Martin Birch, Engineer

Deep Purple – Burn

More British Blues Rock

  • The Hot Stamper debut of Burn, here with STUNNING Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades or close to them on sides of this early import pressing – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • Turn it up and you will hear sound that is incredibly powerful and natural with amazing presence, energy and weight down low
  • Forget the dubby domestic pressings and whatever crappy Heavy Vinyl record they’re making these days – the UK LPs are the only way to fly on this album
  • 4 1/2 stars: “The phenomenal title track started things off at full throttle, actually challenging the seminal ‘Highway Star’ for the honor of best opener to any Deep Purple album, while showcasing the always impressive drumming of Ian Paice. Up next, the intro to the equally timeless ‘Might Just Take Your Life,’ however simple from a technical perspective, remains one of organist Jon Lord’s signature moments; and the downright nasty ‘Lay Down, Stay Down’ roared behind wildly careening starts and stops and a fantastic Ritchie Blackmore guitar solo which left no doubt as to who was the band’s primal force, regardless of lineup.”

(more…)

Deep Purple / Who Do We Think We Are

More British Blues Rock

  • A vintage British Import Purple Records pressing with two solid Double Plus (A++) or BETTER sides – remarkably quiet vinyl too
  • The sound here is big, bold and lively with real weight down low and excellent presence
  • The big hit song from this one was “Woman From Tokyo” and it sounds amazing on this copy — very natural with real texture to the guitars and lots of WHOMP down low

(more…)

Fleetwood Mac – The Original Fleetwood Mac

More of the Music of Fleetwood Mac

  • Here is an original UK import pressing with KILLER Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades or close to them on both sides – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • Most of the time this album sounds like Fleetwood Mac is playing live in the studio, which they probably were, and on big speakers at loud volumes that is a glorious sound
  • 4 stars: “An undeniably strong collection culled primarily from the band’s first incarnation, featuring John McVie, Mick Fleetwood, Peter Green, and Jeremy Spencer.”
  • If you’re a Fleetwood Mac fan, and what audiophile wouldn’t be?, this Peter Green era title from 1971 is one of their best sounding

The music on this album was recorded when they were still a blues band — tracks left off their early albums for one reason or another.

As is so often the case with unreleased material, these songs do not have that overproduced, too-many-generations-of-tape sound. This sounds like Fleetwood Mac live in the studio most of the time. In other words, awesome.

If the drum sound on the first track isn’t enough to convince you this is an amazing sounding record, I don’t know what would.

These British imports are the only way to go. The domestic copies are definitely made from dub tapes. They can sound good, but they sure don’t sound this good! (more…)

Deep Purple – In Rock

More British Blues Rock

  • Both sides of this early UK pressing have stunning sound for the band’s 1970 Classic, earning Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades or close to them
  • Only the Brit Harvest LPs such as this one seem to be made from the actual master tape, and it sure ain’t hard to hear the difference that mastering from a fresh, real master tape makes
  • In our experience, these import pressings are the only way to hear the band with the big, rich, Tubey Magical sound they’re famous for
  • Marks in the vinyl are sometimes the nature of the beast with these Classic Rock records – there simply is no way around them if the superior sound of vintage analog is important to you
  • 4 1/2 stars: “Deep Purple’s soon to be classic Mark II version made its proper debut and established the sonic blueprint that would immortalize this lineup of the band on 1970’s awesome In Rock.”
  • If you’re a fan of the band, this classic from 1970 belongs in your collection.
  • We think 1970 was one of the greatest years ever for popular music, and you will be pleased to know that we have compiled a handy list of Must Own Albums from 1970 to celebrate our love for these wonderful releases

The best pressings give you exactly what you want from this brand of straight ahead rock and roll: presence in the vocals; solid, note-like bass; big punchy drums, and the kind of live-in-the-studio energetic, clean and clear sound. (AC/DC is another band with that kind of live studio sound. With big speakers and the power to drive them YOU ARE THERE.) (more…)

Fleetwood Mac – Future Games

More of the Music of Fleetwood Mac

  • With two STUNNING Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sides or close to them, this copy is guaranteed to blow the doors off any other Future Games you’ve heard
  • You’ll find huge sound on this copy – it’s big, bold and lively – this is clearly the right sound for Future Games
  • Fleetwood Mac practically invented Space Rock, which reached its apotheosis in 1973 on Mystery to Me (my favorite by the band)
  • A criminally underrated album unlike anything you’ve heard and a Better Records favorite for more than 40 years
  • It’s also a record that has disappeared off the face of the earth – we would love to do more shootouts for the album, but we just never see them anymore (more…)

Fleetwood Mac / Greatest Hits

More of the Music of Fleetwood Mac

  • With two solid Double Plus (A++) or BETTER sides, this vintage British import will be very hard to beat
  • Big, rich, energetic, with an abundance of analog Tubey Magic, this original Orange Label UK pressing has exactly the right sound for this music
  • “Oh Well, Parts One and Two,” “Black Magic Woman,” “Man of the World,” and the surprise Number One single “Albatross” are all here and guaranteed to blow your mind
  • Peter Green is hands down our favorite British Blues Guitarist of All Time – play this record and you will surely see why we feel that way
  • This is a lot of money for a somewhat noisy copy, but the sound is so awesome and quiet pressings of the album so hard to come by that we hope someone will take a chance on it and get the thrill we did from hearing it sound right for once
  • We’ve recently compiled a list of records we think every audiophile should get to know, 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.

If you’re a fan of Fleetwood Mac, this copy is guaranteed to blow your mind. Like all the best vintage British pressings, the sound is smooth, rich and full. This is Old School ANALOG, baby. They don’t make ’em like this anymore because they don’t know how to.

(more…)

The Faces – Long Player

More British Blues Rock

  • An original Green Label pressing of the Face’s sophomore LP with outstanding Double Plus (A++) sound or BETTER from start to finish
  • Amazing live-in-the-studio sound that conveys completely the raw power of one of the hardest rockin’ bands of all time
  • Click here to see more of our favorite Rock and Pop records with relatively unprocessed sound
  • 5 stars in Allmusic and probably the Faces’ Best Album, for sound and music – “Maybe I’m Amazed”? Hell yeah!
  • “…a ferocious rock & roll band who, on their best day, could wrestle the title of greatest rock & roll band away from the Stones.”
  • This is our pick for The Face’s best sounding album. Roughly 150 other listings for the best sounding album by an artist or group can be found here on the blog.

We knew this album could sound good, but back in the day we sure didn’t know it could sound like this.

Both musically and sonically I don’t think the group ever recorded a better album than this one.

Take the wonderful song “Bad ‘N’ Ruin” (the opening track on side one) for example. It’s the sound of open mics in a big studio space — nothing more, nothing less. It’s totally free from any phony mastering or bad EQ, and on a Hot Stamper copy like this one, it’s absolute magic.

Martin Birch was the engineer for the first two tracks on side one. You may know him from his work with Fleetwood Mac (1969-1973) and Deep Purple (1969-1977), which include the amazingly well-recorded albums Machine Head and Made In Japan.

It’s a rare record indeed that can rock with the best of them while keeping its audiophile credentials intact. Like we said about our Hot Stampers for Never A Dull Moment, we sure wish more Rolling Stones records sounded like this.

(more…)

Fleetwood Mac – The Pious Bird Of Good Omen

More of the Music of Fleetwood Mac

  • Seriously good sound throughout this original UK Blue Horizon pressing, with both sides earning Double Plus (A++) grades – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • The early pressings take the cake on this one, but try to find one in audiophile playing condition – it takes us many years to get one of these shootouts going
  • Both of these sides are remarkably big and rich, with correct tonality, punchy energy and wonderfully breathy vocals – this is the way early Fleetwood Mac is supposed to sound
  • One of the top Fleetwood Mac compilations – I have it on CD and have never tired of the music
  • 4 1/2 stars: “…makes for a terrific laid-back stroll through some of the best British blues music ever made.”

If you’re a fan of Peter Green era Fleetwood Mac — and who in his right mind wouldn’t be? — then you can’t go wrong with this record. “Need Your Love So Bad,” “Albratross” and “Black Magic Woman” are all featured here.

Speaking of “Black Magic Woman,” the better copies of Pious Bird reproduce the bass-heavy drumming on that track much better than the Greatest Hits album we also recommend. It’s very unlikely that you can find better sound for that classic than right here on this very copy.

(more…)

Deep Purple – Fireball

More Deep Purple

  • An early Harvest UK pressing with solid Double Plus (A++) sound on both sides – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • This copy was simply bigger, richer and clearer, with more Tubey Magic, less smear and less congestion than most of the others we played
  • One of Ian Gillian’s favorite albums, “… it was really the beginning of tremendous possibilities of expression.”
  • 4 1/2 stars: “One of Deep Purple’s four indispensable albums (the others being In Rock, Machine Head, and Burn), 1971’s Fireball saw the band broadening out from the no-holds-barred hard rock direction of the previous year’s cacophonous In Rock.”

This vintage Harvest pressing has the kind of Tubey Magical Midrange that modern records rarely even BEGIN to reproduce. Folks, that sound is gone and it sure isn’t showing signs of coming back. If you love hearing INTO a recording, actually being able to “see” the performers, and feeling as if you are sitting in the studio with the band, this is the record for you. It’s what vintage all analog recordings are known for — this sound. (more…)

Black Sabbath – Mob Rules

More Black Sabbath

More Rock Classics

  • This Mob Rules rocks like nothing you’ve heard, with outstanding Double Plus (A++) sound or BETTER from start to finish – exceptionally quite vinyl too
  • Massive and powerful throughout – this copy is big, rich, full-bodied and solid like you won’t believe
  • 4 stars: “…a quick follow-up to Heaven and Hell, continuing…that record’s energy as well as its shift away from dark metal to more commercial hard rock. Mob Rules and Heaven and Hell work well as each other’s companion pieces, making the first round of Dio-fronted Sabbath material a bright spot…”

(more…)