – you will be shocked at how big and powerful the sound is
  • Here you will find the Midrange Magic, richness, fullness and presence that’s surely missing from whatever 180g reissue has been made from the tapes (or, to be clear, a modern digital master copied from who-knows-what-tapes)
  • 4 1/2 stars: “Melting Pot could be the most well-realized of all the albums by Booker T. & the M.G.’s, a smooth and soulful, yet expansive 35 minutes of all originals…”

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Michael Jackson – Off The Wall

More Michael Jackson

Reviews and Commentaries for Off the Wall

  • A vintage pressing of this MJ classic with some of the most heartfelt, emotional and powerful music he ever recorded, here with solid Double Plus (A++) grades or close to them – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • Believe it or not, no copies in our most recent shootout, aside from the shootout winner and Nearly White Hot, had even Super Hot stampers on both sides, which was surprising since we know the right stampers and there were plenty of them in the shootout
  • If you need top quality sound, and assuming it takes as long to get our next shootout going as it did this last one, please check back with us in late 2025
  • The sound is lively, punchy, and powerful (particularly on side one) – with all due respect, it should murder whatever copies you may have
  • We’re constantly blown away by just how good the best copies of Off The Wall sound – what a recording!
  • 5 stars: “This was a visionary album … part of a colorful tapestry of lush ballads and strings, smooth soul and pop, soft rock, and alluring funk.”
  • This is our pick for MJ’s best sounding album. Roughly 150 other listings for the best recording by an artist or group can be found here on the blog

As consistently brilliant as Thriller may be musically — it is the biggest selling album of all time, after all [scratch that, the Eagles Greatest Hits took the top spot away from Thriller in 2018] — speaking strictly in terms of sonics, the sound of the better copies of Off The Wall are substantially sweeter, tubier, more natural, richer, and more analog than Thriller.

Thriller is clearly more aggressive and processed-sounding than Off The Wall. “The Girl Is Mine” or “Human Nature” from Thriller would fit just fine anywhere on Off The Wall, but could the same be said for “Beat It” or “Thriller”? Just thinking about them you can hear the artificiality of the sound of both those songs in your head. Think about the snare that opens “Beat It.” I’ve never heard a snare sound like that in my life. Practically no instrument on Off The Wall has that kind of overly processed EQ’d sound.

Normally when you have a copy with plenty of presence, it can be somewhat sibilant in places. Sibilance is hardly a problem here. For some reason this copy has all the highs, but it’s cut so clean it practically doesn’t spit at all. Even on the song “I Can’t Help It,” which normally has a problem in that respect. Since that’s my favorite song on this album, and probably my favorite MJ song of all time, hearing it sound so good was a revelation.

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Dionne Warwick / Very Dionne

More Pop and Jazz Vocal Recordings

More Recordings Engineered by Phil Ramone

  • You’ll find solid Double Plus (A++) sound or close to it throughout this vintage Scepter pressing (one of only a handful of copies to hit the site in years)
  • This side one is superb – the bass is tight and punchy, the strings have lots of texture, and the background vocals are clean and clear, and side two is not far behind in all those areas
  • The midrange is full of that old analog Tubey Magic (particularly on side one), courtesy of Larry Levine and Phil Ramone, the kind that has completely disappeared from the modern record (even the modern reissue of a vintage record)
  • Note that the first track on side one simply does not sound good for some reason – we’re not sure what happened there but a screwup in the studio is our guess
  • “The album’s wide variety of styles summed up much of what made Warwick’s back catalog so universally appealing. In addition to a handful of new Burt Bacharach and Hal David sides, the platter boasts tasteful reworkings of pop music staples. One unmitigated zenith is ‘I Got Love’ from the Ossie Davis Broadway production Purlie. Once again, Warwick — under [Marty] Paich’s direction — equals if not surpasses Melba Moore’s stage presentation.”

Folks, don’t expect to see records like this coming to the site too often. We can’t find them anymore in this kind of clean condition, so if you like the lovely Ms Warwick, consider taking this one home and giving her (the record, not Dionne) a spin on your table.

Notice how the limiter on Dionne’s microphone is working overtime. She is practically shouting into it but it never seems to get much louder. Still the energy and the passion come through clearly. That’s the sign of a well-recorded vocal track.

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Sade – Diamond Life

More Sade

More Titles We Only Offer on Import LP

  • Both sides of this original UK import have stunning sound for Sade’s debut LP, earning Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades or close to them – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • Here are just a few of the things we had to say about this killer copy in our notes: “big and rich and breathy”…”silky and focused vox”…”really solid and weighty drums”…”natural and roomy”…”HTF! [hard to fault] (side two)”
  • The key to the best copies is Tubey Magical richness and sweetness, and this vintage analog import has plenty of both
  • 4 1/2 stars: “[Sade] projects a wised-up sensuality, and the record neither creaks with the revivalism of Harry Connick nor the sterility of Simply Red, to name but two of Sade’s neo-cocktail rivals.”

This copy gives you the kind of present, breathy vocals absolutely critical to this music. There’s no denying the power of Sade’s sultry voice when you can actually hear it. All it takes is a top copy such as this to make her talents — and those of her bandmates — abundantly clear. (more…)

Anita Baker – Giving You The Best That I Got

  • Outstanding sonics throughout this vintage Elektra pressing, with both sides earning solid Double Plus (A++) grades
  • Key to the sound is richness and Tubey Magic, along with strong midrange presence, and on this pressing you get all three
  • We remembered this as a good recording and were still surprised with how good the better copies sounded
  • 4 stars: “…far superior to most of 1988’s uninspired R&B releases. Instead of tampering with Rapture’s consistently romantic and mellow soul/pop approach, Elektra brought back that album’s producer, Michael J. Powell, and kept [Baker] at the top of the charts with such sleek yet earthy fare as ‘Just Because,’ ‘Priceless,’ the haunting ‘Good Love,’ and the title song.”

We had a ton of copies for our recent shootout and can report that the typical pressings tend to be veiled, grainy, and lifeless. Most of them lacked richness, but a few of them had surprising analog qualities that gave the music a smoother, fuller sound.

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