beatlletit

John’s Really Digging a Pony. Are You?

Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of The Beatles Available Now

The best copies of Let It Be are Demo Discs for energy, and here are some others that we’ve discovered are good for testing that quality on vinyl.

What blew our minds about the Shootout Winning side one we played recently was how outrageously big, open and transparent it was on the song Dig a Pony. As the song started up the studio space seemed to expand in every direction, creating more height, width and depth than we’d ever experienced with this song before. 

But there is no studio space; the song was recorded on Apple’s rooftop. The “space” has to be some combination of “air” from the live event and artificial reverb added live or later during mixing. Whatever it is, the copies with more resolution and transparency show you a lot more of “it” than run-of-the-mill pressings do (including the new Heavy Vinyl, which is so airless and compressed we gave it a grade of F and banished it to our Shame Hall).  (more…)

Letter of the Week – “This pressing I believe is as close to a live performance of any Beatle album I have heard.”

Hot Stamper Pressings of Let It Be Available Now

One of our good customers had this to say about some Hot Stampers he purchased recently:

Hey Tom, 

I just played the shootout winner of Let It Be which I just purchased for $700.00.

The sound is amazing and definitely reflects the description posted on the track list.

How much would it cost to hear the Beatles live today?

This pressing I believe is as close to a live performance of any Beatles album I have heard. I have really enjoyed all the albums I have purchased from your company.

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For Rock and Pop, 1970 Might Just Be the Best Year of Them All

Hot Stamper Pressings from 1970 Available Now (All Genres of Music)

1970 turned out to be a great year in music. I wouldn’t want to be without any of the 17 albums listed below.

Cat Stevens Tea for the Tillerman,

Bridge Over Troubled Water,

Moondance,

Alone Together,

Tumbleweed Connection and the Self-Titled Album,

Sweet Baby James,

After the Goldrush,

Paul McCartney / McCartney,

Stephen Stills / Self-Titled,

Van Morrison / His Band And Street Choir,

Deja Vu,

Workingman’s Dead,

Tarkio,

Stillness,

Let It Be,

Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus

and there are surely many other Must Owns from 1970 we could name if we simply took the time to list them.

When it comes to Rock and Pop, the best of the best from 1970, numbering less than 30 titles, can be found here.

Here is a more complete list of our favorite albums from 1970.

The list of titles from 1970 that we’ve reviewed to date can be found here.

Note that on any given day we do not have a single Hot Stamper pressing on the site of more than a few of the albums you see listed.

All of them are getting very hard to find, with the right stampers, in audiophile playing condition.

The book Fire and Rain tells the story of four of these albums well, and comes highly recommended.

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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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