1978

George Benson – Weekend in L.A.

More George Benson

More Jazz Recordings Featuring the Guitar

  • A Weekend in L.A. like you’ve never heard, with incredible Nearly Triple Plus (A++ to A+++) grades or close to them on all FOUR sides of these vintage Palm Tree pressings – just shy of our Shootout Winner
  • Some of the tubiest, biggest and richest guitar sonics you could ask for from a “modern” record – this is the sound of analog done right
  • Al Schmitt handled production here, and he did the same kind of bang-up job that earned him Grammy awards for his production on the Hatari soundtrack (a TAS list title) and his engineering on Steely Dan’s Aja, Toto IV, and more
  • Before our most recent shootout, it had been more than ten years since we last listed a pressing of this album, but now that we’ve “cracked the code” for the best sounding pressings, expect to see this one show up on the site regularly – live is the way to hear the man sing and play
  • 4 stars: “Recording live at Los Angeles’ Roxy club … was just the tonic that George Benson and his Breezin’ band needed on this often jumping album. [T]he band gets deep into the four-on-the-floor funk and Benson digs in hard, his rhythmic instincts on guitar sharp as ever.”

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Devo – Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo

More Devo

More New Wave

  • Devo’s superb debut LP (one of only a handful of copies to hit the site in close to four years), here with incredible Nearly Triple Plus (A++ to A+++) grades on both sides of this original copy – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • No copy in our shootout scored more than one half plus moer than this one overall
  • This pressing was doing practically everything right, with the kind of big, punchy, full-bodied sound this music absolutely demands
  • Tons of great songs on here, including “Uncontrollable Urge,” “Jocko Homo,” “Too Much Paranoias,” and their killer cover of The Stones’ “Satisfaction”
  • 4 1/2 stars: “A seminal touchstone in the development of American new wave… had a conceptual unity that bolstered the consistent songwriting, making it an essential document of one of new wave’s most influential bands.”

Let the Devolution begin! Both sides here are really rockin’! The sound is huge with tons of bottom end weight and an energy level that’s off the charts.

While Devo’s music may never sound as rich, warm, and tubey as the typical classic rock album, that certainly doesn’t mean we need to accept completely anemic, sterile sound for this album. It took a big stack of copies, but here’s one that made us sit up straight, pay attention and enjoy!

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Dire Straits – Self-Titled

More of the Music of Dire Straits

  • The band’s debut album is back on the site for only the second time in ten months, here with a STUNNING Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) side one mated to a solid Double Plus (A++) side two
  • One of the best sounding rock records ever made, with rich, sweet, smooth mids; prodigious amounts of bass; superb transparency and clarity; and a freedom from hi-fi-ishness and a lack of distortion like very few rock records we have ever heard
  • Rhett Davies knocked this one out of the park – it’s a Top 100 title, a member of the Tubey Magical Top Ten (see below), and our favorite by the band for both sound and music
  • If you made the mistake of buying the unbelievably bad sounding MoFi 45 RPM Half-Speed, this vintage UK pressing will be a REVELATION
  • 4 1/2 stars: “Knopfler also shows an inclination toward Dylanesque imagery, which enhances the smoky, low-key atmosphere of the album… the album is remarkably accomplished for a debut, and Dire Straits had difficulty surpassing it throughout their career.”
  • 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.

Rhett Davies is one of our favorite recording engineers, the man behind Taking Tiger Mountain, 801 Live and Avalon to name just a few of his most famous recordings, all favorites of ours of course.

The man may be famous for some fairly artificial sounding recordings — Eno’s, Roxy Music’s and The Talking Heads’ albums come to mind — but it’s obvious to us now, if it wasn’t before, that those are entirely artistic choices, not engineering shortcomings.

Rhett Davies, by virtue of the existence of this album alone, has proven that he belongs in the company of the greatest engineers of all time, right up there with the likes of Bill Porter, Ken Scott, Stephen Barncard, Geoff Emerick, Glyn Johns and others we could mention.

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Gerry Rafferty – City To City

More Gerry Rafferty

  • This early British pressing boasts a STUNNING Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) side one mated to a solid Double Plus (A++) side two – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • City To City is a Must Own album – no right-thinking audiophile can fail to be impressed by the songwriting and production of Rafferty’s masterpiece of British Folk Pop
  • You won’t believe how rich, Tubey Magical, big, undistorted and present this copy is (until you play it anyway)
  • If all you know are audiophile or domestic pressings, you should be prepared for a mind-blowing experience with this UK pressing
  • 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: “Rafferty’s turns of phrase and tight composition skills create a fresh sound and perspective all his own… resulting in a classic platter buoyed by many moments of sheer genius.”
  • A list of Must Own rock and pop from 1977 would have to have this album on it, somethere near the top I would think
  • In our opinion, City to City is Rafferty’s best sounding album, and probably the only Rafferty solo release you’ll ever need.
  • Click on this link to see more titles we like to call one and done. Night Owl (1979), Snakes and Ladders (1980) and Can I Have My Money Back (1971) strike us as weak albums, strictly for hardcore fans.

Here you will find the kind of rich, sweet, classically British Tubey Magical sound that we cannot get enough of here at Better Records. (more…)

Willie Nelson / Stardust – A Copy This Good Deserves a Place on a Super Disc List

More of the Music of Willie Nelson

  • From the first few moments of the title track you’ll be blown away by the in-the-room immediacy of The Man himself
  • Boasting two KILLER Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sides, this vintage pressing of this exceptionally well-recorded album is certainly as good as we have ever heard
  • Here are just a few of the things we have to say about this amazing copy in our notes: “spacious, sweet and dynamic vox”…”big, tubey and up front”…”so rich and weighty”…”excellent detail”
  • We guarantee there is dramatically more space, richness, vocal presence, and performance energy on this copy than others you’ve heard, and that’s especially true if you made the mistake of buying whatever Heavy Vinyl pressing is currently on the market
  • This copy is hi-res without sacrificing the analog warmth that makes the recording so exceptional, especially for one from 1978
  • 5 stars: “Stardust showcases Nelson’s skills as a musician and his entire aesthetic — where there is nothing separating classic American musical forms, it can all be played together — perhaps better than any other album…”
  • If you’re a fan of The Great American Songbook, this is a killer recording from 1978 that belongs in your collection.

Georgia On My Mind is a DEMO QUALITY track on this album. You aren’t going to believe all the ambience on this copy. The top end is gorgeous — sweet, delicate, and silky with loads of extension. The sound is extremely hi-res without sacrificing any of the warmth that makes this music so special.

Just listen to the rimshots and the bell in Georgia On My Mind — we guarantee you have NEVER heard those instruments sound so present, clear, and immediate.

Willie’s voice is natural and tonally correct, with all the breathy texture you could ever hope to hear. The acoustic guitars and Booker T.’s organ are perfection. (more…)

The Best of Earth Wind & Fire – A Real Treat for Us Audiophiles

More of the Music of Earth, Wind and Fire

More Recordings by George Massenburg

  • Both of these sides boast unrivaled sound and pop soul energy that is BIGGER and RICHER than anything you’ve ever heard
  • Tubey Magical, rich, smooth, sweet – everything that we listen for in a great record is on display for everyone to hear (everyone with audiophile equipment that is)
  • With a big speaker system turned up good and loud, the first track is simply mind-boggling
  • 5 stars: “The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1 still ranks as a strong encapsulation of EWF the funk innovators. The singles gathered here constitute some of the richest, most sophisticated music the funk movement ever produced…”
  • This is a personal favorite of yours truly, and a Must Own album from 1978, which, in hindsight, turned out to be a surprisingly good year for music

The first track on the album is “Got To Get You Into My Life” and it sounds incredible on this copy.

What a song. And it’s not on any other EWF album. Three points to make here:

  1. It’s from the real master tape;
  2. It happens to have Demo Disc quality sound, which means:
  3. You need this record in your collection.

Since this is a “best of,” every song is a hit and every one of them will have you singin’ yourself hoarse. If you like pop-soul music at all, you have to like these guys. And these songs. Every one is a gem of popcraft, with arrangements as tight as the sequined white suits the band members wore.

Finding The Good Ones

The Shootout Winning pressings sound amazing, with big-as-life Demo Disc quality sound. Lucky for us, EWF was always an audiophile-oriented band. They produced some of the best 70s multi-track recordings around.

With a big speaker system turned up good and loud the first track is simply mind-boggling. It’s some of the best sound we have heard around here in weeks, and we play a lot of good sounding records!

As you can imagine, most copies of this album leave a lot to be desired. Most were, to one degree or another, dull, smeary, opaque, gritty or shrill.

Our Hot Stampers, on the other hand, depending on how hot they are, will give you the sound you’re looking for. If you’re a fan of big horns, with jump-out-of-the-speakers sound, this is the album for you. Some of the best R&B-pop brass ever recorded can be found here — full-bodied, powerful, fast, dynamic and tonally correct.

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Billy Joel – 52nd Street

More of the Music of Billy Joel

  • This vintage pressing boasts an INCREDIBLE Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) side two mated to an excellent Double Plus (A++) side one – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • We guarantee there is dramatically more space, richness, vocal presence, and performance energy on this copy than others you’ve heard, and that’s especially true if you made the mistake of buying whatever Heavy Vinyl pressing is currently on the market
  • Some of the man’s biggest hits are here: “You May Be Right,” “Don’t Ask Me Why” and “It’s Still Rock & Roll To Me”
  • 4 1/2 stars: “Instead of turning out to be a fiery rebuttal to his detractors, the album is a remarkable catalog of contemporary pop styles … That’s not a detriment; that’s the album’s strength.”
  • If I were to compile a list of Must Own rock albums from 1978, this album would have to be on it, and it is!
  • This is our pick for Billy Joel’s best sounding album. Roughly 150 other listings for the best recording by an artist or group can be found here on the blog.

When you hear this pressing you’ll understand why.

We heard some amazing sound coming from the grooves of 52nd Street, but let’s give credit where credit is due — the recording and mastering engineers involved with this album. Jim Boyer and Ted Jensen can both take great pride in the SUPERB work they have done here. (more…)

Ed Graham – Hot Stix (45 RPM)

More Direct to Disc Recordings

More Percussion Recordings of Interest

  • Hot Stix appears on the site for only the second time ever, here with solid Double Plus (A++) grades or BETTER throughout this original M&K RealTime direct to disc pressing
  • Side one was sonically very close to our Shootout Winner – you will be amazed at how big and rich and tubey the sound is
  • Both of these West German-pressed sides were more spacious, natural, and transparent than most of the others we played
  • This copy is full-bodied and lively, with solid weight down low, as well as excellent clarity all around – it raises the bar for this kind percussion-based, free improv jazz on vinyl

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Paul McCartney and Wings – London Town

More Paul McCartney

  • A vintage import pressing with KILLER Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it from first note to last
  • Here are just a few of the things we had to say about this stunning copy in our notes: “sweet and rich vox”…”big and rich”…”heavy, deep bass”…”weighty and rich [piano] keys”…”jumping out of the speakers”
  • Clean, clear, and full-bodied with a solid bottom end – this copy was a big step up over practically all others in our recent shootout
  • Forget the dubby domestic pressings and whatever crappy Heavy Vinyl record they’re making these days – the UK LPs are the only way to fly on London Town
  • 4 star: “… it’s certainly stronger than Speed and, in its own way, as satisfying as Venus and Mars… It’s a laid-back, almost effortless collection of professional pop and, as such, it’s one of his strongest albums.”

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The Jam – All Mod Cons

More Rock and Pop

More New Wave

  • An early UK pressing of All Mod Cons (only the second copy to ever hit the site) with INCREDIBLE Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it from start to finish – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • We guarantee that you have never heard these songs sound as big, bold and alive as they do here
  • “In 2000, Q placed All Mod Cons at number 50 on its list of the ‘100 Greatest British Albums Ever.’ In 2013, NME ranked All Mod Cons at number 219 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. The album is listed in the reference book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.” – Wikipedia
  • 5 stars: “Terms like ‘classic’ are often bandied about, but in the case of All Mod Cons, it is certainly deserved.”

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