Capitol

Tina Turner – Break Every Rule

More Tina Turner

More Women Who Rock

  • Break Every Rule makes its Hot Stamper debut with solid Double Plus (A++) sound or BETTER throughout this original Capitol pressing – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • These sides are bigger and richer and have more of the rock solid energy that’s missing from the average copy
  • Turn this one up good and loud (which you can do when the sound is right) and you’ll have a living, breathing Tina Turner singing her heart out right in front of you
  • “Throughout Break Every Rule, Turner sounds as if she had the time, guidance and confidence to really master these songs. The result is a potent display of passion and control, and that alone would make this record worth discovering.” – Rolling Stone

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The Beach Boys – Endless Summer

More of The Beach Boys

More Sixties Pop

  • This 2-LP compilation set from 1974 boasts excellent Double Plus (A++) sound or close to it on all FOUR sides of these vintage Capitol pressings – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • A copy like this is a rare audiophile treat – here are The Beach Boys’ marvelous harmonies sounding as rich, warm, clear, natural and lively as you could ever hope to hear them (particularly on sides one, two, and four)
  • 5 stars: “Endless Summer, which was assembled in consultation with Mike Love, soared to number one and charted high over two subsequent summers (spending three years on the charts, the longest of any of the group’s albums).”

Like any compilation, some tracks sound better than others, but the best sounding tracks on here easily rank with any Beach Boys vinyl we’ve ever played. And the material on here is so good and so comprehensive that for most of you this and Pet Sounds should be all the Beach Boys you’ll ever need.

The sound here is big, open, rich and full, with the performers front and center (as well as left and right). The highs are extended and silky sweet. The bass is tight and punchy. And this copy gives you more life and energy than others by a long shot. Very few Beach Boys records offer the kind of realistic, lifelike sound you get from these pressings.

Fresh Tapes

These vintage LPs also have the Midrange Magic that’s no doubt missing from whatever 180g reissue has been made from the 50+ year old tapes. As good as that pressing may be, we guarantee that this one is dramatically more real sounding. It gives you the sense that all the boys (and the Wrecking Crew) are right in the room with you.

They’re no longer a representation — they’re living, breathing persons. We call that “the breath of life,” and this record has it in spades. Their voices are so rich, sweet, and free of any artificiality, you immediately find yourself lost in the music.

As any record collector knows all too well, Capitol pressings are all over the map. When you find a good one, you can be pretty sure it’s the exception, not the rule. That’s been our experience, and we’ve played them by the hundreds.

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Shelly Manne & Jack Marshall – Sounds!

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  • Sounds! makes its Hot Stamper debut on this original Capitol Stereo pressing with stunning Nearly Triple Plus (A++ to A+++) sound from start to finish – just shy of our Shootout Winner
  • Spacious, rich and smooth – only vintage analog seems capable of reproducing all three of these qualities without sacrificing resolution, staging, imaging or presence
  • The follow up to Sounds Unheard Of!, the duo’s 1962 stereo test and demo record released on the Contemporary label

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The Beach Boys – Spirit of America

More of The Beach Boys

More Sixties Pop

  • The Beach Boys compilation follow-up to Endless Summer finally arrives on the site with two Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sides mated with two outstanding Double Plus (A++) sides – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • This copy get the midrange right, and since that is where The Beach Boys’ voices are, that puts it well ahead of the other pressings we played n the first two sides
  • “Spirit of America was downright refreshing in its succinct, bracing brevity, singles and album tracks alike.”
  • If you’re a fan of the Beach Boys, this 1975 release surely belongs in your collection

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June Christy – Gone For The Day

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More Pop and Jazz Vocal Recordings

  • Amazing sound on this original Capitol Turquoise Mono pressing, with solid Double Plus (A++) grades or close to them from first note to last
  • Rich, smooth, sweet, full of ambience, dead on correct tonality, and wonderfully breathy vocals, not to mention boatloads of Capitol Tubey Magic – everything that we listen for in a great record is here (particularly on side two)
  • Take this one home and play it against whatever audiophile pressings you own – it’s guaranteed to beat any and all versions you have in your collection, or your money back
  • “One of June Christy’s two 1957 Capitol LPs, Gone for the Day boasts Pete Rugolo arrangements and a 12-piece group of mostly West Coast all-stars…includ[ing] trumpeter Don Fagerquist, trombonist Frank Rosolino, altoist Bud Shank, and Bob Cooper on tenor.”
  • If you’re a fan of June’s, this Top Title from 1957 belongs in your collection
  • The complete list of titles from 1957 that we’ve reviewed to date can be found here.

The shootout winner for this title may have been the best sounding June Christy record we’ve ever played.

Musically this album is right up there with the best female vocal records we know of, the creme de la creme, albums on the level of Julie Is Her Name, Clap Hands and Something Cool. It really doesn’t get much better than this.

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Peggy Lee – Sugar ‘N’ Spice

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  • An excellent copy of Sugar ‘N’ Spice with Double Plus (A++) sound throughout
  • So hugely spacious and three-dimensional, yet with a tonally correct and natural sounding Peggy, this is the way to hear it
  • This ’60s 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
  • “Peggy Lee is in fine voice throughout this jazz-flavored set, backed by ensembles arranged by Benny Carter, Billy Byers, Billy May, and Shorty Rogers. One of [her] better recordings from the early ’60s.”
  • “Peggy is in fine voice and brings her sweet feminine tones to her ballads and her salty, seductive sounds to the more uptempo material.”
  • If you’re a fan of Miss Lee,  or vintage pop and jazz vocals in general, this album from the Golden Age of 1962 is surely one that belongs in your collection. (As one reviewer noted below, ignore the bad wig and lousy cover art.)

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The Band – Stage Fright

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More Roots Rock LPs

  • With killer Nearly Triple Plus (A++ to A+++) sound throughout, this vintage Capitol pressing is close to the BEST we have ever heard, right up there with our Shootout Winner
  • Both of these sides boast Tubey Magical richness, musical tonality and big bottom end few other copies can touch
  • “Stage Fright” and “The Shape I’m In” are among the most well-known tracks here and they sound out of this world on a copy like this
  • 4 1/2 stars: “… their most nakedly confessional [album]. It was certainly different from their previous work, which had tended toward story-songs set in earlier times, but it was hardly less compelling for that.”

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Frank Sinatra – Where Are You?

More of the Music of Frank Sinatra

Reviews and Commentaries for the Music of Frank Sinatra

  • An outstanding copy of Where Are You? with solid Double Plus (A++) sound from start to finish
  • Not an easy record to find in audiophile playing condition, but here’s one, and it’s about as quiet a copy as we can find
  • The spaciousness, and more importantly the presence and warmth in the all-important midrange are key to the right sound for any Sinatra record, and on this early stereo pressing you will find plenty of all three
  • 5 stars: “Throughout the record, Sinatra blends with Jenkins’ sumptuous strings, making his voice sound rich, relaxed and regretful. It doesn’t have the stark despair of In the Wee Small Hours, but its luxurious sadness makes Where Are You? a majestic experience of its own.”

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Grand Funk – We’re An American Band

More Grand Funk

More Rock Classics

  • A stunning pressing with Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it from first note to the last – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • One of the best copies to hit the site in years, with sides that are full-bodied, lively and present, with a solid bottom end
  • More important, here is all the rock and roll energy that would simply be missing in action on any reissue made these days
  • It’s tough to find good Grand Funk sound on audiophile quality playing surfaces, but these sides did the trick
  • 4 1/2 stars: “Sonically, the record was sharp and detailed and the band’s playing was far tighter and more accomplished… The album’s title song, an autobiographical account of life on the road written and sung by Brewer, was released in advance of the album and became a gold-selling number one hit, Grand Funk’s first really successful single.”
  • If you’re a fan of the band, this title from 1973 is clearly one of their best, and unquestionably one of their best sounding

If you don’t already know, take our word for it: not many copies of this record will have much in the way of good sound. Grand Funk was not a band marketed to audiophiles. Their recordings tend to be crude and compressed, more radio-friendly than home-stereo-friendly.

This copy is a BIG step up from every other that we played. You’ll have a very hard time finding another one with two sides as good as this.

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Frank Sinatra – Moonlight Sinatra

More Frank Sinatra

  • You’ll find STUNNING Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound from first note to last on this elusive favorite from Ol’ Blue Eyes
  • We’ve been working on this shootout for years – this is one of the few copies to ever hit the site
  • Master engineer Lowell Frank correctly captured the sound of every instrument here: the guitars, piano, strings, drums, percussion instruments — everything has the natural timbre of the real thing
  • Marks 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
  • “Driven by a set of lush, sparkling Nelson Riddle arrangements, Moonlight Sinatra is a low-key, charming collection. An enjoyable, romantic listen.”

The presence and immediacy here are wonderful. Turn it up and Frank is between your speakers, putting on the performance of a lifetime. On the best, hard-to-find copies, the sound is big, open, rich and full. The highs are extended and silky sweet. The bass is tight and punchy.

This Blue Green Label LP also has the midrange magic that’s missing from the later reissues. As good as some of them can be, this one is more real sounding. It gives you the sense that Frank Sinatra is right in front of you.

He’s no longer a recording — he’s a living, breathing person. We call that “the breath of life,” and the best pressings have it in spades. His voice is so rich, sweet, and free of any artificiality, you immediately find yourself lost in the music because there’s no “sound” to distract you. (more…)