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Herold-Lanchbery – La Fille Mal Gardee (Excerpts) / Lanchbery

More Classical and Orchestral Recordings

  • This early London pressing (only the second copy to ever hit the site) of Lanchbery’s sparkling orchestral arrangement of Herold’s 1828 score boasts incredible Nearly Triple Plus (A++ to A+++) grades from start to finish – just shy of our Shootout Winner
  • It’s also remarkably quiet at the high end of Mint Minus Minus, a grade that even our most well-cared-for vintage classical titles have trouble playing at
  • So transparent, dynamic and real, this copy raises the bar for the sound of ballet music on vinyl
  • A record like this lets you get lost in the world of its music, and what could be more important in a recording than that?

The best sounding quiet copy we have ever heard!

If you are looking for quiet vinyl, you will have a hard time finding it on this title.

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Robin Trower – Long Misty Days

More Rock and Pop

  • Trower’s fourth solo studio album debuts on the site with STUNNING Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound from first note to last – remarkably quiet vinyl too
  • This glorious early UK pressing is huge, rich and powerful, with guitar solos that soar like few others you’ve heard
  • If you want to make your speakers disappear, this is the album that can do it
  • Brilliant engineering by Geoff Emerick at George Martin’s AIR studios – it’s shocking to contemplate the idea that he became an even better recording engineer in the 70s, post-Abbey Road (for which he won a Grammy!)

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Terry Gibbs and Bill Harris – Woodchoppers’ Ball

More Jazz Recordings of Interest

  • Woodchoppers’ Ball makes its Hot Stamper debut on this rare Premier stereo pressing that boasts an INCREDIBLE Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) side one mated to a solid Double Plus (A++) side two
  • Full-bodied, warm and natural with plenty of space around all of the players, this is the sound of vintage analog – accept no substitutes
  • The sonics here are rich and Tubey Magical, which is the only way this music makes any sense on record
  • Problems in the vinyl are sometimes the nature of the beast with these early pressings, but once you hear just how killer sounding this copy is, you might be inclined, as we were, to stop counting ticks and pops and just be swept away by the music

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Rachmaninoff / Dohnanyi – Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini / Variations On A Nursery Tune / Katchen

More Classical and Orchestral Recordings

  • This early London pressing (the first to ever hit the site) of Katchen and the London Phil’s performance (CS 6153) boasts lush and tubey Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it from first note to last
  • It’s also impossibly quiet at Mint Minus to Mint Minus Minus, a grade that practically none of our vintage classical titles – even the most well-cared-for ones – ever play at
  • The piano is huge and weighty, the strings rich and highly resolving, and the overall presentation is powerful, balanced, dynamic and exciting
  • These sides are doing practically everything right – they’re rich, clear, undistorted, open, spacious, and have depth and transparency to rival the best recordings you may have heard

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Chet Atkins – Hometown Guitar

More of the Music of Chet Atkins

  • Hometown Guitar makes its Hot Stamper debut with INSANELY GOOD Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades throughout this original RCA pressing
  • Both of these sides are sweet and rich with plenty of Tubey Magic, wonderfully breathy vocals, deep punchy bass, and a super extended top end
  • Full-bodied and warm, exactly the way you want your vintage analog to sound – the guitar is surprisingly real here

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Pentangle – Reflection

More British Folk Rock

  • Reflection debuts on the site with a KILLER Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) side two mated to a solid Double Plus (A++) side one of this original UK Transatlantic pressing
  • We shot out a number of other imports and the midrange presence, bass, and dynamics on this outstanding copy placed it head and shoulders above most others we played
  • Exceptionally present, real and resolving, this pressing is guaranteed to murder any remastering undertaken by anyone – past, present and future
  • “Pentangle were always great at creating musical fusions, and on this album, they once again came through. The opening song, Wedding Dress,is a fabulous meeting of Celtic, country, and, believe it or not, funk. It’s one of the few songs of theirs that actually rocks. The rest of the record is classic Pentangle, with Bert Jansch’s and John Renbourn’s acoustic guitars intermingling so well that it would make even Neil Young and Stephen Stills a little envious.”

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Cannonball Adderley Quintet – In Chicago

More of the Music of Cannonball Adderley

  • Cannonball’s final Mercury label release, here with very good Hot Stamper grades on both sides of this original pressing
  • It’s richer and fuller than the average copy, with notably more presence, and that will be especially true when you compare it to whatever godawful Heavy Vinyl pressing may be currently available
  • This is true of even our lowest-priced, lowest-graded copies – they are guaranteed to sound much better than any pressing you can find on the market today, as well as any pressing you may already own
  • There are some bad marks (as is sometimes the nature of the beast with these early pressings) on “Stars Fell On Alabama,” but once you hear the sound of this copy, you might be inclined, as we were, to stop counting ticks and just be swept away by the music
  • 4 1/2 stars: “Altoist Cannonball Adderley and tenor saxophonist John Coltrane really push each other on these six selections… With pianist Wynton Kelly, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Jimmy Cobb playing up to their usual level, this gem is highly recommended.”

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Suzanne Vega – Self-Titled

More Rock and Pop

  • Suzanne’s debut LP appears on the site for the first time ever, here with solid Double Plus (A++) grades from start to finish
  • Both sides are big, rich and sweet with wonderfully present and breathy vocals, excellent clarity and a plenty of bottom end weight
  • Remarkably present, real and resolving, this pressing is guaranteed to murder any remastering undertaken by anyone – past, present and future
  • 4 stars: “Though early comparisons were made to Joni Mitchell, Suzanne Vega’s true antecedents were Janis Ian and Leonard Cohen. Like Ian, she sings with a precise, frequently half-spoken phrasing that gives her lyrics an intensity that seems to suggest an unsteady control consciously held over emotional chaos. Like Cohen, Vega observes the world in poetic metaphor, her cold urban landscapes reflecting a troubled sense of love and loss.”

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Louis and the All Stars – The Best of Louis Armstrong

More Pop and Jazz Vocals

  • A superb sounding copy with solid Double Plus (A++) sound from start to finish
  • Both sides here are incredibly clean, clear, full-bodied and lively with lots of space around all of the players 
  • “The sextet, including veterans Peanuts Hucko on clarinet and Trummy Young on trombone, relaxes into a perfect New Orleans groove, allowing Armstrong to stretch out to especially good effect on the haunting dirge “St. James Infirmary” “

This vintage Audio Fidelity pressing 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. (more…)

Taj Mahal – Recycling the Blues & Other Related Stuff

More Soul, Blues and R&B

  • Taj’s 1972 release appears on the site for only the second time ever, here with a STUNNING Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) side two mated to a solid Double Plus (A++) side one
  • The sound is huge – big, wide, deep, and open, with a punchy bottom end and rhythmic energy to spare, as well as cleaner, smoother, sweeter upper mids and a more extended top
  • “The first side features laidback in-the-studio work with some nice gospel-inflected back-up from the Pointer Sisters. The second… side offers a good look at Mahal’s stage show.”

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