Live Albums

Muddy Waters / Muddy “Mississippi” Waters Live

More Soul, Blues, and R&B

  • An early Blue Sky pressing (one of only a handful of copies to hit the site in years) with solid Double Plus (A++) grades or close to them from top to bottom – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • This side two is big, lively, and jumpin’ out of the speakers, and side one is not far behind in all those areas – just right for this down and dirty music
  • If you’re looking for a Hot Stamper Blues album to add a little variety to your collection, you can’t do much better this copy of Muddy “Mississippi” Waters Live
  • “Accompanied by Johnny Winter and his band, Muddy Waters turns in an enthusiastic performance on Muddy ‘Mississippi’ Waters Live. The set list contains most of his biggest hits, and the sound quality and performances are mostly energetic… Muddy ‘Mississippi’ Waters Live is a nice addition to the Muddy Waters catalog…” -AllMusic

If you’ve got the system to play a record like this (the bigger the better), you can have Muddy Waters perform live in your listening room — eyes closed of course; you won’t be able to see him, but you sure will be able to hear him, and in shockingly realistic sound.

It’s amazing how well recorded Muddy’s later albums are. Who knew?

His earlier records on Chess may be better; can’t say, haven’t found too many that were in playable condition. But they sure won’t sound like this, or be pressed on quiet Blue Sky vinyl like this.

Muddy Waters won the Grammy three years in a row, for Hard Again (1977), I’m Ready (1978) and this album. At least one, and maybe even all three belong in any serious record collection (along with Dixon’s I Am the Blues).

This is Muddy Waters at his best. He’s going down to Florida, where the sun shines damn near every day, so catch him before he gets on his train. There won’t be many copies on the site like this one.

(more…)

Bob Dylan & The Band – Before The Flood

More of the Music of Bob Dylan

  • With INCREDIBLE Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it on all FOUR sides, these vintage UK Island pressings could not be beat
  • Dylan and The Band team up for exuberant versions of many classics from each of their repertoires – a copy like this lets you appreciate just how wonderful the performances are
  • “Dylan reworks, rearranges, reinterprets these songs in ways that are still disarming, years after its initial release… “
  • “Without qualification, this is the craziest and strongest rock and roll ever recorded. All analogous live albums fall flat.”
  • There are some bad marks (as is sometimes the nature of the beast with these vintage LPs) on “It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding),” but once you hear just how killer sounding this copy is, you might be inclined, as we were, to stop counting ticks and just be swept away by the music

One of the great Live Classic Rock albums of all time in stunning Hot Stamper form!

The version of “Ballad Of A Thin Man” that closes out side one is simply monstrous. Live rock and roll just don’t get much better than that, my friends!

We played a ton of these and found that many copies were too boring to earn our Hot Stamper grade. Some lacked energy, even more never opened up, and most of them were too thin-sounding. We had to play a huge stack of copies to come up with a few good ones, and on a double album like this, that’s a ton of work.

Finding, cleaning and critically evaluating a dozen-plus copies is a lot of work on a single album, so you can imagine how time-consuming it is when we have to double those efforts just for one album.

These ’70s LPs have 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.

(more…)

Rickie Lee Jones – Girl At Her Volcano

More of the Music of Rickie Lee Jones

  • Seriously good sound throughout this original Warner Brothers EP, with both sides earning solid Double Plus (A++) grades – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • Superbly rich, warm and full-bodied – all things considered – with excellent presence and remarkably dynamic vocals
  • The piano sounds tonally correct, with real weight and heft, a key quality we look for in the records we sell
  • “Given the quality of her first two LPs, Jones certainly was entitled to take some extra time in fashioning her next one, [and] Girl at Her Volcano made for a tasty snack and a reminder of her abilities”

We’re big fans of RLJ’s self-titled debut, a longtime member of our Top 100 list. I think this one is probably the next best thing she’s done. It may only be an EP but it’s a consistently good EP in which every track is good and some are amazing.

(more…)

Frank Zappa / Fillmore East – June 1971 – The Ultimate Rock Opera

More of the Music of Frank Zappa

  • Boasting two outstanding Double Plus (A++) sides, this original Bizarre Blue Label copy (the only kind we offer as a Hot Stamper) will be very hard to beat
  • The sound is big, lively, open and clear with Tubey Magical richness that only the best of these vintage pressings can show you
  • If you’re a fan of The Firesign Theater, Zappa, improv comedy and other such like, you might just fall in love with this album the way we have
  • If I had to compile a list of my favorite rock and pop albums from 1971, this album would definitely be on it

We’re big fans of this album, and Zappa in general, but it’s incredibly difficult to find copies that do justice to the music. The vinyl is typically thrashed, and even the copies in relatively clean condition usually don’t sound good. This one has about the quietest vinyl you could hope for, playing Mint Minus on both sides, and the sound is just about as good as it gets!

So many pressings don’t let you hear INTO the music. This is a live recording with musicians sprinkled all over the stage — three-dimensional transparency is absolutely key to the better pressings, the ones that let you immerse yourself in the spectacle, never losing sight of the individual performances of Zappa and his merry band of obscene nut jobs. This band works blue. It will have you in hysterics if you get into the down and dirty spirit of the show. If that doesn’t sound like your thing, steer clear of this one. It’s raunchy as hell, and the raunchiest bits are the most hilarious.

(more…)

Grateful Dead – Self-Titled “Skull and Roses”

More of the Music of The Grateful Dead

  • These early Green Label pressings of the band’s 2-LP “Skull & Roses” live album boast solid Double Plus (A++) grades or BETTER on all FOUR sides
  • They are clean, clear and open with an abundance of bottom end weight and plenty of Tubey Magic
  • We guarantee there is dramatically 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
  • 4 stars: “Coming off of the quantum-leap success of the studio country-rock efforts Workingman’s Dead (1969) and American Beauty, Grateful Dead offers up a pair of new Jerry Garcia/Robert Hunter compositions – ‘Bertha’ and ‘Wharf Rat’ – both of which garnered a permanent place within the band’s live catalog. However, ‘The Other One’ – joined in progress just as Billy Kreutzmann fires up a blazing percussion solo – sprawls as the album’s centerpiece.
  • If you’re a fan of the band, this classic from 1971 belongs in your collection.

(more…)

Johnny Cash – At San Quentin

More of the Music of Johnny Cash

  • Here is an original Columbia 360 pressing of Cash’s legendary live album with solid Double Plus (A++) grades or BETTER from top to bottom
  • What made these sides really stand out from the pack was their combination of richness and clarity – take it from us, it’s not easy to find a pressing that gives you both the way this one does
  • Forget the 70s reissues and whatever dead-on-arrival Heavy Vinyl record they’re making these days – if you want to hear the Tubey Magical you-are-there immediacy of Johnny Cash live in concert, this is the only way to do it
  • So many great songs: “Wanted Man,” “I Walk the Line,” “San Quentin,” “A Boy Named Sue,” “Folsom Prison Blues” and more
  • If you only have one Johnny Cash album, wouldn’t it have to be this one?
  • 5 stars: “…listen to ‘A Boy Named Sue,’ … rescued by the wild-eyed, committed performance by Cash, where it sounds like he really was set on murdering that son of a bitch who named him Sue. He sounds that way throughout the record…”

We had a blast listening to this album. Cash’s banter between the songs is practically as good as the music itself!

(more…)

Eric Dolphy and Booker Little – Memorial Album

More Jazz Recordings Engineered by Rudy Van Gelder

  • Memorial Album appears on the site for only the second time ever, here with an INCREDIBLE Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) side one mated to a solid Double Plus (A++) side two
  • These sides are rich and full, from the extended top end all the way down to the deepest bass — thanks RVG!
  • If you want to hear a healthy dose of the Tubey Magic, size and energy of this wonderful live session recorded at the Five Spot in New York in July 1961, this copy will let you do that

(more…)

Jimi Hendrix – The Jimi Hendrix Concerts

More of the Music of Jimi Hendrix

  • This 2-LP set of previously unreleased performances boasts very good Hot Stamper sound or BETTER on all FOUR sides
  • It’s richer, fuller and with more presence than the average copy, and that’s especially true for whatever godawful Heavy Vinyl pressing is currently being foisted on an unsuspecting record buying public
  • 4 stars: “With top-notch performances, consistently inspired solos, and excellent sound, this is probably the best introduction to Hendrix’s live recordings.”

This live album, taken from concerts recorded from 1968 to 1970, is wonderful sounding on the best tracks. If you’re in the market for live Hendrix on a Hot Stamper, you’ll be hard-pressed to do any better.

The bass on this recording is huge, which is exactly what this kind of music needs most. At the levels we were playing this album, it really came to life. That’s the true test of a good live rock record — the louder you play it the better it sounds!

Stephen Cook writes “With top-notch performances, consistently inspired solos, and excellent sound, this is probably the best introduction to Hendrix’s live recordings.” We agree on all three points completely — but only when you hear it on the right pressing.”

Sonically, this recording has the key elements that a good live album needs: correct tonality, powerful dynamics, and Rock and Roll ENERGY.

(more…)

Cream – Goodbye

More British Blues Rock

  • Cream’s final album, here with STUNNING Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades or close to them from top to bottom
  • The low end speed and energy on this copy are crazy good – it’s like a Cream concert in your listening room
  • The best pressings, the ones that are full-bodied and smooth, let you crank the levels and reproduce the album good and loud the way it was meant to be heard
  • 4 stars: “The live music on the whole is better than that on Wheels of Fire, capturing the trio at an empathetic peak as a band.”

When you get a good copy of this album you’re sure to hear what we heard — that this is truly one of the great live rock albums (with a bit of studio material on side two as well). This copy has the Big Rock Sound that we go crazy for at Better Records. The best pressings, the ones that are full-bodied and smooth, let you crank the levels and reproduce the album good and loud the way it was meant to be heard.

When it’s all working, you’re front and center for a fiery Cream concert with these guys delivering one heckuva performance. And where else are you gonna get that these days?

What To Listen For

Side one has two extended songs, with Politician being the standout sonically. It’s got the Big Live Rock sound, very spacious and transparent. The first track, I’m So Glad, is always a bit midrangey.

Badge is a great test for side two. If Clapton’s Leslie-speaker-processed-guitar solo is blasting away right in your listening room and approximately the size of your house, then you have a good copy.

When a copy is cut really clean, as the best ones always are, the louder you play them the better they sound.

They’re tonally correct at loud volumes and a bit dull at “audiophile” volumes. We wouldn’t have it any other way.

(more…)

The Doors – Absolutely Live

More of  the Music of The Doors

  • These vintage Elektra pressings boast STUNNING Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it on all FOUR sides
  • We guarantee there is dramatically more richness, fullness, vocal presence, and performance energy on this copy than others you’ve heard, and that’s especially true if you made the mistake of buying whatever Heavy Vinyl pressing is currently on the market
  • Recorded at concerts in 1969 and 1970, this double-LP set features two original songs – the haunting “Universal Mind” and the blues-rocker “Build Me a Woman” – not found on any of studio albums, as well as extended versions of “Soul Kitchen,” “Break On Through,” and “When the Music’s Over”
  • Marks in the vinyl are sometimes the nature of the beast with these Classic Rock albums – those on “The Celebration Of The Lizard” are especially bad – but if you can tough those out, this copy is going to blow your mind
  • If you’re a fan of the band, their live album from 1970 surely belongs in your collection

(more…)