Top Artists – The Band

Letter of the Week – “Just curious as to why you never point out a Bob Ludwig “RL” pressing?”

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

Hey Tom, 

I am an avid vinyl cat and have been all of my life. I am super curious about your vinyl. I have a pretty good ear myself for top-shelf LP’s but I am just curious as to why you never point out a Bob Ludwig “RL” pressing? Or maybe you have and I just have not noticed?

Thanks so much for a response and much respect for what you are doing and selling…

Dana

Dana, we explained it here, in a commentary we called The Book of Hot Stampers.

We give out precious little in the way of stamper numbers, no information about cutting engineers as a rule, although we do break that rule from time to time. Here is an excerpt of a listing for Rock of Ages from way back when:

What We Thought We Knew

In 2006 we put up a copy with with what we implied were Hot Stampers (before we were using the term consistently) on at least one side:

Side One sounds tonally right on the money! This is as good as it gets… Robert Ludwig mastered all of the originals of these albums, but some of them have bad vinyl and don’t sound correct.

I only played side one of the album, so I can’t speak for the other sides, but what I heard was sound about as good as I think this album can have.

There are some truths along with some half-truths in the above comments, and let’s just say we would be quite a bit more careful in our language were we writing about that copy today.

One side is no indication whatsoever as to the quality of the other three, and without the kind of cleaning technologies we have available to us today, I wouldn’t want to make a “definitive” sonic assessment for any of them.

When you play uncleaned or poorly cleaned records, you’re hearing a lot of garbage that has nothing to do with the sound of the actual vinyl. (Note that we are joking above: there is no such thing as a definitive sonic assessment of a record, from us or anybody else.)

Ludwig cut many bad sounding records. Roxy Music’s Avalon original domestic pressings are RL. They’re made from dubs and sound like it.  Same with Dire Straits’ Alchemy.

Some RL Houses of the Holy sound amazing and some only decent. It’s the nature of the beast. (more…)

The Band / Northern Lights – Southern Cross

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More Roots Rock

  • These sides are bigger, more natural, more warm and more solid than those of any other copy you’ve heard or your money back
  • This is The Band’s undiscovered gem, containing the most powerful tearjerker they ever wrote: “It Makes No Difference”
  • 4 stars: “…the Band’s finest since their self-titled sophomore effort … “Acadian Driftwood” stands out as one of Robertson’s finest compositions, the equal to anything else the Band ever recorded.”
  • We’ve recently compiled a list of records we think every audiophile should get to know better, along the lines of “the 1001 records you need to hear before you die,” but with less of an accent on morbidity and more on the joy these amazing audiophile-quality recordings can bring to your life. This album by The Band is a good example of a record many audiophiles may not know well but should.

Thankfully both sides here are rich and full-bodied. This pressing is not nearly as dry and flat as the vast majority of pressings we run across. Both sides have a nicely extended top end to go along with the weighty bottom. The guitars and keyboards are Tubey Magical as well, a quality we we focused on, and one that we believe is essential if the album is to sound its best. (more…)

The Band / Rock Of Ages – A Definitive Sonic Assessment?

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More Hot Stamper Pressings of Roots Rock Albums

In 2006 we put up a copy with with what we implied were Hot Stampers (before we were using the term regularly) on at least one side:

“Side One sounds tonally right on the money! This is as good as it gets… Robert Ludwig mastered all of the originals of these albums, but some of them have bad vinyl and don’t sound correct.

“I only played side one of the album, so I can’t speak for the other sides, but what I heard was sound about as good as I think this album can have.”

There are some truths along with some half-truths in the above comments, and let’s just say we would be quite a bit more careful in our language were we writing about that copy today.

One side is no indication whatsoever as to the quality of the other three, and without the kind of cleaning technologies we have available to us today, I wouldn’t want to make a “definitive” sonic assessment for any of them.

When you play uncleaned or poorly cleaned records, you’re hearing a lot of garbage that has nothing to do with the sound of the vinyl itself.

Note that we are joking above: there is no such thing as a definitive sonic assessment of a record, from us or anybody else.

Mistaken Audiophile Thinking? We’ve done our share and then some.

We firmly believe that plenty of Audio Progress awaits us all, but to realize that progress we must rationally approach the problems encountered in reproducing music in the home, thinking about them critically, not as True Believers, but as skeptics who require empirical evidence to support their beliefs.

It is axiomatic with us that the more skeptical you become, the more successful you will be in pursuing this devilishly difficult hobby of ours.

Further Reading

Letter of the Week – “If I were to just buy one album by the Band this would be it for sure!”

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Reviews and Commentaries for Records that Sound Their Best on Big Speakers at Loud Levels

One of our good customers recently took our advice to Turn Up the Volume on this classic by The Band.

Hi Tom,

Wow. another winner!  But first I have to completely agree with you that this album has to be turned up!  When I started listening at a lower volume the soundstage was congested and small and the highs were hidden.

Crank it up and all of a sudden the entire room fills up with the Band.

I would not have imagined what a difference it would make by just turning up the volume.  The air around the vocals, as you pointed out, makes this album sing (pun intended).

A good test for me is when I don’t notice the speakers in my room but just hear the band on stage with no fake boundaries, and this is another one of those good examples.  The uber talented horn players on this album also add tremendously to the entire vibe of the album.

I seem to recall buying this record on CD decades ago and being so disappointed that there was no bass and no dynamics to the music.

Fast forward 3 decades plus and I feel I finally hearing this album for the first time and understanding why all of the reviews were so positive back in the day (but I bet most reviewers did not hear it the way it should sound!).  So glad you told me to take a chance with this one.  If I were to just buy one album by the Band this would be it for sure!

Rob

Dear Rob,

The differences you heard are the same ones we heard, and it’s the main reason we never tire of imploring audiophiles everywhere — not just our customers, everybody — to acquire the biggest dynamic speakers they can find (or horns; although I am not a fan, they will probably do the job) and turn them up good and loud.

How on earth is a speaker system like this one going to reproduce a live rock concert with a horn section behind them?

If you want to hear Rock of Ages sound the way it should, you need big speakers that can play loud to do it.

Thanks for your letter,

TP

(more…)

The Band – Rock Of Ages

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More Roots Rock LPs

  • A superb vintage Capitol pressing of Rock of Ages with Double Plus (A++) sound or BETTER on all FOUR sides
  • The best copies are surprisingly TRANSPARENT – just listen to all the “room” around the vocals on these four sides
  • With tracks from their first four albums, as well as a few handpicked favorites (“Don’t Do It”), not to mention killer horn charts on 11 songs, this is a superb overview of the group’s uniquely rootsy rock
  • A classic double live album with a consistently well-arranged and energetically performed set of songs – if you could only have one album by The Band, wouldn’t it have to be this one?
  • 4 stars: “It could be argued that it captured the spirit of the Band at the time in a way none of their other albums do.”

The performances are uniformly excellent, and the live five-piece horn section adds a lot to the fun and energy of the music. (The same can be said for Little Feat’s live album, Waiting for Columbus. We’ve been offering Hot Stampers on that album for years; it’s the best way to hear the band at their best, outside the studio.)

There’s real Tubey Magic on this album, along with breathy vocals, in-your-listening-room presence, and plenty of rock and roll energy.

All four sides here are just plain bigger, richer, clearer and smoother than the other copies we played. The energy level is off the charts. This is The Band playing live at the peak of their powers. Hearing this outstanding pressing should be unlike anything you have experienced before, unless you saw them back in the day, some fifty years ago, and how many of us can honestly say we did? (“Honestly” being the operative word there.)

It should go without saying that this is music that belongs in any popular music collection. My favorite song here is “I Don’t Want To Hang Up My Rock And Roll Shoes.” It’s The Band at their best — LIVE.

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Rock Of Ages – Turn Up Your Volume, Now It Rocks!

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Hot Stamper Pressings of Roots Rock Albums Available Now

Yet another in the long list of recordings that really comes alive when you Turn Up Your Volume.

Most copies of this album do not have a boosted bottom or top, which means that at normal listening levels — depending on how you define that term — they can sound pretty flat.

This is one album that needs to be turned up, obviously not to the levels of a live rock concert, but up about as loud as you can until you can get the bass and the highs to come out.

We found ourselves adding more and more level in order to get the sound to come to life, and it was playing pretty loud before the sound was right.  

But it’s SO GOOD when it’s loud. Why the hell would you not want to crank it up and ROCK OUT?

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Letter of the Week – “I don’t believe I have ever heard the vocals so clear and smooth.”

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

Hey Tom,   

Thank you for my most recent order and the work you do. A few specific observations on the records just received.

The Band / Self-Titled:

This record has been a lifetime favorite of mine, since the early days when I listened to it all the time back in the 1970’s. I of course had a copy, and the MoFi release (which was not made from the Master Tapes because after they made the rock-documentary on the making of this record, someone literally lost the master tape, and the MoFi was made after that unfortunate event!).

When your RL copy arrived yesterday the first thing I noticed was the texture of the album cover. The copy I had was a smooth reproduction and the easy addition RL copy is more richly textured. When I took the album out of the outer sleeve the album cover alone took me back. Then I played it. I expected deeper RL style bass, and it delivers big time. Up on Cripple Creek took my breath away at the opening of the song.

Less anticipated was the enhanced detail in the midrange. I don’t believe I have ever heard the vocals so clear and smooth. Really sounds great, thank you!

Leon Russell and The Shelter People:

This too is a record that has been a regular part of my musical diet since the 1970’s. Sadly, I have never been able to find a decent copy, and often played it on CD. I have never seen a copy on the Better Records site, and my guess is they are fairly rare for you as well. The English copy you sold me sounds significantly better than anything I have ever heard. The copy has very little surface noise and the dynamic range is fantastic. The echoing energy in the piano chords Leon bangs out on Sweet Emily is just one example of the richness this copy offers. Thank you!

The Eagles / Self-Titled:

I am a huge fan of Desperado and On The Border, owning Hot Stamper versions of each. The direction the band took after On The Border is not for me, so they have always been a 2-album band for me. Damn good 2 album band, but just the 2.

The first album I once had the record and never played it, eventually selling it back to the local record stores. I have a copy on CD for the car, and even that I find myself not listening to it all the way through. After reading all that you guys have written on the record I decided to give it a try.

In short, it has never sounded like this on my system and the band is now a 3-record band in my house. Thank you!

Best wishes,
Rick

Ron McMaster Strikes Again – Who Approved This Miserable Pressing?

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Roots Rock LPs with Hot Stampers Available Now

More Records that Sound Like CDs

Flat, compressed, no top end, no Tubey Magic, this is Ron McMaster’s work at its worst, helped along by the fact that he does not have the original master tape or even a copy of it to work with, but instead the new remix that was made a few years back because the original tape had been lost. And somehow reviewers like it!

When you see that little RM in the dead wax of one of these new Heavy Vinyl reissues, you should get the sinking feeling that there’s a very good chance you’ve just flushed your money down the toilet.

There ought to be a warning label on the jacket: Mastered by Ron McMaster. On some records there is! I saw one not long ago with his mastering credit right on the front of the jacket.

It’s only a warning to those of us familiar with his work of course. The general public, and that includes the general audiophile public, probably won’t have much of a problem with the sound of this record or anything else he does. He still has his job, doesn’t he? What does that tell you?

A well-known reviewer notes that “…the Capitol LP is very good, believe it or not.”

Well, I don’t believe it, not for a minute. It’s pretty much a joke and I’m guessing that even Hoffman’s new CD would be better. I don’t care much for Hoffmann’s CD, but at least it has a top end. [Addendum 10/2013: I can’t stand it as a matter of fact. Badly lacks weight and warmth, which is what the RL vinyl has going for it in spades.]

The Band / Rock Of Ages – What We Thought We Knew in 2009

White Hot Stampers for side two — WOW! Check out the track listing for that side: Stage Fright / The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down / Across the Great Divide / This Wheel’s on Fire / Rag Mama Rag

Pretty hard to beat that batch of Band songs; practically every one is a classic. And considering how difficult it is to get a good sounding copy of the albums those songs are taken from, this double album is a great way to go if you love The Band. The performances are uniformly excellent, and the live horn section adds a lot to the fun and energy of the music.

The same can be said for Little Feat’s live album, Waiting for Columbus. We’ve been trying to find Hot Stampers on that one for years with little luck. Guess we’ll just have to keep trying.

[That was 2009. We have been selling Hot Stamper pressings of WFC for about ten years now.]

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Listening in Depth to The Band’s Second Album

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Roots Rock LPs with Hot Stampers Available Now

The best copies have no trace of phony sound from top to bottom. They’re raw and real in a way that makes most pop records sound processed and wrong. Our best Hot Stampers have plenty of the qualities we look for in The Band. Energy, presence, transparency, Tubey Magic… you name it — you will find it there. The biggest strength of this recording is its wonderful, natural midrange. And tons of bass.

Despite what anyone might tell you, it’s no mean feat to find good sounding copies of this record. There are good originals and bad originals, as well as good reissues and bad reissues. Folks, we’ve said it many times — the label can’t tell you how a record sounds, but there’s a sure way to find out that information. You’ve got to clean ’em and play ’em to find out which ones have Hot Stampers, and we seem to be the only record dealers who are doing that, in the process making unusually good pressings available to you, the music-loving audiophile. (more…)