2-pack-review

Lee Morgan – The Cooker

Both sides are open, spacious and transparent, with a lovely and quite extended top end. Just listen to the trumpet solo on ’A Night In Tunisia’; you can really hear the leading edge transients. The baritone sax played by the estimable Pepper Adams also sounds particularly nice throughout the record.  

Side One – Record One

Big, open and rich, with tight bass and a huge baritone sax, we found this side Hard To Fault.

Side two of this copy badly lacked warmth, which is a deal killer for us. That “clean” Heavy Vinyl sound drives us up a wall. (more…)

Dave Mason – Let It Flow

More Dave Mason

This is a 2-pack set that gives you A+++ sound and quiet vinyl for both sides of this album. We Just Disagree and Let It Flow, Let It Go are the big hits here and they both sound great. This is one of the more consistent Mason solo albums, with more good songs and less filler than we’ve heard on some of his other works.

Side one is rich and smooth with good energy. It’s extended and open up top, punchy down low, and very clean and clear. Many copies we played were dry and grainy. None of them came to life like this side one. (more…)

Ornette Coleman – Love Call – Reviewed in 2013

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More Jazz Recordings Featuring the Saxophone

EXCELLENT A++ SOUND and QUIET VINYL for both sides of this great Ornette Coleman Blue Note album. Ornette’s music clearly isn’t for everyone, but you’ve got to hand it to the guy when it comes to getting good sound on his records. We’ve heard a number of Ornette records that had excellent sound, the trick is finding the ones that sound good and aren’t so crazy musically that there’s still appeal to the average audiophile. This one’s a bit out there for sure, but we enjoyed it — the excellent sound throughout helped the music make sense.  

Of course, good recordings don’t always get you good sounding records, and this 2-pack helps prove that point. Each of these copies had one great sounding side backed with a flip that was much more typical. Fortunately, we ended up with an A++ side one and an A++ side two, which allowed us to pair them up. If you want to see just what the Super Hot Stampers give you that the average copy lacks, it’s as easy as flipping either record over and playing the side that didn’t earn a Hot Stamper grade. And as always, if you want to leave the tedium of playing mediocre sounding vinyl to the guys who sit through stacks of it every day (that’s us, natch), don’t worry — there won’t be a quiz at the end!

The sound on the A++ sides is bigger and livelier with more presence, better clarity and more extension up top. You get tighter bass with more weight, and more air and texture to the brass. If you’ve got a taste for free jazz, I think you’ll be very impressed with the winning sides. (more…)

Copperfields – Our First Shootout Winner

More of the Music of Dillards

For the first time on the site, Hot Stamper sound for The Dillards! Those of you who enjoy the country-fried style of the Flying Burrito Bros., Gram Parsons or The Byrds will probably get a lot out of this one. We paired up our best sounding side one with our most impressive side two to create this QUIET A+++ / A++ 2-pack. Great sounding pressings for this band are tough to come by, so don’t let this one slip past you if you’re a fan!

We’ve been trying to find great sound for this band for years, but it is one tough task. For one thing, it’s difficult to find clean copies out in the bins and even when we do most of them don’t sound that hot. It took years worth of purchases to get enough of these together for a shootout, and even then very few of them delivered. We couldn’t even come up with a copy with two great sides, so we paired up the two pressings that had the best sound for either side.

The side one here is killer earning our top grade of A+++. The sound is open and transparent with a very wide soundfield, giving lots of room to each of the musicians.

This side one had the best bottom end we heard anywhere. It also had excellent presence, lots of energy and natural texture all around. It couldn’t be beat and I’d be very surprised if you could find a better one.

The side two of this set is nearly as good, smooth and sweet with lots of extension in the extremes. Many copies suffered from a veiled midrange that robbed the instruments of texture, but this one was cleaner, clearer and more transparent. We gave it an A++.

Flip either of the rated sides over to hear what separates a Hot Stamper pressing from the rest! (more…)

Getz-Gilberto – Our Shootout Winner from 2012

Hot Stamper Pressings of Bossa Nova Albums Available Now

We have been trying to find great sound (on reasonable surfaces) for this album for YEARS — I kid you not — but this 2-pack is the first Hot Stamper version to ever hit the site.

We have fired up this shootout multiple times since 2006 and been left empty-handed each and every time, right up until the latest go-around. We have sunk an insane amount of dough into trying to find killer copies because we love the music so much, but we just haven’t had much to show for it.

If you love this Brazilian-flavored cool jazz as much as we do, you might want to snap this one up because who knows when or if we’ll find another one.

Stan Getz is a truly great tenor saxophonist, the cool school’s most popular player. This LP is all the evidence you need. Side one has those wonderfully relaxed Brazilian tempos and the smooth sax stylings of Stan Getz.

Side two for me is even more magical. Getz fires up and lets loose some of his most emotionally intense playing. These sad, poetic songs are about feeling more than anything else and Getz communicates that so completely you don’t have to speak Portugese to know what Jobim is saying. Call it cool jazz with feeling.

Side one here has good bass, wonderful transparency and more presence than we heard elsewhere. The female vocals sound excellent and the sax is full bodied with clear leading-edge transients.

The side two of this set is even better, more extended up top and incredibly smooth and sweet overall. It’s got the impressive presence of the first side but could stand to be a bit fuller.

Both sides are a bit noisy as is pretty much always the case with this record — a big reason why we’ve struggled so hard with this album. The other big reason is that most copies just plain sound mediocre or worse, which you can find out for yourself by flipping over either of the Hot sides in this set.

This is an All Time jazz classic and it’s a shame we can’t find more great copies. This one isn’t going to be a top Demo Disc for any of you but it will give you two sides that show you how lovely this music sounds when you’re lucky enough to get a hold of a copy that’s not poorly mastered and obscured by seriously noisy vinyl.

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Brewer & Shipley / Weeds – Our Four Plus Shootout Winner from 2017

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Reviews and Commentaries for Brewer and Shipley

It took two copies on two different labels to give you BETTER than Triple Plus (A+++) sound on the two sides of this 2-pack. These sides were beyond anything we had ever heard, with weight and Tubey Magic to put other records to shame. On the best copies the midrange is amazingly relaxed and natural, yet completely clear and present. This Bay Area Hippie Folk Rock has much in common with classic albums like Workingman’s Dead and CSN’s first.

Why two different records on two different labels to get top sound on both sides?

Simple: in our shootout no Robert Ludwig mastered side one on the original label sounded remotely as good as it did on the best pressings with the later label.

If you want the absolute best sound, this is the only way we can get it for you in 2017.

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Let It Be – Our 4 Plus Shootout Winner from 2013

Hot Stamper Pressings of Let It Be Available Now

TWO AMAZING SIDES, including a MIND-BLOWING Four Plus SIDE ONE for this White Hot Stamper 2-pack! At its best, this album has the real power of live music, but it takes a special pressing to make it happen. Both of these copies had one stunning side and one that just didn’t impress us, so we’ve paired them up to give you incredible sound for the entire album.

We no longer give Four Pluses out as a matter of policy, but that doesn’t mean we don’t come across records that deserve them from time to time.

So many copies of Let It Be lack the kind of energy and transparency that you need to bring this music to life, but these killer sides did EVERYTHING we were looking for. It doesn’t get any better than this, folks!

Side One

A++++. Nothing else in our shootout came close! Super spacious with serious immediacy and presence, this one knocked us out from the moment we dropped the needle. This level of clarity and transparency is typically accompanied by a hard, thin midrange, but you won’t hear anything like that here! The mids are just as rich and Tubey Magical as we could ask for (and we ask for a lot!). Absolutely stunning!

Side Two

A+++, easily the best side two in our shootout. Big and clear, rich and full-bodied, with tons of presence and detail, this is exactly the way we want this music to sound. White Hot Stamper material, all the way!

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Liszt / Piano Concertos – An Early Outlier

More of the music of Franz Liszt (1811-1880)

More Top Quality Classical Piano Recordings

This Beyond White Hot Stamper 2-pack has sound that must be experienced to be believed! The finest Liszt 1st & 2nd Concertos we know of for performance and unquestionably for sound when they sound like this. More like LIVE MUSIC than any classical recording I have played in longer than I care to remember – both sides are so big, rich and transparent we guarantee you have never heard a better piano concerto.

  • Our lengthy commentary entitled Outliers & Out-of-This-World Sound talks about how rare these kinds of pressings are and how to go about finding them.
  • We no longer give Four Pluses out as a matter of policy, but that doesn’t mean we don’t come across records that deserve them from time to time.

Richter and Kondrashin deliver the finest Liszt 1st & 2nd Piano Concertos I know of, musically, sonically and in every other way. Richter’s performance here is alternately energetic and lyrical, precisely as the work demands. The recording itself is explosively dynamic. The brass is unbelievably full, rich and powerful. You won’t find a better recording of this music anywhere, and on side two this pressing just cannot be beat. It’s BEYOND White Hot (A++++). There was simply no other copy on any side that was close to it. 

Both Sides Now

Big and rich (always a problem with piano recordings: you want to hear the percussive qualities of the instrument, but few copies can pull it off without sounding thin). We love the BIG, FAT, Tubey Magical sound of this recording! The piano is HUGE and powerful — like a real piano.

Huge hall, weight and energy, this is DEMO DISC QUALITY SOUND by any standard.

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Sgt. Pepper’s – Our 4 Plus Shootout Winner from 2013

Hot Stampers of Sgt. Peppers in Stock Now

We are calling this White Hot Stamper 2-pack set THE ULTIMATE SGT. PEPPERS EXPERIENCE. These two sides give you EVERYTHING you could ask for from this album. Side one earned the rare Four Plus A++++ grade and side two was a killer A+++. The sound is so big and rich throughout that we would be very surprised, shocked even, if you’ve ever imagined that Sgt. Pepper could sound this powerful and REAL.

We no longer give Four Pluses out as a matter of policy, but that doesn’t mean we don’t come across records that deserve them from time to time.

We defy any original to step into the ring with a copy like this. One thing we can tell you: it would not be a fair fight. The cutting equipment to make a record this good did not exist in 1967.

The flipsides of each of the White Hot sides were pretty darn good, each rating A+ or better, but we’ve created this 2-pack set to give someone the kind of Sgt. Peppers that we dream of every time we start this shootout. Could we find a single copy with two sides this stunning? I wouldn’t bet on it!

Side One

A++++, absolutely As Good As It Gets! Huge and lively with the kind of jump-out-of-the-speakers presence we love around here, no other side one in our shootout came close to this one. The vocals are perfection. This is an amazing album, but when it sounds like this it goes to another level entirely.

Side Two

A+++, very nearly as good as side one but nothing short of killer in its own right. Fully extended in both directions, with an incredibly big, spacious soundfield. The bass and drums are Right On The Money, and the vocals are super present and breathy.

What to Listen For

Balance is key. The best copies of Pepper manage to combine Tubey Magical richness and fullness with transparency and clarity.

If you have multiple copies to compare, next on the list would be bass weight, top end extension, and of course the overall energy of the copy being played. You will have a very hard time finding two copies of Pepper that sound alike in all these areas.

The Greatest Rock Record Ever Made?

I have the original CD for Sgt. Pepper in my car (which is not very good by the way), and having played it dozens of times over the last few years I am more and more impressed by the music it contains with each play. A more original group of songs simply could not be found in 1967 (the world would have to wait until the White Album came out for an even more original batch), individually brilliant and unique. I never really appreciated this album back in the day, but repeated listenings has shown me the error of my ways. There’s a reason it regularly gets voted the greatest rock album of all time. (more…)

Holst / British Band Classics Vol. 2 / Fennell

More of the music of Gustav Holst (1874-1934)

Side one big, full and dynamic, with horns and winds that are never screechy. (Side two of this first LP is very screechy and not at all to our liking.) 

Side two of the second record has the sound of live music. Huge space, clear yet rich, this is the sound we were looking for! (more…)