1984-best

Dire Straits / Alchemy: Dire Straits Live

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  • KILLER Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it brings Dire Straits’ live double album from 1984 to life on these original import pressings – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • The overall sound here is big, rich and musical with great space and energy – just right for a live album
  • Stick with the imports on this title, even though the domestic pressings were originally mastered by Robert Ludwig – he didn’t have the real tapes, and that makes all the difference in the world
  • “The arena-size crowd cheers wildly, and claps and sings along when given half a chance, as though each song were an up-tempo rocker… That Dire Straits’ introspective music loses much of its detail in a live setting matters less than that it gains presence and a sense of anticipation.”

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Los Lobos – How Will The Wolf Survive?

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  • How Will The Wolf Survive? returns to the site after a sixteen month hiatus, here with KILLER Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades or close to them on both sides of this early Slash pressing – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • Big, rich (for 1984), present and lively, with good weight to the bottom end, this is clearly the right sound for this music
  • 4 1/2 stars: “… the band’s exemplary taste, musical smarts, and road-tested maturity [is] in evidence on every cut. While rarely flashy, even a casual listen offers all the proof you might need that Los Lobos were a band of world-class musicians…”

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Oscar Peterson – A Tribute To My Friends

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Another Top Pablo Recording

  • A superb copy with Double Plus (A++) sound throughout – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • Mastered by Joe Gastwirt at the JVC cutting center, this has the punchy, lively sound that some of the better Pablos are known for
  • The piano reproduction is especially clean, clear and lively, with solid weight down low, just the way we like it
  • 4 stars: “With the assistance of guitarist Joe Pass, bassist Niels Pedersen and drummer Martin Drew, Peterson sounds inspired on such themes as “Blueberry Hill,” “Stuffy,” “Cottontail” and even “A Tisket, a Tasket.”
  • More Reviews and Commentaries for Pablo Recordings
  • More Reviews and Commentaries for the Music of Oscar Peterson

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Sade – Diamond Life

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More Titles We Only Offer on Import LP

  • The right UK pressings are dramatically better than the domestic and Dutch pressings we played
  • The key to the best copies is Tubey Magical richness and sweetness, and this vintage analog copy has plenty of both
  • 4 1/2 stars: “[Sade] projects a wised-up sensuality, and the record neither creaks with the revivalism of Harry Connick nor the sterility of Simply Red, to name but two of Sade’s neo-cocktail rivals.”

This copy gives you the kind of present, breathy vocals absolutely critical to this music. There’s no denying the power of Sade’s sultry voice when you can actually hear it. All it takes is a top copy such as this to make her talents — and those of her bandmates — abundantly clear. (more…)

Bruce Springsteen – Born In The U.S.A.

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  • Outstanding Double Plus (A++) sound on both sides of this gazillion-selling ’80s classic
  • We would be foolish to make claims for “audiophile” sound on Springsteen’s albums – they are what they are, but the best copies are head and shoulders above anything else you’ve heard
  • Some of The Boss’s biggest hits are here, including “Glory Days” and “Dancin’ in the Dark.”
  • 5 stars: “… where Springsteen remembered that he was a rock & roll star, which is how a vastly increased public was happy to treat him.”

It’s tough to find great sounding copies of this album — or any Springsteen album for that matter — but this one is a step up from most of the copies we played, with less distortion and more energy, two qualities that are not easy to come by on Born In The U.S.A.

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Zoot Sims / “Quietly There” – Zoot Sims Plays Johnny Mandel

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A Top Pablo Recording

  • This KILLER Pablo LP, engineered by the brilliant Allen Sides, has killer sound from start to finish – which is to be expected from this amazing engineer, responsible for recordings like 88 Basie Street
  • The overall impression one gets of this recording is BIG – big stage and full size instruments
  • This is Cinerama sound, wall to wall and floor to ceiling
  • The recording is so transparent you can clearly hear the contribution his reed makes to his sound
  • 4 stars: “… Norman Granz’s idea to match Zoot Sims’ lyrical, swinging tenor sax with Johnny Mandel’s equally arresting compositions was a masterful one. Sims’ tart, alternately lush and furious solos were wonderfully spotlighted on such tunes as “Cinnamon and Cloves,” “Emily” and “Zoot.”

This is one of the best Zoot Sims records. He plays beautifully. This melodic, smooth material is what he excels at. His breathy saxophone style will remind you of Coleman Hawkins and Ben Webster. This recording captures that sound perfectly.

The other Must-Own Zoot Sims record is Passion Flower, also on Pablo. If you see one, grab it. Amazing audiophile quality sound.

Note the length of the tunes on this album. The first side has two 7+ minute long explorations and on side two 2 songs clock in at 6 minutes and the ballad Emily at more than 9 minutes. Cinnamon & Cloves is probably my favorite track on the album. Zoot plays samba as well as Stan Getz — he’s just not as famous for it.

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Tina Turner – Private Dancer

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  • Incredible sound throughout with each side earning Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • This vintage pressing is big and rich, with superb clarity and three-dimensional space, this is the kind of sound that most pressings only hint at
  • 4 1/2 stars: “In 1984, a 45-year-old Tina Turner made one of the most amazing comebacks in the history of American popular music… Without question, this was Turner’s finest hour as a solo artist.”

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Talking Heads – Stop Making Sense

 

  • A wonderful sounding copy with solid Double Plus (A++) sound on both sides – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • Both sides are big, bold and dynamic, with the kind of energy that you rarely find outside the live event
  • “”A bona fide classic,” opined Neil Jeffries in a five-star review of the reissue for Empire, “a perfectly measured snapshot of a widely loved and respected band playing at the height of their powers … No other band could do this. No other music movie soundtrack sounds this good.”” Wikipedia

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The Pretenders – Learning To Crawl

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  • A superb pressing of the band’s third studio album with Nearly Triple Plus (A++ to A+++) sound from start to finish – just shy of our Shootout Winner – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • It takes years to get a shootout for this album going – three to five is my best guess, so get while the gettin’s good if you’re a fan of the most muscular rock album this band ever recorded
  • Both sides of this (very specific and hard to find) import pressing were richer, clearer and more energetic than virtually any of the others we played
  • With Robbie McIntosh having joined the band, this is first and foremost a guitar rock record – his brilliant, jangly, grungy riffs drive every song
  • 5 stars: “Three albums into her recording career, Chrissie Hynde found herself having to put the past to bed and carve out a new beginning for herself with Learning to Crawl, but she pulled it off with a striking mixture of courage, strength, and great rock & roll; with the exception of the instant-classic debut album, it’s the Pretenders’ finest work.”

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U2 – The Unforgettable Fire

 

  • Excellent Double Plus (A++) sound or BETTER from the first note to the last – this is the way the album is supposed to sound
  • Pride (In the Name of Love) is the big hit on this one, and the sound is appropriately glorious on this vintage copy
  • “U2 took their fondness for sonic bombast as far as it could go on War, so it isn’t a complete surprise that they chose to explore the intricacies of the Edge’s layered, effects-laden guitar on the follow-up. Working with producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, U2 created a dark, near-hallucinatory series of interlocking soundscapes … ranking among U2’s very best music…”

We had a big stack of these to compare and not too many of them were in a league with this one. Most copies are too dark and murky to really come to life, but this one is had no such problems. (more…)