More of the Music of John Coltrane
Hot Stamper Pressings that Sound Better on the Right Reissue
As you may have guessed by now, remastered is a bit of a dirty word around these parts.
Most remastered records we play, from The Beatles to John Coltrane to ZZ Top, sound to us like pale imitations of the real thing, whether the real thing is an original or a reissue from back in the day.
But only a fool could fail to appreciate how correct and lively the best copies of this remastered record sound, and we’re no fools here at Better Records. We judge records by one and only one criterion: the quality of their sound.
We pay no mind to labels, record thicknesses, playback speeds, mastering speeds or anything else you can read about on audiophile websites.
We’re looking for the best sound. We don’t care where it comes from.
On that basis we’re awarding side two of this recent shootout winning copy the award for The Best Sound on Standard Coltrane.
No other pressing of the album could do what this side two was doing. And the good news is that side one was nearly as good, making this the best copy to ever hit the site.
Side One
So dynamic, present and lively, with a rich sax and clear, solid piano. Great energy.
Side Two
Even better, with tighter, bigger bass.
Let’s give RVG a hand, the tonality on this side is HTF: Hard To Fault.
Only a small percentage of the many remastered records we’ve played over the years can make that claim in our experience.
The Players
- Bass – Paul Chambers
- Drums – Jimmy Cobb
- Piano – Red Garland
- Tenor Saxophone – John Coltrane
- Trumpet – Wilbur Harden
Further Reading
- These are potentially good sounding OJC pressings
- These are most likely not very good sounding OJC pressings
- Records that potentially sound their best on the right vintage reissue
