{"product_id":"fleetselft_2606-1","title":"Fleetwood Mac - Self-Titled - White Hot Stamper","description":"\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\u003eUntil we started doing these shootouts, I had no idea this album was recorded so well. There are layers and layers of subtle instrumental textures and recording effects throughout this album that I never even knew were there.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe wish more copies in our shootout had that \"jump out of the speakers\" sound we knew was possible from our previous shootouts of the album. When finally one did, boy did it ever. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMany of the notes you see below are the same as the ones we made for the last two shootouts we did. If you have a \u003ca href=\"\/search?q=tag:%22big-speaker%22\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ebig speaker\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e system and have taken advantage of the audio revolutions we discuss throughout the site, this is the kind of record that can help you chart your progress. When a record like this blows everything you've ever heard out of the water, you are definitely on the right track!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWhat The Best Sides Of Fleetwood Mac 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\u003eWhat to Listen For - Really Big Bass\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne of the special qualities this album has is \u003cu\u003eamazingly\u003c\/u\u003e well-defined, punchy, deep BASS -- the kind you just never hear on most records (or most pressings of this album for that matter).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe bass is typically bloated on most copies of this album, something that is especially true for the MoFi. When you get a copy with note-like, properly balanced bass, the whole album works. Bass is the foundation of the music. When the bass is blubbery and ill-defined, the music itself sounds blurred. It loses its focus.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt's also very dynamic and punchy. The kick drum sounds exactly right -- there's a room around it, just exactly as you would hear it if you were in the studio with the band!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJust listen to \"Rhiannon\" -- it's silky sweet, airy, open and spacious, yet still present and immediate. It's not bright; the tonal balance is right on the money. Here all the nuances really come to life. You'll quickly realize that this is more than a great pop album; it's nothing short of a landmark in pop music production. With so much going on, you really need a copy that offers the kind of transparency that only the best LPs have in order to fully appreciate everything that's going into these songs.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWhat We're Listening For On Fleetwood Mac's Self-Titled Album\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\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 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\u003eTrack Commentary\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cstrong\u003eTracklist\u003c\/strong\u003e tab above will take you to a select song breakdown for each side, with plenty of What to Listen For advice.\u003c\/p\u003e \n\u003cp\u003eOther records with track breakdowns can be found \u003ca href=\"\/search?q=tag:%22track-commentary%22\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ehere\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eA Must Own Pop Record\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis Demo Disc quality recording -- a permanent member of our \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.better-records.com\/pages\/top-100\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRock and Pop Top 100\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e -- should be part of any serious audiophile popular music collection.\u003c\/p\u003e \n\u003cp\u003eOthers that belong in that category can be found \u003ca href=\"\/search?q=tag:%22core-pop-collection%22\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ehere\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Fleetwood Mac","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51983197962536,"sku":"fleetselft","price":899.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0257\/3415\/2295\/files\/fleetselft.jpg?v=1781629769","url":"https:\/\/better-records.com\/products\/fleetselft_2606-1","provider":"Better Records","version":"1.0","type":"link"}