Yeah, like I said, no pressing can be any better than the master tape. Elvis and Carly Simon are probably like the Beatles and Elton John, they can sound pretty darn good but never really amazing because the recordings themselves were never really amazing. That is why I have avoided buying Springsteen and the Stones, it is just too well known that their recording values suck.
Although to be honest I have almost bought Darkness on the Edge of Town, it was mastered at The Mastering Lab in LA and while I am not certain it was by the famous Doug Sax just the electronics alone at that place count for a lot.
This raises another reason why I am so keen on Tom Port and Better-Records.com I had already started noticing many years ago that certain recording and mastering engineers had superior sound. Even as far back as Styx Equinox, which was one of the first where I really liked the sound way back in the 70's. Years later when I started making the connection, looking at the album sure enough there is Mastering Lab in the credits.
Tom Port has noticed this same thing and has a bunch of mentions of this peppered all over his site. Most of us know Alan Parsons but it wasn't until Tom that I was aware he had mastered Year of the Cat. Tom discovers new stuff too, as mentioned before Shelley Youkas work on Southern Accents.
This kind of knowledge deepens appreciation and also the connections help improve your odds of finding a really good recording. I am not into Elvis enough to know for sure, but most all these artists be they Elvis, Sinatra, Torme or whoever, they all made many different records and not all with the same engineer.
Unfortunately while his site has a wealth of information the articles are pretty well scattered around, with a lot of the comments "buried" in particular record reviews. What worked for me, spent a lot of time browsing, reading comments, reading suggested articles, just kind of wandering around.
It's not the best site to go for an impulse purchase. But it is a great site to use the other way- study, take your time, think about every aspect of what you are buying. With Rumours for example, I knew that was one I had since it came out, timeless tunes, awesome quality, already spent $$ on three copies, always worth the improvement. So I knew the quality was there on the master and that made it easy.
Nobody knows quite what qualities you are looking for but you. The trick is to take what you know, study what Tom has on the site, and only buy when all the stars align. It is not, repeat not, for everyone. Even when it is, not every record is. Kind of like the Porsche 911, even though it is the best car in the history of cars, not for everyone. And even when it is, then they still have to agonize - C4S? GT3? Turbo S? Horses for courses.
How to explain? Let's see. Imagine you sent me Jennifer Warnes. No not some really good recording. Jennifer Warnes, herself. Wow, how great is that!?! So we go into my listening room and I sit down and just as she is about to sing from out of her pocket comes a garden hose. WTF? Oh, didn't he say? I can only sing through this garden hose. Unless you have a blanket or pillow? Then I can go in the other room and sing with that over my face. But no actual in-person singing.
Of course I would keep her around for the company- and thanks a lot for that! But I would listen to the record.
Although to be honest I have almost bought Darkness on the Edge of Town, it was mastered at The Mastering Lab in LA and while I am not certain it was by the famous Doug Sax just the electronics alone at that place count for a lot.
This raises another reason why I am so keen on Tom Port and Better-Records.com I had already started noticing many years ago that certain recording and mastering engineers had superior sound. Even as far back as Styx Equinox, which was one of the first where I really liked the sound way back in the 70's. Years later when I started making the connection, looking at the album sure enough there is Mastering Lab in the credits.
Tom Port has noticed this same thing and has a bunch of mentions of this peppered all over his site. Most of us know Alan Parsons but it wasn't until Tom that I was aware he had mastered Year of the Cat. Tom discovers new stuff too, as mentioned before Shelley Youkas work on Southern Accents.
This kind of knowledge deepens appreciation and also the connections help improve your odds of finding a really good recording. I am not into Elvis enough to know for sure, but most all these artists be they Elvis, Sinatra, Torme or whoever, they all made many different records and not all with the same engineer.
Unfortunately while his site has a wealth of information the articles are pretty well scattered around, with a lot of the comments "buried" in particular record reviews. What worked for me, spent a lot of time browsing, reading comments, reading suggested articles, just kind of wandering around.
It's not the best site to go for an impulse purchase. But it is a great site to use the other way- study, take your time, think about every aspect of what you are buying. With Rumours for example, I knew that was one I had since it came out, timeless tunes, awesome quality, already spent $$ on three copies, always worth the improvement. So I knew the quality was there on the master and that made it easy.
Nobody knows quite what qualities you are looking for but you. The trick is to take what you know, study what Tom has on the site, and only buy when all the stars align. It is not, repeat not, for everyone. Even when it is, not every record is. Kind of like the Porsche 911, even though it is the best car in the history of cars, not for everyone. And even when it is, then they still have to agonize - C4S? GT3? Turbo S? Horses for courses.
And speaking of Fleetwood Mac’s "Rumours," I may have sent you a "special" CD of it. If so, get out your old Oppo and compare it with your White Hot Stamper. You may be pleasantly surprised. :-)Yes you did Frank, and I tried it, and it was an interesting experience. Because on the one hand I could tell the source was indeed something special. But while special, it was still the Oppo.
How to explain? Let's see. Imagine you sent me Jennifer Warnes. No not some really good recording. Jennifer Warnes, herself. Wow, how great is that!?! So we go into my listening room and I sit down and just as she is about to sing from out of her pocket comes a garden hose. WTF? Oh, didn't he say? I can only sing through this garden hose. Unless you have a blanket or pillow? Then I can go in the other room and sing with that over my face. But no actual in-person singing.
Of course I would keep her around for the company- and thanks a lot for that! But I would listen to the record.