Chris Thomas, Producer-Engineer

Roxy Music / Country Life – A Killer Arty Rock Album from 1974

More of the Music of Roxy Music

  • Roxy’s fourth studio LP, here with INSANELY GOOD Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades on both sides of this original UK Island pressing
  • Here are just a few of the things we had to say about this amazing copy in our notes: “great size and energy”…”sweet and tubey”…”big, note-like bass”…”huge and solid and jumping out of the speakers”…”lots of weight and body”
  • This one is simply bigger, richer, more clear and more Tubey Magical than all other copies we heard in our recent shootout
  • Marks and problems in the vinyl are sometimes the nature of the beast with these vintage LPs, but once you hear just how killer sounding this copy is, you might be inclined, as we were, to stop counting ticks and pops and just be swept away by the music
  • 5 stars: “…Country Life finds Roxy Music at the peak of their powers, alternating between majestic, unsettling art rock and glamorous, elegant pop/rock. Roxy Music rarely sounded as invigorating as they do here.”

Many of the best songs Bryan Ferry ever wrote and Roxy Music ever played are on this album. Musically, it’s right up there with the first album and Siren. All three represent the high watermark of early- to mid-70s Arty Rock.

These British pressings give you the richest, fullest, biggest sound with the least amount of sibilance, grain and grunge. It’s the rich, full-bodied analog sound — with some problems, to be sure — that we adore here at Better Records.

We thank John Punter for his engineering and production at George Martin’s legendary AIR Studios.

Roxy’s Art Rock

Now for those of you who are not big Roxy Music fans and don’t know this music, this album may take a bit of getting used to. We assure you it will be well worth your while. We think it’s brilliant.

And if you do consider yourself a fan of Art Rock, every Roxy album should be on your shelf, right up there with your Bowie, Pink Floyd, Supertramp, Eno, Peter Gabriel, 10cc and too many others to list. (Most are personal favorites of mine, albums I have played hundreds of times over the last 40 years and plan to keep playing until my ears give out.)

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Roxy Music – For Your Pleasure

More Roxy Music 

More Brian Eno

  • With two INCREDIBLE Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sides, we guarantee you’ve never heard For Your Pleasure sound this good
  • Roxy and their engineers and producers manage to capture a deliciously Tubey Magical keyboard sound on their first two albums that few bands in the history of the world can lay claim to
  • It took us a long time to figure what pressings had the sound we were looking for, more than a decade, bit it was worth the wait because For Your Pleasure now sounds the way you want it to sound – big and bold
  • There are some bad marks (as is sometimes the nature of the beast with these Classic Rock records) on “Grey Lagoons,” but once you hear just how amazing sounding this copy is, you might be inclined, as we were, to stop counting ticks and pops and just be swept away by the music
  • 5 stars: “… another extraordinary record from Roxy Music, one that demonstrates even more clearly than the debut how avant-garde ideas can flourish in a pop setting.”
  • If you’re a Roxy fan, For Your Pleasure has to be considered a Must Own Title of theirs from 1973

Spacious, dynamic, present, with HUGE MEATY BASS and tons of energy, the sound is every bit as good as the music. (At least on this copy it is. That’s precisely what Hot Stampers are all about.)

Strictly in terms of recording quality, For Your Pleasure is on the same plane as the other best sounding record the band ever made, their self-titled debut.

Siren, Avalon and Country Life are all musically sublime, but the first album and this one are the only two with the kind of dynamic, energetic, powerful sound that Roxy’s other records simply cannot show us (with the exception of Country Life, was is powerful but a bit too aggressive).

The super-tubey keyboards that anchor practically every song on the first two albums are only found there. If you want to know what Tubey Magic sounds like in 1972-73, play one of our better Hot Stamper Roxy albums.

Roxy and their engineers and producers manage to capture a keyboard sound on their first two albums that few bands in the history of the world can lay claim to. I love the band’s later albums, but none of them sound like these two. The closest one can get is Stranded, their third, but it’s still a bit of a step down. (more…)

Sex Pistols – Never Mind the Bollocks Here’s the Sex Pistols

More Rock and Pop

More Records We Only Sell on Import Vinyl

  • Sex Pistols’ debut LP appears on the site for the first time ever, here with an INCREDIBLE Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) side two mated to a solid Double Plus (A++) side one
  • If you want to hear this music EXPLODE out of the speakers and come to life the way the band wanted you to hear it, this record will do the trick
  • We shot out a number of other imports and the midrange presence, bass, and dynamics on this outstanding UK copy placed it head and shoulders above most other pressings we played
  • 5 stars: “…one of the greatest, most inspiring rock records of all time.”

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The Beatles – 1967-1970

More of the Music of The Beatles 

  • With KILLER Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades on all FOUR sides, this vintage 2-LP compilation set from 1973 is certainly as good a copy as we have ever heard
  • Here are just a few of the things we had to say about this amazing copy in our notes: “weighty and rich and jumping out [of the speakers]”…”silky and upfront vox”…”massive…no veil” (side three)”…”natural and rich”…”no smear or boost” (side four)”
  • These import pressings are rich, smooth and sweet, with plenty of Tubey Magic and little of the grain and grunge of others (and don’t get us started on the domestics)
  • You get clean, clear, full-bodied, lively and musical analog sound from first note to last
  • Twenty-seven(!) incredible songs, including “Penny Lane,” “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds,” “All You Need Is Love” – and that’s just side one
  • 4 1/2 stars: “As a précis of the group’s final 36 months, it’s all mightily impressive…”
  • Not many compilation albums offer top quality sound, but this one does, and here are some others

This is a wonderful sounding import 2-LP set. We are on record as finding the British pressings of 1967-1970 too bright; certainly most of them are anyway.

(The original domestic pressings, as anyone who has ever played one can attest, mastered at Sterling no less, are absolutely godawful.)

Like most compilations, some songs sound better than others, but “Don’t Let Me Down” and “Come Together” are two that really stand out here. For those of you out there who have never tried one of our Hot Stamper Beatles records, this may be the best sound you’ve ever heard from them. The CDs — even the new ones — sure don’t sound like this!

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Bryan Ferry – Let’s Stick Together (on Polydor)

More of the Music of Bryan Ferry

  • Boasting two very good Hot Stamper sides, this UK Polydor pressing will be hard to beat
  • It’s richer, fuller and with more presence than the average copy, and that’s especially true for whatever godawful Heavy Vinyl pressing is currently being foisted on an unsuspecting record buying public
  • This is true of even our lowest-priced, lowest-graded copies – they are guaranteed to sound much better than any pressing you can find on the market today, as well as any pressing you may already own
  • For material and sound, we consider this to be the best of Bryan Ferry’s solo albums – it’s a blast from start to finish
  • 4 stars: “The title track itself scored Ferry a deserved British hit single, with great sax work from Chris Mercer and Mel Collins and a driving, full band performance. Ferry’s delivery is one of his best, right down to the yelps, and the whole thing chugs with post-glam power.”
  • If you’re a Roxy Music fan, this title from 1976 is surely a Must Own
  • 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. Bryan Ferry’s third solo album is a good example of a record many audiophiles may not know well but should get to know better.

Ferry covers some early Roxy songs here (brilliantly I might add); Beatles and Everly Bros. tunes; and even old R&B tracks like “Shame, Shame, Shame.” Every song on this album is good, and I don’t think that can be said for any of his other solo projects. Five stars in my book.

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The Pretenders – Learning To Crawl

More of The Pretenders

More Women Who Rock

  • A superb pressing of the band’s third studio album with Nearly Triple Plus (A++ to A+++) sound from start to finish – just shy of our Shootout Winner – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • It takes years to get a shootout for this album going – three to five is my best guess, so get while the gettin’s good if you’re a fan of the most muscular rock album this band ever recorded
  • Both sides of this (very specific and hard to find) import pressing were richer, clearer and more energetic than virtually any of the others we played
  • With Robbie McIntosh having joined the band, this is first and foremost a guitar rock record – his brilliant, jangly, grungy riffs drive every song
  • 5 stars: “Three albums into her recording career, Chrissie Hynde found herself having to put the past to bed and carve out a new beginning for herself with Learning to Crawl, but she pulled it off with a striking mixture of courage, strength, and great rock & roll; with the exception of the instant-classic debut album, it’s the Pretenders’ finest work.”

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Brian Eno – Here Come The Warm Jets

  • KILLER sound from start to finish for this Island import pressing with both sides finishing top of the class — Triple Plus (A+++) sound throughout
  • The sound here is clean, clear, present and dynamic yet still super rich and musical with lots of Tubey Magic
  • Exceptionally quiet vinyl — Mint Minus to Mint Minus Minus on both sides
  • 5 stars on Allmusic: “Eno’s solo debut, Here Come the Warm Jets, is a spirited, experimental collection of unabashed pop songs… Avant-garde yet very accessible, Here Come the Warm Jets still sounds exciting, forward-looking, and densely detailed, revealing more intricacies with every play.”

A great pressing of one of our favorite albums! These are not easy to come by, so we don’t get to shoot these out as often as we’d like. This is not your typical audiophile-friendly rock album, to be sure. There are lots of weird sounds, out-of-tune instruments and other Eno craziness. We’re big Eno fans here — Taking Tiger Mountain and Before And After Science are other big favorites here. If you’ve got a taste for avant-garde art rock, this album should be right up your alley. (more…)

Bryan Ferry / In Your Mind Is a Real Puzzler

More Bryan Ferry

More Roxy Music

This British original pressing caused me a great deal of consternation. I’ve always been a big fan of this album — so much so that I even have the CD of it in my car — and I was under the impression that the sound was quite good. But playing a few British originals like this one caused me to have my doubts. The sound was aggressive and hard. I suspected the absolute phase might be reversed, and sure enough it was. But even after correcting for the improper polarity the sound is not what I would have hoped for. It’s a bit “grungy” and lacks the extreme highs that would sweeten the overall presentation. 

So if you can put up with less than state of the art sound you may find yourself thoroughly enjoying this one. Side one rocks hard from start to finish, more than any other Ferry album. (more…)

INXS – Listen Like Thieves

  • Superb sound throughout with each side earning a sonic grade of Double Plus (A++) – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • The Big Rock sound is courtesy of Chris Thomas’ production – if you know his work, you know this sound
  • AMG: “INXS completes its transition into an excellent rock & roll singles band with this album.”
  • “…with Thomas they “forge an unlikely union between the sonic extremism of Led Zeppelin-style crunch rock and the step-lively beat of disco” such that the album “rocks with passion and seals the deal with a backbeat that’ll blackmail your feet.”

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INXS – Kick

More Rock and Pop

  • With two killer Nearly Triple Plus (A++ to A+++) sides, this copy is practically as good as we have ever heard, right up there with our Shootout Winner
  • Surprisingly rich and full-bodied, the better copies really rock with big bass and punchy drums
  • The Big Rock sound comes courtesy of Chris Thomas‘s production and Bob Clearmountain‘s mix
  • 4 1/2 stars: “Kick is an impeccably crafted pop tour de force, the band succeeding at everything they try. Every track has at least a subtly different feel from what came before it; INXS freely incorporates tense guitar riffs, rock & roll anthems, swing-tinged pop/rock, string-laden balladry, danceable pop-funk, horn-driven 60s soul, 80s R&B, and even a bit of the new wave-ish sound they’d started out with.”

These Nearly White Hot Stamper pressings have top-quality sound that’s often surprisingly close to our White Hots, but they sell at substantial discounts to our Shootout Winners, making them a relative bargain in the world of Hot Stampers (“relative” meaning relative considering the prices we charge). We feel you get what you pay for here at Better Records, and if ever you don’t agree, please feel free to return the record for a full refund, no questions asked.

Vintage covers for this album are hard to find in exceptionally clean shape. Most of the will have at least some amount of ringwear, seam wear and edge wear. We guarantee that the cover we supply with this Hot Stamper is at least VG

For a recording from 1987, there is a surprising amount of Tubey Magical analog sound to be found here.

There is almost always a trace of hardness in the loudest vocal parts; that’s where the 1987 recording technology raises its head, but the better copies such as this one keep it to a bare minimum.

The copies that were the richest and had the biggest bottom end, without being smeary or dark from a lack of top tended to do the best in our shootout. The copies that lacked weight or lower midrange fullness were most often rejected; rhythmically driven Funk Rock simply doesn’t work without plenty of richness and bass.

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