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The quality of the recording!

RRLegend

RRLegend

Active Member
I'm always amazed how much the quality of the origional recording affects the playback. I know this sounds obvious but it's incredible. After listening to various 60's and 70's rock records, I decided to play this weird "best of the 60's" record my father-in-law gave me and was blown away by the sound of Glen Campbell. It was like a totally different system! So now I am on a quest to find what are considered great recorded alblums. I'm interested in 60-70's rock and I am somewhat new to jazz but love it. What are some good recordings of this music???
 
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OK, not sure where exactly your musical tastes lie, so this might all sound elementary...If you liked the sound of Glen Campbell, try any 65-71 Beach Boys album. I like "Beach Boys Today" (IN MONO ONLY) or anything from "Pet Sounds" through "Surf's Up." Note that Pet Sounds should be mono, but all the ones after that are stereo. Simon & Garfunkel's "Bookends," any late 60s Merle Haggard, Elvis' "From Elvis In Memphis" and "Back In Memphis," Moby Grape's first LP (self-titled), and Spirit's "12 Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus" are all good. The Spirit album is a MONSTER. I found a copy that looked pretty beat up... well played but not abused. It was just a plain-jane, yellow label pressing on Epic, and that thing sounds INCREDIBLE. In a different vein, look for an original pressing of the Rolling Stones' "Let It Bleed." It rocks harder than "Beggar's Banquet," is less "produced" than "Sticky Fingers," and is more varied than "Exile On Main Street." You can tell a first pressing because the spindle hole will be slightly too small, and you'll have to nudge the disk down onto the platter. It should also have a poster (though if someone took that out and lost it years ago, you'd never know).
 
I'd concentrate on finding original pressings. They tend to be better than reissues. For example, The Who on Decca is generally superior to reissues on MCA. You'll have to do a lot of crate-digging. That's the only way with used vinyl. Unless of course you've got deep pockets and trust that the sellers on EBAY actually know how to grade vinyl.

It depends on your taste, but I personally prefer Jazz from the 50s/60s. Look for Blue Note, Prestige, Verve, Fantasy, Columbia, and RCA Victor. Many of the older mono Jazz LPs are highly sought after so you'll either have to cough up some serious bucks or visit all the thrift shops and yard sales you can. If you do get into mono Jazz LPs, consider investing in a mono cartridge for best playback. I use a Grado ME+ and I love the sound.
 
If you really want to explore "high-fidelity" branch out into classical. Most recordings done on Detuche Grammaphone (as long as they are not the later "digital" remastered to vinyl pressings which will be noted in the upper corner of the jacket) London "ffrr", or Philips were unbelivable and will make you realize how good vinyl can sound. Plus, classical records are CHEAP as they are usually at Goodwill, or in a bin at the used record store for between $1-3 bucks. There are collectible classical albums as well (early RCA, Decca and Columbia Masterworks) that bring higher bucks, but they the aformentied labels are cheap and fantastic.
For Jazz, the Blue Note reissues are excellent and available from any good vinyl selling shop in their "new" vinyl section. The selection of reissues are limited, but they keep expanding the catalog...and at around $10 for a new pressing (as opposed to paying $30+ for the original), they can't be beat!

Below is a link to a random site that lists most of the reissues...I have not dealt with them (just googled "blue note reissues"), but their prices seem right.

http://www.jazzitude.com/bluenote_vangelderlist.htm

James R.
 
Look for a copy of Michael Hedges "Live at the Double Panet" on Windham Hill. It was a live recording that was engineered better than most studio work. Windham Hill goes to pretty great lengths to make sure their pressings were very good if not excellent (good Q/A - Q/C). It has rock-ie pieces, some adventures into jazz and it's a pretty amazing sounding album. I got a copy at a thrift for $1 that was very clean, since replaced by my sister (Christmas) with a pristine copy. Most Windham Hill is very well mastered and pressed. But much of their work may be a bit laid back for your tastes - the Double Planet album will make you smile.
 
Everyone should have "Double Planet".I second the Let It Bleed, and raise you a Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out. Also the Beatles' White Album. The second BST album is a killer. Black Crowes' "Southern Harmony & Musical Companion".
Depends on what you mean by "good recordings". For instance, the Stones' "Exile On Main Street" was recorded horribly but it's still my favorite album of all time. A lot of bands like early Cream, Jefferson Airplane, and most Janis Joplin were recorded poorly in my opinion. A lot of later bands like Boston, Styx, and Toto were recorded flawlessly but they put me to sleep.
Can't go wrong with a good live album-"Live At Budokan" or "Frampton Comes Alive" are good examples.
 
I second the classical recommendation. Stay within the labels jwrosenthal listed and you'll put your system to the test and see what it's really capable of.
 
If you'd entertain an 80s Rock LP....

After cleaning on my RCM, I listened to:

Joe Jackson - Big World
A&M SP-6021

Great sounding record! (Music and sound quality). Notes on the back cover state:

"This is a three sided, digital, live, direct-to-two-track recording."
 
In my long and vast experience, I have come to few if any absolute conclusions about various record labels' quality consistency. Some of everybody's are awful while hidden gems emerge from unlikely sources. One of the best ever is an unassuming Les and Larry Elgart columbia from 1959. But later columbias of simon & garfunkel are wretched: overly compressed, weirdly EQ-ed and lacking in depth. Most atlantic-elektra-warners from the 70s are similarly challenged; very few stand out as anything but mediocre. I personally find later beatles to be awful while the earlier ones have better depth and range. Our used record emporium here keeps a TT and headphones hooked up so a person can audition stuff before buying which is usually not possible at the thrift store. It's a huge crapshoot but the only rule I generally apply is that if a big label stereo disk was done before 1965, it could be dynamite. --Tom in AZ
 
Tom,
Whole-heartedly agree with your take on placing "absolutes" across record labels. So much of it was engineer/producer dependant that it's hard to say who was on the console or placing mics on any given day.

One exception to this "control free-for-all" may be with Decca/London - at least, in their large ensemble recordings. Kenneth Wilkerson ("Wilkie"), developed an adaption of the "Decca Tree" mic placement and since his technical expertise was also in developing the moving coil cutter he had the "full-range" in qualification to bring out repeatedly excellent work. Then he layed down "the law" on how it was to be done (whether he was present or not) by every tech that wanted to keep his or her job.
The result was the closest thing to full dynamic, high-quality consistancy in a recording label - albiet in the classical genre. And it would last nearly a quarter century.

We also have a used record emporium on my hometown with the same kind of listening stations. Very lucky boys we are, Tom.

All best,
Mario
 
Too bad you're not interested in classical, there's a work by Ernst Kodaly on (I think) Decca/London that is startling in it's realism. It starts off quite quiet and builds to a real block-buster.

Annoying that I can't remember the name of the work, but I don't think that Kodaly has much out on the English labels.
 
The listening station is the key with used music stores IMO. My local haunt has a beaten Goodwill Technics (that doesn't auto return and cuing doesn't work anymore) with the cheapest AT cart, hooked to a crappy Kenwood SS amp from the late 70's, with a set of ratty Koss cans hooked in....and I use it constantly! Even if I don't even listen to the headphones, I use the platter to check every album for warp (have purchased too many expensive albums that have audible warp). The listening station probably cost them all of $20 at the local GW, and is THE reason (besides their customer service and top quality vinyl) that I keep coming back.

I went to one of the largest used vinyl stores I had ever seen in my life while in Los Angeles 2 months ago (Ameoba...a sight from the heavens). I spent an hour tearing through the classical and jazz section until I had a stack of around 50 albums (probably upwards of $400 worth of choice vinyl). I walked around looking for the listening station when I realized that their listening stations were only for CD's (I asked the clerk where the turntables were, and he looked at me like I was an alien)!!! I ended up leaving about 40 of the titles that I was curious about (and had I liked what I heard would have bought them) on the counter and only ended up spending about $40......too bad for them!

James R.
 
cactuscowboy said:
If you'd entertain an 80s Rock LP....

After cleaning on my RCM, I listened to:

Joe Jackson - Big World
A&M SP-6021

Great sounding record! (Music and sound quality). Notes on the back cover state:

"This is a three sided, digital, live, direct-to-two-track recording."
Click to expand...

I'm not sure why, but I have a lot of 80s lps that sound really terrific, more than any other era in my collection.
 
The last of the vinyl disks were sometimes done as direct metal masters and they can sound much better. If you look in the shiny part right next to the label, and see the letters "DMM" engraved along with various numbers, you are holding a direct metal master and it is probably superior. This information did not always make it onto the jacket notes.
 
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