Top Artists – John Coltrane

John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman – Nothing Special on Speakers Corner

More of the Music of John Coltrane

UPDATE 2026

This review was probably written in 2004 when the record was released. I had heard good copies of it — not the originals as it turns out! —  and new that the recording was outstanding.

This Heavy Vinyl is not awful, but it is a long way from outstanding. My guess is that the CD would be better.

We were only slightly impressed with both the Speakers Corner pressing of this album and the earlier Impulse Heavy Vinyl edition from the ’90s. In our opinion neither one is worth pursuing.

This could very well be the greatest collaboration between a horn player and a singer in the history of music. I honestly cannot think of another to rank with it. Ella and Louis has the same feel — too giants who work together so sympathetically it’s close to magic, producing definitive performances of enduring standards that have not been equaled in the fifty plus years since they were recorded. And, on the better copies, or should we say the better sides of the better copies, RVG’s sound is stunning.

They Say It’s Wonderful: Hartman and Coltrane, an Appreciation (more…)

John Coltrane – The John Coltrane Quartet Plays

More of the Music of John Coltrane

  • The John Coltrane Quartet Plays appears on the site for only the second time ever, here with solid Double Plus (A++) grades or close to them on both sides of this vintage Impulse stereo pressing – remarkably quiet vinyl too
  • No other copy earned 2+ on both sides, meaning this is the best Super Hot Stamper we have to offer this time around
  • Full-bodied, energetic, and tonally correct from top to bottom, this pressing is guaranteed to bring Coltrane’s music to life (particularly on side one) – it’s possible that you would not own any Coltrane record that sounds as good as this one
  • 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 the way that modern pressings never are (also particularly on side one)
  • 4 stars: “One of the turning points in the career of John Coltrane came in 1965. The great saxophonist, whose playing was always very explorative and searching, crossed the line into atonality during that year, playing very free improvisations (after stating quick throwaway themes) that were full of passion and fury.”

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Giant Steps Is Another in a Very Long Line of Disappointing Rhino Remasters

Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of John Coltrane Available Now

UPDATE 2026

This review was written in the early 2000s, long before we had enough data to recognize just what a hack Kevin Gray would turn out to be, remastering one awful sounding record after another for the next twenty years.

His list of failures is surely one of the longest in the business. Of course, we can only guess about most of them, as we are not in the business of playing junk Heavy Vinyl. We much prefer the business we are in: selling the best sounding vintage pressings of the greatest albums of all time.

Reviewing an awful pressing such as this is simply a service we offer to help audiophiles from throwing away their money, at least those audiophiles who have not bought the hype surrounding this incompetent engineer’s consistently shameful work.

Scroll down to see proof that somebody actually paid 80 bucks for this lousy record, along with the rave reviews from a few of those who flushed their money down the toilet. What could be sadder?

Our 2003 Review

Mastered by Kevin Gray, this record has what we like to call ”modern” sound, which is to say it’s clean and tonally correct for the most part, but it’s missing the Tubey Magic the originals and the good reissues both have plenty of.

In other words, it sounds too much like a CD.

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David Turner Was Taking Care Of Business in 1978

Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of Sonny Rollins Available Now

The complete Tenor Madness album is found here, with big, full-bodied, MONO jazz sound at its best, courtesy of the great one, Rudy Van Gelder.

This is what classic 50s jazz is supposed to sound like – they knew how to do these kinds of records forty years ago. Those mastering skills are in short supply nowadays, if not downright extinct.

The transfers from 1978 by David Turner are in tune with the sound of these recordings – there’s not a trace of phony EQ on this entire record.

This Two-Fer includes all of Tenor Madness and most of Work Time and Tour De Force.

Top jazz players such as Ray Bryant, John Coltrane, Red Garland, Kenny Drew, Max Roach and Paul Chambers can be heard on the album.

If you want all the Tubey Magic of the earlier pressings, a top quality pressing of the real Tenor Madness album on Prestige might give you more of that sound.

David Turner’s mastering setup in the 70s has a healthy dose of Tubey Magic, but it can’t compete in that area with the All Tube cutting chains that were making records in the ’50s and ’60s.  Without one of those early pressings around to compare, we don’t think you’re going to feel you are missing out on anything in the sound with best copies.

And where can you find an early Prestige pressing with audiophile playing surfaces like these?   (more…)

Cannonball Adderley Quintet – In Chicago

More of the Music of Cannonball Adderley

  • Cannonball’s final Mercury label release, here with very good Hot Stamper grades on both sides of this original pressing
  • It’s richer and fuller than the average copy, with notably more presence, and that will be especially true when you compare it to whatever godawful Heavy Vinyl pressing may be currently available
  • This is true of even our lowest-priced, lowest-graded copies – they are guaranteed to sound much better than any pressing you can find on the market today, as well as any pressing you may already own
  • There are some bad marks (as is sometimes the nature of the beast with these early pressings) on “Stars Fell On Alabama,” but once you hear the sound of this copy, you might be inclined, as we were, to stop counting ticks and just be swept away by the music
  • 4 1/2 stars: “Altoist Cannonball Adderley and tenor saxophonist John Coltrane really push each other on these six selections… With pianist Wynton Kelly, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Jimmy Cobb playing up to their usual level, this gem is highly recommended.”

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Milt Jackson and John Coltrane – Bags & Trane

More of the Music of John Coltrane

  • Stunning sound throughout this stereo pressing, with both sides earning Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades or close to them – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • If all you have ever played is an original pressing or a modern reissue, you are in for a treat — this copy is going to murder them
  • One of Tom Dowd’s many outstanding recordings of John Coltrane at the height of his powers – the sound is to die for
  • 5 stars: “Vibraphonist Milt Jackson and tenor saxophonist John Coltrane make for a surprisingly complementary team on this 1959 studio session, their only joint recording.”

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John Coltrane – Giant Steps

More of the Music of John Coltrane

  • Coltrane’s Atlantic debut, here with very good Hot Stamper sound from first note to the last – remarkably quiet vinyl too
  • We guarantee there is more space, richness, presence, and performance energy on this copy than others you’ve heard or you get your money back – it’s as simple as that
  • Credit superb engineering from Phil Iehle and Tom Dowd, who would work on some of Coltrane’s most iconic albums at the label
  • 5 stars: “[Coltrane] was…beginning to rewrite the jazz canon with material that would be centered on solos — the 180-degree antithesis of the art form up to that point. These arrangements would create a place for the solo to become infinitely more compelling.”

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Miles Davis – Green Haze (‘The Musings of Miles’ and ‘Miles’)

More of the Music of Miles Davis

  • A Green Haze like you’ve never heard, with KILLER Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it on all FOUR sides of these vintage Mono pressings – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • Spacious, sweet and positively dripping with ambience – talk about Tubey Magic, the liquidity of the sound here is positively uncanny
  • This Prestige Two-Fer simply combines two complete Miles Davis titles recorded by Rudy Van Gelder in 1955 – ‘The Musings of Miles’ and ‘Miles’
  • The 1976 transfers of tape to disc by David Turner are superb in all respects – this is remastering done right
  • 4 stars: “… it is for the excellent rhythm sections and the playing of Miles Davis that this two-fer is highly recommended.”
  • If you’re a fan of Miles, this All Tube MONO Recording from 1955 belongs in your collection.

This is vintage analog at its best, so full-bodied and relaxed you’ll wonder how it ever came to be that anyone seriously contemplated trying to improve it. (more…)

Letter of the Week – “Thank you for getting me off the ‘original pressings are the best’ gerbil wheel”

Hot Stamper Pressings that Sound Their Best on the Right Reissue

One of our good customers had this to say about some records he purchased locally, not even from us! (Bolding has been added.)

By the way, have I thanked you yet for getting me off the “original pressings are the best” gerbil wheel? I’ve now got a stack of two-fers that I paid $15 apiece for that sound fantastic.

Yup, the very same records that Fremer ridiculed you for selling. [1]

I can buy a copy of an original pressing of Saxophone Colossus [2] for $300 on discogs with absolutely no notes on how the music sounds and no return policy. Or, I can get it for $15 in a twofer at my neighborhood shop, and I can’t imagine it sounding better. Folks just aren’t buying records for the way they sound. It’s nuts.

Tom, you’re like a consultant. It’s almost like I pay you for your knowledge and guidance by buying records from you, but you’re giving information away for free to anybody willing to listen.

In another letter ab_ba added this thought after posting on the Hoffman forum and watching the LP 45 guy video with Geoff Edgers as his guest:

What a learning experience the last couple of days have been for me. I am just really surprised how little interest in evidence and objectivity my co-hobbyists have proven to have. I know we are in a very anti-objective time right now, but it’s actually almost scary how pervasive it seems to be.

For my own journey into vinyl, a tremendous amount of exploration, experimentation, and tinkering have been essential. I can’t imagine going about it any other way. I’ve begun to wonder what on earth all these other chaps are doing. I mean, does vinyl even sound better than digital on their rigs?? If you don’t try stuff out, you’ll never make progress.

Anyway, looking for open-mindedness, curiosity, and balance in this discussion is futile.

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Sonny Rollins – Taking Care Of Business (Work Time, Tenor Madness and Tour de Force)

More of the Music of Sonny Rollins

  • With outstanding Double Plus (A++) grades or BETTER on all FOUR sides, these vintage Prestige pressings are guaranteed to blow the doors off any other Taking Care Of Business you’ve heard
  • The complete Tenor Madness album is found here, with big, full-bodied, MONO jazz sound at its best, courtesy of the great one, Rudy Van Gelder
  • This is what classic 50s jazz is supposed to sound like – they knew how to do these kinds of records 70+ years ago, and those mastering skills are in short supply nowadays, if not downright extinct
  • The transfers from 1978 by David Turner are in tune with the sound of these recordings – there’s not a trace of phony EQ on this entire record
  • “Tenor Madness was the recording that, once and for all, established Newk as one of the premier tenor saxophonists, an accolade that in retrospect, has continued through six full decades and gives an indication why a young Rollins was so well liked, as his fluency, whimsical nature, and solid construct of melodies and solos gave him the title of the next Coleman Hawkins or Lester Young of mainstream jazz.”

This Two-Fer includes all of Tenor Madness and most of Work Time and Tour De Force.

Top jazz players such as Ray Bryant, John Coltrane, Red Garland, Kenny Drew, Max Roach and Paul Chambers can be heard on the album.

(more…)