- Seriously good Living Stereo sound throughout this 70s reissue pressing, with both sides earning solid Double Plus (A++) grades
- It took us close to ten years to track down enough originals as well as the right reissues — so many to choose from, and so many of them just awful sounding — to get our most recent shootout going
- Both of these sides are remarkably clean and clear with wonderful size, clarity and transparency, with real texture to the instruments and an abundance of energy
- Of all the reissues we played, this one sounded the best, which came as a (costly) surprise
- The sax sounds right, and played loud enough it’s almost as if you’re hearing the real instrument and not just a recording of one
- 4 1/2 stars: “The interplay between Rollins and [guitarist Jim] Hall is consistently impressive, making this a near-classic and a very successful comeback.”
Top Engineers – Ray Hall
Sonny Rollins – The Bridge
- An original pressing of the The Bridge debuts on the site, here with INSANELY GOOD Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) Demo Disc Living Stereo sound throughout
- It has taken us close to ten years to track down enough orginals (and reissues) to get this shootout going, and the very high price of this copy reflects the work that went into finding it
- Although the best originals will always win our shootouts, the early reissues from 1975 with the later cover can sound quite good – ten years ago those were the ones that won our shootout, but now we know better
- Here’s just one of the things we had to say about this killer copy in our notes: “Tubey and sweet and silk all over. Perfect.”
- The sax sounds just right, and played loud enough it’s almost as if you’re hearing the real instrument and not just a recording of it
- 4 1/2 stars: “The interplay between Rollins and [guitarist Jim] Hall is consistently impressive, making this a near-classic and a very successful comeback.”
Nina Simone – Nina Simone and Piano!
- Outstanding sound for Nina Simone’s superb 1969 release, with both sides earning Double Plus (A++) grades or BETTER
- This vintage stereo pressing boasts remarkably natural piano sound, breathy vocals and the Tubey Magic that only vintage vinyl pressings are capable of reproducing
- There are a lot of bad sounding Nina Simone albums out there in the bins, but fortunately this is not one of them – it’s rich, smooth and tubey, just the way we like our Female Vocal records to sound
- Problems 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
- “Her own best accompanist (especially during the crossover-happy ’60s), Nina Simone sings and plays on this 1969 LP. With strident vocals and a thoughtful piano backing… frequently rewarding.”
John Denver – Poems, Prayers and Promises
More John Denver
- This early Orange Label RCA pressing earned Double Plus (A++) grades on both sides
- We guarantee that it’s fuller, bigger and clearer than any copy you have ever heard or your money back
- Superb engineering by Ray Hall— the recording is from 1971 but in some ways it sounds as good as if it had been made in 1961 — high praise in these parts!
- “… this was at the beginning of a golden period for Denver when his songs would dominate the easy listening airwaves, especially his big hit singles.” – All Music
NOTE: The record has a noticeable dishwarp which we had no trouble playing perfectly. If your rig struggles with dishwarped records, best to pass on this one. (more…)
The Ames Brothers with Esquivel – Hello Amigos
More Exotica
Living Stereo Titles Available Now
- By far the best sound we have ever heard for The Ames Brothers
- 1960 Webster Hall vocals in RCA Living Stereo sound at its best
- Huge, rich, smooth and natural, the Tubey Magic is off the charts
- Esquivel and His Orchestra bring some fun Exotica flourishes to these Latin tunes
This copy is super spacious, sweet and positively dripping with ambience. This is vintage analog at its best, so rich and relaxed you’ll wonder how it ever came to be that anyone seriously contemplated trying to “improve” upon it.
This recording is the very definition of The Sound of Tubey Magic. No recordings will ever be made like this again, nor will any CD ever be able to capture what is in the grooves of this pressing.
For the audiophile of wide ranging taste, both the sound and the music should be lots of fun. If you want to demonstrate just how good 1960 All Tube Analog sound can be, I’d be hard pressed to think of another record that could do the job better than this one.
Perfect for demo-ing your stereo to anyone who thinks audio recording technology has improved in the last forty years. (more…)
Armstrong & Ellington / An Historic Recording Event
More Jazz Recordings Featuring the Piano
- Lively, dynamic, transparent, spacious and musical throughout – you won’t believe how good this Jazz Classic from 1961 sounds
- We guarantee there is dramatically more richness, fullness and presence on this copy than anything you have ever heard, and that’s especially true if you made the mistake of buying whatever godawful Heavy Vinyl pressing is currently on the market (or the Classic Records pressing, which sounded fine at the time, but up against the real thing, forget it
- “The music resulting from Thiele’s inspired experiment is outstanding and utterly essential. That means everybody ought to hear this album at least once, and many will want to hear it again and again all the way through, for this is one of the most intriguing confluences in all of recorded jazz. Armstrong blew his horn with authority and sang beautifully and robustly.”
Gary Burton – Lofty Fake Anagram (Now With Title Explanation)
More Gary Burton
More Jazz Fusion
- Lofty Fake Anagram returns in “Living Stereo” with excellent Double Plus (A+++) sound from start to finish
- The RCA Stereo sound (not Living Stereo, but not that far from those halcyon days) is huge, spacious, lively, transparent and punchy – this is jazz fusion that is more jazz than fusion
- 4 1/2 stars: “. . . it is the interplay between Burton and the rockish Coryell in this early fusion group (predating Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew by two years) that makes this session most notable.”
The Title According to The Man Himself
Typical of the weirdo ’60’s, there isn’t any anagram in the title. It came from a longer statement conjured up by Paul Haines, a writer acquaintance at the time. He had created a computer program to see if he could come up with a sentence that could not be turned into an anagram.
The result—”Your rappaplat bugle calls”—was what Paul referred to as his “lofty fakeanagram.” According to Paul, the computer couldn’t turn that odd sentence into another series of words. For some reason, “lofty fake anagram” had a ring to it that I was looking for in a title—something tat was both ambiguous and provocative.
That is also the last time I titled a record or a song with something that required an explanation. People kept asking what it meant, and I got tired of having to offer my pretty obtuse explanation. (more…)
Stan Getz / Luiz Bonfa – Jazz Samba Encore!
More Stan Getz
More Antonio Carlos Jobim
More Bossa Nova
- This superb collaboration debuts with STUNNING Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound from start to finish and ’60s vinyl that’s about as quiet as any we can find
- Smooth, full-bodied and Tubey Magical, the brilliant Ray Hall engineered this Demo Disc using an All Tube chain back in 1963, and it’s glorious to hear that sound reproduced on modern hi-rez equipment
- 4 stars: ” Getz relies mostly upon native Brazilians for his backing. Thus, the soft-focused grooves are considerably more attuned to what was actually coming out of Brazil at the time… Two bona fide giants, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Luiz Bonfá (who gets co-billing), provide the guitars and all of the material, and Maria Toledo contributes an occasional throaty vocal.”
Della Reese – Della by Starlight
More Della Reese
More Pop and Jazz Vocal Albums
- An outstanding copy of Della by Starlight with solid Double Plus (A++) sound on both sides
- Balanced, musical, present and full-bodied throughout – this pressing puts a living, breathing, big-as-life Della Reese performing at the peak of her vocal powers right in your listening room
- The key to the best copies is Tubey Magical richness and sweetness, and this vintage analog copy has plenty of both
Ray Brown with The All-Star Big Band, Engineered by Ray Hall
More Ray Brown
Ray Brown Recordings We’ve Reviewed
These two sides offer bigger brass, more transparency and more presence than every other side we played save one!
This may become one of your favorite big band albums to demo or test with. Or you can just enjoy the hell out of it if you prefer. So transparent and tonally correct, this is a killer sounding copy. We put this one right up there with the best of the Verve jazz titles we’ve done to date.
This album sounds like a big room full of musicians playing live, which it surely was. The Tubey Magical richness of the 1962 recording is breathtaking – no modern record can touch it.
The best copies recreate a live studio space the size of which you will not believe. (more…)