Columbia/Epic

Columbia and Epic are labels we love.

Aerosmith – Toys in the Attic

More of the Music of Aerosmith

  • An excellent copy of Aerosmith’s 1975 down-and-dirty blues-rock hit release with solid Double Plus (A++) sound or close to it from start to finish
  • Our favorite Aerosmith album in every way, and a true Must Own for fans of the band
  • We guarantee there is dramatically more Tubey Magic, size and rock and roll energy on this vintage copy than others you’ve heard (particularly on side one), and that’s especially true of whatever dead-as-a-doornail Heavy Vinyl disaster is out there now
  • This is one of only a handful of copies we’ve been able to offer in over a year, but once you drop the needle on “Walk This Way” you’ll hear it was worth the wait – it rocks like it’s never rocked before
  • 5 stars: “Aerosmith finally perfected their mix of Stonesy raunch and Zeppelin-esque riffing with their third album. The success of the album derives from a combination of an increased sense of songwriting skills and purpose.”

If you’re looking for great sound for this fun album, you’ve come to the right place. This is raw, down-and-dirty blues-rock in the tradition of the Stones and the Faces, and when it sounds this good it sure is a blast to listen to.

I never really cared much for this band until many years ag when I heard “Sweet Emotion” on my local classic rock station (The Octopus) and realized that it would probably sound pretty amazing on a Hot Stamper vinyl version. Boy, was I right! It took quite a few copies and a whole lot of work, but the best sounding tracks on this album sound amazing. “Sweet Emotion” and “Walk This Way” are going to rock like they have never rocked before.

(more…)

The Byrds – The Notorious Byrd Brothers

More of the Music of The Byrds

  • Incredible sound throughout this early 360 Stereo label pressing, with both sides earning Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades or close to them
  • David Crosby is shown the door, fittingly replaced on the album jacket by a horse’s ass
  • 4 1/2 stars: “The Notorious Byrd Brothers showed the group continuing to expand the parameters of their eclecticism while retaining their hallmark guitar jangle and harmonies.”

(more…)

Loggins and Messina – Mother Lode

More of the Music of Loggins and Messina

  • L&M’s 1974 release comes to life on this vintage copy with solid Double Plus (A++) sound or BETTER on both sides – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • A surprisingly dynamic, well-recorded album – with Demo Disc quality sound – and a personal favorite from way back
  • I can’t recall another pop or rock recording that better captures both the plucked energy and the harmonic nuances of the mandolin
  • Never a band to find favor with the critics, even AllMusic had to concede that the album was “Elegantly, tastefully accomplished.”
  • If I were to compile a list of my favorite rock and pop albums from 1974, this album would definitely be on it
  • Mother Load is one of the records that helped us dramatically improve the quality of our playback, along with scores of others you can read about here on the blog.

This superb Hot Stamper pressing of L&M’s fourth release demonstrates pretty convincingly just how well-recorded this album is! The bottom end is tight and punchy, and the clarity and transparency are truly off-the-charts.

When Jim Messina rips into his mandolin solo halfway through “Be Free,” your jaw is likely to hit the ground. On the better copies, it positively leaps out of the left speaker. I can’t recall another pop or rock recording that captures either the plucked energy or the harmonic nuances of the instrument better. To hear such a well-recorded mandolin on a copy of this quality is nothing less than a thrillL.

This copy gives us full-bodied pianos; rich, lively vocals, full of presence and brimming with enthusiasm; harmonically-rich guitars, mandolins, dobros and the like, as well as a three-dimensional soundstage that reveals the space around them all.

(more…)

Bruce Springsteen – Born To Run

More of the Music of Bruce Springsteen

  • A Born To Run like you’ve never heard, with outstanding Double Plus (A++) sound throughout
  • Not the best sounding Springsteen record – we think that’s The River – but the most groundbreaking and probably the most important
  • The title track here really sounds the way you want to hear it – big, bold, and full of rock and roll energy that jumps out of the speakers (which, as most of you know, is the kind of thing that never happens when playing modern Heavy Vinyl pressings)
  • A 5 star album in the AMG, and the Boss’ first Masterpiece – who can argue with the power of this music?
  • Marks in the vinyl are sometimes the nature of the beast with these Classic Rock records – there simply is no way around them if the superior sound of vintage analog is important to you
  • “Layers of guitar, layers of echo on the vocals, lots of keyboards, thunderous drums — Born to Run had a big sound, and Springsteen wrote big songs to match it.” (Did he ever!)

(more…)

Johnny Cash / Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison

More of the Music of Johnny Cash

  • Both sides of this early 360 Stereo pressing have killer sound for Cash’s 1968 live album, earning Nearly Triple Plus (A++ to A+++) grades, just shy of our Shootout Winner – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • It ain’t easy to find great sounding Johnny Cash records, but this copy had the sound we were looking for
  • This one is richer, smoother and sweeter than practically all others we played, with lots of body and excellent transparency
  • Cash’s vocals sound right on the money here – present, full and natural with virtually none of the hardness, strain and edge you get on the typical copy
  • It literally takes us years to find a handful of copies worthy enough to put on the site, so don’t miss out on this one if you’re a fan!
  • 5 stars: “…At Folsom Prison is the quintessential Johnny Cash album, the place where his legend burns bright and eternal.”

(more…)

Miles Davis / In Person – Friday and Saturday Nights

More  of the Music of Miles Davis

  • This 2-LP 6-Eye Stereo pressing boasts very good Hot Stamper sound or BETTER from start to finish
  • We guarantee there is more space, richness, presence, and performance energy on this copy than others you’ve heard or you get your money back – it’s as simple as that
  • Skip the Red Label pressings – the ones we’ve played were too thin and dry, which is sadly a sound far too common on Columbia reissues from the 70s
  • Marks and 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: “Though short-lived, the unique character of this group was its sheer intensity and diversity of attack. Because of the departure of Cannonball Adderley and John Coltrane, Davis had to rely as much on a muscular attack in playing his instrument as his considerable gift for melodic improvisation. For his part, Mobley had the shoes of two monster players to fill, and he does so elegantly with a ton of fire in his playing. But it is Kelly and Chambers who really set the pace for this band.”
  • If you’re a jazz fan, this classic title from 1961 belongs in your collection
  • The complete list of titles from 1961 that we’ve reviewed to date can be found here.

(more…)

Weather Report – Heavy Weather

More of the Music of Weather Report

  • Both sides of this vintage copy have excellent sound for the band’s 1977 Masterpiece, earning top grades
  • “Birdland” on this pressing has some of the most dynamic, wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling, jam-packed sound ever committed to vinyl
  • Joe Zawinul and Jaco Pastorius are both here and at the absolute peak of their creative powers – this is a work of genius
  • 5 stars: “‘Birdland’ is a remarkable bit of record-making, a unified, ever-developing piece of music that evokes, without in any way imitating, a joyous evening on 52nd St. with a big band.”
  • We’ve compiled a list of records we think every audiophile should get to know better, along the lines of “the 1001 records you need to hear before you die,” but with the accent on the joy these amazing audiophile-quality recordings can bring to your life. Weather Report’s seventh (!) album is a good example of a record many audiophiles may not know all that well but do well to find the time to get to know better.
  • As is sometimes the case, there is one and only one set of stampers that consistently wins our shootouts for Heavy Weather.  Click on this link to see other titles with one set of stamper numbers that always come out on top

The hottest of the hot stamper pressings demonstrate that this is a truly amazing recording, with some of the most dynamic, wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling jam-packed sound ever committed to vinyl. The grit, grain and grunge of most pressings is nowhere to be found on these killer sides, and that alone puts them in a very special league indeed. (more…)

Duke Ellington – The Nutcracker Suite

More of the Music of Duke Ellington

  • This original 6-Eye Stereo pressing is doing practically everything right, with killer Nearly Triple Plus (A++ to A+++) sound from first note to last – just shy of our Shootout Winner
  • Both of these sides are open and spacious with real depth to the soundfield and lots of separation between the various instruments, a very important quality for a large ensemble recording like this one
  • Rich, solid bass; you-are-there immediacy; energy and drive; instruments that are positively jumping out of the speakers – add it all up and you can see that this copy had the sound we were looking for
  • “The melodies flow out of the jazz ensemble with an easy feel for the manner of Tchaikovsky yet in an unmistakable Ellington style. It’s the kind of traditional jazz arrangement that at once makes it appealing to jazz fans as well as to classical-music afficionados.” – Classical Candor.com

This is a wonderful album featuring Duke and his orchestra doing a jazzy interpretation of the famous Nutcracker Suite, and on a copy like this the sound is incredible!

(more…)

Stevie Ray Vaughan – In Step

More of the Music of Stevie Ray Vaughan

  • SRV’s penultimate release from 1989, here with KILLER Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades or close to them from start to finish – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • Both of these sides have that big, bold electric blues sound, with plenty of energy and presence that’s surely missing from whatever 180g reissue is being foisted on the unsuspecting record buying public today
  • Mastered by Bernie Grundman, if you can believe it, a man we’ve had plenty to say about over the years (most of it not flattering), but whose work here proves the man did know how to cut great records at one point in his career
  • 5 stars: “The magnificent thing about In Step is how it’s fully realized, presenting every facet of Vaughan’s musical personality, yet it still soars with a sense of discovery. It’s a bittersweet triumph, given Vaughan’s tragic death a little over a year after its release, yet it’s a triumph all the same.”

(more…)

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…)