More David Crosby
More Graham Nash
- A vintage pressing that was doing everything right, earning INCREDIBLE Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades from start to finish
- These sides were noticeably richer than all other copies we played, which generally tended to be lean and dry
- We played a big pile of these, but finding the Tubey Magical, spacious, sweet ANALOG sound we were after was not easy
- Fortunately this copy showed us that it indeed was possible to get the clear, breathy vocals necessary to bring out the wonderful harmonies these two are so rightly famous for
- Problems 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
- If you’re a fan of Hippie Folk Rock, this title from 1976 is surely a Must Own
- The complete list of titles from 1976 that we’ve reviewed to date can be found here
As a budding audiophile, I went out of my way to acquire any piece of equipment that could make these records from the ’70s (the decade of my formative music-buying years) sound better than the gear I was then using. It’s the challenging recordings by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, as well as scores of other pop and rock artists like them, that drove my pursuit of higher quality audio, starting all the way back in high school.
And here I am — here we are — still at it, fifty years later, because the music still sounds fresh and original, and the pressings that we find get better and better with each passing year.
That kind of progress is proof that we’re doing it right. It’s a good test for any audiophile. If you are actively and seriously pursuing this hobby, perhaps as many as nine out of ten non-audiophile pressings in your collection should sound better with each passing year. As your stereo improves, not to mention your critical listening skills, the shortcomings of some will be revealed, but for the most part, vintage pressings should sound better each time you play them with continual refinements and improvements to your system, room and cleaning techniques.
That’s what makes it fun to play old records: They just keep getting better!