Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of Jethro Tull Available Now
OH YEAH! This Original Domestic Aqualung has TWO STUNNING SIDES that will MURDER the British Originals and make mincemeat out of any reissue.
Folks, for hard rockin’, tubey magical, psychedelic ’60s analog, it just does not get much better than this album. Here’s a knockout copy that will bring the power of Aqualung to life right there in your living room. Side one rates A+++ and side two rates A++; both easily defeated our best Import pressings, including a handful of sides with 1U, 2U, and 3U stampers — the kind that go for big dollars on eBay no matter what they sound like.
The British copies with the right stampers can sound amazingly rich and sweet, but they can’t ROCK like this copy — not a chance.
Side one has MASTER TAPE SOUND. More importantly, it has the kind of solid bottom end that is ESSENTIAL to this music. When Aqualung is rich and sweet, it’s a nice album, but when it can really rock, it is a BEAST! Few records get the entire Better Records crew bangin’ their heads and drumming on the tables the way the best side ones of Aqualung do, and a copy like this will really show you why.
Drop the needle on Mother Goose for some serious Tubey Magic. The sound of the flute and the guitars is OFF THE CHARTS. The drums are HUGE, punchy, and natural, and the immediacy of the vocals is amazing.
Side two is nearly as amazing — smooth and sweet, clean and clear, lively and dynamic. The openness and transparency allow you to separate the various parts and appreciate each musician’s contributions. You get airy flutes, tight bass, full-bodied vocals and real weight to the bottom end — a combination that you just can’t get from the average pressing or any heavy vinyl reissue. Play Locomotive Breath to see just how hard this copy rocks.
Hopeless Reviewers (Chapter 16,000)
Michael Fremer may think the new reissue is the ultimate pressing, but we sure don’t. By the time the guitars at the end of the title track fade out, you will be ready to take your heavy vinyl Classic and ceremoniously drop it in a trashcan. (Actually, the best use for it is to demonstrate to your skeptical audiophile friends that no heavy vinyl pressing can begin to compete with a Hot Stamper from Better Records. Not in a million years.)
More Fremer / Classic bashing? Of course! We take them to task at every turn when the opportunity presents itself — but not out of spite or vindictiveness (moi?!). We do it for the purest of reasons: as a service to you, dear customer. Where else can you turn for the straight scoop?
And unlike the reviewers, the forum posters and the audiophile man in the street, we offer more than just opinion. We offer the record that proves our case. If your pockets are deep enough, we will happily show you the difference between The Real Thing and The New Wannabe.