1965

Thelonious Monk – Solo Monk

More of the Music of Thelonious Monk

  • Here is an early Stereo 360 pressing of Monk’s sixth studio album (the first copy to ever hit the site) with STUNNING Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades or close to them from first note to last
  • If you want to hear just how good Monk’s big, rich piano can sound, this copy can show you like nothing by Monk you’ve ever heard
  • With Teo Macero producing and top Columbia engineering, the best pressings have audiophile quality sound that puts to shame anything from his earlier period
  • 4 1/2 stars: “The mystery and haunting angular beauty of Thelonious Monk’s unadorned keyboard sides are the focus of Solo Monk. As if holding the history of jazz in his hands, Monk’s solo recordings and performances from every phase of his career remain pure. The components of what made Monk such an uncompromising composer, arranger, and especially bandmember are evident in every note he plays.”

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Haydn – Symphony Nos. 59 and 81 / Dorati

More of the Music of Joseph Haydn

  • This vintage Mercury Living Presence LP brings excellent recording energy and presence to Haydn’s music with solid Double Plus (A++) sound or BETTER from first note to last
  • It’s also remarkably quiet at the high end of Mint Minus Minus, a grade that even our most well-cared-for vintage classical titles have trouble playing at
  • This recording is not your typical dry, bright, nasaly, upper-midrangy Merc – the sound is rich and smooth like a good London, with a big stage and lovely transparency
  • Dorati pushes the Festival Chamber Orchestra to dizzying heights of performance – if you find Haydn boring, try this record, it’s got the pacing and dynamic contrasts that bring the Master of the Symphony’s music back to life
  • There are about 150 orchestral recordings we’ve awarded the honor of offering the Best Performances with the Highest Quality Sound, and this record certainly deserve a place on that list.

These are some of the best Haydn Symphonies I have heard on disc. Folks, until I heard Dorati and the Festival Chamber Orchestra perform these pieces, I never knew there could be this much FIRE in Haydn’s music. (Please excuse the pun; the 59th Symphony is entitled “Fire”.)

Mercury brings the kind of recording energy and presence to this music that I have frankly never heard before. Credit must go to both Dorati and his players.

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Wes Montgomery – Bumpin’

More of the Music of Wes Montgomery

  • Superb sound throughout, with both sides earning solid Double Plus (A++) grades
  • This vintage Verve stereo pressing is transparent, uncolored and undistorted, as well as tonally correct from top to bottom
  • With Don Sebesky‘s lively arrangements and a big group of musicians to play them, a good time is guaranteed for all
  • 4 1/2 stars: “Not only is his brilliant command of the six-string present here, so is the vivid color tones of notes and blue notes played between. Backed up by a hauntingly beautiful and mesmerizing orchestra conducted and arranged by Don Sebesky, the music almost lifts the listener off his feet into a dreamy, water-like landscape.”

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John Coltrane – The John Coltrane Quartet Plays

More of the Music of John Coltrane

  • The John Coltrane Quartet Plays appears on the site for only the second time ever, here with solid Double Plus (A++) grades or close to them on both sides of this vintage Impulse stereo pressing – remarkably quiet vinyl too
  • No other copy earned 2+ on both sides, meaning this is the best Super Hot Stamper we have to offer this time around
  • Full-bodied, energetic, and tonally correct from top to bottom, this pressing is guaranteed to bring Coltrane’s music to life (particularly on side one) – it’s possible that you would not own any Coltrane record that sounds as good as this one
  • The sound is everything that’s good about Rudy Van Gelder‘s recordings – it’s present, spacious, full-bodied, Tubey Magical, dynamic and, most importantly, alive in the way that modern pressings never are (also particularly on side one)
  • 4 stars: “One of the turning points in the career of John Coltrane came in 1965. The great saxophonist, whose playing was always very explorative and searching, crossed the line into atonality during that year, playing very free improvisations (after stating quick throwaway themes) that were full of passion and fury.”

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Janos Starker Plays Works By Debussy, Bartok And Others

More Mercury Classical Recordings

  • Starker and Sebok’s virtuoso performances debut on the site with the rich, dynamic, and tubey sound we were hoping for, earning STUNNING Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades or close to them throughout this early Plum Label Mercury pressing
  • Both of these sides are big, full-bodied, clean and clear, with a wonderfully present and solid piano, and plenty of 3D space around it
  • The cello is present and immediate, with sound that is remarkably textured, full and harmonically natural
  • Not only is this the best sounding copy we have to offer from our recent shootout, but we are happy to report that the vinyl is reasonably quiet for a vintage Plum Label Mercury stereo pressing

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The Beatles – Help

More of the Music of The Beatles

  • With two outstanding Double Plus (A++) sides, this copy will be very hard to beat – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • Everything that’s great about Help is here on this UK pressing – jangly 12-string guitars, Tubey Magical electric pianos, harmonically rich tambourines and claves, and, the sine qua non of any Beatles album, breathy, present vocals
  • If you’re like us and think the new Beatles Heavy Vinyl reissues are boosted in the bass and way too smooth in the midrange, whether mono or stereo, take comfort in the fact that this pressing is neither of those things, because it sounds right
  • Side one alone boasts 7 classics: “Help!,” “The Night Before,” “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away,” “I Need You,” “Another Girl,” “You’re Gonna Lose That Girl” and “Ticket to Ride” – whew!

Want to hear The Beatles at their Tubey Magical best? Just play “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away” on this very copy.

One of the reasons this song stands out in a crowd of great tracks is that there are only acoustic instruments being played. There’s not an electric guitar to be found anywhere in the mix, one of the few tracks on side one for which that is true.

We flip out over the Tubey Magical acoustic guitars and harmony vocals found on early Beatles albums, and this song can be an exceptionally good example of both when you’re fortunate enough to have the right pressing playing.

Those of you with Hot Stamper pressings of the album can count themselves among the fortunate.

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The Byrds – Mr. Tambourine Man (Red Label)

More of the Music of The Byrds

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  • With very good Hot Stamper sound from start to finish, this Columbia Red Label pressing will be hard to beat, especially for those looking for quiet vinyl
  • The 360 Label pressings in stereo will always win our shootouts, but there are Red Label pressings like this one that can sound very good, just not as good
  • It’s richer and fuller than the average copy, with notably more presence, and that will be especially true when you compare it to whatever godawful Heavy Vinyl pressing may be currently available
  • 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
  • 5 stars: “One of the greatest debuts in the history of rock … nothing less than a significant step in the evolution of rock & roll itself, demonstrating that intelligent lyrical content could be wedded to compelling electric guitar riffs and a solid backbeat.”
  • If you’re a fan of the Byrds, this is a Classic from 1965 that belongs in your collection.

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Miles Davis – E.S.P.

More of the Music of Miles Davis

  • Boasting two solid Double Plus (A++) sides, we guarantee you’ve never heard E.S.P. sound remotely as good as it does on this original pressing
  • There’s plenty of 1965 Columbia 360 Label Stereo Tubey Magic – the analog sound is real, tonally correct, and above all, natural
  • Miles fronts his second classic quintet here – saxophonist Wayne Shorter, pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Ron Carter, and drummer Tony Williams
  • Marks and 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
  • 4 1/2 stars: “They created a unique sound that came to define the very sound of modern jazz … ESP remains one of their very best albums.”

You’re going to have a fairly tough time finding a copy that is anywhere near as impressive as this one. Trust me — we know whereof we speak. We’re always trying and all too often coming up short; but most of them are too dull and lifeless to get excited about. Many of them are too congested and veiled to make any sense of. Not here though!

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Brahms – 16 Hungarian Dances / Dorati

More of the Music of Brahms

  • Dorati and the LSO’s dynamic performance of these 16 Hungarian Dances debuts on the site with INSANELY GOOD Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound throughout this early Mercury pressing
  • These sides are doing everything right – they’re rich, clear, undistorted, open, spacious, and have depth and transparency to rival the best recordings you may have heard
  • You’d be hard-pressed to find a copy that’s this well balanced, yet so big and lively, with such wonderful clarity in the mids and highs
  • This title is almost always noisy, which is why you will rarely find it for sale on our site

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John Coltrane – Bahia

More of the Music of John Coltrane

  • Bahia appears on the site for only the second time ever, here with solid Double Plus (A++) grades or BETTER on both sides of this early Prestige stereo pressing
  • The sound is everything that’s good about Rudy Van Gelder‘s recordings – it’s present, spacious, Tubey Magical, dynamic and, most importantly, alive in that way that modern pressings never are
  • Full-bodied, energetic, and tonally correct from top to bottom, this copy is guaranteed to bring Coltrane’s music to life – it’s possible that you may not own any Coltrane record that sounds as good as this one
  • The notes for our Shootout Winning copy talk about what is amazing about every aspect of the sound and how well each instrument is recorded – expect to see them on the blog before long
  • Problems in the vinyl are sometimes the nature of the beast with these early pressings, but once you hear just how superb 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
  • It’s hard to imagine that any list of the best jazz albums of 1965 would not have John Coltrane’s Bahia on it. The sound is out of this world on the best copies.
  • Just make sure you have an early stereo pressing on Prestige, mastered by RVG. Accept no substitutes.

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