Parlophone/Apple

The Beatles – Help

More of the Music of The Beatles

  • With two outstanding Double Plus (A++) sides, this copy will be very hard to beat – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • Everything that’s great about Help is here on this UK pressing – jangly 12-string guitars, Tubey Magical electric pianos, harmonically rich tambourines and claves, and, the sine qua non of any Beatles album, breathy, present vocals
  • If you’re like us and think the new Beatles Heavy Vinyl reissues are boosted in the bass and way too smooth in the midrange, whether mono or stereo, take comfort in the fact that this pressing is neither of those things, because it sounds right
  • Side one alone boasts 7 classics: “Help!,” “The Night Before,” “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away,” “I Need You,” “Another Girl,” “You’re Gonna Lose That Girl” and “Ticket to Ride” – whew!

Want to hear The Beatles at their Tubey Magical best? Just play “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away” on this very copy.

One of the reasons this song stands out in a crowd of great tracks is that there are only acoustic instruments being played. There’s not an electric guitar to be found anywhere in the mix, one of the few tracks on side one for which that is true.

We flip out over the Tubey Magical acoustic guitars and harmony vocals found on early Beatles albums, and this song can be an exceptionally good example of both when you’re fortunate enough to have the right pressing playing.

Those of you with Hot Stamper pressings of the album can count themselves among the fortunate.

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Badfinger – Straight Up Is Back!

More Classic Rock

  • With outstanding Double Plus (A++) grades from top to bottom, this early Apple pressing is guaranteed to blow the doors off any other Straight Up you’ve heard
  • The sound here just jumps out of the speakers, which is exactly what the better copies of the album are supposed to (but rarely) do
  • If you like your Rock and Pop with minimal audio processing and the most natural, raw and real sound, the hottest of the Hot Stamper pressings we offer will sound exactly the way you want them to
  • If you’re a fan of the band – or Power Pop in general – this is the Straight Up you’ve been waiting for
  • Straight Up is one of the hardest albums to find with audiophile-quality playing surfaces (as these sides can attest to), which is the main reason our last shootout was more than ten years ago (!)
  • Problems in the vinyl are sometimes the nature of the beast with these vintage LPs, but once you hear just how superb sounding this copy is, you might be inclined, as we were, to stop counting ticks and pops and just be swept away by the music
  • 4 1/2 stars: “…Here, there’s absolutely no filler and everybody is in top form. Pete Ham’s ‘Baby Blue’ is textbook power-pop — irresistibly catchy fuzz riffs and sighing melodies — and with its Harrison-esque slide guitars, ‘Day After Day’ is so gorgeous it practically aches. ‘Perfection’ is an unheralded gem, while ‘Name of the Game’ and ‘Take It All’ are note-perfect pop ballads.”
  • If I had to compile a list of my Favorite Rock and Pop Albums from 1971, this album would definitely be on it

This is Power Pop, plain and simple. The basics are what count: punchy drums, grungy guitars, present vocals, clear but full bass lines — just the meat and potatoes of rock, no fancy sauces.

For this music to work, all the elements need to be in balance, with correct timbre for the relatively few instruments that make up the arrangements.

Opacity, smear or grit instantly destroy the whole point of having a straightforward production, which is to be able to have all the parts laid out cleanly and clearly.

The idea is to get the production out of the way and just let the music speak for itself.

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The Beatles – Yellow Submarine

Hot Stamper Pressings of The Beatles Available Now

  • You’ll find stunning Nearly Triple Plus (A++ to A+++) grades on both sides of this vintage UK copy – just shy of our Shootout Winner
  • Without a doubt the hardest single side of any Beatles album to find with good sound is side two of Yellow Submarine, and here’s a copy that is practically as good as it gets
  • This pressing is clean, clear, solid and energetic – just the right sound for this classic Beatles music
  • The only place to find the all-time classic “Hey Bulldog,” as well as “All Together Now” and “It’s All Too Much”
  • “All You Need Is Love” debuted in a true stereo mix on LP for this album
  • Problems in the vinyl are sometimes the nature of the beast with these vintage LPs – those on “Pepperland” are especially bad – but if you can tough those out, this copy is going to blow your mind

This is a very difficult album to find good sound for; many pressings are almost unbearably gritty and harsh. Fortunately, these two sides have no such problems. The overall tonality is rich and full-bodied, and there’s plenty of presence and energy as well.  (more…)

George Harrison – All Things Must Pass

More of the Music of The Beatles

  • This early British box set of All Things Must Pass with the reissued (but still original looking) box boasts stunning Nearly Triple Plus (A++ to A+++) grades or close to them on all SIX sides – just shy of our Shootout Winner
  • If you’ve struggled with domestic pressings and later imports or Heavy Vinyl reissues, your troubles are over – here is the sound you were looking for
  • This is a tough record to play, but if you devoted plenty of time and money into your system, and you have big dynamic speakers and the power to drive them to fairly loud levels, you are really in for a treat with this set
  • 5 stars: “Without a doubt, Harrison’s first solo recording is his best. Drawing on his backlog of unused compositions from the late Beatles era, Harrison crafted material that managed the rare feat of conveying spiritual mysticism without sacrificing his gifts for melody and grand, sweeping arrangements.”
  • This is clearly George Harrison’s best sounding album. Roughly 150 other listings for the best sounding album by an artist can be found here.
  • This is a Must Own title from 1970, an exceptionally good year for rock and pop music
  • Ken Scott used a great deal of tube compression in the mixing and mastering of the album, which of course makes the sound exceptionally Tubey Magical. No modern reissue we’ve ever played has been able to capture that sound
  • The flip side is that it is also one of the most difficult to reproduce, requiring the highest quality, most transparent, least distorted, most highly-tweaked equipment in order to cut through the layers and layers of sound

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The Beatles – Please Please Me (UK)

More of the Music of The Beatles

  • Superb sound for the Beatles’ debut studio album, with Double Plus (A++) grades or close to them throughout this vintage import pressing
  • This side one has remarkable presence, clarity and size – it’s bigger, bolder and richer, as well as more clean, clear and open than most others we played, and side two is not far behind in all those areas
  • 5 stars: “Decades after its release, the album still sounds fresh [and]…it’s easy to get wrapped up in the sound of the record itself without realizing how the album effectively summarizes the band’s eclectic influences. There’s a love of girl groups, vocal harmonies, sophisticated popcraft, schmaltz, R&B, and hard-driving rock & roll, which is enough to make Please Please Me impressive, but what makes it astonishing is how these elements converge in the originals.”

Folks, if you’re looking for a killer copy of the first Beatles release, here it is! Big and lively with superb presence and energy, this is exactly the right sound for this music. The album itself is nothing short of amazing. It captures more of the live sound of these four guys playing together as a rock and roll band than any record they ever made afterwards. (Let It Be gets some of that live quality, too, and makes a great bookend for the group.)

Tubey Magical acoustic guitar reproduction is superb on the better copies of this recording. Simply phenomenal amounts of Tubey Magic can be heard on every strum, along with richness, body and harmonic coherency that have all but disappeared from modern recordings (and especially from modern remasterings).

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The Beatles – Beatles For Sale

More of the Music of The Beatles

  • Incredible sound throughout this copy of the Fab Four’s very well-recorded fourth album, with both sides earning Nearly Triple Plus (A++ to A+++) grades, just shy of our Shootout Winner – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • Especially rich and spacious, this is the album that moves away from the midrangy sound of A Hard Day’s Night and With The Beatles
  • A criminally underrated album by the Fab Four – Allmusic gives it Five Big Stars and we like it every bit as much as they do
  • “I’m A Loser,” “Baby’s In Black,” “Rock And Roll Music,” “I’ll Follow The Sun,” “Eight Days A Week,” “Words Of Love,” “Every Little Thing,” “I Don’t Want To Spoil The Party,” “What You’re Doing,” and 4 more – 14 tracks in all (!)

Beatles For Sale is a criminally underappreciated album, and a killer copy like this will show you exactly why. The startling presence and immediacy of the sound here allow the emotional qualities of these lovely songs to work some real Beatles vocal magic.

There is one important trait that all the best copies have in common: wonderful midrange warmth and sweetness. It’s the single most important factor in bringing out The Beatles’ individual voices and harmonies. Of the first five albums, from Please Please Me to Help, For Sale is clearly the most natural and Tubey Magical. (For those of you keeping score at home, With the Beatles is clearly the worst, with A Hard Day’s Night not far behind.)

When comparing pressings of this record, the copies that get their voices to sound present, while at the same time warm, smooth, and sweet, especially during the harmonies and in the loudest choruses, are always the best. All the other instruments seem to fall in line when the vocals are correct. This is an old truism — it’s all about the midrange — but in the case of an early Beatles album such as For Sale, it really is true. (more…)

Paul McCartney – Pipes of Peace

More of the Music of Paul McCartney 

  • You’ll find excellent Double Plus (A++) grades throughout this vintage UK pressing – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • The sound here is rich and Tubey Magical, two qualities the CD made from these tapes surely lacks and two qualities which are crucial if this music is to sound the way Sir Paul intended
  • These sides are bigger, more natural, warmer and more solid than those of any other copy you’ve heard or your money back
  • The sound may be heavily processed, but that sound works surprisingly well on the best sounding pressings (played at good, loud levels on big dynamic speakers in a large, heavily-treated room, of course)
  • “‘Say Say Say’ [featuring Michael Jackson] hits hard, sounding as funky as anything on Thriller, and ‘Pipes of Peace’ achieves an earned grace. Perhaps Pipes of Peace doesn’t have the gravitas of Tug of War but it offers something equally valuable: a portrait of an impeccable craftsman at play.”

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John Lennon – Mind Games

More of the Music of John Lennon

  • This vintage British Apple import boasts INCREDIBLE Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it from start to finish
  • We shot out a number of other imports and the midrange presence, bass, and dynamics on this outstanding copy placed it head and shoulders above most other pressings we played
  • Forget the dubby domestic pressings and whatever crappy Heavy Vinyl record they’re making these days – the UK LPs are the only way to fly on Mind Games
  • Problems in the vinyl are sometimes the nature of the beast with these vintage LPs, but once you hear how killer sounding this copy is, you might be included, as we were, to stop counting swooshes and pops and just be swept away by the music
  • 4 stars: “After the hostile reaction to the politically charged Sometime in New York City, John Lennon moved away from explicit protest songs and returned to introspective songwriting with Mind Games[, a] return to form.”

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The Beatles – Magical Mystery Tour

More of the Music of The Beatles

  • This vintage import copy was doing practically everything right, earning killer Nearly Triple Plus (A++ to A+++) grades from top to bottom, just shy of our Shootout Winner – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • A stunning True Stereo pressing with some of the best Beatles sound money can buy – superb work from Ken Scott here
  • Demo Disc quality sound for “I Am The Walrus,” “Strawberry Fields Forever,” “Baby You’re A Rich Man” and more
  • You won’t believe how powerful the sound is – it’s big, rich, open and lively beyond all expectation
  • A longtime Top 100 album and psych rock masterpiece that knocks us out every time we do the shootout
  • Any list of the best rock and pop albums of 1967 would have to have this record on it, along with its predecessor, Sgt. Pepper, released in May of the same year if you can believe it

The soft cardboard covers for these German pressings almost always show some seam wear. We will include the best cover we have at the time of your order. Of course, your satisfaction is always guaranteed.

Drop the needle on “Fool On The Hill” and you’ll see why we get so worked up over top copies that sound as good as this one does. This is a STUNNING recording, but you need a killer Hot Stamper pressing to appreciate just how well recorded the album is.

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The Beatles – Revolver

Hot Stamper Pressings of Revolver Available Now

  • Both sides of this British stereo pressing were doing most everything right, earning outstanding Double Plus (A++) grades
  • Here is the space, energy, presence, clarity and massive bottom end you had no idea were even possible on Revolver – what a record!
  • 14 amazing tracks including “Taxman,” “Eleanor Rigby,” “Here, There and Everywhere,” “Yellow Submarine,” “Good Day Sunshine,” “Got To Get You Into My Life,” and “Tomorrow Never Knows”
  • 5 stars: “Even after Sgt. Pepper, Revolver stands as the ultimate modern pop album and it’s still as emulated as it was upon its original release.”

Want to be blown away by Beatles sound you never imagined you would ever be able to experience? Drop the needle on Taxman on this very side one — that’s your ticket to ride, baby! We were knocked out by it and we guarantee you will be too.

This Is How Good It Can Get

This superb pressing has all the qualities we look for on Revolver: vocal presence, Tubey Magic, huge weight to the bottom end, and, most importantly of all, energy. It’s also exceptionally smooth, sweet and above all analog-sounding — the upper-midrange grit and grain that compromise most pressings are nowhere to be found here.

It’s as BIG and SOLID as a rock record can sound. The best copies have practically zero coloration. They let us think we are sitting in the control room enjoying the playback with Geoff and George.

Unlike so many copies of the album, the band here is enthusiastic and rockin’ like crazy. This copy brings the music to LIFE in a way that few others can. That’s our definition of Hot Stamper sound in a nutshell.

Listen to how grungy and smooth the guitars are on And Your Bird Can Sing — they are close to perfection.

The trumpet on For No One has rarely sounded as good as it does here — you can really hear air and spit being pushed through the horn. That’s not phony detail, that’s what a real horn sounds like if you are close to it.

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