These I Could Live Without

Not my idea of good music, but maybe yours?

Chuck Mangione – Children of Sanchez

  • With roughly Nearly Triple Plus (A++ to A+++) grades on all FOUR sides, this copy is close to the BEST we have ever heard, right up there with our Shootout Winner (side three actually won the shootout)
  • These sides are doing practically everything right – they’re rich, clear, undistorted, open, spacious, and have depth and transparency to rival the best recordings you may have heard
  • We’ve called this album a Demo Disc for Bass and any Hot Stamper copy will show you why
  • “Chuck Mangione composed this music for a film soundtrack in 1978, but it quickly took on a life of its own when it was released as a two LP set, garnering a loyalty the film never enjoyed.”
  • “Mangione’s own performance on flügelhorn – sometimes hinting at Miles Davis’s Sketches of Spain transported to harsher terrain – is frequently riveting, a darkly expressive, soulful element that conveys undiluted passion, sorrow, and joy.”

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Pat Benatar – Crimes of Passion

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  • This vintage copy (only the second to hit the site in nearly three years) is close to the BEST we have ever heard, with both sides earning incredible Nearly Triple Plus (A++ to A+++) grades, just shy of our Shootout Winner – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • All kinds of big hits can be found on this one, including Benatar classics such as “Treat Me Right,” “You Better Run” and “Hit Me With Your Best Shot”
  • 4 1/2 stars: “Benatar avoids the synth-happy trends of the early 80s and delivers a hard rocking ten-song session of power pop tempered with a few ballads for balance.”

Credit for the sound must go to the brilliant engineer Keith Olsen, the man behind the amazing sounding Fleetwood Mac self-titled release from 1975. Is there a better sounding Fleetwood Mac album? I certainly can’t think of one.

The man knows Big Rock sound as well as anyone in the business. The two recordings mentioned above and our Crimes of Passion here have too much in common for it to be a mere coincidence. All three have tons of bass (which is the sine qua non of live rock music), huge size and scope, richness, Tubey Magic, a smooth top and last but not least, hard-rockin’ energy.

Those of you who’ve seen the documentary on Sound City know its reputation for great acoustics, along with all the best analog recording equipment and tube microphones. You can clearly hear all of it come together on this album — if you have a copy that sounds like this one that is.

By the way, I note with special interest their first few recording projects from 1970 as listed on their discography page: Spirit’s Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus (a personal favorite of yours truly), produced by David Briggs, along with another rather well known David Briggs production, After the Gold Rush. The list of Great Sounding Timeless Classic Rock Albums recorded there is a long and glorious one.

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Bruce Springsteen – Darkness on The Edge Of Town

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  • With a KILLER Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) side one mated to an outstanding Double Plus (A++) side two, this original pressing has the right sound for Darkness… as well as a healthy dose of analog magic in its grooves
  • Forget whatever dead-as-a-doornail Heavy Vinyl record they’re making these days – if you want to hear the size and energy of this classic from 1978, this is the only way to go
  • The piano is solid and weighty, and there’s a fair amount of Tubey Magic considering the troubled history of the project
  • “In a contemporary review for Rolling Stone, Dave Marsh viewed Darkness on the Edge of Town as a landmark record in rock and roll because of the clarity of its production, Springsteen’s unique guitar playing, and the programming, which he said connected the characters and themes in a subtle yet cohesive manner. Marsh remarked that the subject matter of the songs fulfilled the hype that previously surrounded Springsteen…”
  • If you’re a Springsteen fan, his 1978 follow-up to Born to Run is surely a Must Own
  • The complete list of titles from 1978 that we’ve reviewed to date can be found here

It’s not easy to find good sound on this record — or any Springsteen album, for that matter — but copies like this prove that this is a MUCH better recording than we ever gave it credit for. It’s a rare pressing that can bring this passionate, emotionally charged music to life, but the open, spacious soundstage and full-bodied tonality here are up to the challenge. (more…)

Prince – Purple Rain

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  • A stunning 2-pack of one of Prince’s True Classics, with Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound on side two of disc two and Double Plus (A++) sound on side one of disc one
  • These copies of Prince’s legendary 1984 release are big and rich, with rock solid energy to beat the pants off of any pressings you have ever heard
  • Clean and clear and open are nice qualities to have, but rich and smooth are a lot harder to come by on this record – and here they are!
  • 5 stars: “Purple Rain finds Prince consolidating his funk and R&B roots while moving boldly into pop, rock, and heavy metal with nine superbly crafted songs… a stunning statement of purpose that remains one of the most exciting rock & roll albums ever recorded.”

The better copies, like these two, sound pretty much the way the better copies of most Classic Rock records sound: tonally correct, rich, clear, sweet, smooth, open, present, lively, big, spacious, Tubey Magical, with breathy vocals and little to no spit, grit, grain or grunge.

That’s the sound of ANALOG, and the better copies of Purple Rain have that sound.

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The L.A. 4 – Pavane Pour Une Infante Défunte (45 RPM)

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  • This 45 RPM Japanese import copy is one of the BEST we have ever heard, with both sides earning KILLER Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades or close to them – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • Lee Herschberg recorded these sessions direct to disc – he’s the guy behind the most amazing piano trio recording I have ever heard, a little album called The Three
  • Transparency; absolute freedom from smear and distortion; clarity; presence; frequency extension high and low; correct tonality – everything you want in an audiophile recording is here!
  • This 45 RPM version is shorter than the original album, with five of the original’s seven tracks
  • And it sounded better than any of the Direct to Disc pressings we had on hand, which is exactly what happened when they mastered The Three at 45 RPM from the backup tapes – pretty wild, don’t you think?

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Kansas – Point of Know Return

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  • You’ll find INCREDIBLE Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it throughout this original Kirshner pressing – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • Big and solid guitars and keyboards, with great bass, full vocals, and tons of Tubey Magic – this the way to hear the band
  • Most copies are just too thin and bright to be any good for seriously listening at serious levels, but the best of the best manage to stay smooth enough and tonally correct enough to allow an extra click or two of volume, which of course results in a much more powerful audio experience
  • 4 stars: “This is the definitive Kansas recording. . . their interplay and superior musicianship make this both an essential classic rock and progressive rock recording.”

Drop the needle on Dust in the Wind — here the guitars and vocals are full-bodied and natural, qualities unfortunately in short supply on the typical pressing. (more…)

The L.A. 4 – Pavane Pour Une Infante Défunte (33 RPM)

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  • Boasting two seriously good Double Plus (A++) or BETTER sides, this East Wind 33 RPM Japanese import pressing will be very hard to beat – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • This is one of the better sounding versions with all 7 tracks we’ve played
  • Lee Herschberg recorded these sessions direct-to-disc – he’s the guy behind the most amazing piano trio recording I have ever heard, a little album called The Three
  • Both of these sides give you the richness, clarity, presence and resolution few copies can touch
  • This 33 RPM version features all seven of the original tracks – “C’est What” and “Corcovado” were omitted from the shorter 45 RPM pressing
  • And it was a solid step up sonically from a lot of the Direct to Disc pressings we had on hand, which is exactly what happened when they mastered The Three at 45 RPM from the backup tapes – pretty wild, don’t you think?

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Brian Eno – Music for Films

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  • Music for Films returns to the site on this original UK pressing with STUNNING Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it from first note to last
  • Rich, smooth, tonally correct, spacious, this collection of recordings made between 1975 and 1978 was compiled and transferred with consummate skill, ensuring that the highest fidelity was maintained – this pressing sounds right
  • Marks in the vinyl are sometimes the nature of the beast with these vintage LPs – there simply is no way around them if the superior sound of vintage analog is important to you
  • “It is a conceptual work intended as a soundtrack for imaginary films, although many of the pieces had already appeared in actual films.”
  • 5 stars: “Eno’s analog music definitely benefits from presentation in the digital domain… it is essential Eno, and a landmark collection drawn from among his work.”

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Sting – The Dream Of The Blue Turtles

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  • This original A&M pressing was doing just about everything right, earning excellent Double Plus (A++) grades on both sides
  • Remarkably big, full-bodied and musical, with wonderful presence for the most important element of the recording, Sting’s voice
  • Don’t waste your money on whatever dead-as-a-doornail Heavy Vinyl record they’re making these days – if you want to hear the Tubey Magic, size and energy of Sting’s debut solo album, a vintage ’80s pressing like this one is the only way to go
  • 4 stars: “Sting incorporated heavy elements of jazz, classical, and worldbeat into his music, writing lyrics that were literate and self-consciously meaningful… he proves that he’s subtler and craftier than his peers.”

This album has long been a favorite among audiophiles and it’s pretty easy to see why. What Sting does here with jazz music is very similar to what Paul Simon later did with African music on Graceland.

Sting surrounded himself with legitimate jazz musicians and together they created an album that gives you the loose, relaxed feel of jazz mixed with Sting’s distinct pop sensibility.

There are elements of worldbeat, reggae, and soul here as well, but the album never feels disjointed. Sting managed to pull it all together to create a sound that is somehow unique and familiar at the same time.

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Stevie Wonder – The Secret Life of Plants

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  • A superb copy of Wonder’s wonderful documentary soundtrack from 1979 with Double Plus (A++) grades on all FOUR sides
  • The sound here is bigger and livelier than on most other copies we played – above all it’s balanced, avoiding the tonality issues we heard on so many other pressings
  • “… there is beauty here. Stevie’s unquenchable desire for experimentation and love for melody are in full effect, and some of the magic and mystery of the botanic planet is evoked.”

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