- This vintage pressing (only the second copy to hit the site in years) boasts INCREDIBLE Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it from start to finish
- Both of these sides are rich and full with plenty of space around all of the instruments, and exceptionally breathy and present vocals
- Here’s the Midrange Magic that’s missing from the reissues and whatever 180g pressing has been made from the tapes (or, to be clear, a modern digital master copied from who-knows-what-tapes)
- Engineering by Phil Ramone, who went on to win the Grammy the following year for Still Crazy After All These Years
- “Her graceful and affecting versions of Jimmy Webb’s ‘The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress’ and Stephen Sondheim’s ‘Send in the Clowns’ (as well as her own ‘Houses’) are lovely and inspired…”
1975
Grateful Dead – Blues For Allah
More of the Music of The Grateful Dead
- A killer sounding copy of this Grateful Dead classic (only the second to hit the site in years) with Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it on both sides – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
- Probably the last essential Dead album – this pressing has especially silky, sweet vocals, good presence and energy, punchy bass and a spacious soundfield
- 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
- 4 1/2 stars: “The Dead went into a state of latent activity that lasted until the spring of [1975] when the band reconvened to record Blues for Allah… Obviously, the time off had done the band worlds of good, as Blues for Allah — more than any past or future studio album — captures the Dead at their most natural and inspired.”
This fun and funky mid-’70s Grateful Dead LP has two excellent sides. This album features the extended workout of “Help On The Way” into “Slipknot” into “Franklin’s Tower” — a fan favorite which remained a staple of Dead shows into the ’90s. On an energetic and tubey magical copy like this one, it’s a trip!
Shakedown Street and Terrapin Station have their moments but are certainly not as consistent as this album. (more…)
Herrmann – The Mysterious Film World of Bernard Herrmann
More of the Music of Bernard Herrmann
- This vintage pressing of the National Phil’s performance of selections from three of Herrmann’s classic “phantasmagorical” film scores boasts solid Double Plus (A++) grades from first note to last
- A superb recording with a huge three-dimensional stage, open, clear, extended up top and down low — the sound on this pressing is nothing short of amazing
- 4 stars: “The sound glitters, some of the brightest and richest audio of its period (attested to by the album’s being part of Decca/London Phase 4 Stereo), and the performances have a dignity and intensity that makes the music — drawn from the key parts of Herrmann’s scores for the Ray Harryhausen-created fantasy films The Three Worlds of Gulliver, Mysterious Island, and Jason and the Argonauts — seem even more serious and profound than it originally did.”
- If like us you’re a fan of blockbuster orchestral recordings, this is a killer album from 1975 that belongs in your collection.
Side one boasts some wonderful material from Mysterious Island and Jason and the Argonauts. Who else but Herrmann could have orchestrated such phantasmagorical goings on?
The Three Worlds Of Gulliver Suite takes up all of side two. The complete score from which the suite is taken can be found on the original Herrmann album The Three Worlds of Gulliver, a long-time and extremely rare member of the TAS Super Disc List.
This vintage London Phase 4 Stereo pressing has the kind of Tubey Magical Midrange that modern records can barely BEGIN to reproduce. Folks, that sound is gone and it sure isn’t showing signs of coming back. If you love hearing INTO a recording, actually being able to “see” the performers, and feeling as if you are sitting in the studio with the band, this is the record for you. It’s what vintage all analog recordings are known for —this sound.
If you exclusively play modern repressings of vintage recordings, I can say without fear of contradiction that you have never heard this kind of sound on vinyl. Old records have it — not often, and certainly not always — but maybe one out of a hundred new records do, and those are some pretty long odds. (more…)
Richard and Linda Thompson – Hokey Pokey
More of the Music of Richard Thompson
- Superb sound for this classic Richard and Linda Thompson album, with both sides earning solid Double Plus (A++) grades – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
- Clearly one of the better copies from our most recent shootout, with much more body, punchier bass and more detail than most others we played
- Everything you want in the sound of a good British Folk Rock album is here in abundance on this original UK Island pressing – enjoy!
- 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
- 4 stars: “The Thompsons, from the opening Irish fiddle derivation of a Chuck Berry riff, through Linda’s exquisite performance of ‘A Heart Needs a Home,’ to their cover of Mike Waterson’s ‘Mole in a Hole’ which closes the record, once again create a timeless amalgam of folk and rock…”
This is one of Richard and Linda Thompson’s better releases, their second in fact, following the luminous I Want to See the Bright Lights Shine from a year earlier. Rich and full-bodied, with big bass and gobs of studio ambience, this pressing presents the music the way it was meant to be heard (more…)
John Lennon – Rock ‘N’ Roll (UK)
More of the Music of John Lennon
- You’ll find superb Double Plus (A++) grades throughout this early UK Apple pressing – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
- These sides are rich, full-bodied, present and spacious with plenty of extension on both ends
- Lennon’s voice sounds just right with lots of texture and startling immediacy – you’re going to have a hard time finding better sounding versions of these songs anywhere else
- 4 stars: “Rock ‘n’ Roll, in fact, stands as a peak in his post-Imagine catalog: an album that catches him with nothing to prove and no need to try… Today, Rock ‘n’ Roll sounds fresher than the rock & roll that inspired it in the first place. Imagine that.”
We recently finished a shootout for this fun album, and few other copies we played sounded remotely as good as this one. It’s got exactly the kind of sound we’d want for these old Rock & Roll classics — super lively, clean and clear, tonally correct, and natural. Most copies are edgy and gritty, but this one is smooth, sweet and very enjoyable.
Lennon’s voice sounds just right with lots of texture and startling immediacy. You’re going to have a hard time finding better sounding versions of these songs anywhere else — excepting, of course, “Be-Bop-A-Lula,” which can sound amazing on McCartney Unplugged.
Elton John / Captain Fantastic and The Brown Dirt Cowboy
More of the Music of Elton John
- With two solid Double Plus (A++) sides, this vintage DJM import will be very hard to beat
- Forget the domestic pressings, forget whatever lousy reissues have come or will come down the pike – if you want to hear this album right, a killer Hot Stamper early British pressing like this one is the only way to go
- Includes two of our favorites: “(Gotta Get A) Meal Ticket” and the massive hit “Someone Saved My Life Tonight”
- Marks in the vinyl are sometimes the nature of the beast with these vintage LPs – those on “Curtains” are especially bad – but if you can tough those out, this copy is going to blow your mind
- 5 stars: “Elton John and Bernie Taupin recalled their rise to power in Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, their first explicitly conceptual effort since Tumbleweed Connection. It’s no coincidence that it’s their best album since then, showcasing each at the peak of his power, as John crafts supple, elastic, versatile pop and Taupin’s inscrutable wordplay is evocative, even moving.”
Neil Young – Tonight’s the Night
More of the Music of Neil Young
- An original (and very cool) Black Label Reprise pressing of Neil Young’s brilliant sixth studio album with solid Double Plus (A++) grades or close to them on both sides
- This side one gives you clean, clear, full-bodied, lively and musical analog sound from first note to last, and side two is not far behind in all those areas
- Spaciousness, richness and freedom from grit and grain are key to the better pressings, and here you will find all three (particularly on side one)
- 5 stars: “…Young’s musical expression of grief, combined with his rejection of the stardom he had achieved in the late 60s and early 70s … was immediately recognized as a unique masterpiece by critics, and it has continued to be ranked as one of the greatest rock & roll albums ever made.”
- If you’re a fan of Mr. Young — and what audiophile wouldn’t be? — this dark classic from 1975 belongs in your collection.
Phil Manzanera / Diamond Head (Polydor Pressing)
More of the Music of Roxy Music
- With two outstanding Double Plus (A++) sides, this UK Polydor reissue is guaranteed to blow the doors off any other Diamond Head you’ve heard, assuming you do not have one of our Hot Stamper Island pressings – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
- Demo Disc quality sound barely begins to describe the size and power of this recording
- This album is an amazing sonic blockbuster, with sound that will leap right out of your speakers like practically nothing you have every heard
- A shockingly well-recorded album from the ultra-talented Rhett Davies – this is his engineering masterpiece
- Our long-standing advice for Diamond Head had been to avoid UK Polydor reissues, so imagine our surprise when we found this one holding its own against some of the Island LPs that we thought were in a league of their own
- The domestics still suck, by the way, and take comfort in the fact that will never change
- 4 1/2 stars: “Phil Manzanera’s first post-Roxy foray into solo albums is a terrific all-star affair that still holds up enormously well. Calling on favors from Roxy members present and past, and those from the Cambridge/British art rock scene, Manzanera assembled a supergroup for every song.”
The wind is at your back here because this is one seriously well-recorded album. If this copy doesn’t wake up your stereo nothing will.
Like its brother, 801 Live, this album is an amazing sonic blockbuster, with sound that positively leaps out of the speakers. Why shouldn’t it? It was engineered by the superbly talented Rhett Davies at Island, the genius behind Taking Tiger Mountain, the aforementioned 801 Live, Avalon, Dire Straits’ first album, and many many more.
If we could regularly find copies of this audiophile blockbuster (and frankly, if more people appreciated the album) it would definitely go on our Top 100 Rock and Pop List. In fact, it would easily make the Top Twenty from that list, it’s that good.
Looking for Tubey Magic? Rhett Davies is your man. Just think about the sound of the first Dire Straits album or Avalon. The better pressings of those albums — those with truly Hot Stampers — are swimming in it.
Keith Jarrett – The Köln Concert
More Jazz Recordings of Interest
- You’ll find solid Double Plus (A++) grades or close to them on all FOUR sides of these vintage EMC pressings
- A surprisingly tough record to find with vinyl that plays as quiet as this copy does – you will have a very hard time finding this kind of top quality sound (particularly on side one, two, and three) and quieter vinyl, that’s for sure
- The overall sound on sides one, two, and three is rich and full-bodied yet still clean, clear and dynamic with plenty of bottom end weight, and side four is not far behind in all those areas
- 5 stars: “With this album, Jarrett put himself in his own league, and you can feel the inspiration coming off him in waves. This is a true and lasting masterpiece of melodic, spontaneous composition and improvisation that set the standard.”
- If you’re a Keith Jarrett fan, or perhaps a fan of mid-’70s Jazz Piano, this title from 1975 is surely a Must Own.
- The complete list of titles from 1975 that we’ve reviewed to date can be found here
Roxy Music / Siren
More Roxy Music
- Roxy’s Art Rock classic from 1975, here with INCREDIBLE Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades or close to them from top to bottom
- These are just a few of the things we had to say about this killer copy in our notes: “huge and rich and open”…”tight bass”…”big, open chorus”…”tubey and 3D”…”great size and energy”…”lots of weight”…”jumping out of the speakers”
- If you know the quality of Atlantic/Atco vinyl in the mid-70s, you know this is about as quiet as we can ever hope to find to them
- The sound here is richer, with much less transistory grain, and more of the all important Tubey Magic than practically all other copies we played
- Some of Bryan Ferry‘s strongest and most consistent songwriting – “Love Is The Drug,” “End of the Line,” “Sentimental Fool” and more
- 5 stars: “Abandoning the intoxicating blend of art rock and glam-pop that distinguished Stranded and Country Life, Roxy Music concentrates on Bryan Ferry’s suave, charming crooner persona for the elegantly modern Siren.”
Siren is one of our favorite Roxy albums, right up there with the first album and well ahead of the commercially appealing Avalon. After reading a rave review in Rolling Stone of the album back in 1975 I took the plunge, bought a copy at my local Tower Records and instantly fell in love with it.
As is my wont, I then proceeded to work my way through their earlier catalog, which was quite an adventure. It takes scores of plays to understand where the band is coming from on the early albums and what it is they’re trying to do.
Now I listen to each of the first five releases on a regular basis. Even after more than forty years, the band’s music never seems to get old.
That seems to be true of a lot of the records from the era that we offer on our site. Otherwise, how on earth could we possibly charge so much money for them?