1972

Jethro Tull – Living In The Past

More Jethro Tull

and One We Will Probably Never Shootout Again

  • A stunning Chrysalis British import double LP set with Triple Plus (A+++) grades or close to them on sides one, two and four and a solid Double Plus (A++) side three
  • You’re gonna love the sound here – clean, clear and full-bodied with great bass and solid midrange presence and energy
  • These are incredibly tough to find with the right sound and surfaces – this is one of the best copies to hit the site in years
  • 4 1/2 stars: “… this collection is seminal and essential to any Tull collection, and the only compilation by the group that is a must-own disc.”
  • Some records are just too consistently noisy for us to offer to our audiophile customers no matter how good they sound. We have a section for records that tend to be noisy, and it can be found here.

This set was very difficult to find with audiophile playing surfaces. Many of the copies we bought — at great expense I might add — were so heavily played and marked up they went right into the trade-in bin. This is one of the few that made the cutoff. Mint Minus Minus and a little noisier is about as quiet a copy as we could find.

If you want to hear how amazing Living In The Past can sound and don’t mind some surface problems, this is the copy to get. If for any reason you are not happy with the sound or condition of the album, we are of course happy to take it back for a full refund, including the domestic return postage.

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Ella Fitzgerald – Ella Loves Cole

Hot Stamper Pressings of Ella Fitzgerald’s Albums Available Now

Ella Fitzgerald Albums We’ve Reviewed

  • Ella’s superb 1972 release makes its Hot Stamper debut here with STUNNING Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound on both sides
  • This copy is balanced and natural, with the kind of rich, full-bodied sound that no one seems to know how to record anymore
  • Fitzgerald’s second artful collection of Cole Porter masterpieces, arranged by the great Nelson Riddle
  • The legendary engineer Val Valentin put this one on tape, brilliantly – he’s the man behind some of our All Time favorite albums on Verve and Pablo

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The Chi-Lites – A Lonely Man

More Chi-Lites

More Soul, Blues and R&B

  • The Chi-Lites make their site debut here with this outstanding pressing of A Lonely Man – solid Double Plus (A++) sound or BETTER throughout – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • Bigger and bolder, with more bass, more energy, and more of that “you-are-there-immediacy” of ANALOG that set the best vintage pressings apart from the current crop of (mostly awful) reissues, CDs, and whatever else you care to name
  • 4 1/2 stars: “Behind the talents of Eugene Record, the Chi-Lites presented an impeccable album featuring one gem after another.”

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Jimmy Smith – Bluesmith

More Jimmy Smith

  • Bluesmith makes its Hot Stamper debut here with outstanding Double Plus (A++) sound from start to finish
  • Rich, lively and clear, with plenty of space for this exceptional ensemble to occupy, exactly the classic jazz sound you would expect from a vintage Verve recording that has been properly mastered and pressed
  • 4 stars: “… one of Jimmy Smith’s best Verve releases… [a] surprisingly freewheeling but relaxed jam session… Fine straight-ahead music.”

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Jesse Colin Young – Together

  • Together returns to the site with outstanding Double Plus (A++) sound from first note to last
  • The sound here is richer, fuller, more musical and more natural – Young’s breathy voice is reproduced with a solidity and immediacy that’s not easy to find on vinyl
  • As an eclectic collection of both covers and original material, this album showcases Jesse’s versatility and expansive artistic range
  • “[Young] played favorite songs from a variety of genres… Having covered those bases, Young also introduced some timely originals, such as “Peace Song,” an anti-war anthem, and “Good Times,” which was very reminiscent of the rustic sound Van Morrison had found recently on such albums as Tupelo Honey.”

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Chuck Berry – The London Chuck Berry Sessions

More Live Recordings of Interest

  • Stunning sound throughout for this original pressing with each side earning Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades and playing about as quietly as any copy ever will, Chess vinyl being what it is
  • These vintage sides are rich, full-bodied and Tubey Magical with a lovely musical quality that we found was missing from many of the copies we played
  • “This 1972 release is Chuck Berry’s bestselling album in nearly 50 years of hot-wax work. Buoyed by the playfully lewd No. 1 hit single “My Ding-A-Ling,” one of three live recordings here, the success of these sessions marked a comeback for the mercurial Rock and Roll Hall of Fame immortal…” – Alan Greenberg

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Ravel / Karajan Conducts Ravel / Orchestre de Paris

EXCELLENT SOUND!

I recently purchased a large number of EMI classical pressings from the ’70s, many of which had disappointing sonics. Without paying any attention to this particular record, I threw it on and was pleasantly surprised — it really sounded good! Checking the back of the cover (the old fold-over flap kind) I noted that this recording was from 1972 — of course it sounds great! EMI from that period is often AMAZING. It’s only later, when they got into quadraphonic, that their sound becomes vague, diffuse, hard and even sour. Some of the EMI records on the TAS List can sound that way, which is a real scandal in my opinion.

As for the performances, they are wonderful. This is not a German orchestra. The French know how to play their own music!

This record includes alborada de gracioso, rapsodie espagnole, valses nobles et sentimentales and more.

This is an Older Classical/Orchestral Review

Most of the older reviews you see are for records that did not go through the shootout process, the revolutionary approach to finding better sounding pressings we started developing in the early 2000s and have since turned into a veritable science.

We found the records you see in these older listings by cleaning and playing a pressing or two of the album, which we then described and priced based on how good the sound and surfaces were. (For out Hot Stamper listings, the Sonic Grades and Vinyl Playgrades are listed separately.)

We were often wrong back in those days, something we have no reason to hide. Audio equipment and record cleaning technologies have come a long way since those darker days, a subject we discuss here.

Currently, 99% (or more!) of the records we sell are cleaned, then auditioned under rigorously controlled conditions, up against a number of other pressings. We award them sonic grades, and then condition check them for surface noise.

As you may imagine, this approach requires a great deal of time, effort and skill, which is why we currently have a highly trained staff of about ten. No individual or business without the aid of such a committed group could possibly dig as deep into the sound of records as we have, and it is unlikely that anyone besides us could ever come along to do the kind of work we do.

The term “Hot Stampers” gets thrown around a lot these days, but to us it means only one thing: a record that has been through the shootout process and found to be of exceptionally high quality.

The result of our labor is the hundreds of titles seen here, every one of which is unique and guaranteed to be the best sounding copy of the album you have ever heard or you get your money back.

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Al Green – Let’s Stay Together

More Al Green

  • Two insanely good sides each earning Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades and the first copy to hit the site in over two years!
  • Both sides here are incredibly big, rich and Tubey Magical yet still clean, clear and spacious; the bottom end is punchy and solid and the vocals are wonderfully breathy and present
  • One of our favorite soul albums that sounds OUT OF THIS WORLD on a copy like this; I can’t imagine this music sounding any better than it does here
  • “Green’s ingenuity produced one of the all-time classics, which has the bounce of a dance cut and the passion of a ballad.” – All Music

It’s very rare that we have copies of this brilliant record up on our site, and it’s not for a lack of effort on our end.

It’s tough enough to find any copies of Green’s early LPs out in the bins, let alone clean copies with great sound. I wish we were able to find more copies of this album, because when you stumble on a good one it’s an absolute thrill. The best pressings give you a big, spacious soundfield and put Green’s vocals right up front. If you’ve got a pressing of your own around, throw it on for comparison’s sake — odds are pretty good that the sound will be dry and grainy, particularly on the strings. We found the sound on most pressings to be either too harsh to enjoy or overly smooth. Hot Stamper copies give you richer, smoother sound but without smearing away all the texture and detail.

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Al Green – I’m Still In Love With You

  • You’ll find outstanding Double Plus (A++) sound on both sides of this superb pressing of Al Green’s 1972 release
  • One of the fullest, richest, smoothest, cleanest and most energetic copies we played in our shootout – this is how good the album can sound
  • 5 stars: “[It] shares many surface similarities with its predecessor, from Al Green and Willie Mitchell’s distinctive, sexy style to the pacing and song selection. I’m Still in Love With You distinguishes itself with its suave, romantic tone and its subtly ambitious choice of material. There isn’t a wasted track on I’m Still in Love With You, and in many ways it rivals its follow-up, Call Me, as Green’s masterpiece.”

This is The Memphis Sound at its best — big Hammond organs with whirring Leslie speakers, funky drums, punchy brass blasts, and lovely string arrangements.

Al Green’s vocal performance is superb, of course, but one thing that really stands out after hearing the best Hot Stamper copies is the quality of the musicians’ performances. The rhythm section on this album really drives the music. Just listen to the punchy kick drum and deep, note-like bass on a song like Love and Happiness — the band is rockin’.

The Hodges Brothers — the house band at Hi Records, known for their “telepathic interplay” — deliver rock solid musicianship just brimming with energy and soul. The brass is handled by the truly great Memphis Horns, of Stax Records fame.

Just play the beginning of I’m So Glad You’re Mine to hear what we’re talking about. The drummer opens with a tight, funky beat that gets the song going right out of the gate. The kick drum is as punchy as they come, and just listen to that big room around the rimshots.

When the rest of the band joins in, you’ll be treated to some of the best Hammond organ sound you’ll ever hear. You can really hear the effect of the rotating Leslie speaker. When Al joins in on vocals with a very emotional, expressive performance, you’ll understand just why we’re so crazy about this record — it’s pure soul magic, baby! (more…)

Randy Newman – Sail Away

More Randy Newman

More Singer-Songwriter Albums

  • This outstanding pressing boasts solid Double Plus (A++) sound from start to finish
  • We guarantee there is dramatically more richness, fullness and presence on this copy than anything you have ever heard, and that’s especially true if you made the mistake of buying whatever godawful Heavy Vinyl pressing is currently on the market
  • Our favorite Newman album for both music and sound (12 Songs being the main competition)
  • 5 stars: “Whether he’s writing for three pieces or 30, Newman makes superb use of the sounds available to him, and his vocals are the model of making the most of a limited instrument. Overall, Sail Away is one of Newman’s finest works, musically adventurous and displaying a lyrical subtlety that would begin to fade in his subsequent works.”

Some of Newman’s best songs can be found on Sail Away, including Political Science, You Can Leave Your Hat On, Last Night I Had a Dream and of course the wonderful title track. AMG goes nuts about Sail Away, giving it the full 5 stars and calling it “musically adventurous” and “one of Newman’s finest works.”

If you only have room for one Randy Newman record in your collection, this would be our pick. (more…)