Vocals, Female

Peggy Lee – Big Spender

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More Pop and Jazz Vocal Albums

  • Big Spender makes its Hot Stamper Debut here with Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound from start to finish
  • In-the-room presence, preternaturally breathy vocals, and boatloads of wonderful Tubey Magic
  • Everything sounds immediate and unprocessed, the hallmarks of analog – no other copy in our shootout put a living, breathing Peggy Lee right between our speakers the way this one did
  • There are a lot of bad sounding albums in Miss Lee’s catalog, but this one from Capitol in 1966 on the early stereo label showed us that there are some real winners too

John Krauss engineered brilliantly. You know him from many of Julie London‘s best recordings, albums such as Julie Is Her Name, Calendar Girl, Julie… At Home and Around Midnight. 

This is some awful good company if you ask me! (more…)

Ella Fitzgerald – Sings The Rodgers And Hart Song Book

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  • Fitzgerald’s second Songbook release finally arrives on the site with stunning Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it on all four of these wonderful mono sides
  • There’s real Tubey Magic on this album, along with breathy vocals, in-your-listening-room midrange presence and no shortage of swingin’ energy
  • We would love to find you a quiet, amazing sounding copy, but that just does not seem to be in the cards
  • 5 stars: “The second of Ella Fitzgerald’s famed Songbook series features her singing 34 of the best songs co-written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. The arrangements by Buddy Bregman for the string orchestra and big band only border on jazz but she manages to swing the medium-tempo numbers and give sensitivity to the ballads. “

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The Norman Luboff Choir – Reverie with Demo Disc Quality Sound

More Pop and Jazz Vocal Albums

More Top Shelf Pressings

  • Reverie arrives on the site with STUNNING Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound from start to finish – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • This pressing brings the big-as-life Norman Luboff Choir right into your listening room – Demo Disc Quality Sound barely begins to do it justice
  • If you have never heard one of these phenomenally Tubey Magical Columbia choir recordings, you may just have your mind blown by how much more natural and real the voices sound compared to anything released on vinyl in the last fifty years
  • Sure, some might call it corny White Bread music, but the sound is so enchanting you may actually find yourself back in 1959, lost in the glorious sound and music of another world

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Ella Fitzgerald – The Rodgers & Hart Song Book, Volume 1

  • A superb copy with outstanding Double Plus (A++) sound from first note to last – exceptionally quiet vinyl for a pressing of this vintage
  • The 1956 recording quality is excellent, with orchestral space and midrange richness that puts this pressing well above most of what we played
  • 5 stars: “The arrangements by Buddy Bregman for the string orchestra and big band only border on jazz but she manages to swing the medium-tempo numbers and give sensitivity to the ballads. With such songs as “You Took Advantage of Me,” “The Lady Is a Tramp,” “It Never Entered My Mind,” “Where or When,” “My Funny Valentine,” and “Blue Moon,” it is not too surprising that these recordings were so popular.”

This ’50s LP has 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. (more…)

Della Reese – Della by Starlight

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More Pop and Jazz Vocal Albums

  • An outstanding copy of Della by Starlight with solid Double Plus (A++) sound on both sides
  • Balanced, musical, present and full-bodied throughout – this pressing puts a living, breathing, big-as-life Della Reese performing at the peak of her vocal powers right in your listening room
  • The key to the best copies is Tubey Magical richness and sweetness, and this vintage analog copy has plenty of both

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Peggy Lee – In Love Again!

More Peggy Lee

  • This outstanding pressing boasts solid Double Plus (A++) sound or BETTER from start to finish – exceptionally quiet vinyl for a vintage Capitol pressing as well
  • This copy is rich, full-bodied and Tubey Magical – we’re dealing with an All Tube Analog recording chain from 1963 after all – with present, sweet, breathy vocals, the kind that practically no modern Heavy Vinyl record can offer
  • Stick with stereo on this album. The Mono pressings — at least the ones we’ve played — aren’t worth anybody’s time (scratch that: any audiophile’s time)
  • “… 12 quality performances from a highly identifiable singer who is not shy about taking other people’s material and re-imagining it or about coming up with her own vehicles.”

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Ella Fitzgerald – Sings the Harold Arlen Song Book #2

 

  • This STUNNING stereo pressing of the Harold Arlen Song Book earned Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades, or close to them, on both sides
  • One of the best copies to hit the site in a long time, Ella is incredibly rich, Tubey Magical and breathy throughout
  • Check out all the great songs here: Come Rain Or Come Shine, It’s Only A Paper Moon, One For My Baby, Get Happy, I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues, Over The Rainbow, and more
  • 5 stars: “Of all of her Songbooks, the Harold Arlen and Duke Ellington sets are the most jazz-oriented.”

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Ella Fitzgerald – Ella Swings Lightly

Hot Stamper Pressings of Ella Fitzgerald’s Albums Available Now

Ella Fitzgerald Albums We’ve Reviewed

  • This original Bow Tie Verve Stereo pressing is going to be very hard to beat – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • Lovely All Tube sound from 1958, with a huge, rich orchestra conducted by one of our favorite arrangers, Marty Paich 
  • Grammy Award for Best Improvised Jazz Solo – these were the days when Ella was on top of the world
  • “The bright, sunny optimism of Fitzgerald’s style comes through in several tracks, including ‘If I Were a Bell’ (which also includes several remarkable variations on the melody), and ‘Teardrops From My Eyes’ (which alternates between rock and jazz beats—not a big leap back then!)”

When you are lucky enough to find an album chock full of standards from the Great American Songbook, you cannot help but recognize that this era for Ella will never be equaled, by her or anyone else.

The recording is excellent, with space and midrange richness that might just take your breath away. (more…)

Ella Fitzgerald / These Are The Blues – Another Top Ella Title

Hot Stamper Pressings of Ella Fitzgerald’s Albums Available Now

Ella Fitzgerald Albums We’ve Reviewed

  • An outstanding early Stereo copy with solid Double Plus (A++) sound from start to finish
  • Only the best vintage pressings like this one offer the kind of Tubey Magic that was on the tapes in 1963
  • Allmusic Users 4 1/2 stars: “Ella Fitzgerald was never thought of as a blues singer but she does a surprisingly effective job on the ten blues songs here, including “See See Rider,” “Trouble in Mind,” “St. Louis Blues,” and Bessie Smith’s “Jailhouse Blues.” She somehow sings more or less in the style of the classic blues vocalists of the 1920s and largely pulls it off. …organist Wild Bill Davis (with assistance from guitarist Herb Ellis, bassist Ray Brown, and drummer Gus Johnson) dominate the ensembles. It’s an interesting set.”blues

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Nina Simone – Nina Simone at Town Hall

  • STUNNING sound for the Hot Stamper debut of this superb live album, featuring Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades on both sides
  • The kind of Tubey Magical, tonally correct, spacious sound on this Colpix stereo pressing is nothing less than an audiophile THRILL
  • The piano sounds amazing here – natural and dynamic, letting Simon’s passionate playing shine
  • 5 stars: “One of Nina Simone’s finest recordings… From the start of her career, Nina Simone carved out her own unique niche, meshing together her classical piano technique with folk singing, civil rights protest lyrics and jazz. All of those elements are in evidence on this highly recommended set.”

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