{"product_id":"beck_truth_2605-1","title":"Beck, Jeff - Truth - White Hot Stamper (With Issues)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e*NOTE:\u003c\/strong\u003e There is a mark that plays 15 times at a light to moderate level about 1\/2 way into track 2 on side 1, \"Let Me Love You.\" There is another mark that plays 23 times at a moderate level about 1\/4\" into track 3, \"Morning Dew.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e*NOTE:\u003c\/strong\u003e This record was not noisy enough to rate our M-- to EX++ grade, but it's not quite up to our standards for Mint Minus Minus either. If you're looking for quiet vinyl, this is probably not the best copy for you.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is an incredible sounding pressing of Truth, Beck's As-Heavy-As-I-Can-Make-It Rock \u003ca href=\"\/search?q=tag:%22debut%22\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003edebut\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e, the kind of record that would define Classic Rock for the next 40+ years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe soundstage is huge, while the presence and transparency of this copy go way beyond most pressings. Great rock and roll energy, too, of course -- without that you have nothing on this album.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNote how spacious, big, full-bodied and dynamic both sides are. I am pleased to report that the \u003ca href=\"\/search?q=tag:%22whomp%22\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWHOMP\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e factor on these sides was nothing short of \u003cu\u003emassive\u003c\/u\u003e. With tons of bass, these sides have what it takes to make the music \u003ci\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cu\u003erock\u003c\/u\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWhat The Best Sides Of Truth 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:%221968%22\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e1968\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\u003cp\u003eOne of the most surprising things we learned in our first big shootout from 2014 was how well recorded the album is. It's yet another triumph from one of our favorite engineers, Ken Scott.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn many ways it sounds like the first Zep album, and that's a good thing. The sound is a perfect fit for the music. In recent interviews, Jeff Beck has been saying that Jimmy Page stole his idea for a Heavy Rock Band playing electrified blues. Based on the evidence found on the two sides of this very album, I would say he has a point.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWhat We're Listening For On Truth\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eEnergy\u003c\/strong\u003e for starters. What could be more important than the life of the music?\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThen: \u003cstrong\u003epresence and immediacy\u003c\/strong\u003e. The vocals aren't \"back there\" somewhere, lost in the mix. They're front and center where any recording engineer worth his salt would put them.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eThe Big Sound\u003c\/strong\u003e comes next -- wall to wall, lots of depth, huge space, three-dimensionality, all that sort of thing.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThen \u003cstrong\u003etransient information\u003c\/strong\u003e -- fast, clear, sharp attacks, not the smear and thickness so common to these LPs.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eTight punchy bass\u003c\/strong\u003e -- which ties in with good transient information, also the issue of frequency extension further down.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNext: \u003cstrong\u003etransparency\u003c\/strong\u003e -- the quality that allows you to hear deep into the soundfield, showing you the space and air around all the instruments.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eExtend the top and bottom\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003ci\u003evoila\u003c\/i\u003e, you have The Real Thing -- an honest to goodness Hot Stamper.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eKen Scott, Engineer Extraordinaire\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 2008 I had the opportunity to hear Ken Scott speak the night before at an AES meeting here in Los Angeles. This is the man who recorded some of the All Time Great Rock Albums, the likes of Ziggy Stardust, The White Album, Honky Chateau, All Things Must Pass, Son Of Schmilsson, America's debut, and this very powerhouse of Heavy Blues Rock.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is one seriously talented guy! (I won't bore you by trying to recap his talk, but if it ever comes out on YouTube or the like, you should definitely check it out. The behind-the-scenes discussion of these artists and their recordings was a thrill for someone like me who has been playing and enjoying the hell out of most of his albums for more than thirty years.)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you've got the full range dynamic speakers to play Truth \u003ca href=\"\/search?q=tag:%22turn-up-your-volume%22\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003egood and loud\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e, you will discover, as we have, what a powerful \u003ca href=\"\/search?q=tag:%22british-blues-rock%22\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBritish Blues Rock\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e album this is. This is heavy electric blues played with feeling, and with Rod Stewart handling the vocal duties, how can you go wrong?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eVinyl Condition\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMint Minus Minus 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 originals.\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":"Beck, Jeff","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51796479574312,"sku":"beck_truth","price":299.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0257\/3415\/2295\/products\/beck_truth.jpg?v=1778000835","url":"https:\/\/better-records.com\/products\/beck_truth_2605-1","provider":"Better Records","version":"1.0","type":"link"}