none-rocks-harder

Humble Pie / Performance – Rockin’ The Fillmore

More Classic Rock

  • These original pressings on the custom A&M label are rockin’ with solid Double Plus (A++) grades or BETTER on all FOUR sides
  • Performance is one of the best sounding – perhaps even the best sounding – Hard Rock concert albums we’ve ever heard
  • As you can imagine, finding clean, quiet vinyl for a title from 1971, on A&M no less, explains this album is rarely on the site
  • Engineered by the legendary Eddie Kramer, what other live rock record sounds this good?
  • 4 1/2 stars: “… [O]ne of the classic double-live albums of the 70s: a two-LP set from a band that were earning a reputation as in-concert monsters, grinding out a living on a circuit that brought them from coast to coast in America… this was heavy, improvised blues rock where live moments trumped the studio… “
  • This link will take you to more of the hardest rockin’ albums we currently have available

Can you imagine if Frampton Comes Alive sounded like this? If you want to hear some smokin’ Peter Frampton guitar work from when he was in the band, this album captures that sound better than any of their studio releases, and far better than Comes Alive on even the best copies.

Grungy guitars that jump out of the speakers, prodigious punchy deep bass, dynamic vocals and drum work — the best pressings of Rockin’ The Fillmore have more live FIREPOWER than any live recording we’ve ever heard. Who knew?

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The Mahavishnu Orchestra – Birds of Fire

More of the Music of The Mahavishnu Orchestra

  • This original UK import copy boasts solid Double Plus (A++) sound or BETTER throughout – it’s so smooth and natural you can turn up your volume pretty much as loud as you like and really let it blast
  • If you only own one Jazz Fusion album, you could hardly do better than Birds of Fire — It’s hard to think of another record that rocks as hard, and it’s not even a real rock record!
  • These early British pressings are very hard to find with quiet vinyl, and a lot of the ones that come from overseas are not in the condition advertised, making this a title that shows up on the site a great deal less often than we think it should
  • 5 stars on AllMusic and clearly one of the All Time Greats in the world of Jazz/Rock, as well as the band’s Masterpiece

This is the band at the peak of their powers and, no pun intended, on fire. This may be jazz, but it’s jazz that wants to rock. And on this copy, it rocks like you will not believe. The louder you play it the better it sounds.

Birds of Fire is one of the top two or three Jazz/Rock Fusion Albums of All Time. In my experience, few recordings within this genre can begin to compete with the dynamics and energy of the best pressings of the album — if you have the big dynamic system for it.

We find ourselves playing albums like Houses of the Holy and Zep II and Dark Side of the Moon for hour upon hour, with dozens of copies to get through, and we do it on a regular basis. If anybody knows “big rock sound,” it’s us. But can we really say that those albums rock any harder than this one? Birds of Fire is to Jazz what Zep II is to Rock — the ultimate statement by a band at the absolute top of their game.

The Best Copies

The main problem with this record is a lack of midrange presence. If the keyboards, drums, and guitars are not right in front of you,, your copy does not have all the presence it should. On the best copies, the musicians are in the room with you. We know this for a fact because we heard the copies that could present them that way, and we heard it more than once.

Which, of course, gets to the reason shootouts are the only real way to learn about records. The best copies will show you qualities in the sound you had no way of knowing were possible. Without the freakishly good pressings, you run into by chance in a shootout you have no way to know how high is up. On this record up is very high indeed.

Birds of Fire as a recording is not about depth or soundstage or ambience. It’s about immediacy, plain and simple. All the lead instruments positively jump out of the speakers — if you are lucky enough to be playing the right pressing. This is precisely what we want our best Hot Stampers to do. The better they do it, the higher their grade.

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Elvis Costello / Armed Forces – A Phenomenal Demo Disc from 1979

More of the Music of Elvis Costello

  • This vintage UK pressing will show you just how good sounding Elvis’s best recording can be, with KILLER Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades or close to them on both sides
  • It’s some of the biggest, boldest rock sound ever recorded
  • A Top 100 Demo Disc, and just amazing here – every track is Elvis at his best
  • 5 stars: “In contrast to the stripped-down pop and rock of his first two albums, Armed Forces boasted a detailed and textured pop production… However, the more spacious arrangements – complete with ringing pianos, echoing reverb, layered guitars, and harmonies – accent Costello’s melodies… It’s a dense but accessible pop record and ranks as his third masterpiece in a row.”
  • There are about 100 records we think deserve to be more popular with audiophiles, and Armed Forces is one of them.

This album checks off a number of our most-prized boxes:

Armed Forces is one of the best-sounding rock records ever made, and a copy like this is proof enough to back up that claim. The best copies are extremely transparent and silky sounding, but with unbelievably punchy, rock-solid bass and drums.

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Cream – Wheels Of Fire

More of the Music of Cream

  • Cream rocks on these vintage UK import pressings with STUNNING Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it on sides one and two, and solid Double Plus (A++) sound or close to it on sides three and four
  • The power and energy of these live sides is off the charts — punchy, open, and spacious with bass and WHOMP you have never experienced for this music, guaranteed (particularly on side three)
  • Everything you’d want sonically from a live Cream recording is present on this copy – big-time presence, an abundance of life, tonal correctness, and loads of Tubey Magic (also particularly on side three)
  • Those of you looking for a White Hot copy with Triple Plus (A+++) sound on both the studio disc and the live disc will be disappointed to learn (as we were) that no such copy came out of our most recent shootout, making this one of the best copies we can offer this time around
  • 4 stars: “…[Eric] Clapton is at a peak here, whether he’s tearing off solos on a 17-minute ‘Spoonful’ or goosing ‘White Room’ toward the heights of madness. But it’s the architect of ‘White Room,’ bassist Jack Bruce, who, along with his collaborator Peter Brown, reaches a peak as a songwriter…. [I]n many ways Wheels of Fire is indeed filled with Cream’s very best work.
  • If you’re a fan of Clapton and the band, this RSO UK import from 1968 belongs in your collection.

It’s exceptionally difficult to find even decent sounding copies of this album. We’ve played SCORES of original domestic copies, original imports, and all kinds of reissues over the years, and it’s very rare to find a copy that sounds this good on all four sides. (more…)

Elvis Costello – Trust

More of the Music of Elvis Costello

  • With two solid Double Plus (A++) sides or close to them, this original UK import pressing is guaranteed to handily beat any other Trust you’ve heard
  • This copy has Demo Disc sound guaranteed to knock you right out of your listening chair (particularly on side one)
  • The clarity and transparency on this side one allow you to appreciate subtleties in the high end even when the bass and drums are really pounding, and side two is not far behind in all those areas
  • 5 stars: “…their most ambitious and eclectic album to date… Costello & the Attractions demonstrate their musical skill and savvy by essentially sticking to the direct sound of their four-piece band. In the process, they recorded, arguably, their most impressive album, one that demonstrates all sides of Costello’s songwriting and performing personality without succumbing to pretentiousness.”
  • We’ve recently compiled a list of records we think every audiophile should get to know better, along the lines of “the 1001 records you need to hear before you die.”
  • Trust is a good example of a record many audiophiles would benefit from knowing better.

This copy has the big sound that lets this music really rock. There’s a ton of low-end on this record; regrettably, most copies suffer from either a lack of bass or a lack of bass definition. I can’t tell you how much you’re missing when the bass isn’t right on this album. It’s without a doubt the single most important aspect of the sound on this album.

When the bass is right, everything falls into place, and the music comes powerfully to life. When the bass is lacking or ill-defined, the music seems labored; the moment-to-moment rhythmic changes in the songs blur together, and the band just doesn’t swing the way it’s supposed to.

Rave Reviews

I pretty much agree with the AMG review below.

Trust, along with My Aim Is True and Armed Forces, is as good as it gets for Elvis on LP. All three are absolute Must Owns that belong in any serious rock collection.

This is that rare breed of music that never sounds dated (especially considering the era in which it was produced). Music with real depth such as this only gets better with the passage of time. The more you play it, the more you appreciate it, and the more you love it.

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Pink Floyd – Dark Side Of The Moon

More of the Music of Pink Floyd

  • A vintage copy of this mindblowing recording that is guaranteed to rock your world with superb Double Plus (A++) sound on both sides – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • The transparency, the clarity, the energy, the power – it’s all here on this very special import pressing
  • A Top 100 album (Top Ten actually) and Demo Disc to rival the most amazing sounding records of all time
  • 5 stars: “…what gives the album true power is the subtly textured music… no other record defines [Pink Floyd] quite as well as this one.”
  • A Top 100 album (Top Ten actually) and a Rock Demo Disc to rival the most amazing sounding records of all time
  • 5 stars: “…what gives the album true power is the subtly textured music… no other record defines [Pink Floyd] quite as well as this one.”

This vintage import pressing has the presence, the richness, the size and the energy you always wanted to hear on Dark Side — AND NOW YOU CAN!

Take the clocks on Time. There are whirring mechanisms that can be heard deep in the soundstage. On most copies, you can’t even tell they are there. Talk about transparency — I bet you’ve NEVER heard so many chimes so clearly and cleanly, with such little distortion, as you will on this copy.

One thing that separates the best copies from the merely good ones is super-low-distortion, extended high frequencies. How some copies manage to correctly capture the overtones of all the clocks, while others, often with the same stamper numbers, can barely hint at them, is something no one can explain. But the records do not lie. Believe your own two ears. If you hear it, it’s there. 

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Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin IV

More of the Music of Led Zeppelin

  • A Zep IV that was doing just about everything right, earning solid Double Plus (A++) grades on both sides
  • Insane rock and roll energy like nothing you have ever heard – the sound is full-bodied and reasonably smooth, making it possible to get the volume up good and high where it belongs
  • Here are the rock and roll classics that reign supreme to this very day – “Black Dog,” “Rock & Roll,” “Stairway to Heaven,” “When the Levee Breaks,” every one sounding better than you’ve ever heard them or your money back
  • There are some bad marks (as is sometimes the nature of the beast with these Classic Rock records) on “Rock and Roll,” but once you hear just how excellent sounding this copy is, you might be inclined, as we were, to stop counting ticks and just be swept away by the music
  • 5 stars: “Encompassing heavy metal, folk, pure rock & roll, and blues, Led Zeppelin’s untitled fourth album is a monolithic record, defining not only Led Zeppelin but the sound and style of 70s hard rock.”
  • If you’re a fan of the band, this title from 1971 is clearly one of their best, and one of their best sounding
  • The complete list of titles from 1971 that we’ve reviewed to date can be found here.

It is a positive THRILL to hear this record rock the way it was meant to. If you have big speakers and the power to drive them, your neighbors are going to be very upset with you when you play this copy at the listening levels it was meant to be heard at.

You’d better be ready to rock, because this copy has the ENERGY and WHOMP that will make you want to. Zep IV demands loud levels, but practically any copy will punish you mercilessly if you try to play it at anything even approaching live levels.

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Led Zeppelin – Physical Graffiti

More of the Music of Led Zeppelin

  • This killer double album boasts roughly Nearly Triple Plus (A++ to A+++) sound or close to it on all FOUR sides – just shy of our Shootout Winner (side four actually won the shootout)
  • Transparency, the ability to see into the mix, and the other side of the vintage analog richness coin, is key to the better pressings of this album, as well as many of our other favorite Demo Discs
  • Of course the main attributes that set the better copies apart from the also-rans are size, energy, weight, vocal presence and an overall freedom from grit and grain, and we guarantee that this copy will do better in all of these areas than any you have ever heard
  • Marks and problems in the vinyl are sometimes the nature of the beast with these Classic Rock records – there simply is no way around them if the superior sound of vintage analog is important to you
  • 5 stars: “Physical Graffiti captures the whole experience of Led Zeppelin at the top of their game better than any of their other albums.”
  • This is a Must Own title from 1975, a great year for rock and pop music

A distinguished member of the Better Records Rock Hall of Fame and another in the long list of recordings that really comes alive when you turn up your volume .

If you’ve been waiting for a seriously powerful Kashmir experience, today is your lucky day. (more…)

Led Zeppelin – III

More of the Music of Led Zeppelin

  • A vintage import pressing that was doing just about everything right, earning solid Double Plus (A++) grades or close to them on both sides – remarkably quiet vinyl too
  • Huge, Tubey Magical and lively, with solid weight down low and lots of space around all the instruments, this copy is guaranteed to rock like nothing you have ever heard (particularly on side one)
  • Drop the needle on “Since I’ve Been Loving You,” turn it up good and loud and Zep will be right there in front of you for the live concert of a lifetime
  • 5 stars: “On their first two albums, Led Zeppelin unleashed a relentless barrage of heavy blues and rockabilly riffs, but Led Zeppelin III provided the band with the necessary room to grow musically. While there are still a handful of metallic rockers, III is built on a folky, acoustic foundation that gives the music extra depth.”
  • If you’re a fan of the band, this classic from 1970 belongs in your collection.

Drop the needle on Since I’ve Been Loving You and turn it up good and loud. Robert Plant will be right there between your speakers, and your jaw will be on the floor!

Cue up Tangerine on side two for a taste of rich, sweet, Tubey Magical Analog Sound. The acoustic guitars are lush and delicate, the bass is deep and well-defined, and the vocals are completely natural and free from bad mastering or phony EQ.

Zep Unplugged

The three Zep albums with out of this world acoustic guitars are the first album, III and Houses of the Holy. (All three are currently on our Top 100 list, along with II and IV. All five can be amazing sounding on the right pressings, but those pressings tend to be tough to come by in clean condition.)

The guitars are every bit as rich, tubey, sweet, delicate and harmonically correct as those found on Tea For the Tillerman, Rubber Soul, Comes a Time or any of the other phenomenally good recordings we rave about on the site.

Of course, without the right pressing, you would never know that. Later copies, Classic Records copies, typical domestic and import copies — none of them are going to sound like this one. We guarantee it.

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Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers – You’re Gonna Get It!

More of the Music of Tom Petty

  • A vintage Shelter pressing that was doing just about everything right, earning solid Double Plus (A++) grades on both sides – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • Rich and open with a killer bottom end, musically it’s surely the best record Tom Petty ever made – a late 70s Rock Classic
  • Three of Petty’s best songs are here – “Restless,” “I Need To Know,” and “Listen To Her Heart” – and on this early pressing they sound outstanding
  • “Overall, the current LP boasts an impressive stylistic cohesiveness with its predecessor, but what makes the album exciting are the fresh hints of openness and expansion just beneath the surface. The rhythms are a bit looser, and there’s a new emphasis on Petty’s rough, driving, rock & roll guitar in the mix.” – Rolling Stone
  • If you’re a Tom Petty fan, his sophomore effort, released in 1978, surely belongs in your collection
  • This is a Personal Favorite of yours truly, and a Must Own Rock and Pop album from 1978, which, in hindsight, turned out to be a surprisingly good year for music

Sweetly textured guitars, breathy vocals — all the subtleties of a High Quality Recording are here, along with prodigious amounts of bass and powerful dynamics. Check out that drum sound! If you can play this one at the levels it demands, you might just be shocked at how good it sounds.

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