1988

Willie Dixon – Hidden Charms

More Willie Dixon

More Classic Blues

  • 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
  • Hidden Charms was produced by T Bone Burnett, a man who understands this music as well as any living soul, and also a man who knows how to get the most out of the artists he works with

It was pretty easy to separate the men from the boys in this shootout. A quick drop of the needle on each side would immediately answer our number one question: “How BIG is the sound?”. The copies that lacked top end extension or bottom end were just too boring. This is the BLUES, baby — you think it’s supposed to sound small?

Another problem we ran into on many copies was excessive smoothness. When a copies was overly rich or smeary, it usually lacked the “gritty” feel that music like this should have. I don’t know about you, but if I’m listening to the blues I am not looking for glossy sound. Give me the texture and the detail and the other qualities that Willie Dixon put on the tape. I don’t want his sound to be “fixed” after the fact.

This is some of the best modern blues sound money can buy! We picked up a bunch of these and shot ’em out, and most of the copies left us cold. The average pressing is still a decent sounding record, but the music works so much better on a Hot Stamper. A copy like this one gives you more detail and texture, more extension up top and real weight to the bottom end — absolutely crucial for this music.

Hidden Charms was produced by T Bone Burnett, a man who understands this music as well as any living soul, and also a man who knows how to get the most out of the artists he works with. The sound and the arrangements are perfectly suited to Willie’s material. Since most vintage blues recordings leave a lot to be desired sonically, and most modern “hi-fi” blues recordings are less than engaging musically, this album is the cure for the blues-lovin’ audiophile’s blues! (more…)

Dead Can Dance – The Serpent’s Egg

More Dead Can Dance

  • An insanely good copy with Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or very close to it throughout
  • These sides were doing everything right — clear, spacious and musical with tons of energy and a big punchy bottom end
  • Perry and Gerrard continued to experiment and improve with The Serpent’s Egg, as much a leap forward as Spleen and Ideal was some years previously. As with that album, The Serpent’s Egg was heralded by an astounding first track, “The Host of Seraphim”… it’s so jaw-droppingly good that almost the only reaction is sheer awe.” – All Music, 4 1/2 Stars

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Santana – Viva Santana!

More Santana

  • Santana’s MONSTER triple album compilation finally makes its Hot Stamper return here with Double Plus (A++) sound or close to it on all SIX sides – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • These vintage Columbia pressings are guaranteed to rock like no other copy you’ve ever played
  • Full of mostly-live, previously unreleased versions of favorites, mixed with a number of new works, this collection is a must-have for Santana fans
  • 4 1/2 stars: “Released in 1988, Viva Santana! is a generous 30-track overview of Santana’s first 20 years of recording… both Carlos Santana and his supporting musicians were on fire.”

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Leonard Cohen – I’m Your Man

  • This outstanding pressing boasts solid Double Plus (A++) sound from first note to last – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • These sides are doing everything right — big, rich and full of Tubey Magic with a wonderfully extended top end and a more natural sound than most other copies we heard
  • Top tracks here include First We Take Manhattan, Take This Waltz, and the classic Everybody Knows
  • 4 1/2 stars: “A stunningly sophisticated leap into modern musical textures, I’m Your Man re-establishes Leonard Cohen’s mastery….”

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Steve Miller Band / Born 2 B Blue – Our Shootout Winner from 2011

More of the Music of Steve Miller

Steve Miller’s foray into Smooth Jazz Pop got him nowhere in the marketplace, but did result in my becoming a fan back in the late ’80s. Let’s be clear — this is not a record for everyone. If you don’t like at least some Smooth Jazz, you probably won’t like this album. It’s Steve Miller crossing over into that territory, and doing it better than anyone else I know (although that’s not saying much. I’m no expert by any stretch and don’t claim to be.) 

What it is is Steve Miller doing a batch of cool, classic songs in a hip, fun way. AMG has it right, “…his taste in material is quite nice…”

This is certainly nothing like Fly Like An Eagle. He already made that record; we don’t need him to make it again. (He actually made it twice as Book of Dreams is from the same sessions!) (more…)

Crowded House – Temple of Low Men

Reviews and Commentaries for Crowded House

This British import pressing came right out of my collection. I would love to be able to keep an album as good as this one in my collection, but when would I ever find time to play it? Those days are gone. We play records all day long, five days a week. Weekends we do other things now.

Both sides are smooth and very analog sounding, and both are quiet, The big sound of a Tchad Blake recording with a Bob Clearmountain mix.

Musically both sides have some of the band’s best material. A few of our favorite tracks would be: I Feel Possessed and Into Temptation on side one, Love This Life and Better Be Home Soon on side two.  (more…)