Top Artists – Mark Knopfler

Mark Knopfler – Local Hero

More Soundtrack Albums of Interest

  • A vintage Vertigo import pressing of Knopfler’s 1983 soundtrack album, here with INSANELY GOOD Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound from first note to last – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • Both of these sides are doing everything right – they’re bigger, bolder, richer and more clean, clear and open than all others we played
  • As good as the Warner Brothers pressings might be, it’s clear to us, having played plenty of both, that these Vertigo originals are a sizable step up in class
  • 4 1/2 stars: “Dire Straits leader Mark Knopfler’s intricate, introspective finger-picked guitar stylings make a perfect musical complement to the wistful tone of Bill Forsyth’s comedy film, Local Hero… The low-key music picks up traces of Scottish music, but most of it just sounds like Dire Straits doing instrumentals, especially the recurring theme, one of Knopfler’s more memorable melodies.”

(more…)

Sting – Nothing Like The Sun

More Sting and The Police

  • A vintage copy of Sting’s killer double album from 1987 with solid Double Plus (A++) grades on all FOUR sides
  • The sound here is clearly bigger, richer, fuller, and livelier than most other copies we played it against
  • Features phenomenal contributions from legendary musicians, including Andy Summers, Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, and Hiram Bullock
  • 4 1/2 stars: “…the melodies are insinuating, slowly working their way into memory, while the entire record plays like a mood piece – playing equally well as background music or as intensive, serious listening.”

(more…)

Who Knew that Dylan Could Sound This Good in 1983?

Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of Bob Dylan Available Now

The short answer is we did, and it’s doubtful we have much company in the audiophile “community.”

Why? Because we actually sit down and play the records.

We don’t make judgments about their sound based on the fact that the album came out in 1983, long after the good old days of analog.

To put the cherry on the top of the sundae, this album is recorded digitally and it still sounds great. Or at least the best copies of it do. Speaking of fruit, how about them apples?

Our recent Shootout Winner was described this way:

This vintage copy of Infidels could not be beat. Big and rich, with correct tonality from top to bottom, strong bass and plenty of space, this copy sounded just right to us.

Our post-it notes tell the album’s story. (By the way, if you like reading our post-it notes, we’re putting more and more of them on the blog these days. We talk about the importance of taking notes  as part of the shootout advice we share. This post will help you with the basics.)

(more…)

Bob Dylan – Infidels

More Bob Dylan

  • With STUNNING Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades from start to finish, this vintage copy could not be beat
  • Big and rich, with correct tonality from top to bottom, strong bass and plenty of space, this copy sounded just right to us
  • 4 stars: “… its writing is closer to Dylan’s peak of the mid-70s, and some of the songs here… are minor classics, capturing him reviving his sense of social consciousness and his gift for poetic, elegant love songs.”

This is one of the better sounding Dylan records from the 80s. It’s not exactly Blood on the Tracks, the only Dylan album we think is qualified to be on our top 100 rock and pop list, but it sounds good for a record from this era.
(more…)

Bryan Ferry – Boys and Girls

More Roxy Music

  • You’ll find excellent Double Plus (A++) sound on both sides of this classic Ferry album from 1985 
  • This copy was big, full and lively with plenty of presence and bottom end weight
  • On this record, bigger bass and punchier drums make all the difference in the world
  • “Instead of ragged rock explosions, emotional extremes, and all that made his ’70s work so compelling in and out of Roxy, Ferry here is the suave, debonair if secretly moody and melancholic lover, with music to match…”

Excellent sound and quiet vinyl on both sides! If you’ve spent any time with this album, you will be blown away by how great both sides of this copy sound.

(more…)