More of the Music of Bob Dylan
More of Sundazed’s (Mostly Bad Sounding) Records
Sonic Grade: D
Another bad Sundazed record. Most of the Dylan catalog they did is just awful, regardless of what the audiophile reviewers at the time may have written to the contrary.
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.
Sonic Grade: D
Another Sundazed record reviewed and found to be way off the mark.
As usual, the Sundazed only hints at the exceptionally good sound found on the best early pressings. We recommended it back at the day — let’s face it, we had a lot to learn.
In its defense, allow me to point out that it’s tonally correct, so for fifteen bucks you are getting your fifteen bucks worth, and probably not a dime’s more. We just cannot take this kind of sound seriously anymore.
Once you’ve heard the real thing, this pressing just won’t do.
Kevin Gray remastered this title, and we have found that the bulk of the records he’s involved with are rarely better than awful. Here is a good example of a record he mastered that falls far short of any record that would qualify to have the words “audiophile pressing” attached to it.
Look for these obvious signs that you are playing one his recuts:
The sound is opaque. It resists your efforts to hear into the recording. This is to be expected. Modern records in general tend to lack transparency, one of the most important qualities that the better vintage pressings have in abundance.
In addition, Gray’s records consistently lack ambience and air. We discuss that subject in more depth here.
If you are looking for audiophile sound on vinyl, our advice would be to avoid any record he is associated with.
More of the Music of the Jefferson Airplane
Reviews and Commentaries for the Jefferson Airplane
Sonic Grade: C-
Back around 2000, I spent a fair amount of time comparing this pressing with both an RCA 1S Black Label original, two different RCA Orange Label reissues, and the DCC 180 gram pressing. To make a long story short, if you’re willing to buy this record for the songs that really sound amazing on it, like “Today,” then you should consider trying one.
If you want the whole album to sound good, you have your work cut out for you. Hot Stampers in good condition for this record are incredibly hard to come by.
The right Black Label original RCA pressings are superb, but try to find a quiet one.
If you love this album as much as we do, you’ll understand why we went to all this trouble to find the best pressings. There is NO OTHER GAME IN TOWN for this album — the Sundazed Mono pressing can’t handle the rock songs, and I’ve never been a fan of the DCC.
More of the Music of The Byrds
Sonic Grade: D
We can’t recommend this title. It’s thin, flat as a pancake and dead as a doornail, like most of the Sundazed records we played back when we were selling Heavy Vinyl.
I don’t think we carried this title but we might have, and, obviously, we shouldn’t have. Nobody should have. It’s terrible.
Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of The Byrds Available Now
Sonic Grade: B
We haven’t played a copy of Mr. Tambourine Man on Sundazed in years, but back in the day we liked it, so let’s call it a “B” with the caveat that the older the review, the more likely we are to have changed our minds. Not sure if we would still agree with what we wrote back in the ’90s when this record came out, but here it is anyway.
This is probably the best of all the new [1999] Sundazed mono reissues. I never thought I would hear a Sundazed record with this kind of richness and sweetness. It reminds me of a good 360 pressing, and that has virtually never happened before. Side one is a tad better than side two, which is slightly brighter than it should be. But both sides are exceptionally good considering the modern mastering.
This album also has my favorite Byrds song of all time: I’ll Feel A Whole Lot Better. (Notice that Gene Clark’s vocals all sound better than Roger McGuinn’s. For some reason they tend to brighten up McGuinn’s vocals, and the last thing you ever want to do with a Byrds recording is make it brighter. But having said that, almost all the reissues are too bright compared to the good originals.)
More of the Music of Bob Dylan
Sonic Grade: D
I don’t think mono works for this album, so we never carried this pressing, and we certainly would not have recommended it back in the days when we were selling Heavy Vinyl (before 2007).
To see our current selection of Hot Stamper pressings that sound better in mono, click here.
To see our current selection of Hot Stamper pressings that sound better in stereo, click here.
