1978

Art Pepper – Among Friends

More Art Pepper

More Jazz Recordings Featuring the Saxophone

  • Among Friends appears on the site for only the second time ever, here with incredible Nearly Triple Plus (A++ to A+++) grades on both sides of this Discovery reissue pressing, just shy of our Shootout Winner – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • Exceptionally spacious and three-dimensional, as well as relaxed and full-bodied – this pressing was a big step up over practically all other copies we played
  • There’s so much life in these grooves – the sound jumps out of the speakers and right into your lap
  • 4 stars: “Art Pepper mostly sticks to standards on this Discovery LP, but he brings out new life in the veteran songs, particularly on such ballads as “Round Midnight,” “What’s New” and “Besame Mucho.” An excellent…release.”

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The Cars – Self-Titled

More of The Cars

Hot Stamper Pressings of New Wave Recordings

  • This original Elektra pressing was giving us the sound we were looking for on The Cars’ debut album
  • You may have heard these songs a million times, but you’ll be shocked at just how much better they sound on this early pressing
  • Despite what you may have read, the Rhino Heavy Vinyl pressing is a joke next to the Hot Stampers we offer
  • A Better Records Top 100 title, the band’s masterpiece, and a New Wave Must Own classic from 1978
  • 5 stars: “Whereas most bands of the late ’70s embraced either punk/new wave or hard rock, the Cars were one of the first bands to do the unthinkable — merge the two styles together. With flawless performances, songwriting, and production (courtesy of Queen alumnus Roy Thomas Baker), the Cars’ debut remains one of rock’s all-time classics.”
  • This is an amazing album from 1978 that belongs in every rock- and pop-loving audiophile’s collection
  • It’s our pick for the band’s best sounding album. Roughly 150 other listings for the Best Recording by an Artist or Group can be found here.

The material is superb — just check out the first three tracks: “Let The Good Times Roll,” “My Best Friend’s Girl,” and “Just What I Needed” — how many albums start off with that kind of a bang? Each of those tracks sounds amazing. If you’ve got big speakers and a front end capable of resolving musical information at the highest levels, put this record on, turn it way up and get ready to hear some serious Demonstration Quality Sound.

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Prokofiev / Symphony Nos. 1 & 7 – Our Favorite “Classical” Symphony

More of the music of Sergei Prokofiev

  • This stunning classical recording returns to the site for only the second time in three years, here with solid Double Plus (A++) sound throughout this British EMI import – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • Previn has a spritely take on the first symphony, which is precisely what it needs and, every bit as important, the LSO has the chops to bring his vision to life
  • “[The Classical Symphony] is rather a brilliant display of charm, gaiety and good humor as well as a delightful and respectful homage to the early masters whom Prokofieff had at one time so scornfully rejected.”
  • There are about 150 orchestral recordings we think offer the best performances with the highest quality sound. This record is certainly deserving of a place on that list.

This superb release contains one of my favorite performances of the Classical Symphony, and it also carries the distinction of having the best combination of sonics and performance that we have ever heard on vinyl. (There is a recording by Previn and the LA Phil from 1986 with a performance to die for; unfortunately, it comes with the kind of mid-80s tear-your-head-off digital shrillness that makes the CD medium the worn-out joke we analog lovers know it to be.)

The First Symphony happens to be one of my favorite classical works of all time, right up there with The Planets and Pictures at an Exhibition. I wouldn’t want to go to a desert island without all three.

This remarkable pressing has exceptional transparency and dynamics, allowing the energy and precision of the performance to shine through. Truly a sublime recording that belongs in any music collection, whether you’re a fan of classical music or not.

If I had to choose one piece of classical music that I would never want to live without, it would have to be the performance of Prokofiev’s First Symphony found on this very side one. It’s a work of such joy that I’ve never failed to be uplifted by it (except when the performance is too slow, which it often is).

This is a difficult piece to pull off. Most of the time either the orchestra is not up to the task or the conductor misunderstands the work. Previn has a spritely take on the piece, which is precisely what it needs and, every bit as important, the London Symphony has the chops to bring his vision to life.

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The Band – The Last Waltz

More of The Band

More Roots Rock LPs

  • The Last Waltz is back on the site for only the second time in about a year, here with roughly Nearly Triple Plus (A++ to A+++) sound on all SIX sides of these vintage Palm Tree pressings – just shy of our Shootout Winner (sides two and three actually won the shootout)
  • These sides are rich, dynamic and natural sounding, with low end weight, midrange smoothness and powerful, punchy bass
  • Features an A-list of brilliant artists, including Van Morrison, Ringo Star, Joni Mitchell, and Muddy Waters, just to name a few, and it’s surely the reason that this record is so hard to find and so expensive when you do find it
  • Problems in the vinyl are sometimes the nature of the beast with these Classic Rock records – there simply is no way around them if the superior sound of vintage analog is important to you
  • 4 stars: “It’s the Band’s ‘special guests’ who really make this set stand out — Muddy Waters’ ferocious version of ‘Mannish Boy’ would have been a wonder from a man half his age, Van Morrison sounds positively joyous on ‘Caravan,’ Neil Young and Joni Mitchell do well for their Canadian brethren, and Bob Dylan’s closing set finds him in admirably loose and rollicking form.”
  • If you’re a fan of The Band, and what audiophile wouldn’t be?, this triple album from 1978 belongs in your collection

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Muddy Waters – I’m Ready

More Muddy Waters

More Soul, Blues, and R&B

  • This vintage copy (only the second to hit the site in nearly four years) boasts two INCREDIBLE Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sides or close to them
  • If you’re looking for a Hot Stamper Blues album to add a little variety to your collection, you can’t do much better this copy of I’m Ready
  • “Waters and band provide these well-worn gems with a little new studio polish, but it is with the newer songs that the performers really shine… For new listeners trying to get a feel of what the blues is all about, I’m Ready and its bookends are the albums to start with. Once you experience a taste of Muddy Waters, you’ll be ready for more.”

*NOTE: On side one there is a mark that plays lightly ten times at the start of the first track.

Waters made three albums with Johnny Winters in the ’70’s, including this one. Muddy was still in great form, and the sound can be fantastic on the right copy. It’s not easy to find blues recordings that sound natural and honest while still giving you the energy, presence and clarity needed to bring the music to life, but this bad boy has exactly the sound we were looking for. (more…)

Cheap Trick – Heaven Tonight

More of the Music of Cheap Trick

  • This vintage pressing of Cheap Trick’s third studio LP boasts solid Double Plus (A++) grades from top to bottom
  • Huge rock sound – the guitars and drums are positively jumping out of the speakers with dynamic energy, presented on a stage that’s remarkably wide and tall – which means the monster hit “Surrender” rocks like crazy, with more bottom and top end extension than on most other copies we played
  • 5 stars: “Heaven Tonight, like In Color, was produced by Tom Werman, but the difference between the two records is substantial. Where In Color often sounded emasculated, Heaven Tonight regains the powerful, arena-ready punch of Cheap Trick, but crosses it with a clever radio-friendly production that relies both on synthesizers and studio effects.

“Heaven Tonight is the culmination of the group’s dizzying early career, summing up the strengths of their first two albums, their live show, and their talent for inverting pop conventions.”

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Earl Fatha Hines – Fatha

More Earl “Fatha” Hines

More Direct-to-Disc Recordings

  • A seriously good M&K direct to disc recording with Double Plus (A++) sound or BETTER from first note to last – remarkably quiet vinyl too
  • Both sides are clean, clear, lively, and super transparent, with sound that was smoother, sweeter, and richer than we are used to hearing for this album
  • You won’t believe how dynamic this copy is – when Fatha’s really pounding on the keys, you might just jump out of your chair
  • The opening track, “Birdland,” with just a high hat, a tuba and Fatha on piano is worth the price of the disc alone (well, maybe not at these prices…)

The overall sound is clean, clear, lively, and super transparent. The edgy, hard piano sound that plagued our lesser copy is nowhere to be found.

One of the BEST Direct to Discs on M&K. This is especially good jazz piano music; Earl Hines plays up a storm on this album. The opening track, “Birdland,” with just a high hat, a tuba and Fatha on piano is worth the price of the disc alone.

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Tom Waits – Blue Valentine

More Tom Waits

More Singer-Songwriter Albums

  • Blue Valentine returns to the site for the first time in years, here with killer Nearly Triple Plus (A++ to A+++) grades from start to finish – just shy of our Shootout Winner
  • Both of these sides are remarkably rich, full, sweet and warm
  • The strings have wonderful texture, the voice is exceptionally present and breathy – you’d be hard pressed to find a better sounding copy
  • “Two welcome changes in style made Blue Valentine a fresh listening experience for Tom Waits fans. First, Waits alters the instrumentation, bringing in electric guitar and keyboards and largely dispensing with the strings for a more blues-oriented, hard-edged sound. Second … he expands beyond the musings of the barstool philosopher who previously had acted as the first-person character of most of his songs. These are not radical reinventions, but Waits had followed such a rigidly stylized approach on his previous albums that for anyone who had followed him so far, the course correction was big news.”

Both sides have a wonderful bottom end — check out all the weight to that rich, meaty bass. Many copies we played had a tendency to sound somewhat dull, but this one has all the extension up top you need.

Drop the needle on “Romeo Is Bleeding” for some of the best music on here. When you’ve got the kind of bass definition that this copy offers, the sound for that song can be killer, as it is here.

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Aerosmith – Live Bootleg

 

  • Seriously good sound for this 2-LP live album, with all FOUR sides earning solid Double Plus (A++) grades or close to them – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • Sides one, two and four are doing just about everything right – they’re big, full-bodied, dynamic and present with a huge punchy bottom end, and side three is not far behind in all those areas
  • “Unlike other live albums at the time, it’s obvious that not a lot of overdubbing was involved to fix up the tracks, which results in a refreshingly authentic representation of Aerosmith at the group’s most drugged-out and rocking… Live Bootleg is an excellent representation of one of rock & roll’s elite live acts.”

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Louie Bellson / Ray Brown / Paul Smith – Intensive Care

More Direct-to-Disc Recordings

More Jazz Piano Recordings

  • Both sides of this amazing Discwasher direct-to-disc Japanese import earned STUNNING Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sonic grades
  • Here are just a few of the things we had to say about this incredible copy in our notes: “so big and roomy”…”no veil at all” (side one)…”huge and rich with a power low-end”…”very articulate and round piano”…”tubey and weighty”…”best bass, deep and note-like” (side two)
  • One of our all time favorite direct-to-discs; Piano Trio doesn’t get much better than this
  • Paul Smith is an underrated jazz player – most of his albums as a leader are forgettable (we should know, we’ve played a bunch of them), but on this album he swings and really makes music with his two bandmates
  • The playing is extremely energetic and involving, the sound is some of the best we’ve heard, and the engineering is by Phil Schier, who also recorded another favorite direct disc of ours, Friendship, and we recommend both albums highly
  • If you want a good jazz direct-to-disc, you would be hard pressed to find one better than this
  • If you’re a fan of piano trio jazz recordings, recorded direct to disc or otherwise, this is a killer record from 1978 that belongs in your collection.

This record probably doesn’t have the reputation it deserves because it came out on the Discwasher label, which to my knowledge, only made one good record, this one. The same metalwork would have been used to make the version Pausa released, and that fairly common pressing may be virtually identical to this Discwasher pressing. (more…)