Three Key Tracks on Younger Than Yesterday

Hot Stamper Pressings of Hippie Folk Rock Albums Available Now

Having played a killer sounding copy of Younger Than Yesterday in August of 2024, we now see that in 2019, at the time of our last shootout, we had a lot to learn about the album.

Our top copy received rave reviews on side one:

  • Here are just a few of of the things we had to say about this amazing Triple Plus side one in our notes: “big and tubey vox & bass”…”great size and energy”…”jumping out [of the speakers]”…”crazy good”
  • The sound is Tubey Magical, lively and dynamic, with exceptional transparency and immediacy
  • We’re always blown away at just how much further the better copies are able to take the music – what a difference the right pressing makes

But in 2019 we were much less enthusiastic:

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The Biggest Misconception about Modern Audiophile Records

Robert Brook runs a blog called The Broken Record, with a subtitle explaining that his blog is:

A GUIDE FOR THE DEDICATED ANALOG AUDIOPHILE

We know of none better, outside of our own humble attempt to enlighten that portion of the audiophile community who love hearing music reproduced with higher fidelity — and are willing to go the extra mile and pay the extra dollar to make that happen.

Here are Robert’s thoughts on the aforementioned misconception.

He begins:

I’ll save you the usual intro and get straight to the point. The biggest misconception about modern audiophile records is that advances in technology have rendered them sonically superior to the best vintage records, which they are not. In fact, they are rarely even competitive.

There. I said it. And just seeing those words on my screen I realize I’ve stepped right back into the same old trap with this tiresome topic. I say banana and you say “banauna.” I say vintage records sound better and you say modern audiophile reissues sound better. At best we must agree to disagree.

So maybe instead of diving right into this controversial topic I’ll start with a question. How do we change this conversation? How do we get out of the trap of this silly argument and actually make some headway towards a clearer understanding of what we’re actually debating?

To do that I think we need to acknowledge that the way a record sounds to us is extremely system dependent. I actually hate to say it because I wish it were not the case, but I can’t deny it is. Even small differences in systems can mean big differences in how those systems make a record sound.

Over the years that I’ve been making changes to my system, I’ve changed my mind about how much I like or don’t like the sound of many, many records. Even changes I thought would have little or no impact on how my records sound, did. If I had left my system as it was 10 years ago, or even 2 years ago, I’m certain I’d be singing the praises of records that I used to like a lot more than I do now. But I’m not satisfied to stay put. My system keeps getting better and better and which records have the best sound keeps getting easier to discern.

Meanwhile, it’s been ages since I played a heavy vinyl reissue and thought to myself “now that is a great sounding record.” The last one I can think of would be the UHQR of Steely Dan’s Can’t Buy A Thrill remastered by Bernie Grundman. When I played that record I liked it a lot, more than the vintage copy I had. But it wasn’t long before changes to my system had my vintage copy blowing the UHQR “out of the water,” to quote one banauna loving vinyl guy.

Robert tells a fascinating story, one that I myself have experienced many times over the years. I hope to have more comments to add soon.

Robert Brook Can Be a Guide

Robert has methodically and carefully — one might even say scientifically — approached the various problems he’s encountered in this hobby by doing the following:

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Pentangle – Cruel Sister

More British Folk Rock

  • Here is an original UK import pressing of Pentangle’s 1970 release (the first copy to ever hit the site) with KILLER Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades or close to them on both sides – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • The unprocessed quality found throughout the album has its audiophile credentials fully in order, especially in the area of guitar harmonics, as well as drums that sound like real drums actually sound
  • The true foundation of the music is provided by two legendary guitar heavyweights, Bert Jansch and John Renbourn, with Jacqui McShee’s almost unbearably sweet vocals soaring above them
  • 4 1/2 stars: “Cruel Sister shows Pentangle at their artistic height, combining all of their skill and inspiration to create a vital and enduring album.”

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We Can Find You the Best Sounding Pressings – That’s the Easy Part

The most important aspect of audio is that you have to learn how to do it for yourself.

We can find you the best sounding pressings; that’s the easy part. Figuring out how to play them, and learning how to listen to them, well, that’s a fair bit harder. That part takes a lifetime, at least.

This hobby is supposed to be fun. If you’ve been in it for any length of time you know that sometimes it is and sometimes it isn’t. But if you enjoy doing it at least some of the time, and you devote the proper resources to it — time and money — you will no doubt derive much more pleasure from it, especially if you use our approach.

It has worked for us and it can work for you.

This is what the revolutionary changes in audio link explains. If you haven’t taken advantage of all the newest technologies that make LP playback dramatically better than it was ten or twenty years ago, a great many records won’t sound the way you want them to.

Trust me, there’s a world of sound lurking in the grooves of the best “badly recorded” albums that simply cannot be revealed without good cleaning fluids and machines, vibration-reducing platforms, top quality front ends, room treatments, big speakers pulled well out from the back wall, and much, much more.

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Adam / Giselle / Karajan – A Classic Decca Recording from 1962

Hot Stamper Pressings on Decca and London Available Now

UPDATE 2026

Reviewed in 2010 so take what we say with a large grain of salt. Dutch pressings are rarely the way to go.

This Dutch Import is the best sounding copy I have ever heard. It is dead silent and rich!

Big spacious hall sound. Lovely mid-hall perspective. Very smooth and sweet.

You can listen to music like this for hours and never get tired — the opposite of your typical Classic Records pressing.

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The Polydor Super Deluxe UK Pressings Are the Only Way to Fly

Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of Roxy Music Available Now

No domestic pressing or other import in our experience has ever been better than passable; we know, we’ve been cleaning and playing them for more than thirty years.

This British LP is cut by one of my favorite mastering houses in England, which no doubt accounts for the excellent sound. The estimable Robert Ludwig cut the domestic pressings. Unfortunately for us Americans it sounds to us like they gave him a dub tape to master from. (The same thing happened on Avalon by the way.)

This is a transitional album. Some of it sounds like Avalon (Oh Yeah, Over You, etc.) and some of it sounds more like their earlier material. It may not be as consistent as Avalon but it’s well worth owning for its best songs (listed below) and comes highly recommended for fans of the band. 

Best Tracks

Standout tracks on side one include In the Midnight Hour / Oh Yeah / My Only Love

Standout tracks on side two include Over You / Eight Miles High / Rain, Rain, Rain

Insightful reviews for the album follow:

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The Who / Meaty Beaty Big & Bouncy – Their Must Own Singles Compilation

More of the Music of The Who

  • With seriously good Double Plus (A++) grades or close to them on both sides, you’ll have a hard time finding a copy that sounds remotely as good as this vintage UK import
  • Features material not available on any of the band’s other albums, making it an absolute Must Own
  • The sound quality of the tracks varies quite a bit but that’s the nature of beast when it comes to these compilation LPs
  • Many tracks were left in mono and that is a big help when it comes to the sound of the early Who recordings
  • “I Can’t Explain” on side one is pretty much right on the money – rich and clear, with good top end extension, there aren’t many sides out there that get as much right as this one does
  • 5 stars: “Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy has the distinction of being the first in a long line of Who compilations. It also has the distinction of being the best. The Who recorded their share of great albums during the 60s, but condensing their highlights to just the singles is an electrifying experience.”

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Our Tarkio Four Plus Shootout Winner from 2012

Hot Stamper Pressings of Hippie Folk Rock Albums Available Now

UPDATE 2026

Here is our 2012 review for this amazing sounding breakthrough pressing of Tarkio.

It’s records like these that are the payoff for all the money, time and effort you’ve put into your system.

This White Hot Stamper side one of our beloved Tarkio, Brewer and Shipley’s Folk Rock Masterpiece, is without a doubt the BEST SOUND we have ever heard on any pressing bar none. This side sets a standard that no other copy on any side could touch. True, we awarded a Triple Plus grade to an amazing side two copy, but this side one is still the better of the two. We could easily have called it Four Pluses but chose to go with the simpler A+++ and this explanation.

However you frame it, this side is OFF THE CHARTS in a big way. It’s amazingly rich, yet clear and transparent as any we played — what a combination!

This, like Dark Side and so many other White Hot Stamper records we offer to the discriminating audiophile, is ANALOG at its finest. To our knowledge there hasn’t been a single record mastered in the last thirty years with this kind of sound, and we know whereof we speak: we’ve played them by the hundreds.

A Desert Island Disc for me with wonderfully NATURAL sound. This copy had the ULTIMATE Side One (A+++) and a very competitive Side Two (A++), making it the King of our Shootout. If you love this record as much as you should, this is the copy to own. I would love to keep it for my desert island, but we know there is surely a deserving soul out there who will treasure it as much as I do, and probably play it a lot more often, so if you know the album at all this is your chance at greatness. (And I still haven’t found a desert island I’m all that partial to anyway.)

Not Really One Toke Over the Line

Please don’t assume that this album has much in the way of uptempo country rockers like One Toke Over the Line, Flying Burrito Brothers style. Nothing could be further from the truth. Practically every other song on the album is better, almost all of them are taken at a slower pace, with none of them having the “poppy” arrangement of that carefully calculated Top Forty hit. The rest of the music on the album, the music you probably don’t know, is much better than the music that you do know if what you know is that song.

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Richard & Linda Thompson / Pour Down Like Silver

More of the Music of Richard Thompson

  • With two solid Double Plus (A++) or BETTER sides, this UK copy is guaranteed to blow the doors off any other Pour Down Like Silver you’ve heard – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • There’s real Tubey Magic on this album, along with breathy vocals and in-your-listening-room midrange presence
  • Remarkably present, real and resolving, this pressing is guaranteed to murder any remastering undertaken by anyone – past, present and future
  • 4 1/2 stars: “…those brave enough to look past its dark surface will find a startlingly beautiful album; it’s not an easy album to listen to, but it greatly rewards the effort.”

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The Firebird on Speakers Corner

Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of Stravinsky Available Now

This is probably one of the better Speakers Corner Deccas.

We haven’t played a copy of this pressing in years, but back in the day we liked it, so let’s give it a “B” for sound with the caveat that the older the review, the more likely we are to have changed our minds about the grade.

Come to think of it, it’s somewhat misleading to say that we change our minds at all.

Most of the time we are forced to raise our standards, or, to be more pedantic, have our standards raised by simply hearing better sounding pressings than the ones we had previously auditioned. This is an insight that came to us by doing regular shootouts, answering a question that we, along with every other serious audiophile, never thought to ask: “How high is up?”

It’s also one that, like so many other big questions in this crazy hobby of ours, can never be satisfactorily answered.

Back to this Heavy Vinyl Pressing. We can’t be sure if we would still agree with what we wrote when this record came out, but here it is anyway.

“Excellent sound with a wonderful performance from Ansermet.”

Currently our favorite Firebird is an early pressing on Mercury with Dorati conducting. Our opinion is very unlikely to change concerning the best combination of sound and performance for that work. The record is simply a monster on the right pressing.

We have never heard an especially good sounding London or Decca of Ansermet’s performance, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. We tend to avoid judging records we have not played and we encourage the audiophile community to do the same.

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