Top Artists – Jeff Beck

Jeff Beck / Truth – Side Two Tends to Sound Better than Side One

More of the Music of Jeff Beck

What to Listen For – Side to Side Differences

An interesting bit of trivia: many side twos earned a sonic grade that was a full plus higher than any given copy’s grade for side one. A half plus higher was quite common too.

Side two most of the time just plain sounds better than side one, so when evaluating your copy be sure to check side two first to hear what is probably going to be the best sound on the album. 

The soundstage is absolutely HUGE, while the presence and transparency of this copy go way beyond most pressings. Great rock and roll energy too of course — without that you have nothing on this album.

Note how spacious, big, full-bodied and DYNAMIC both sides are. That’s why they’re White Hot or close to it. I am pleased to report that the whomp factor on these sides was nothing short of MASSIVE. With tons of bass these sides have what it takes to make the music ROCK.

In many ways it sounds like the first Zep album, and that’s a good thing. The sound is a perfect fit for the music. In recent interviews Jeff Beck has been saying that Jimmy Page stole his idea for a Heavy Rock Band playing electrified blues. Based on the evidence found on the two sides of this very album I would say he has a point.

(more…)

Letter of the Week – “The sound on Goodbye Pork Pie Hat is to die for.”

One of our good customers had this to say about some Hot Stampers he purchased recently:

Hey Tom, 

Another WINNER. Just spun my latest purchase from you folks, Jeff Beck’s “Wired,” and it’s KILLER. The sound on Goodbye Pork Pie Hat is to die for. THANK YOU guys, for always coming through with THE best sounding LPs. I now have two dozen of “your” albums in my collection – owning their own special shelf – and they continue to occupy not just a special place on my Well-Tempered Amadeus GT, but in my heart. 🙂 

Steven

FURTHER READING

New to the Blog? Start Here

More Hot Stamper Testimonial Letters

(more…)

Jeff Beck – Truth

More Jeff Beck

More Rod Stewart

  • Easily – and by a wide margin – the best sounding record Jeff Beck ever made – thanks Ken Scott! (And thank you, CBS, for the exceptionally quiet vinyl)
  • This pressing embodies the Big Rock Sound, the kind we go crazy for here at Better Records
  • Really fun music – it’s a blast to hear Rod Stewart fronting such a heavy rock band
  • AMG 5 Stars “…almost as groundbreaking and influential a record as the first Beatles, Rolling Stones, or Who albums.”

Vintage covers for this album are hard to find in clean shape. Most of them 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, and it will probably be VG+. If you are picky about your covers please let us know in advance so that we can be sure we have a nice cover for you.

This is a SHOCKINGLY good sounding pressing of Truth, Beck’s As-Heavy-As-I-Can-Make-It Rock debut, the kind of record that would define Classic Rock for the next forty plus years.

The soundstage is absolutely HUGE, while the presence and transparency of this copy go way beyond most pressings. Great rock and roll energy too of course — without that you have nothing on this album.

Note how spacious, big, full-bodied and DYNAMIC both sides are. That’s why they’re Super Hot. I am pleased to report that the whomp factor on these sides was nothing short of MASSIVE. With tons of bass these sides have what it takes to make the music ROCK. (more…)

Jeff Beck – Blow by Blow

More Jeff Beck

More Jazz Fusion

  • An exceptional copy with Nearly Triple Plus (A++ to A+++) sound from first note to last
  • These sides are doing pretty much everything right — they’re clean, clear and open with lots of space around the players, and plenty of rich, bottom end weight
  • 4 1/2 Stars: “Blow by Blow signaled a new creative peak for Beck, and it proved to be a difficult act to follow. It is a testament to the power of effective collaboration and, given the circumstances, Beck clearly rose to the occasion. In addition to being a personal milestone, Blow by Blow ranks as one of the premiere recordings in the canon of instrumental rock music.” — All Music

(more…)

Jeff Beck – Wired

More Jeff Beck

More Jazz Fusion

  • An excellent copy of Jeff Beck’s third solo effort with Double Plus (A++) sound from first note to last – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • Big and full with a punchy bottom end and driving jazz/rock energy, here are the elements critical to the best sounding copies
  • Wired, the sequel to the hugely successful Blow by Blow, was produced by Sir George Martin and mixed by Geoff Emerick
  • “Within a two-year span, the twin towers Blow by Blow and Wired set a standard for instrumental rock that even Beck has found difficult to match. On Wired, with first-rate material and collaborators on hand, one of rock’s most compelling guitarists is in top form.”

Copies with the most bass, the richest lower midrange and the most extension up top (to keep the upper midrange from becoming too hard and shrill) did the best in our shootout, assuming they weren’t veiled or smeary of course.

So many things can go wrong on a record. We know, we heard them all. We’re glad to report this copy was doing just about everything right, hence the high Hot Stamper grades. (more…)

Looking for 5 Star Albums? We’ve Got Hot Stamper Pressings of 125+

Hot Stamper Allmusic Five Star Albums in Stock

Allmusic Five Star Albums We’ve Reviewed

beck_truth_1610_1302710570

Like Truth here.

The soundstage is absolutely HUGE, while the presence and transparency of this copy go way beyond most pressings. Great rock and roll energy too of course — without that you have nothing on this album.

Note how spacious, big, full-bodied and DYNAMIC side one is. That’s why it’s White Hot. I am pleased to report that the whomp factor on this side was nothing short of MASSIVE. With tons of bass this side has what it takes to make the music ROCK.

One of the most surprising things we learned in our first big shootout from 2014 was how well recorded the album is. It’s yet another triumph from one of our favorite engineers, Ken Scott.

In many ways it sounds like the first Zep album, and that’s a good thing. The sound is a perfect fit for the music. In recent interviews Jeff Beck has been saying that Jimmy Page stole his idea for a Heavy Rock Band playing electrified blues. Based on the evidence found on the two sides of this very album I would say he has a point.