1992

Eric Clapton – Unplugged

More of the Music of Eric Clapton

STUNNING Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it brings Clapton’s latter day Masterpiece to life on this vintage Reprise pressing – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
The sonics of this superb import are rich, full-bodied, lively, and warm, with solid bass and breathy, clear vocals
There are a number of records that Eric Clapton has made over the years that are Must Own titles, and we would have no problem putting this album on that list
Consistency has never been the man’s strong suit, but you will simply not be able to find a bad track on this live album from 1992
4 1/2 stars: “Unplugged is the concert and album that established the MTV program as a classy, tony showcase for artists eager to redefine themselves via reexamination of their catalogs, which is what Clapton cannily did here.”

K.D. Lang – Ingenue

More of the Music of K.D. Lang

An original copy of Lang’s audiophile favorite from 1992 with INCREDIBLE Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades or close to them on both sides
The sound of this rare import is rich, full-bodied, lively, and warm, with solid bass and breathy, clear vocals
Includes Lang favorites “Miss Chatelaine” and “Constant Craving” – both are guaranteed to sound better than you have ever heard them
4 stars: “… the craft of the album is impressive indeed, and few artists have reinvented themselves with as much poise and panache as lang did on Ingénue.”
If you’re a fan of Ms Lang, her classic album from 1992 surely belongs in your collection.

By 1992 records like this were only released on import vinyl and typically went out of print soon after they started their descent down the pop charts. I used to sell them back in the day and supplies were extremely limited and unpredictable. And once they were gone they were virtually never reissued. All of those factors conspire to make the cost of acquiring the mintiest pressings from overseas fairly high, and of course the main reason you have never seen the album on our site before.

Be that as it may, we have this copy available and it is not only very good sounding but the music is every bit as good as I remember it. (more…)

Neil Young – Harvest Moon

More of the Music of Neil Young

With solid Double Plus (A++) grades from top to bottom, this vintage import pressing is doing just about everything right – remarkably quiet vinyl too
Full-bodied, big, rich and solid, this album has the kind of analog sound we did not expect to find, but were pleasantly surprised, thank goodness
Turn this one up good and loud (which you can do when the sound is this good) and you’ll have a living, breathing Neil Young standing right in front of you
Problems 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
“Harvest Moon manages to be sentimental without being sappy, wistful without being nostalgic… a beautiful album that proudly displays scars, heartaches, and love.”

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Annie Lennox – Diva

More Annie Lennox

More Debut Albums of Interest

This vintage import offers outstanding Double Plus (A++) sound for both sides of this Annie Lennox classic from 1992
Dramatically bigger, richer, smoother, more transparent and just more ANALOG sounding than any other copy you’ve heard, guaranteed or your money back
“State-of-the-art soul pop, Annie Lennox’s solo debut is sonically gorgeous…” – Rolling Stone
“Diva glides with a rich, feminine dignity that stands tall in pop history.” – Slant
If you’re a fan of the Ms Lennox, this debut solo album from 1992 surely belongs in your collection.
The complete list of titles from 1992 that we’ve reviewed to date can be found here.

Be that as it may, we have this copy available and it is not only wonderful sounding but the music is every bit as good as I remember it. (more…)

XTC / Nonsuch – Reviewed in 2005

Two Virgin British Import LPs from 1992.

Playing this album I was strongly reminded of one of my all time favorites: Jellyfish’s Spilt Milk. Since that album came out a year after this one, there’s a very good chance they were influenced by this XTC record.

If you like this one you will probably like that one and vice versa.

This is an Older 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.)

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Sade – Love Deluxe

More Sade

More Titles Only Offered on Import LP

A SUPERB copy of Sade’s 4th studio album with Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound on both sides
The import sound here is richer, fuller, more musical and more natural – Sade’s breathy voice is reproduced with a kind of natural, relaxed, effortless quality that, in our experience, is only available on vinyl
4 stars: “Sade’s fourth album, Love Deluxe, included the hit “No Ordinary Love” and marked a return to the detached cool jazz backing and even icier vocals that made her debut album a sensation.”
This is an album we simply cannot afford to do shootouts for these days –original import copies are currently selling for two to three hundred dollars, which means it has been tagged as never again, a record you, dear reader, will have to find for yourself.

By 1992 records like this were only released on import vinyl and typically went out of print soon after they started their descent down the pop charts. I used to sell them back in the day. Supplies were extremely limited and unpredictable – they went out of print without warning and never came back. Once they were gone they were virtually never reissued, although Simply Vinyl took a crack at filling that gap, with mixed results as I’m sure you know.

All of those factors conspire to make the cost of acquiring the mintiest pressings from overseas fairly high. It’s the main reason you have never seen the album on our site before. I’m sure we paid more than $100 for this very copy; rarely can they be found for less. And most of the pressings that came in had condition problems the way this one does.