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Tchaikovsky / Saint-Saens – Variations on a Rococo Theme / Cello Concerto in A Minor / Starker

More of the Music of Tchaikovsky

More of the Music of  Saint-Saens

  • This original Plum Label Mercury pressing of Starker’s sublime performances boasts two textured, sweet, and natural Double Plus (A++) or BETTER sides
  • It’s also fairly quiet at Mint Minus Minus, a grade that even our most-well-cared-for vintage classical titles have trouble playing at
  • The cello is present and immediate, with sound that is wonderfully full and harmonically natural on this copy of SR-90409
  • This recording is not your typical dry, bright, nasaly, upper-midrangy Merc – the sound is rich and smooth like a good London, with a big stage and lovely transparency

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Bonnie Raitt / Sweet Forgiveness

More of the Music of Bonnie Raitt

  • Sweet Forgiveness returns to the site for the first time in over two years, here with INCREDIBLE Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades from top to bottom
  • These are just a few of the things we had to say about this amazing copy in our notes: “rich and weighty vox”…”jumping out of the speakers”…”tubey drums and bass”…”big and rich and 3D”…”dynamic and relaxed”
  • Full-bodied and warm, with harmonically rich guitars as well as real immediacy to Bonnie’s heartfelt vocals, this is the classic sound of the Seventies
  • The sound is big, bold, clear, rich and dynamic, which wouldn’t mean anything if the music weren’t good, but this actually happens to be Bonnie’s best album in our opinion, with Home Plate a close runner-up

I learned recently that John Haeny is one of the two engineers on this album, which goes a long way toward explaining the excellent 70s analog sound. He worked on The Pretender, Don’t Cry Now, and many of the early and quite wonderful sounding albums Judy Collins did for Elektra in the earlier part of the decade. This guy knows sound. (more…)

Genesis – Self-Titled

More of the Music of Genesis

  • The Hot Stamper debut of the band’s 1983 release with solid Double Plus (A++) sound or BETTER throughout this original British import pressing
  • We shot out a number of other imports and this one had the midrange presence, bass, and dynamics that were missing from most other copies we played
  • Forget the dubby domestic LPs and whatever dead-as-a-doornail Heavy Vinyl record they’re making these days – the UK pressings are the only way to fly on Genesis
  • “…as of this record, Genesis was now primarily a pop band. Anybody who paid attention to ‘Misunderstanding’ and ‘No Reply at All’ could tell that this was a good pop band, primarily thanks to the rapidly escalating confidence of Phil Collins, but Genesis illustrates just how good they could be, by balancing such sleek, pulsating pop tunes as ‘That’s All’ with a newfound touch for aching ballads, as on ‘Taking It All Too Hard.'”

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Three Great Violin Concertos / Milstein

       More Hot Stamper Pressings Featuring the Violin

  • Three Great Violin Concertos debuts on the site with roughly Nearly Triple Plus (A++ to A+++) grades on all SIX sides of these vintage Blue Angel Stereo pressings – just shy of our Shootout Winner (sides two and five actually won the shootout)
  • Exceptionally spacious, rich and smooth – only vintage analog seems capable of reproducing all three of these qualities without sacrificing resolution, staging, imaging or presence
  • The immediacy of Milstein’s violin is simply in a league of its own, with some of the sweetest, richest, most “rosiny” violin tone we’ve had the good fortune to hear

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Bill Evans with Jeremy Steig – What’s New

More of the Music of Bill Evans

  • The Hot Stamper debut of What’s New, here with KILLER Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound throughout this early Stereo Verve pressing
  • A tough shootout, as no other copy earned a 3+ grade on either side, which simply means that when you find a top copy, it sets such a high standard that everything else ends up getting marked down
  • Exceptionally spacious and three-dimensional, as well as relaxed and full-bodied – this pressing was a big step up over all other copies we played
  • The brilliant Ray Hall engineered – anyone hearing this copy will understand exactly why we love to find his fabulous 60s recordings here at Better Records
  • 4 stars: “With the exception of Evans’ ‘Time Out for Chris’ and the ‘Spartacus Love Theme,’ the songs performed on this date would fit securely in the Miles Davis repertoire of the late 50s. Steig is in particularly fine form on the program which includes tunes such as ‘Straight No Chaser,’ ‘Autumn Leaves,’ and ‘So What.'”

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Charlie Byrd – Bossa Nova Pelos Passaros

More Jazz Guitar

  • Bossa Nova Pelos Passaros, here with solid Double Plus (A++) sonics throughout this early Riverside on the early Black Label pressing – amazingly quiet vinyl too considering this record came out early in the 60s
  • Big, balanced, lively and musical, these two sides had some of the best sound we heard in our most recent shootout
  • Here is the Tubey Magical richness, size and space that only the better vintage pressings are capable of conveying to the critical listener with the highest quality equipment

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Beethoven – Symphony No. 7 / Solti

More of the Music of Beethoven

  • Solti and the Vienna Phil’s commanding performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 (CS-6777) debuts on the site with big, spacious, and lively Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it throughout this vintage London pressing
  • It’s also fairly quiet at Mint Minus Minus, a grade that even our most well-cared-for vintage classical titles have trouble playing at
  • These sides are doing practically everything right – they’re rich, clear, undistorted, open, and has depth and transparency to rival the best recordings you may have heard
  • The texture on the strings is captured perfectly – this is an area in which modern pressings fail utterly, and without good string reproduction, especially in the lower registers, a Beethoven symphony is simply not a pleasurable experience on highly resolving equipment

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Bill Evans – We Will Meet Again

More of the Music of Bill Evans

  • With STUNNING Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades from top to bottom, this copy of Evans’s final studio session is certainly as good as we have ever heard
  • A tough shootout, as no other copy earned a 3+ grade on either side, which simply means that when you find a top copy, it sets such a high standard that everything else ends up getting marked down
  • Both of these sides are lively, dynamic and full-bodied, and there’s real weight to the piano, a key quality we look for on all the piano recordings we play
  • 4 stars: “The thoughtful session is full of lyrical melodies and strong solos; even Evans’ electric keyboard work on a few tunes is distinctive.”

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Red Garland – Soul Junction

More Jazz Recordings Featuring the Piano

  • This vintage Prestige recording pressed on OJC vinyl (the first copy to ever hit the site) boasts INCREDIBLE Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) MONO sound or close to it from first note to last
  • These sides are doing practically everything right – richer, fuller, better bass, more Tubey Magic, and the list goes on
  • Another top jazz recording from Rudy Van Gelder – big, bold and lively, just the right sound for this music
  • We refer to the Dark Blue Prestige label copy we played in the notes you see below, a label we tend to like, but in this case it let us down with sound that was smaller and less tubey than our Shootout Winner
  • 4 stars: “Pianist Red Garland’s very relaxed, marathon blues solo on the 16-minute “Soul Junction” is the most memorable aspect of this [release]. With such soloists as tenor saxophonist John Coltrane and trumpeter Donald Byrd, plus steady support provided by bassist George Joyner and drummer Art Taylor, Garland gets to stretch out on the title cut and four jazz originals, including ‘Birk’s Works’ and ‘Hallelujah.’ Coltrane is in excellent form, playing several stunning sheets of sound solos.”

This vintage Prestige recording has the kind of Tubey Magical Midrange that modern records can barely BEGIN to reproduce. Folks, that sound is gone and it sure isn’t showing signs of coming back. If you love hearing INTO a recording, actually being able to “see” the performers, and feeling as if you are sitting in the studio with the band, this is the record for you. It’s what vintage all analog recordings are known for — this sound.

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Overtures in Hi-Fi / Wolff

More Imported Pressings on Decca and London

  • This vintage London Stereo pressing was doing practically everything right, with both sides earning KILLER Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades
  • It’s also fairly quiet at Mint Minus Minus, a grade that even our most well-cared-for vintage classical titles have trouble playing at
  • Both of these sides are big, clear, rich, dynamic, transparent and energetic, and will surely put to shame any pressing of the album you own
  • Although not long, every second is packed with color and energy, exactly what a good overture needs (And it even has a glockenspiel! How can you go wrong?)
  • Also notable is the choice of material, with a few of the more obscure overtures really brought to life here, such as the opening piece by Adam on side one: “Si j’etais roi”

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