Top Artists – George Benson

Bad Benson and Bad Audio – It’s a Match

Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of George Benson Available Now

UPDATE 2026

Some notes about this shootout from years back may be instructive.

White Hot Stamper sound on side two, which means this copy has the power to show you just how well-recorded the album really is, and how much energy and drive there is to both the sound and the music.

No other side of any copy earned the full Three Plus White Hot grade, so this is a very special side indeed. [Now that we are much better at our jobs — see the advice at the end of this review — this happens only a few times a year.]

We didn’t run into any awful CTI originals the way we do with the typical rock record from the 70s, but it’s the rare copy that has a real top end, or much in the way of transparency, or freedom from smear. This copy has all three, without any sacrifice in richness or Tubey Magic.

Rich, full-bodied sound is not hard to find on Bad Benson; most copies had the goods in the bass and lower midrange.

Your Old Stereo (If You Had One in the Seventies)

On the other hand, clarity, top end, transparency and freedom from smear were hard to come by on all but a few copies. Most copies sound pretty much like your old ’70s stereo system — you know, the one you had with the three-way box speakers sitting on concrete blocks.

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Tell It Like It Is – Another A&M Half-Speed Mastered Disaster

Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of George Benson Available Now

The Half-Speed is pretty — pretty lifeless if you ask me, in the way that so many Half-Speed mastered records are.

It’s cut very clean, but until you play a good A&M pressing, you don’t know how much meat has been stripped from the bones. The best A&M pressings sound like a Rudy Van Gelder recording, which, of course, they are.

These A&M Half-Speeds suffer from all the same shortcomings that other Half-Speeds suffer from: the kind of pretty but lifeless and oh-so-boring sound that we describe in listing after listing.

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On First Light Listen for a Smeary Trumpet

Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of Freddie Hubbard Available Now

UPDATE 2026

A shootout for First Light from way back in 2011 taught us a thing or two about trumpet smear.

This Hot Stamper original CTI pressing from our shootout in 2011 has a truly SUPERB side two that put to shame most of what we played.

Smeary, blurry trumpet blasts? Not here. Nope, the transient bite and energy of the trumpet is as REAL as it gets. 

Side Two

This Super Hot side earned a grade of A++ with its exceptional high end (although it doesn’t extend quite all the way, just most of the way) and its amazing transparency. It’s so clear! You really hear into this one, in the way that the best of the classic jazz recordings allow you to do, recordings such as Kind of Blue and the better Contemporaries.

And no smear. Trumpet records with no smear, by Freddie Hubbard or anyone else, or hard to come by. A bit more richness and this one would have been in White Hot Stamper territory. It is awfully close to the best we heard.

Side One

Earning a grade of A Plus, this is the side where some of that smear we discussed earlier can clearly be heard. The sound is rich, richer than side two even, with a huge stage and correctly sized instruments. It’s just that the midrange is a bit veiled and smeary, and the midrange is where the trumpet is.

Digging Creed Taylor Inc. and RVG

We’ve been really digging Creed Taylor‘s productions for years now. On the better albums such as this one, the players tend to sound carefree and loose — you can tell they’re enjoying the hell out of these songs. Don’t get me wrong — we still love the Blue Note and Contemporary label stuff for our more “hard core” jazz needs, but it’s a kick to hear top jazz musicians laying down these grooves and not taking themselves so seriously…especially when it sounds as good as this copy does.

Rudy Van Gelder gets one hell of a lively trumpet sound in this period of his career. If you have a good pressing of one of his early 70s jazz recordings, the sound can be positively explosive, with what feels like the power of live music.

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Freddie Hubbard – First Light

More of the Music of Freddie Hubbard

  • This vintage pressing (only the second to hit the site in close to five years) boasts KILLER Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it from first note to last
  • Features an outstanding lineup including Herbie Hancock on keys, Ron Carter on bass, George Benson on guitar, Airto on percussion, and Jack DeJohnette on the drums
  • 4 1/2 stars: “The result is a masterpiece of textured sound, gorgeously far-flung charts, sweet, tight grooves, a subtle mystic feel, and some of Hubbard’s most exciting playing ever. While Red Clay [a Better Records favorite] and Straight Life are both fine albums, First Light is the one that connects on all levels – and it did with the jazz-buying public as well. A masterpiece.”

This is more of a mainstream jazz record than Red Clay or Straight Life. Hubbard was a master of funky jazz, and this pressing was one of the few in our shootout with the kind of high quality mastering that can do justice to his uniquely energetic, lightning fast jazz style. (more…)

Miles Davis – Miles In The Sky

More of the Music of Miles Davis

  • Boasting two solid Double Plus (A++) sides, this original Stereo 360 pressing is guaranteed to blow the doors off any other Miles In The Sky you’ve heard
  • Superb sound courtesy of Arthur Kendy’s and Frank Laico’s engineering at the famed Columbia Studio B in NYC
  • Miles here is backed by his classic 60s All Star crew – Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter & Tony Williams
  • “…Miles Davis explicitly pushed his second great quintet away from conventional jazz, pushing them toward the jazz-rock hybrid that would later become known as fusion… intriguing music…”

We just finished a big shootout for this superb Miles Davis album and this copy was dramatically better sounding than most others we played. Both sides have excellent bass, correct sounding brass, wonderful transparency and loads of Tubey Magic.

Many copies didn’t have the kind of transparency or openness that we heard here, which made it harder to appreciate the contributions of the different players. This one puts plenty of separation between the various instruments, so you can make sense of what each of these heavy-hitters adds to the mix. You will have a very hard time finding a copy out in the bins that sounds as good as this one!

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Freddie Hubbard – Polar AC

More Freddie Hubbard

  • A Polar AC like you’ve never heard, with KILLER Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it throughout this original CTI pressing (only the second copy to hit the site in years)
  • Here are just a few of the things we had to say about this incredible copy in our notes: “rich horns and bass”…”3D and breathy”…”big and weighty”…”full and present trumpet”…”huge and tubey”…”great energy”
  • Both of these sides are clean and clear, punchy and lively, with excellent presence and a strong bottom end
  • All the usual faces are here — Ron Carter, Billy Cobham, George Benson, Airto — and the one and only RVG does his usual brilliant job capturing their performances
  • 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

We’ve been really digging this CTI jazz stuff lately. On the better albums such as this one, the players tend to sound carefree and loose — you can tell they are having a heck of a time with the material. Don’t get me wrong — we still love the Blue Note and Contemporary label stuff for our more “serious” jazz needs, but it’s a kick to hear top jazz musicians laying down the grooves and not taking themselves so seriously…especially when it sounds this good!

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George Benson – Beyond the Horizon

More George Benson

  • Benson’s CTI label debut appears on the site for the first time with stunning Nearly Triple Plus (A+++) grades from start to finish – just shy of our Shootout Winner
  • The sound is everything that’s good about Rudy Van Gelder‘s recordings – it’s present, spacious, full-bodied, Tubey Magical, dynamic and, most importantly, ALIVE in that way that modern pressings almost never are
  • 5 stars: “… a superb jazz session where Benson rises to the challenge of the turbulent rhythm section of Jack DeJohnette and Ron Carter, with Clarence Palmer ably manning the organ. A must-hear for all aficionados of Benson’s guitar.”

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Freddie Hubbard – Straight Life

More Freddie Hubbard

More Jazz Recordings Featuring the Trumpet

  • This early CTI pressing boasts solid Double Plus (A++) grades or BETTER on both sides
  • Full-bodied, warm and natural with plenty of space around all of the players, this is the sound of vintage analog – accept no substitutes
  • The sound is everything that’s good about Rudy Van Gelder‘s recordings – it’s present, spacious, full-bodied, Tubey Magical, dynamic and, most importantly, alive in that way that modern pressings never are
  • 5 stars: “Recorded between trumpeter Freddie Hubbard’s better-known classics Red Clay and First Light, Straight Life is actually arguably Hubbard’s greatest recording.”

Vintage covers for this album are hard to find in exceptionally clean shape. Most of the will have at least some amount of ringwear, seam wear and edge wear. We guarantee that the cover we supply with this Hot Stamper is at least VG

Straight Life is a great album for anyone who wants to hear some well recorded, seriously adventurous jazz. We freely admit that side one is fairly ‘out there,’ but side two balances it out with much more accessible, melodic material. A wonderfully sensitive and emotional version of “Here’s That Rainy Day” closes out the side with George Benson proving to be an especially sympathetic accompanist on guitar.

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George Benson – White Rabbit

More of the Music of George Benson

  • Benson’s Must Own Masterpiece returns to the site for only the second time in two years, here with INCREDIBLE Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it throughout this vintage CTI pressing
  • Open and transparent throughout, with wonderfully full-bodied guitars, solid bass and huge amounts of swingin’ jazz energy
  • Superb engineering by the legendary Rudy Van Gelder – White Rabbit features jazz legends Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Billy Cobham, Airto, and more
  • 4 stars: “For George Benson’s second CTI project, producer Creed Taylor and arranger Don Sebesky successfully place the guitarist in a Spanish-flavored setting full of flamenco flourishes, brass fanfares, moody woodwinds and such… In this prime sample of the CTI idiom, everyone wins.”

We recently conducted another extensive shootout for White Rabbit and it was a blast. It always is. Benson and his funky jazz all-stars buds (Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock and Airto to name a few) tear through some great material here, and on both sides of this copy the sound is outstanding.

If you want to hear the best George Benson record we know of, this is the one. The Grammy-winning Breezin’ from 1976 is a perfectly good album but it’s quite a bit more commercial than our White Rabbit here from 1972, his first album to make the Top Ten on the jazz charts.

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George Benson – Weekend in L.A.

More George Benson

More Jazz Recordings Featuring the Guitar

  • A Weekend in L.A. like you’ve never heard, with incredible Nearly Triple Plus (A++ to A+++) grades or close to them on all FOUR sides of these vintage Palm Tree pressings – just shy of our Shootout Winner
  • Some of the tubiest, biggest and richest guitar sonics you could ask for from a “modern” record – this is the sound of analog done right
  • Al Schmitt handled production here, and he did the same kind of bang-up job that earned him Grammy awards for his production on the Hatari soundtrack (a TAS list title) and his engineering on Steely Dan’s Aja, Toto IV, and more
  • Before our most recent shootout, it had been more than ten years since we last listed a pressing of this album, but now that we’ve “cracked the code” for the best sounding pressings, expect to see this one show up on the site regularly – live is the way to hear the man sing and play
  • 4 stars: “Recording live at Los Angeles’ Roxy club … was just the tonic that George Benson and his Breezin’ band needed on this often jumping album. [T]he band gets deep into the four-on-the-floor funk and Benson digs in hard, his rhythmic instincts on guitar sharp as ever.”

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