Heavy Vinyl Mediocrities

Heavy Vinyl mediocrities

Somethin’ Else on Classic Records – More of the Same Old Same Old

More of the Music of Cannonball Adderley

Sonic Grade: C

Another Classic Records LP that’s hard to get excited about.

There are certainly some incredible sounding pressings of this album out there, but who has the resources it takes to find them? Most of the original Blue Notes we come across these days turn out to have mediocre sound, and many of them have severely damaged inner grooves. Even the mintiest looking copies often turn out to be too noisy for most audiophiles, Blue Note vinyl being what it is.

This is of course why the hacks at Classic Records did so well for themselves [until they went under] hawking remastered versions of classic albums pressed on new, quieter vinyl.

The problem is that most of their stuff just doesn’t sound all that hot, this album included. We’ve played it; it’s decent, but any Hot Stamper will show you just how much music you are missing.

If you want to hear this album with amazing fidelity but don’t want to spend the time, money and energy collecting, cleaning, and playing mostly mediocre copies until you luck into a good quiet one, a Hot Stamper pressing is the only way to go.

(more…)

The Definitive Vinyl Version? Perhaps There Is a Third Way

Hot Stamper Pressings of Blue Available Now

If I had to choose one record that separates the men from the boys, the stereos that really work from the typical audiophile system you might read about in the magazines or hear at an audio show or high-end salon, Blue would make a darn good choice.

The problem there is that you have to be one serious record collector to have a great copy of Blue. But good pressings are out there, if you can clean and play them properly. This is exactly why we created a game you can play with Blue.

Naturally we are happy to do the shootouts for you and charge you the pretty penny the winners command, but for those of you who want to find out what’s wrong with the new Blue from Rhino and don’t want to buy a Hot Stamper from us, there is a third way: Blue, the game.

Finding a killer pressing of Blue may be difficult but it’s definitely doable. We are happy to help you get there, but the unfortunate reality is that most of the work has to be done by you.

Playing The Blue Game is designed to help you get started.

Further Reading

The Lonely Hours on Classic Records

More of the Music of Sarah Vaughan

Classic Records remastered this album back in the day, and I can see why: the average pressing on Roulette is borderline unlistenable.

Of course we didn’t know that when we started this shootout. We had found a nice sounding copy and subsequently went on the hunt for more. Little did we know how wide the variation in sound quality we would find on the original Orange Label pressings.

There was simply no denying that many of the copies we played were just too thin, shrill and pinched in the midrange to be of any interest to our audiophile customers.

As mediocre as Bernie’s Classic cutting may be, it’s still better than the average Roulette original one might throw on the turntable.

And you can forget the monos completely; they were by far the worst sounding of them all.

(more…)

Born Under a Bad Sign on Mediocre Sundazed Vinyl

More of the Music of Albert King

Sonic Grade: D

Commenting about the first Hot Stamper pressing of this album ever to come our way, we noted:

This original Stax LP has AMAZING sound. You could not make this record sound any better.

We really liked the  Sundazed copy of this record until we heard this bad boy. It MURDERS their pressing!

It has far more life, energy and presence than the Heavy Vinyl pressing.

We always suspected that a good original would be better but we had no way of knowing since all the copies we saw were beat to death.

In other words, we didn’t know this album very well and we sure had a lot to learn.

(more…)

Brahms / Concerto for Violin & Cello on Cisco Heavy Vinyl

Hot Stamper Pressings Featuring the Violin

Superb Recordings with Jascha Heifetz Performing

[An old review. We would not stand behind what we say here about the superiority of the Cisco pressing over the Shaded Dog.]

The performances here are of course extraordinary, but this has never been one of RCA’s best recordings.

The originals have more Tubey Magic; these 180 gram versions more accuracy of presentation, clarity and definition. Much less distortion too.

Notes From Cisco

It has to rate as one of the most beautiful apologies ever written. Brahms and legendary violinist Joseph Joachim were close friends and professional supporters over thirty years until the composer wrote a letter of support for Joachim’s wife Amalie, during her divorce proceedings against her husband. For six years, Joachim refused to communicate with Brahms. Heartbroken over this, the composer wrote his double concerto as an apology. It worked, to some extent, to mend their friendship. The concerto was Brahm’s last orchestral composition. The debut performance on October 18th 1887, featured the composer conducting, Joachim on violin and (another mutual friend) Robert Haussman on cello. Though not as successful a work as the two piano or the violin concertos, the Double Concerto stands as one of Brahms’ most accomplished compositions.

Jascha Heifetz, no stranger to the works of Brahms, had already recorded the Double Concerto with Emmanuel Feuermann (with Eugene Ormandy conducting) and the Violin Concerto for RCA (with Fritz Reiner conducting). He had also previously performed with his legendary neighbor Gregor Piatigorsky–also signed to RCA at the time. Having them pair up here is convenient and inspired. On this wonderfully dynamic recording, there is none of the “thickness” and “heaviness” Double Concerto recordings are often accused of having. Wallenstein, principal conductor for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, allows his titanic leads to engage the music with passion, lightness and, most of all, joy. This is Brahms affectionately played by some of the world’s greatest musicians.

Cisco’s gorgeous reissue of this Living Stereo classic captures all the magic and excitement of Heifetz and Piatigorsky’s historic 1960 session. Features 180-gram vinyl, a large, 6-page historical notes insert for informative reading and the kind of warm, glorious sound Cisco Music is now famous for.

Tchaikovsky / Violin Concerto – Milstein – Cisco Reviewed

Hot Stamper Pressings Featuring the Violin

Sonic Grade: B? C?

This review was written long ago, when the sonic problems of even the best Heavy Vinyl pressings were not as bothersome as they are now that we have a much improved playback system (equipment, tweaks, room, electricity, cleaning regimen and all the rest).

“C” would probably be the grade I would give the record now. For the price — cheap compared to anything we can sell you — it might represent good value to audiophiles on a budget.

This new Cisco 180 gram LP has WARM, SWEET, TUBEY MAGICAL sound. Tired of the shrill Classic with Heifetz? Here’s a romantic violinist with the kind of tone that draws you into this enchanting music. And Cisco’s sound here will have the same effect. This is a WONDERFUL record in every respect. We love what Milstein did with the famous Dvorak concerto. We think you will love his performance of the Tchaikovsky work every bit as much.

When it comes to romantic violinists, Milstein is The Man.

“It’s another offering from Cisco’s favorite violinist, Nathan Milstein, performing Tchaikovsky’s emotionally enigmatic and structurally sophisticated violin concerto. Every memorable melody and sharply dynamic contrast teems with yearning, purpose and subtext. Milstein’s silvery tone and respectful phrasing illuminates the rich orchestral detailing and majestic arrangement.”

Source: Cisco Music

Tchaikovsky / Serenade for Strings – A Cisco Recommended LP

Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of Tchaikovsky Available Now

Sonic Grade: B? C?

[Reviewed many years ago, so take what you read here with a grain of salt. Our standards are a lot higher than they used to be, and if yours are too, best to stick with the Shaded Dog pressings for albums such as this one.]

This Cisco 180 gram LP has very good sound. The original Shaded Dogs tend to be warmer and sweeter, but also more compressed and a bit smeary. This pressing is alive and present, although the string tone can be a bit steely at times.

If you have a warm, tubey system this record may just be the ticket. If your system leans toward the dry and analytical, this is not the record for you.

Be that as it may, the PERFORMANCE IS KING HERE — one of the best ever recorded, more powerful and more emotional than any I know. This orchestra is on fire with this stirring music. If you haven’t heard Munch’s definitive performance, you haven’t really heard the Serenade for Strings. This is your chance to hear string playing that will have you sitting up in your chair, transfixed by the energy and enthusiasm of the Boston Symphony strings. (more…)

Colors of the Day – DCC Discussed

A classic case of live and learn, maybe. Previously we had written:

Superb sonics. Judy has never sounded better. Not a big seller for DCC but it should have been. Those sweet acoustic guitars are hard to beat. No modern recording has sounded like this for over twenty years, so if you’ve forgotten what a real acoustic guitar sounds like, buy this record and get reacquainted with that sound. Tons of breath of life, superb production and mastering so you can clearly hear her hitting those flat notes (!), and some of the best sounding echo ever recorded.

UPDATE 2007

Addendum to the above comments, posted 11/07

I wrote the above review many many years ago. As you may have read countless times on the site by now, it is my opinion that all such dated judgments are suspect. The major revolutions in vinyl playback that have occurred over the last dozen years have turned many of these old comments on their heads.

Hot Stamper pressings again and again have revealed magic in the mass-produced copies that is simply nowhere to be found in their audiophile counterparts.

Whether this is true for this particular title I can honestly say I don’t know.  We are going to play some copies of the album and will report our findings down the road, so Judy Collins fans, stay tuned.

Famous Blue Raincoat – How Do the Various Vinyl Versions Sound?

More of the Music of Jennifer Warnes

More of the Music of Leonard Cohen

What’s interesting about the Cypress LPs is that they come two very different ways. Most of them are ridiculously thin, bright, grainy and digital sounding. This explains why some audiophiles in the past have preferred the Canadian pressings: they are smoother and fuller.

However, compared to the good stamper domestic versions they are dull and lifeless.

The Classic 180 gram reissue that came out a number of years ago was somewhere in between the good stamper originals and the bad stamper originals. The better sounding Cypress pressings absolutely MURDER it.

As far as the new Cisco 45 RPM pressings are concerned, we’ve never bothered to crack one open and play it. It’s been quite a while since Bernie cut any record that we thought sounded good, and some of his recent work has been unbelievably bad (the Doors box comes readily to mind), so we’ve never felt motivated enough to make the effort.

He cut many versions of this record as you probably know, some of which have turned out to be Hot Stampers, but that was a long time ago.

Does the Audio World really need another Heavy Vinyl Debunking entry from us? If Heavy Vinyl pressings are giving you the sound you want, you sure don’t need to be wasting your time on our site.

Those sacred cows get slaughtered pretty regularly around here.

(more…)

Brahms / Piano Concerto No. 2 – Cisco Reviewed

More of the Music of Johannes Brahms

A Heavy Vinyl pressing from Cisco / Impex.

It’s been quite a while since I played the Cisco pressing, but I remember it as being quite good.

At the time we wrote:

The overall sound is smooth and spacious. The piano may lack the full weight of the live instrument, but that’s RCA’s fault, not Cisco’s. If you can look past that you will find this to be one of the better Living Stereo reissues available today.

We’ll just have to go with that for now, since we haven’t played the record in more than ten years.

(more…)