1986

Steve Winwood – Back In The High Life

More of the Music of Steve Winwood

  • Both sides of this UK copy of Steve Winwood’s Solo Masterpiece earned outstanding Double Plus (A++) grades or BETTER
  • This early British pressing is guaranteed to be dramatically bigger, richer, fuller and smoother than anything you’ve heard
  • Higher Love with better than Double Plus sound? You’re gonna love it! And there’s really not a bad track on the album
  • “The first undeniably superb record of an almost decade-long solo career … the passion long smoldering in his finest work explodes in the album-opening duet with Chaka Khan, Higher Love…” — Rolling Stone

On the best copies, the sound is spacious and high-resolution. The bright, dry, grainy, analytical sound is replaced with something warmer, richer, fuller, sweeter, smoother — in other words, more ANALOG sounding. (more…)

John Fogerty – Eye Of The Zombie

More of the Music of John Fogerty

More Roots Rock LPs

  • Insanely good sound throughout with both sides earning Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades or close to them
  • Don’t waste your money on 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 Fogerty’s second solo album, a vintage ’80s pressing like this one is the only way to go
  • Exceptionally quiet vinyl with both sides playing Mint Minus to Mint Minus Minus
  • John’s last album for over a decade and while not quite as good as Centerfield, there’s still some excellent tracks here, such as “Change in the Weather” and “Knockin on Your Door”

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Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band – Like A Rock

More Bob Seger

  • 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
  • Features an A-list of rock and rollers, including Don Henley, Timothy B. Schmit, and Pete Carr, just to name a few
  • Per Seger, Like A Rock “expresses my feeling that the best years of your life are in your late teens when you have no special commitments and no career. It’s your last blast of fun before heading into the cruel world.”
  • If you’re a Bob Seger fan, this title from 1986 is probably the last in a long run of albums you might want to play

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Huey Lewis and The News – Fore!

More Huey Lewis and The News

  • The band’s 1986 follow-up to Sports finally arrives on the site with Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or very close to it on both sides
  • The open, spacious soundstage and full-bodied tonality here are obvious for all to hear – huge, punchy, lively and rockin’ throughout
  • This copy will show you just how big, lively and POWERFUL this music can be on the right pressing
  • “This is by far one of the absolute best releases by Huey Lewis & the News. Powerful, hard-hitting, and quite emotional. . . for those of you who like hard-hitting, powerful rock music from the ’80s era.”

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Oscar Peterson – If You Could See Me Now

Reviews and Commentaries for the Recordings of Oscar Peterson

A Top Pablo Recording

This is a SUPERB set from Oscar Peterson’s sometimes underwhelming Pablo period. This one is from 1986 and includes the estimable Joe Pass on guitar.

Side one has the kind of sound one associates with late-’70s jazz, jazz that often seems to be recorded in dead studios.

Side two sounds much better somehow — more clear, present and lively.

The liner notes tell us it’s the same studio, even the same day, but there is simply no mistaking the better sound quality. Such are the vagaries of the vinyl record.

If you’re in the market for a top quality Oscar Peterson piano trio recording (with bonus guitar), this side two should be just the ticket.

This is an Older Jazz Review.

Most of the older reviews you see are for records that did not go through the shootout process, the revolutionary approach to finding better sounding pressings we developed in the early 2000s and have since turned into a fine art.

We found the records you see in these older listings by cleaning and playing a pressing or two of the album, which we then described and priced based on how good the sound and surfaces were. (For out Hot Stamper listings, the Sonic Grades and Vinyl Playgrades are listed separately.)

We were often wrong back in those days, something we have no reason to hide. Audio equipment and record cleaning technologies have come a long way since those darker days, a subject we discuss here.

Currently, 99% (or more!) of the records we sell are cleaned, then auditioned under rigorously controlled conditions, up against a number of other pressings. We award them sonic grades, and then condition check them for surface noise.

As you may imagine, this approach requires a great deal of time, effort and skill, which is why we currently have a highly trained staff of about ten. No individual or business without the aid of such a committed group could possibly dig as deep into the sound of records as we have, and it is unlikely that anyone besides us could ever come along to do the kind of work we do.

The term “Hot Stampers” gets thrown around a lot these days, but to us it means only one thing: a record that has been through the shootout process and found to be of exceptionally high quality.

Not just a good sounding record. A record that was played in a shootout and did well.

The result of our labor is the scores of jazz titles seen here, every one of which is unique and guaranteed to be the best sounding copy of the album you have ever heard or you get your money back.

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Crowded House – Self-Titled

Reviews and Commentaries for Crowded House

  • A stunning sounding copy with Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound from start to finish
  • Both sides here are super punchy, musical, clean and clear with a solid bottom end – what album from 1986 sounds as good as this one?
  • The best sounding Crowded House album ever recorded? It gets our vote!
  • Great songs like Don’t Dream It’s Over, Something So Strong and World Where You Live
  • “… the record was blessed by good timing, and the majestic ballad “Don’t Dream It’s Over” became an international hit, while its follow-up, the breezy “Something So Strong,” also turned into a hit. Both revealed different sides of Finn’s talents, with the first being lyrical and the second being effervescent…” – All Music

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R.E.M. – Lifes Rich Pageant

  • This outstanding copy of the band’s fourth studio album boasts solid Double Plus (A++) sound on both sides – fairly quiet too
  • You’ll hear more energy and more immediacy, plus an extra shot of analog richness that really ties the sound together
  • 4 1/2 stars: “Where previous records kept the rhythm section in the background, Pageant emphasizes the beat, and the band turns in its hardest rockers to date… the band sound more contemporary both musically and lyrically than they did on either Fables or Murmur, which helps give the record an extra kick.”

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Lionel Richie – Dancing on the Ceiling

  • Lionel Richie’s third album makes its Hot Stamper debut here with STUNNING Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it throughout – exceptionally quiet vinyl for the most part too
  • This copy has real depth to the soundfield; full-bodied, present vocals; plenty of bottom end weight; and lovely analog warmth
  • Filled with quintessential Richie favorites, including Say You, Say Me, Love Will Conquer All, and of course, the title track
  • 4 stars: “…He adds a bit more dance to this album, and while the grooves are funkier than anything since the Commodores… Dancing on the Ceiling is a solid, enjoyable affair…”

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David Lee Roth – Eat ‘Em and Smile

More David Lee Roth

More Van Halen

  • David Lee Roth’s solo debut finally arrives on the site with nearly Triple Plus (A++ to A+++) sound from start to finish – just shy of our Shootout Winner – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • The overall sound here is incredibly full-bodied, musical, clear and spacious with tons of energy and a solid bottom end
  • 4 1/2 stars: “Few would argue that David Lee Roth’s first solo EP was a complete comedy send-up, albeit a very successful one that gained him enough favor with the MTV peanut gallery to solidify his potential as a solo artist… arguably Roth’s most legitimate piece of art ever.”

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