1969

Free – Self-Titled

More Rock Classics

  • Free’s sophomore release, here with solid Double Plus (A++) grades or BETTER throughout this British Pink Rim reissue Island pressing
  • The sound is big, rich, and spacious, with an abundance of hard rockin’ energy and a solid bottom end
  • A record we have been trying to get going for five years – copies in clean condition take us years to find!
  • Only the right UK pressings had the Tubey Magical British Blues Rock sound we were looking for – the domestic pressings are made from dubs, something that A&M did most of the time for the British bands they distributed
  • Forget whatever dead-as-a-doornail Heavy Vinyl record they’re making these days – if you want to hear the Tubey Magic, size and energy of the master tape, a vintage UK pressing like this one is the only way to go
  • 4 1/2 stars: “… an album that stands alongside its predecessor as a benchmark of British blues at the turn of the 1960s.”

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Elvis Presley / From Elvis in Memphis

More of the Music of Elvis Presley

  • Solid Double Plus (A++) sound or BETTER brings Presley’s 1969 release to life on this vintage RCA pressing – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • Both sides here are remarkably – big, full-bodied and Tubey Magical yet exceptionally clear, spacious and open
  • We guarantee there is dramatically more richness, fullness, vocal presence, and performance energy on this copy than others you’ve heard, and that’s especially true if you own whatever Heavy Vinyl pressing is currently on the market, made from who-knows-what tapes
  • 5 stars: “…one of the greatest white soul albums (and one of the greatest soul albums) ever cut, with brief but considerable forays into country, pop, and blues as well. Presley sounds rejuvenated artistically throughout the dozen cuts off the original album, and he’s supported by the best playing and backup singing of his entire recording history.”

Of the handful of Elvis albums to ever make it to the site, this is clearly the critics’ favorite, and one listen will tell you why. This is the album that single-handedly revived Elvis’ fortunes, setting the stage for his record-breaking series of shows in Las Vegas doing pretty much the type of music he had recorded for it.

The next year he would go on tour for the first time since 1957 (!)

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Bob Dylan – Nashville Skyline

More of the Music of Bob Dylan

  • A vintage Stereo 360 pressing with outstanding Double Plus (A++) grades or BETTER on both sides
  • We guarantee this copy will blow your mind, and blow every other copy you have ever played out of the water, or your money back
  • “Lay Lady Lay,” “To Be Alone With You,” “I Threw It All Away,” “Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You” are true country-rock standards
  • There are some bad marks (as is sometimes the nature of the beast with these vintage LPs) on “Tell Me That It Isn’t True,” but once you hear just how superb sounding this copy is, you might be inclined, as we were, to stop counting ticks and just be swept away by the music
  • 5 stars: “It’s a warm, friendly album, particularly since Bob Dylan is singing in a previously unheard gentle croon — the sound of his voice is so different it may be disarming upon first listen, but it suits the songs.”
  • This is a Must Own Dylan classic from 1969 that belongs in every right-thinking audiophile’s collection

This vintage Columbia 360 pressing has the kind of Tubey Magical Midrange that modern pressings cannot BEGIN to reproduce. Folks, that sound is gone and it sure isn’t showing any sign of coming back.

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Joni Mitchell – Clouds

More of the Music of Joni Mitchell

  • This vintage copy boasts solid Double Plus (A++) grades or BETTER from top to bottom – the first copy to make the site since our last shootout in 2022
  • Check out the clear transients on Joni’s guitar — you can really hear her moving her hands around the fretboard and pulling on the strings
  • It’s tough to find this album in clean shape with this kind of warm, natural sound (something the new reissue is no doubt profoundly lacking)
  • Stick with the Two Tone labels if you want the highest quality sound – the later Tan labels can be good but even the best of them are many steps down in sound quality from the White Hot shootout winners
  • This would most likely include any modern repress on Heavy Vinyl, although to be honest we have never played one for Clouds – what would be the point?
  • 4 1/2 stars: “Clouds is a stark stunner, a great leap forward for Joni Mitchell. Vocals here are more forthright and assured than on her debut and exhibit a remarkable level of subtle expressiveness. Guitar alone is used in accompaniment, and the variety of playing approaches and sounds gotten here is most impressive.”

Everything you could ask for from this album is here on this copy: stunning clarity and transparency, breathy vocals, richness, sweetness, warmth, and tons of ambience.

Check out the clear transients on the acoustic guitar — you can really hear her moving her hands around the fretboard and pulling on the strings. The immediacy is mindblowing — Joni and her guitar are right there in the room with you, without being forced into your lap.

The best sounding copies of Clouds are the ones that put Joni and her guitar right there in your living room.

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Bill Evans with Jeremy Steig – What’s New

More of the Music of Bill Evans

  • The Hot Stamper debut of What’s New, here with KILLER Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound throughout this early Stereo Verve pressing
  • A tough shootout, as no other copy earned a 3+ grade on either side, which simply means that when you find a top copy, it sets such a high standard that everything else ends up getting marked down
  • Exceptionally spacious and three-dimensional, as well as relaxed and full-bodied – this pressing was a big step up over all other copies we played
  • The brilliant Ray Hall engineered – anyone hearing this copy will understand exactly why we love to find his fabulous 60s recordings here at Better Records
  • 4 stars: “With the exception of Evans’ ‘Time Out for Chris’ and the ‘Spartacus Love Theme,’ the songs performed on this date would fit securely in the Miles Davis repertoire of the late 50s. Steig is in particularly fine form on the program which includes tunes such as ‘Straight No Chaser,’ ‘Autumn Leaves,’ and ‘So What.'”

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The Allman Brothers – The Allman Brothers

More Southern Rock

  • A vintage copy of the band’s debut LP with killer Nearly Triple Plus (A++ to A+++) grades on both sides – just shy of our Shootout Winner
  • Our last shootout was more than five years ago, which simply reflects the fact that the right pressings of this album in clean condition are all but unfindable
  • Forget whatever dead-as-a-doornail Heavy Vinyl record they’re making these days – if you want to hear the Tubey Magic, size and energy of this wonderful album, a vintage pressing like this one is the way to go
  • 4 1/2 stars: “This might be the best debut album ever delivered by an American blues band, a bold, powerful, hard-edged, soulful essay in electric blues with a native Southern ambience. There isn’t a bad song here, and only the fact that the group did even better the next time out keeps this from getting the highest possible rating.”

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King Crimson – In The Court Of The Crimson King

More of the Music of King Crimson

  • You’ll find incredible Nearly Triple Plus (A++ to A+++) sound throughout this vintage import copy of the band’s Prog Rock Masterpiece – just shy of our Shootout Winner
  • We had a wide variety of Islands (Pink and Sunray) and UK Polydor pressings, and only two of those labels can have Hot Stampers based on the many shootouts we’ve done over the years
  • On a pressing as good as this one, turned up to seriously loud levels, the horns blasting away on “21st Century Schizoid Man” are guaranteed to blow your mind
  • Marks in the vinyl are sometimes the nature of the beast with these vintage LPs – there simply is no way around them if the superior sound of vintage analog is important to you
  • 5 stars: “The group’s definitive album, and one of the most daring debut albums ever …. it blew all of the progressive/psychedelic competition out of the running, although it was almost too good for the band’s own good — it took King Crimson nearly four years to come up with a record as strong or concise.”
  • 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. In the Court of the Crimson King is a good example of a record many audiophiles may not know well but should get to know better

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Traffic – The Best of Traffic

More Music on Island Records

For those who wish to find their own Hot Stamper pressings of the album, we say more power to you. Our helpful advice can be found at the bottom of the listing,

  • This original Pink Label Island pressing was doing practically everything right, with both sides earning killer Nearly Triple Plus (A++ to A+++) grades, just shy of our Shootout Winner – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • Here are the full-bodied mids, punchy lows and clear, open, extended highs that let this 1969 release come alive
  • This amazing compilation boasts superb sound, often dramatically better than the very same tracks on many of the original British releases
  • Top 100 and 4 stars: “The entire second side of the LP, comprising ‘Medicated Goo,’ ‘Forty Thousand Headmen,’ ‘Feelin’ Alright,’ ‘Shanghai Noodle Factory,’ and ‘Dear Mr. Fantasy,’ was the kind of progressive rock that would define Traffic and give it its place in the rock pantheon.”
  • For our current take on the sound of the various labels and stampers for Mr. Fantasy and The Best of Traffic, please click here.

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Taj Mahal – Giant Step / De Ole Folks at Home

More Soul, Blues and R&B

  • With roughly Double Plus (A++) grades on all FOUR sides, this copy of Taj Mahal’s third studio album will be very hard to beat
  • Side two was sonically very close to our Shootout Winner – you will be shocked at how big and powerful the sound is
  • We guarantee there is dramatically more space, richness, vocal presence, and performance energy on this copy than others you’ve heard (particularly on side two, three, and four), and that’s especially true if you made the mistake of buying whatever Heavy Vinyl pressing is currently on the market
  • A stunning double album that combines killer electric tracks on the first disc, Giant Step, with more intimate “decidedly rural” acoustic sound on the second, De Ole Folks at Home
  • 4 stars: “Parties searching for an apt introduction when discovering Taj Mahal’s voluminous catalogue are encouraged to consider Giant Step as a highly recommended reference point.”

The best copies are not hard to spot. They have the richest, breathiest, most present vocals, surrounded in the most space. The balance between the guitar, bass and drums on the electric side is correct.

On the acoustic side the harmonics of the stringed instruments — banjo and guitar — ring out clearly and naturally.

A sweeter midrange, with less grit and spit on the vocals, was especially welcome. (more…)

Johnny Cash – At San Quentin

More of the Music of Johnny Cash

  • Here is an original Columbia 360 pressing of Cash’s legendary live album with solid Double Plus (A++) grades from top to bottom
  • What made these sides really stand out from the pack was their combination of richness and clarity – take it from us, it’s not easy to find a pressing that gives you both the way this one does
  • Forget the 70s reissues and whatever dead-on-arrival Heavy Vinyl record they’re making these days – if you want to hear the Tubey Magical you-are-there immediacy of Johnny Cash live in concert, this is the only way to do it
  • So many great songs: “Wanted Man,” “I Walk the Line,” “San Quentin,” “A Boy Named Sue,” “Folsom Prison Blues” and more
  • If you only have one Johnny Cash album, wouldn’t it have to be this one?
  • 5 stars: “…listen to ‘A Boy Named Sue,’ … rescued by the wild-eyed, committed performance by Cash, where it sounds like he really was set on murdering that son of a bitch who named him Sue. He sounds that way throughout the record…”

We had a blast listening to this album. Cash’s banter between the songs is practically as good as the music itself!

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