Lee Herschberg, Engineer

Frank Sinatra – Trilogy: Past, Present and Future

More of the Music of Frank Sinatra

  • A killer copy of Sinatra’s wonderful 1980 release with Nearly Triple Plus (A++ to A+++) sound on all SIX sides – just shy of out Shootout Winner (side four actually won the shootout)
  • The sonics here are rich and full-bodied with much less grain and much more Tubey Magic than practically all other copies we played in our recent shootout
  • Credit the brilliant engineering of Frank Laico for the excellent sound – this record doesn’t sound like 1980, and that’s a very, very good thing
  • “An audacious, ambitious way to stage a comeback, each of the album’s three records was conceived as an individual work, and each was arranged by one of Sinatra’s major collaborators. . . the best moments are triumphant, proving that the Voice was still vital in his fourth decade of recording.”

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Frank Sinatra and Duke Ellington – Francis A. & Edward K.

More of the Music of Frank Sinatra

More of the Music of Duke Ellington

  • Superb Double Plus (A++) grades bring this wonderful collaboration to life on this original Reprise stereo pressing – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • Sinatra is both natural and present – he actually sounds like he is standing on the same stage as Ellington’s band, and maybe he is!
  • The highs are extended and silky sweet, the bass is tight and punchy – this copy gives you more life and energy than most by a long shot
  • “Recorded on Sinatra’s birthday in 1967, this collaboration between America’s most popular singing icon and pre-eminent jazz composer still endures as one of Sinatra’s most enjoyable Reprise-era albums.” – Amazon

Recorded one year after the remarkable Sinatra-Jobim record that we treasure here at Better Records, Sinatra takes the opportunity to work with one of the greatest bandleaders in the history of jazz, the Duke himself. We had good luck with the stereo originals on the lovely Blue and Green Reprise labels — they can be as big, rich and warm as Sinatra’s legendary Capitol recordings when you find the right pressing, and that’s really saying something.

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Rickie Lee Jones – Self-Titled

More of the Music of Rickie Lee Jones

  • You’ll find STUNNING Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades or close to them on both sides of this vintage copy of Rickie Lee Jones’s debut LP
  • Exceptionally present, real and resolving, this pressing is guaranteed to murder any remastering undertaken by anyone, past, present and future
  • The superbly talented musicians and engineers deserve much of the credit for making this album a Grammy Winning Must Own audiophile favorite
  • Both of our two best sounding pressings had condition issues, as did many of the other copies we played, which we chalk up to the Warner Bros. quality control department of 1979
  • Not their finest hour, but at least they still knew how to record in rich, smooth, very real sounding analog as that decade came to a close
  • 4 stars: “One of the most impressive debuts for a singer/songwriter ever, this infectious mixture of styles not only features a strong collection of original songs but also a singer with a savvy, distinctive voice that can be streetwise, childlike, and sophisticated, sometimes all in the same song.”

This vintage Warner Brothers LP has the kind of Tubey Magical midrange that modern pressings barely BEGIN to reproduce. Folks, that sound is gone and it sure isn’t showing any sign of coming back.

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Frank Sinatra – Strangers In The Night

More of the Music of Frank Sinatra

  • Boasting two solid Double Plus (A++) sides, this vintage Reprise pressing is doing just about everything right – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • This Sinatra title surprised us with its Demo Disc sound – on the blog, it’s one of the records we “discovered” with audiophile quality sound, because who knew the album could sound this good but us?
  • Clearly one of the better sounding Reprise-era Sinatra albums we have ever played
  • Credit must be given to the extraordinarily inventive arrangements of Nelson Riddle and the Tubey Magical engineering of Lee Herschberg
  • Marks in the vinyl are sometimes the nature of the beast with these early pressings – there simply is no way around them if the superior sound of vintage analog is important to you
  • “Sinatra’s singing is relaxed, confident, and surprisingly jazzy, as he plays with the melody of ‘The Most Beautiful Girl in the World’ and delivers a knockout punch with the assured, breathtaking ‘Summer Wind.'”

We cannot recommend this pressing highly enough. If you want to know what the best sounding Sinatra records sound like, this is your chance. Folks, in my opinion it simply does not get any better than a killer White Hot Stamper of Strangers In The Night.

These originals are the only way to go for ’60s Sinatra, but finding them in good shape on quiet vinyl is no picnic and only a few of them actually sound the way we want them to. It’s a real treat to be in the presence of the Chairman Of The Board, in his prime, working his magic — but only an exceptional copy like this one has the power to put him right in the room with you.

What to Listen For

The Tubey Magic has to be heard to be believed. I cannot recall hearing a richer, smoother, tubier Frank Sinatra album in all my born days.

Weighty brass is key to the sound of more than just the horn section. Any leanness or thinness in the brass is instantly heard as Sinatra without weight and richness to his voice. This is the instantly recognizable sound of most reissues, the main reason we stopped buying them years ago. Having played so many amazing original stereo pressings for our shootouts over the years we don’t think that will change anytime soon. There simply is no substitute for a clean stereo pressing on the original label.

Full, Rich, Breathy, Present vocals are obviously critically important as well. This copy delivers some of the best we heard.

On this copy the orchestra and band are putting out plenty of low end, reaching down well into whomp land. It’s a thrill to hear to hear that sound on these swinging arrangements coming out of my speakers.

And of course the copies that are rich and tubey but also big, clear and open did the best in our shootout. (more…)

Ry Cooder / Jazz

More of the Music of Ry Cooder

  • You’ll find solid Double Plus (A++) grades or BETTER throughout this vintage copy – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • These are the stampers that always win our shootouts, and when you hear them you will know why – the sound is big, rich and clear
  • A one-time TAS list Super Disc that proves its worth on this superb pressing
  • “The complexity of the material on Jazz, as well as the arrangements by Joseph Byrd, dictate that this is Cooder’s most polished and orchestrated effort to date.”
  • We’ve discovered a number of titles in which one stamper always wins, and here are some others
  • If you’re a fan of Ry Cooder’s, this classic from 1978 belongs in your collection.
  • “The complexity of the material on Jazz, as well as the arrangements by Joseph Byrd, dictate that this is Cooder’s most polished and orchestrated effort to date.”

We’re big fans of Ry Cooder here at Better Records, and it’s always fun to hear the eccentric instruments and arrangements he and his cohorts cook up. Of course, it’s even more fun when you have a great sounding pressing like this one that lets you hear what the musicians were up to. (more…)

Frank Sinatra – Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim

More of the Music of Frank Sinatra

  • With outstanding Double Plus (A++) sound or close to it from start to finish, this vintage stereo pressing of Sinatra and Jobim’s sublime collaboration will be very hard to beat
  • A Must Own for Sinatra fans, but one that has a marked tendency to be noisy, as many of the owners of the album loved it and played it to death, but no such problems here
  • The presence and three-dimensional space of the recording have the power to transport the Chairman of the Board and his Brazilian buddy right into your listening room (particularly on side two)
  • This is a magical album from start to finish, one of a handful of a Must Own Sinatra releases, and my personal favorite of all his recordings
  • 4 1/2 stars: “After a few plays, the album begins to slowly work its way underneath a listener’s skin, and it emerges as one of his most rewarding albums of the ’60s.”
  • We’ve recently compiled a list of records we think every audiophile/music-lover should get to know better, along the lines of “the 1001 records you need to hear before you die,” with less of an accent on morbidity and more on the joy these amazing audiophile-quality recordings can bring to your life. This is a good example of a record audiophiles should make an effort to get to know better

This is, in our opinion, one of the two best sounding Sinatra album on Reprise (the other being September of My Years from 1965). The recording is so rich, sweet, and Tubey Magical, you would think it was prime Capitol-period Sinatra — but it’s not, obviously; it just sounds that way.

If you like romantic music, you will be hard-pressed to find a better album than this one. The song “Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars” perfectly encapsulates the mood of this album. My favorite track here is “Dindi.” Sinatra is the king of lost loves, and the song “Dindi” offers him another opportunity for regret. Nobody does it better than Frank. It’s a cliche to say he wears his heart on his sleeve, but the man made a career out of it. If the cliche fits…

Whatever you do, don’t waste your money on Kevin Gray’s mediocre cutting of the album. I gave it a C- years ago for sound, but these days I suspect it might get an F. A lot of his stuff does.

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The Three on Inner City – By Far the Best Way to Get All Six Tracks

More of the Music of The Three

  • A Demo Disc quality Inner City pressing of this wonderful recording with INCREDIBLE Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it from start to finish
  • The transients are uncannily lifelike – listen for the powerful kinetic energy produced when Shelly whacks the hell out of his cymbals
  • My favorite Piano Trio Jazz Album of All Time; every one of those six tracks is brilliantly arranged and performed
  • 4 stars: “One of Joe Sample’s finest sessions as a leader” – with Shelly Manne and Ray Brown, we would say it’s clearly his finest session, as a leader or simply as the piano player in a killer trio

If you want to hear the full six tunes recorded by The Three at that famous Hollywood session (which ran all day and long into the night, 4 AM to be exact), these 33 RPM pressings are the best way to go. The music is so good that I personally would not want to live without the complete album. The Three is, in fact, my favorite Piano Trio Jazz Album of All Time; every one of those six tracks is brilliantly arranged and performed (if you have the right takes of course; more about that later).

More On The Subject Of Energy

This is a quality no one seems to be writing about, other than us of course, but what could possibly be more important? On this record, the more energetic copies took the players’ performances to a level beyond all expectations. It is positively shocking how lively and dynamic the best copies of this record are. I know of no other recording with this combination of sonic and musical energy. It is sui generis, in a league of its own.

Both sides are so transparent you can hear Shelly Manne vocalizing as he’s playing the drums. The drum solo on side two is killer here. So full of energy and so dynamic. Why aren’t more drum kits recorded this well? Check out the pictures inside the fold-open cover to see all the mics that were used on the drums. That’s where that wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling sound comes from.

The transients are uncannily lifelike, conveying the huge amounts of kinetic energy produced when Shelly whacks the hell out of his cymbals.

Ne Plus Ultra Piano Trio

This record is made from the “backup” tape for the session. East Wind released two versions of the famous direct to disc version at 33 RPM, and for those of you who bother to read the commentary, you know that take one of that pressing presents a completely different performance of the music than the one found on the Inner City on offer here.

There was a time when the best copies of a recording like this would go directly into my collection. If I wanted to impress someone, audiophile or otherwise, with the You-Are-There illusion that only Big Speakers in a dedicated room playing a live recording can create, this would be up near the top of the list. There is practically nothing like it on vinyl in my experience.

This is without a doubt my favorite piano trio record of all time. Joe Sample, Shelly Manne, and Ray Brown only made one album together, this one, recorded direct to disc right here in Los Angeles for Eastwind in the Seventies. Joe Sample for once in his life found himself in a real Class A trio, and happily for jazz fans around the world, he rose to the occasion. Actually, it was more like an epiphany, as this is the one piano trio album I put in a class by itself. All three of The Three are giving us the best they’ve got on that November day in 1975.

When it comes to small combo piano jazz, there is none better.

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Gordon Lightfoot – If You Could Read My Mind (aka Sit Down Stranger)

More Gordon Lightfoot

More Folk Rock

  • With INCREDIBLE Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound from start to finish, this original pressing of Sit Down Young Stranger could not be beat
  • Here are just a few of the things we had to say about this amazing copy in our notes: “tubey and spacious and 3D”…”huge bass”…”very big and rich and open”…”present and spacious”…”tons of space and detail”…”so wide and roomy”
  • Forget whatever dead-as-a-doornail Heavy Vinyl record they’re making these days – if you want to hear the Tubey Magic, intimacy, and freedom from audio coloration of this wonderful album from 1970, these early pressings are the only way to do it
  • An outstanding recording – Lightfoot’s best in our experience – with “Me and Bobby McGee” sounding as good as we have ever heard it on this superb pressing
  • Originally released in the summer of 1970 as Sit Down Young Stranger, it was reissued under its new title to capitalize on the success of the hit single “If You Could Read My Mind”
  • 4 1/2 stars: “The entire album is rich in the simple beauty of its folky melodies and personal lyrics… the music here is timeless, still feeling and sounding great many years after its release.”
  • This is an excellent title from 1970, which also happens to be a great year for rock and pop music, maybe the greatest of them all

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The L.A. 4 / Going Home

More Hot Stamper Audiophile Recordings

Reviews and Commentaries for Direct to Disc Recordings

  • A vintage East Wind 33 RPM Japanese import pressing with outstanding sound from start to finish
  • A top album in both rarity and demand – you’d be hard pressed to find another copy with this kind of transparency, clarity, presence, and sound (assuming you could find one)
  • This is one of the best sounding copies with all 7 tracks we have ever played
  • This 33 RPM version features all seven of the original tracks – “Greensleeves” and “Django” were omitted from the shorter 45 RPM pressing
  • Lee Herschberg recorded these sessions direct to disc – he’s the guy behind the most amazing piano trio recording I have ever heard, a little album called The Three
  • The star of this record is Shelly Manne, who really plays up a storm

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The L.A. 4 – Pavane Pour Une Infante Défunte (33 RPM)

More L.A. 4

More Audiophile Records

  • Boasting two outstanding Double Plus (A++) or BETTER sides, this East Wind 33 RPM Japanese import pressing will be very hard to beat – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • Side one was sonically very close to our Shootout Winner – you will be amazed at how big and rich the sound is
  • This is one of the better sounding versions with all 7 tracks we’ve played
  • Lee Herschberg recorded these sessions direct-to-disc – he’s the guy behind the most amazing piano trio recording I have ever heard, a little album called The Three
  • Both of these sides give you the richness, clarity, presence and resolution few copies can touch
  • This 33 RPM version features all seven of the original tracks – “C’est What” and “Corcovado” were omitted from the shorter 45 RPM pressing

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