Older Classical / Orchestral

Most of these older reviews are for records that did not go through the shootout process, the revolutionary approach to finding the best sounding pressings we developed in the early 2000s. We found the records you see in these listings by cleaning and playing a pressing or two of the album, which we then described in the listing and priced according to how good the sound and surfaces seemed to us.

We were often wrong back in those days, something we have no reason to hide. Audio equipment and record cleaning technologies have come a very long way since then.

As you may imagine, our current approach requires a great deal of time, effort and skill, which is why we currently have a staff of ten. No individual or business without such a committed group could possibly dig as deep into the sound of records as we have, and it is unlikely that anyone, besides us, would ever be able to do the kind of work we do.

Anderson / The Music of Leroy Anderson Vol. 3 / Fennell

Hot Stamper Mercury Pressings Available Now

More Recordings Conducted by Frederick Fennel

Volume Three (SR 90400) of Anderson’s recordings for Mercury with Fennell conducting has long been a favorite or ours here at Better Records. The first volume is of course on the TAS Super Disc list, and when you get a good copy of it you will have no trouble believing it is a Super Disc. But so is this one, provided you play the right pressing of course.

On this RFR-1 Maroon label pressing STILL IN THE SHRINK, side two has the Super Hot stamper sound. The sound is shockingly rich, smooth and sweet. Where is the Mercury dryness and screechiness and upper-midrange nasality we’re all so used to from their records? It’s nowhere to be found on this copy, and that’s a good thing!

The strings are huge on this side as well, wall to wall and not bright. The sound is clear and correct from top to bottom!

Side one is not even close I’m sorry to report. The sound is huge and 3-D but there is just much too much smear to qualify as a Hot Stamper pressing. We rate it A to A+. (more…)

Vivaldi / Concertos for Harpsichord, Guitar, Harp and Violin / Duhamel

Hot Stamper Pressings of Mercury Recordings Available Now

Near Demo quality and a true Mercury sleeper.

These concertos have excellent sound and the music is very enjoyable.  

This is an older classical/orchestral review.

Most of the older reviews you see are for records that did not go through the shootout process, the revolutionary approach to finding better sounding pressings we developed in the early 2000s and have since turned into a full-time practice for our staff of ten.

We found the records you see in these older listings by cleaning and playing a pressing or two of the album, which we then described and priced based on how good the sound and surfaces were. (For Hot Stamper listings, the sonic grades and vinyl playgrades are listed separately.)

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Mendelssohn/ Symphony No. 4 & Music from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” – Colin Davis

Here’s a great Philips LP! Davis really does Mendelssohn right.

A lively performance and this copy sounds MUCH BETTER than others we played.  It had much less of the smear and opacity that characterizes most Philips records. At most one out of ten is any good in our experience. 

This is an Older Classical/Orchestral Review

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Jewels of Wolf-Ferrari / Santi / Paris Conservatory Orchestra

One of the jewels in the London catalog, with sweet, tonally correct sound and plenty of natural hall. Another good reason to love London records! Colorful, lively and fun music, played with verve and beautifully recorded.

Overtures, intermezzos and preludes — just the good stuff.

The album is made up of 10 shorter pieces. A real standout is the first band on side one.

La Boutique Fantasque – Mono Reviewed in 2010

UPDATE 2024

A long time ago I liked a mono pressing of La Boutique Fantasque with Solti.

I doubt I would be impressed by it now, but I can’t rule out the possibility.

Some monos can be amazing. We should know, we’ve played plenty of them.

However, when the stereo pressings are also amazing, as is the case here, wouldn’t you rather hear it in stereo? We didn’t even bother to buy one to put into our recent shootout, which was, shockingly, 14 years in the making.

This London Mono Radio Promotion Copy is a stunner. DEMO QUALITY SOUND.

They even knew it back then — it was given the Hi-Fi Record Of The Month award. The orchestration and the sound of this music are ideal for audiophile listening.

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice that closes out side two has slightly better sound by the way — it’s quite good.

Gould / West Point Symphony / Fennell (SR 90220)

Hot Stamper Mercury Pressings Available Now

RFR-3/RFR-1. Quiet and Near Mint! Superb sound.

Explosive, dynamic, big sound. The music on side 2 by Bennett is especially enjoyable.

Performed by the Eastman Wind Ensemble under the direction of Frederick Fennell. This performance also includes Bennett’s ’Symphonic Songs For Band’, Williams’ ’Fanfare and Allegro’, and Work’s “Autumn Walk”.

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Mendelssohn / Scotch Symphony & Fingal’s Cave / Dorati

Hot Stamper Mercury Pressings Available Now

The sound of this side one came as a bit of a surprise to us. It’s so BIG and RICH — this is a Mercury?

It sounds like a good Decca/ London.

It’s actually instead a bit of a hybrid. The recording takes place in a famous London hall with superb acoustics (Walthamstow Town Hall) in which the Mercury recording team merely set up their usual three mics and recorded to half-inch tape. Gone is the dryness and upper-midrange nasality of so many Mercury’s; no doubt that sound was caused in large part by the halls in which they were recorded.

This is some Tubey Magical Decca orchestral sound from 1956, here on a Colorback early Mercury pressing. Go figure.

Side One

With a grade of A++ this side was KILLER. A little smear but so rich, musical and enjoyable you will find yourself lost in the performance. The London Symphony is hard to beat.

Side Two

A+ for the fourth movement of the symphony, with more smear than we heard on side one. Fingal’s Cave Overture sounds better though, more like side one. We gave it an A++ grade.

This is a truly wonderful copy of one of the rarest and best Mercury recordings. (more…)

Mercury Stereo Sampler Vol. 1 (SRD-1)

Mercury Pressings Available Now

This Mercury Sampler has SUPERB Super Hot Stamper sound on side one, or better — who knows if this isn’t as good as it gets? We can’t find enough clean copies to test so we’re sticking with A++ or better just to be safe.

Either way, this is the BIG, BOLD classic Mercury sound.

Let’s Dance – David Carroll – from Let’s Dance (SR-60001) has the sweet Tubey Magic of the best Living Stereos and the percussion excitement of Bang Baa-room and Harp.

Not every song on side one is a knockout but some of them certainly are, making this a top quality Variety Demo Disc.

Tracks two and three on side one are great, but there may be others you will like equally well.

Side two earned a single plus grade (A+); some of it sounds like it’s made from sub-gen tapes. The Gershwin comes off pretty well with a solid clear piano.

Side One

Rhapsodero – Richard Hayman – from Havana in Hi-Fi (SR-60000)
Let’s Dance – David Carroll – from Let’s Dance (SR-60001)
Rain On The Roof – Dick Contino – from It’s Dance Time (SR-60006)
Birth Of Passion – Clebanoff – from Moods in Music (SR-60005)
The Lady Is A Tramp – Griff Williams – from America’s Most Danceable Music (SR-60007)
Autumn In Rome – Patti Page – from Let’s Get Away from It All (SR-60010)

Side Two

Anderson – Sleigh Ride – The Eastman-Rochester Pops Orchestra – Frederick Fennel – from SR-90009
Prokofiev – March From The Love for Three Oranges – The London Symphony Orchestra – Antal Dorati – from SR-90006
Rhapsody In Blue (Portion) – Eugene List – The Eastman-Rochester Symphony Orchestra – Howard Hanson – from SR-90002
Funky Drums – Pete Rugolo – from Percussion at Work (SR-80003)
Rose Room – Terry Gibbs – from Allen’s All Stars (SR-80004)
Like Someone In Love – Sarah Vaughan – from Sarah Vaughan at the London House (SR-60020)

Offenbach / Gaite Parisienne / Dorati

More of the Music of Jacques Offenbach

This lovely Mercury Golden Import LP not only has Super Hot Stamper sound on side one, which is where Gaite Parisienne can be found, but it also boasts one of the greatest performances of the piece ever recorded. 

Dorati is surely The Man when it comes to energy, drive and dynamic excitement with this venerable warhorse. He and his Minneapolis Symphony play the hell out of this boisterous music, and luckily for us audiophiles, the Mercury engineers give us Demonstration Quality Sound to go with it.

The original Mercury release of this record (sr 90016) is a shrill piece of trash, as is the Mercury Wing pressing. So many of the early Mercurys were poorly mastered it seems.

We audiophiles must wait for reissues (either by Mercury or in this case by Philips once they had bought Mercury) to show us how good the sound of a particular recording might actually be. [Not sure I would agree with most of that now in 2022.]

Of course what you really need is the right copy to know ultimately how good the recording can be, and to find it you might have to clean and play ten LPs, or more. That’s where we come in.

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Bloch / Concerto Grosso Nos. 1 & 2 / Hanson

This is a famous TAS list record with amazing string sound! It’s incredibly textured and dynamic.

Harry Pearson put this record on his TAS List of Super Discs.

This is an Older Classical/Orchestral Review

Most of the older reviews you see are for records that did not go through the shootout process, the revolutionary approach to finding better sounding pressings we started developing in the early 2000s and have since turned into a veritable science.

We found the records you see in these older listings by cleaning and playing a pressing or two of the album, which we then described and priced based on how good the sound and surfaces were. (For out Hot Stamper listings, the Sonic Grades and Vinyl Playgrades are listed separately.)

We were often wrong back in those days, something we have no reason to hide. Audio equipment and record cleaning technologies have come a long way since those darker days, a subject we discuss here.

(more…)