Top Producers – Brian Eno

U2 – The Unforgettable Fire

 

  • “Pride (In the Name of Love)” is the big hit on this one, and the sound is appropriately glorious on this Double Plus side one
  • A tough album to find with that elusive combination of good sonics, quiet sides, and no marks that play – if you’re a fan, grab this one while you can
  • True, side two earned a minimal Hot Stamper grade of 1.5+, but we still guarantee that it will beat the pants off any Heavy Vinyl reissue because every one of those that we played was opaque, muddy and thick enough to have us crying “uncle” after five minutes
  • 4 stars: “U2 took their fondness for sonic bombast as far as it could go on War, so it isn’t a complete surprise that they chose to explore the intricacies of the Edge’s layered, effects-laden guitar on the follow-up. Working with producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, U2 created a dark, near-hallucinatory series of interlocking soundscapes … ranking among U2’s very best music…”

(more…)

David Bowie – Heroes

More David Bowie

More Art Rock

  • An excellent vintage UK pressing with Double Plus (A++) sound from start to finish
  • This copy has real depth to the soundfield, full-bodied, present vocals, plenty of bottom end weight, and lovely analog warmth
  • This reissue is the only way to fly – if you have an original, or any other pressing, you don’t know what you are missing!
  • 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 like no other
  • We’ve discovered a number of titles in which one stamper always wins, and here are some of the others
  • 5 stars: “Repeating the formula of Low’s half-vocal/half-instrumental structure, Heroes develops and strengthens the sonic innovations David Bowie and Brian Eno explored on their first collaboration. The vocal songs are fuller, boasting harder rhythms and deeper layers of sound.”

(more…)

Talking Heads – More Songs About Buildings and Food

More of the Music of Talking Heads

  • With two solid Double Plus (A++) sides, you’ll have a hard time finding a copy of Talking Heads’ one true masterpiece that sounds remotely as good as this original Sire pressing – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • We guarantee that you have never heard these songs sound as big, bold and alive as they do here – “Take Me to the River” is really rockin’ on this side two
  • With Eno producing and Rhett Davies engineering, every track is (psycho) killer – truly this is a must own from 1978
  • 5 stars: “Brian Eno brought a musical unity that tied the album together, especially in terms of the rhythm section, the sequencing, the pacing, and the mixing.”

(more…)

Brian Eno – Another Green World

More Brian Eno

More Art Rock Records

  • An outstanding Polydor UK import pressing with Double Plus (A++) sound or very close to it throughout
  • We shot out a number of other imports and this one had the presence, bass, and dynamics that were missing from many other copies we played
  • 5 stars: “A universally acknowledged masterpiece, Another Green World represents a departure from song structure and toward a more ethereal, minimalistic approach to sound… Eno’s gift for melodicism and tight focus here keep the entirety of the album in the forefront of the listener’s consciousness, making it the perfect introduction to his achievements even for those who find ambient music difficult to enjoy”
  • Note that the reviewers are mistaken. Eno’s One True Masterpiece is Taking Tiger Mountain
  • If you’re an Eno fan, or perhaps a fan of mid-’70s Art Rock, this title, a personal favorite of mine from 1975, is surely a Must Own.
  • The complete list of titles from 1975 that we’ve reviewed to date can be found here

(more…)

U2 – The Joshua Tree

More U2

More 5 Star Albums

  • An outstanding pressing with excellent sound throughout – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • Big and rich, with correct tonality from top to bottom, strong bass and plenty of space – this copy sounded just right to us
  • Stunning sound for the album’s biggest hits, including With Or Without You, I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For, and Where the Streets Have No Name
  • 5 stars: “With the uniformly excellent songs… the result is a powerful, uncompromising record that became a hit due to its vision and its melody. Never before have U2’s big messages sounded so direct and personal”
  • Based on the U2 albums we have played, we must consider this the band’s Magnum Opus, their single greatest achievement. We don’t know of any U2 album with better music or better sound.
  • Better music, absolutely. Better sound? We grade albums on a curve, so the most we can say for this album is that the best pressings strike us as being the truest to the intentions of the artists and engineers. Not Demo Discs by any means, but records that sound right for who made them and when they were made.
  • This is also the last U2 album we have found with much in the way of audiophile quality sound, since the dreadful Achtung Baby, Zooropa and Pop were the next three to be released, and we have never cared for any of them.

The soundstage is huge, and the overall quality of the recording is big and bold. Most copies of this album are either thin, shrill and aggressive — like most U2 albums — or thick and veiled. This one is smooth and natural sounding, with the added benefit of some deep punchy bass. (more…)

Talking Heads / Remain In Light – Our Shootout Winner from 2008

Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of Talking Heads Available Now

HOT STAMPERS DISCOVERED AT LAST! We’ve been trying to find a great sounding copy of this album forever, and this is the week we finally succeeded. It takes an exceptional pressing to get all the elements correct — the funky bottom end; the processed, multi-tracked vocals; the Brian Eno production weirdness and so on.

This is a brilliant album but a typically problematic record. Most copies get some things right but fail miserably in other areas. There are smeary copies that can’t deliver the punchy bottom you need, grainy copies that make the vocals painful to listen to, and plenty of copies that are just too dark or flat sounding for anyone to enjoy. Note that the first track on both sides will sound the worst. The sound gets better, though, as you get further into the album. (more…)