{"product_id":"baez_diamo_2606","title":"Baez, Joan - Diamonds \u0026 Rust - Super Hot Stamper","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis vintage A\u0026amp;M 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 -- \u003ci\u003ethis sound\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you exclusively play modern repressings of vintage recordings, I can say without fear of contradiction that you have never heard this kind of sound on vinyl. Old records have it -- not often, and certainly not always -- but maybe one out of a hundred new records do, and those are some pretty long odds.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWhat The Best Sides Of Diamonds \u0026amp; Rust Have To Offer Is Not Hard To Hear\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe biggest, most immediate staging in the largest acoustic space\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe most Tubey Magic, without which you have \u003ci\u003ealmost\u003c\/i\u003e nothing. CDs give you clean and clear. Only the best vintage vinyl pressings offer the kind of Tubey Magic that was on the tapes in \u003ca href=\"\/search?q=tag:%221975%22\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e1975\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTight, note-like, rich, full-bodied bass, with the correct amount of weight down low\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNatural tonality in the midrange -- with all the instruments having the correct timbre\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTransparency and resolution, critical to hearing into the three-dimensional studio space\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo doubt there's more but we hope that should do for now. \u003ci\u003ePlaying the record is the only way to hear all of the qualities we discuss above,\u003c\/i\u003e and playing the best pressings against a pile of other copies under rigorously controlled conditions is the only way to find a pressing that sounds as good as this one does.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eSize and Space\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne of the qualities that we don’t talk about on the site nearly enough is the SIZE of the record’s presentation. Some copies of the album just sound small -- they don’t extend all the way to the outside edges of the speakers, and they don’t seem to take up all the space from the floor to the ceiling. In addition, the sound can often be recessed, with a lack of presence and immediacy in the center.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOther copies -- my notes for these copies often read “BIG and BOLD” -- create a huge soundfield, with the music positively jumping out of the speakers. They’re not brighter, they’re not more aggressive, they’re not hyped-up in any way, they’re just \u003ci\u003ebigger\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eclearer\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd most of the time those very special pressings are just plain \u003ci\u003emore involving\u003c\/i\u003e. When you hear a copy that does all that -- a copy like this one -- it’s an entirely different listening experience.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWhat We're Listening For On Diamonds \u0026amp; Rust\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis copy has the kind of sound we look for in a top quality Singer-Songwriter album. A few qualities to listen for:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eImmediacy in the vocals (so many copies are veiled and distant)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNatural tonal balance (most copies are at least slightly brighter or darker than ideal; ones with the right balance are the exception, not the rule)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGood solid weight (so the bass sounds full and powerful)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSpaciousness (the better copies have wonderful studio ambience and space)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAnd last but not least, transparency, the quality of being able to see into the studio, where there is plenty of musical information to be revealed in this sophisticated Folkie Pop recording from 1975.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe sound varies quite a bit from track to track, no doubt a result of each recording having to be tailored to the different groups of studio cats and the necessity for various overdubs -- strings, pedal steel guitars, even some tasteful(!) synths.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePlay \"Jesse\" on side two to hear the lovely space of the studio, as well as more harmonic extension on the acoustic instruments\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWatch out for track two; the EQ on the vocal is always a problem.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eTop Talent\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnother thing this album has going for it is top-notch musicians, including Larry Carlton, Tom Scott, \u003ca href=\"\/search?q=tag:%22david-paich%22\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDavid Paich\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e, Wilton Felder, and Better Records fave Joe Sample.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eVinyl Condition\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMint Minus Minus and maybe a bit better is about as quiet as any vintage pressing will play, and since only the right vintage pressings have any hope of sounding good on this album, that will most often be the playing condition of the copies we sell. (The copies that are even a bit noisier get listed on the site are seriously reduced prices or traded back in to the local record stores we shop at.)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThose of you looking for quiet vinyl will have to settle for the sound of other pressings and Heavy Vinyl reissues, purchased elsewhere of course as we have no interest in selling records that don't have the vintage analog magic of these wonderful recordings.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you want to make the trade-off between bad sound and quiet surfaces with whatever Heavy Vinyl pressing might be available, well, that's certainly your prerogative, but we can't imagine losing what's good about this music -- the size, the energy, the presence, the clarity, the weight -- just to hear it with less background noise.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Baez, Joan","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51894906028328,"sku":"baez_diamo","price":149.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0257\/3415\/2295\/files\/diamonds_rust_617552bf-4c1c-483c-9d07-34130ed1f7ea.jpg?v=1706719925","url":"https:\/\/better-records.com\/products\/baez_diamo_2606","provider":"Better Records","version":"1.0","type":"link"}