{"product_id":"cars_selft_2610","title":"Cars, The - Self-Titled - White Hot Stamper (Quiet Vinyl)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e*NOTE:\u003c\/strong\u003e The first 20 seconds (approx.) of track 3 on side 2, \"Moving in Stereo,\" play Mint Minus Minus.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe material is superb -- just check out the first three tracks: \"Let The Good Times Roll,\" \"Best Friend's Girl,\" and \"Just What I Needed\" -- how many albums start off with that kind of a bang? Each of those tracks sounds amazing -- if you've got big speakers and a front end capable of resolving musical information at the highest levels, put this record on, turn it way up and get ready to hear some serious Demo Disc quality sound.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis original Elektra 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 The Cars 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:%221978%22\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e1978\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\u003ePower Choruses\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe hottest of the Hot Stampers did one easily recognizable thing better than the Also-Rans, and it was apparent pretty much from the get-go. The multi-multi-multi-tracked \u003ca href=\"\/search?q=tag:%22choruses%22\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003echoruses\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e on the better copies don't strain (a very common problem), they are bigger and more powerful, they stretch from wall to wall, and the voices that make them up are separated much more than on other copies.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI won't say you can make out all the players -- there are dozens of tracks overdubbed together don't you know -- but you can make out \u003ci\u003esome\u003c\/i\u003e of the voices. At least you can if you have the kind of high-resolution front end that we -- and of course many of our customers -- do.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWhat We're Listening For On The Cars\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSmoother and sweeter sound with less of the grit and congestion that plagues the average copy.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA bigger presentation - more size, more space, more room for all the instruments and voices to occupy. The bigger the speakers you have to play this record the better.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMore bass and tighter bass. This is fundamentally a rock record. It needs weight down low to rock the way  \u003ca href=\"\/search?q=tag:%22Roy-Thomas-Baker%22\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRoy Thomas Baker\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e wanted it to.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePresent, breathy vocals. A veiled midrange is the rule, not the exception.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGood top end extension to reproduce the harmonics of the instruments and other details of the recording, especially the studio ambience.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLast but not least, balance. All the elements from top to bottom should be heard in harmony with each other. Take our word for it, assuming you haven't played a pile of these yourself, balance is not always easy to find.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOur best copies will have it though, of that there is no doubt.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eBig Speakers\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/search?q=tag:%22big-speaker%22\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLarge dynamic speakers\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e help a lot too, giving space for each voice to occupy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhich means that if you have big speakers and like to rock, you can't go wrong here. Neil Young albums have the Big Rock sound, and if you're more of a Classic Rock kind of listener, that's a good way to go. We're behind you all the way, just check out the majority of the Hot Stampers on the site: CSN, Zep, Tull, The Stones -- we can't get enough of the stuff.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStill, variety is the spice of life, and the Cars really deliver the goods on this new wave classic. If you love big meaty guitar chords, wild synth sounds, and HUGE punchy drums, this record may be just what you needed... so let the good times roll!\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\n\u003ch3\u003eA Must Own New Wave Rock\/Pop Recording\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe consider this album a \u003ca href=\"\/search?q=tag:%22rock-masterpiece%22\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMasterpiece\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e. It's a recording that belongs in any serious rock collection.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOthers that belong in that category can be found \u003ca href=\"\/search?q=tag:%22core-rock-collection%22\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ehere\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cars, The","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":68001479622952,"sku":"cars_selft","price":799.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0257\/3415\/2295\/files\/cars_selft.jpg?v=1751991637","url":"https:\/\/better-records.com\/products\/cars_selft_2610","provider":"Better Records","version":"1.0","type":"link"}