1978

The Police – Outlandos d’Amour

More of The Police

  • This copy was giving us the sound we were looking for on the band’s debut album, with both sides earning very good Hot Stamper grades – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • Few audiophiles (I’m guessing) know how well recorded this album is – you need just the right UK pressing to show you what’s really on the tape
  • “Roxanne,” “So Lonely,” “Can’t Stand Losing You” all sound quite good on these two sides
  • 4 1/2 stars: “Although Sting, Andy Summers, and Stewart Copeland were all superb instrumentalists with jazz backgrounds, it was much easier to get a record contract in late-70s England if you were a punk/new wave artist, so the band decided to mask their instrumental prowess with a set of strong, adrenaline-charged rock, albeit with a reggae tinge.”

What’s amazing about this copy? There are sweet highs and ambience that we didn’t think were possible — and it rocks! Whatever it’s doing, it sure doesn’t take a pair of golden ears to hear it.

Not only does the high end exist, but it sounds sweet and doesn’t rip your ears out of your earsockets (trust me, I’m a doctor). This is vitally important in songs like “Roxanne,” where Andy Summers’ reggae influenced guitar can sound squawky and brittle if there is too much compression.

Sting’s vocals are detailed, present, and you can really hear his background vocals separate themselves away from the lead, obvious on this copy in a denser track like “So Lonely.”

There’s a ton of punchy bass which actually equates to a ton of life and energy on this album. If Stewart Copeland’s kick drum isn’t punching you in the chest, then you’re missing out on some of the fun. We even heard ambience around the cymbals, and that is information most copies of the album simply cannot resolve.

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Townes Van Zandt – Flyin’ Shoes

More Folk Rock

  • This original Tomato pressing boasts superb Double Plus (A++) sound or BETTER from start to finish – remarkably quiet vinyl too
  • Amazingly present, real and resolving, this copy is guaranteed to murder any remastering undertaken by anyone – past, present and future
  • The LIFE of the man’s music is captured on this pressing, and you can be pretty sure that that is simply not going to be the case with whatever Heavy Vinyl mediocrity they’re peddling to record buyers these days
  • 4 stars: “The melodies here are strong, the lyrics full of Van Zandt’s razor sharp insight, and the production is sparse and to the point, bringing to mind the inconspicuous polish of High, Low and in Between. The feel here is a balance between folk and country, with Van Zandt’s voice and guitar up front, letting the songs speak for themselves. “
  • If you’re a Van Zandt fan, this title from 1978 is surely a Must Own

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Joe Pass and Paulinho Da Costa – Tudo Beni!

More Jazz Recordings Featuring the Guitar

  • Tudo Bem! appears on the site for only the second time ever, here with STUNNING Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it throughout this original Pablo pressing
  • Both of these sides are rich, full, open, and spacious, conveying a sense of the amazing performances of these great musicians
  • Val Valentin engineered, one of the greats in our world – he’s responsible for an awful lot of our favorite audiophile quality recordings
  • 4 stars: “After countless solo guitar albums for Pablo, Joe Pass performed this welcome change of pace, a set of Brazilian tunes. Highlights include three songs by Antonio Carlos Jobim (including ‘Corcovado’ and ‘Wave’), Deodato’s ‘Tears,’ and Luiz Bonfa’s ‘The Gentle Rain.'”

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Bob Marley – Babylon By Bus

More Island Records

  • These vintage British pressings boast solid Hot Stamper grades or BETTER on all FOUR sides – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • As you can imagine, any Reggae Island UK import is very hard to come by – not to mention expensive – with audiophile playing surfaces, but here’s a very good one
  • It’s richer, fuller and with more presence than the average copy, and that’s especially true for whatever godawful Heavy Vinyl pressing is currently being foisted on an unsuspecting record buying public
  • 5 stars: “Arguably the most influential live reggae album ever, Babylon by Bus captures Bob Marley and the Wailers during the European leg of their Kaya tour in the spring of 1978. The success of this set was not entirely unexpected, however. If the universal and widespread acclaim of Live! – their first concert recording – was an indicator, all involved knew that a Bob Marley & the Wailers performance contained unique energies and a vibe all of its own … an integral component of any popular music collection.”

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Eric Clapton – Backless

More Eric Clapton

  • You’ll find INCREDIBLE Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades on both sides of this early British pressing – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • Here are just a few of the things we had to say about this amazing copy in our notes: “deep, rich bass”…”vox breathy and open”…”jumping out of the speakers”…”big and open”
  • Rich, smooth, clear sound throughout – listen to the grungy guitars on “Walk Out In The Rain” – that’s the way they should sound, all right
  • Clapton comes to life on the traditional blues “Early In The Morning” – it also has the best sound on the album
  • “Backless is a seductive record, if you’re attracted to the interplay of Clapton’s dolorous voice and Marcy Levy’s raspy backup vocals, George Terry’s slide guitar and Glyn Johns’ pristine production.” – Rolling Stone

The typical pressing of Backless, much like the typical pressing of Slowhand, is just too thick, dull, compressed and veiled to be much fun.

You need to turn this album up good and loud to get it to do anything.

The copies that are solid and weighty love getting loud; the copies that are thin and bright only get worse as the level goes up, a sign that they leave a lot to be desired. This is supposed to be a rock album after all.

UPDATE 2025

Last time around in 2023 we wrote:

We had top quality copies on both domestic and British vinyl. Both were cut here in L.A. It makes sense that either can be good.

This time around none of our domestic pressings mastered by The Mastering Lab, the ones we used to think could be good, did well in our shootout. They were boxy and hard. We probably won’t be buying them anymore. The better Brits just killed them.

Seems we got this one wrong. Live and learn is our motto, for precisely this reason. When we’re wrong we admit it, and we tell you what we think is true about the record now, reserving the right to change our minds again. All it takes is the right pressing to show us the error of our ways, and we are looking for those all the time.

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Eiji Kitamura – Swing Sessions

More Eiji Kitamura

More Direct-to-Disc Recordings

  • This rare Japanese import LP boasts incredible DEMO DISC sound 
  • The music here is wonderful – if you’re a fan of clarinet-led swing jazz, you’ll have a hard time finding a better record than this
  • “This album was recorded by the direct-to-disc recording method, to capture the natural reverberation of 1,200 seat concert hall. Various kinds of recording equipment were brought in parts to the backstage of the hall for the recording then reassembled and adjusted. Two whole days were spent adjusting all the equipment.”
  • If you’re a lazz fan — of swing or otherwise — this title from 1978 is surely a Must Own
  • The complete list of titles from 1978 that we’ve reviewed to date can be found here

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Heart – Dog and Butterfly

More Heart

  • With KILLER Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it on both sides, this copy of this Heart rocker from 1978 is doing practically everything right
  • Here are just a few of the things we had to say about this incredible copy in our notes: “big and open and weighty…”rich and punchy”…”powerful guitar and drums”…”very open vox”…”breathy and sweet and present”…”excellent detail”
  • “Straight On” is the killer track from this one, and you can be sure it will rock your world on this Hot Stamper pressing
  • Turn it up and you will hear all that wonderful, grungy texture on the guitars, as well as a big fat snare keeping the beat – that’s our sound, baby!
  • “…the more resounding punch of ‘Straight On’ went all the way to number 15 as the album’s first single. With the vocals and guitar work sounding fuller and more focused, the band seems to be rather comfortable once again.”

Like the best copies of Dreamboat Annie and Little Queen, this is classic ’70s ANALOG at its best. The sound is RICH and WARM without sacrificing clarity and punch. (more…)

Al Di Meola – Casino

  • With incredible Nearly Triple Plus (A++ to A+++) grades throughout, this copy (only the second to hit the site in years) is practically as good as we have ever heard, right up there with our Shootout Winner
  • Both of these sides are open and transparent, with wonderfully full-bodied guitars, solid bass and huge amounts of jazz fusion energy
  • A fusion classic featuring the stunning technique and superb improvisations that keep us on the hunt for great Di Meola pressings like this one
  • 5 stars: “Following up the superb Elegant Gypsy was no mean feat, but Al di Meola gave it his best shot with the similarly styled Casino…. Featuring a core band of Steve Gadd, Anthony Jackson, and Barry Miles (whom di Meola came up with before the guitarist was invited to join Return to Forever), the playing is sharp and fiery, matching the youthful intensity of the leader.”

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Patti Smith Group – Easter

More New Wave

More Women Who Rock

  • Here is an outstanding copy of Easter (one of only a handful to hit the site in three years) with solid Double Plus (A++) grades or BETTER from top to bottom
  • Side two was sonically very close to our Shootout Winner – you will be shocked at how big and powerful the sound is
  • 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 Smith’s breakthrough from 1978, this is the way to go
  • 4 1/2 stars: “Easter, produced by Bruce Springsteen associate Jimmy Iovine, was Smith’s most commercial-sounding effort yet and, due to the inclusion of Springsteen’s ‘Because the Night’ (with Smith’s revised lyrics), a Top Ten hit, it became her biggest seller, staying in the charts more than five months and getting into the Top 20 LPs. But Smith hadn’t so much sold out as she had learned to use her poetic gifts within an album rock context.”

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Danses Anciennes De Hongrie / Clemencic Consort

More Classical and Orchestral Recordings

  • Danses Anciennes De Hongrie Et De Transylvanie debuts on the site with STUNNING Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it throughout this vintage Harmonia Mundi France import pressing – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • These are just a few of the things we had to say about this incredible copy in our notes: “transparent and spacious”…”dynamic strumming and sweeter string texture” (side one)…”accurate low end”…”3D organ”…”top detail” (side two)
  • Spacious, rich and smooth – only vintage analog seems capable of reproducing all three of these qualities without sacrificing resolution, staging, imaging or presence
  • So transparent, dynamic and real, this copy raises the bar for the sound of this kind of unique music on vinyl
  • Early music is not really our thing here at Better Records – we much prefer orchestral spectaculars that really come to life on big speakers in custom sound rooms at live levels – so Harmonia Mundi is not a favorite label of ours. That said, a little early music never hurt anybody, and since this album is so well recorded, we can recommend it, even if it only serves to cleanse the palate

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