Record Lists

June Christy – This Is June Christy

More June Christy

  • You’ll find superb nearly Triple Plus (A++ to A+++) Tubey Magical sound from 1958 on both sides of this Turquoise Capitol pressing – just shy of our Shootout Winner
  • Balanced, musical, present and full-bodied throughout – this pressing puts a living, breathing, big-as-life June Christy performing at the peak of her vocal powers right in your listening room
  • June Christy is one of our favorite Cool School vocalists – we just wish we could find more clean copies of her classic ’50s albums
  • The vinyl is relatively quiet and no marks play – how rare is that? In our experience very rare
  • All the top West Coast jazz guys are here: Shorty Rogers, Shelly Manne, Bud Shank, Bob Cooper, and swinging arrangements by Pete Rugolo

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Born Under a Bad Sign – Where Are All the Clean Copies?

Hot Stamper Pressings of Electric Blues Albums Available Now

UPDATE 2020

This is a very old review, probably from close to twenty years ago. Like I say, we have trouble finding clean copies to shootout. We expect to be doing the record soon, however.

In 2025 we finally made it happen, and this is the copy that blew our minds.

Our Review from 20 Years Ago

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 the Sundazed! It has more life, energy and natural presence.

We always suspected that a good original pressing would be better than the Sundazed but we had no way of knowing since all the copies we ever saw were beat to death. This is the first clean copy of this record I’ve seen in 20 years.

The sound is RICH and FULL with lots of texture to the guitars. It’s very natural sounding and full-bodied.

One of the all time great electric blues albums — a Must Own for fans of the genre (more…)

America – Hearts

More America

  • This outstanding pressing boasts solid Double Plus (A++) sound on both sides
  • With George Martin producing and Geoff Emerick engineering, maybe it’s not surprising that this album sound so good!
  • We guarantee there is dramatically more space, richness, 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
  • “This album was a big hit in the US, reaching number 4 on the Billboard album chart and being certified Gold by the RIAA. It produced three hit singles: ‘Sister Golden Hair’, ‘Daisy Jane,’ and ‘Woman Tonight.'” – Wikipedia

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Ella Fitzgerald – Sings The Rodgers And Hart Song Book

More Ella Fitzgerald

  • Fitzgerald’s second Songbook release finally arrives on the site with stunning Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it on all four of these wonderful mono sides
  • There’s real Tubey Magic on this album, along with breathy vocals, in-your-listening-room midrange presence and no shortage of swingin’ energy
  • We would love to find you a quiet, amazing sounding copy, but that just does not seem to be in the cards
  • 5 stars: “The second of Ella Fitzgerald’s famed Songbook series features her singing 34 of the best songs co-written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. The arrangements by Buddy Bregman for the string orchestra and big band only border on jazz but she manages to swing the medium-tempo numbers and give sensitivity to the ballads. “

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Al Green – Let’s Stay Together

More Al Green

  • Two insanely good sides each earning Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades and the first copy to hit the site in over two years!
  • Both sides here are incredibly big, rich and Tubey Magical yet still clean, clear and spacious; the bottom end is punchy and solid and the vocals are wonderfully breathy and present
  • One of our favorite soul albums that sounds OUT OF THIS WORLD on a copy like this; I can’t imagine this music sounding any better than it does here
  • “Green’s ingenuity produced one of the all-time classics, which has the bounce of a dance cut and the passion of a ballad.” – All Music

It’s very rare that we have copies of this brilliant record up on our site, and it’s not for a lack of effort on our end.

It’s tough enough to find any copies of Green’s early LPs out in the bins, let alone clean copies with great sound. I wish we were able to find more copies of this album, because when you stumble on a good one it’s an absolute thrill. The best pressings give you a big, spacious soundfield and put Green’s vocals right up front. If you’ve got a pressing of your own around, throw it on for comparison’s sake — odds are pretty good that the sound will be dry and grainy, particularly on the strings. We found the sound on most pressings to be either too harsh to enjoy or overly smooth. Hot Stamper copies give you richer, smoother sound but without smearing away all the texture and detail.

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Donovan – A Gift From a Flower To a Garden

More Donovan

  • An outstanding copy with Nearly Triple Plus (A++ to A+++) sound on side three mated with solid Double Plus (A++) sound or close to in for sides one, two, and four
  • This copy has real depth to the soundfield, full-bodied, present vocals, plenty of bottom end weight, and lovely analog warmth
  • Wear Your Love Like Heaven is superb here – rich, natural and relaxed
  • 4 1/2 stars: “… stands out as a prime artifact of the flower-power era that produced it… the sheer range of subjects and influences make this a surprisingly rewarding work.”

*NOTE: On side three, Track 5, The Mandolin Man And His Secret, plays closer to EX++.

This is a longtime Better Records favorite for both music and sound. It may not be one of the more popular titles we do our unique shootouts for, but for those of you who love folky, acoustic guitar pop — we often call it Hippie Folk Rock — you should find a lot to like about this album.

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).

Natural vocal reproduction is absolutely key for this album. Many copies had “hyped-up” phony sound — fine for the old consoles and radios of the day (1967) but not too enjoyable on the modern, much more revealing rigs we use today. The tonality of the midrange — where the guitars and vocals are found of course — must be correct for this music to work. This copy really gets it right! (more…)

Johnny Hammond / Wild Horses Rock Steady

You’ll find Super Hot Stamper sound on this side one, with a side two nearly its equal, making it a Top Copy of one of our most recent CTI/Kudu “discoveries”. Who knew that so many of these CTI records were recorded so well? Does anyone in the audiophile community bother to talk about superb original pressings such as this other than us? Does music that’s currently not available on a heavy vinyl reissue simply cease to exist? I remember a time not that long ago when reviewers for the audiophile mags encouraged their readers to seek out wonderful records such as this. That time has long since passed, and more’s the pity.

With Rudy Van Gelder at the board, Bob James doing the arrangements, and supporting players such as Airto, Billy Cobham, Ron Carter (who has played on more than 2500 albums!), George Benson, Eric Gale, Grover Washington, Jr., Snooky Young and Pepper Adams, you’re sure to have another funky jazz winner on your hands.

And if you have a copy that sounds as good as this one, you definitely do!

If you love the sound of the Hammond B-3 and want to hear what somebody other than Jimmy Smith can do with it in a large group setting, this album should be right up your alley. (By the way, Smith’s Bashin’ is one of our all time favorite jazz albums, one that belongs in your collection.) (more…)

Van Morrison – It’s Too Late To Stop Now

More Van Morrison

  • Outstanding sound for this live Van Morrison double album boasting outstanding Double Plus (A++) grades on all four sides
  • Fuller, livelier and more present than on practically any other copy we played, this is the kind of sound that will immerse you in a Morrison’s music like no other
  • 4 1/2 stars: “… he’s in stellar form throughout the double album It’s Too Late to Stop Now, a superb concert set that neatly summarizes his career… An engaging, warm portrait of the man at the peak of his powers.”

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Son Seals – The Son Seals Blues Band

More Son Seals

  • An excellent Electric Blues record with exceptionally big, clear, lively sound that earned Double Plus (A++) grades on both sides
  • This copy will shame most Blues albums for sound and music – it’s quite a bit better than any other Son Seals album we have played as well
  • 4 stars: “The Chicago mainstay’s debut album was a rough, gruff, no-nonsense affair typified by the decidedly unsentimental track ‘Your Love Is like a Cancer.’ Seals wasn’t all that far removed from his southern roots at this point, and his slashing guitar work sports a strikingly raw feel on his originals ‘Look Now, Baby,’ ‘Cotton Picking Blues,’ and ‘Hot Sauce’ (the latter a blistering instrumental that sounds a bit like the theme from Batman played sideways).

Son Seals’ 1973 debut album has the kind of Live-in-the-Studio sound that most Blues albums (and every other kind of album) strive for but rarely if ever achieve. If you turn this one up good and loud, the Son Seals Band will be right there in the room with you. If there’s any overdubbing on this record, you sure can’t hear it.

If you’ve been suffering with one bad sounding Stevie Ray Vaughan album after another, this record should come as a godsend. This album will show you just how dynamic and energetic Electric Blues recordings can be.

You can’t see this guy live anymore, he’s dead, RIP, but you can still hear him perform live in your listening room if you have a killer system and a Hot Stamper copy of this album — and you can hear him as often as you want to, too. Play this one for all your friends who love Stevie Ray. Son Seals has the chops to go head to head with him, with recording quality that’s night and day better than Stevie’s non-posthumous albums in every way. Your friends’ minds will surely be blown (and if they aren’t, turn up the volume a click or two and try again. Live music is loud). (more…)

Rush – Power Windows

More Rush

More Prog Rock

  • Power Windows makes its Hot Stamper debut here with outstanding Double Plus (A++) sound or BETTER throughout – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • This copy rocks like crazy with serious weight down low, huge size and space, and plenty of driving energy
  • “Rush remains faithful to vintage progressive aesthetics but has accepted the challenge of the postpunk upheaval and made notable adjustments… Power Windows may well be the missing link between Yes and the Sex Pistols.”

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