{"product_id":"rolliblack_2605","title":"Rolling Stones, The - Black and Blue - Super Hot Stamper","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e*NOTE:\u003c\/strong\u003e Side two of 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\u003cp\u003eVintage covers for this album are hard to find in exceptionally clean shape. Most of the will have at least some amount of ringwear, seam wear and edge wear. We guarantee that the cover we supply with this Hot Stamper is at least VG.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is in fact one of the better sounding \"later period\" (1976) Stones records we've played, that's if we're talking about the better copies of course, like this one. The best pressings are big, open, dynamic and full-bodied, with exceptionally lively percussion. As always, credit goes to the recording engineers, Glyn Johns et al., as well as Lee Hulko at Sterling, the original mastering engineer (who's cut about as many good sounding records as anyone we can think of).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Hand of Fate\" is our favorite on side one, sounding like an unreleased track from Exile on Main Street. I'm guessing Glyn Johns had a lot to do with that one sounding as meaty and raw as it does on the better copies. Following \"Hot Stuff,\" it balances that one's bright, clear sound nicely, making it easy to separate the real winners from the also-rans.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBilly Preston is all over this album on piano and organ and his contribution is crucial to the musical vibe on practically every song. (Organ on \"Hey Negrita\" and \"Melody\"; piano on \"Hot Stuff,\" \"Hand of Fate,\" \"Hey Negrita,\" \"Crazy Mama,\" \"Melody\" and \"Crazy Mama\"; string synthesizer on \"Memory Motel\"; harmony vocal on \"Melody\"; backing vocals on \"Hot Stuff,\" \"Memory Hotel\" and \"Hey Negrita\"; percussion on \"Melody.\")\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWhat The Best Sides Of Black and Blue 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:%221976%22\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e1976\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 We're Listening For On Black and Blue\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBilly's full, solid, clear piano sound. When the piano is thin, the mix is thin and that's not the sound you want on a Stones album.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIf the piano gets lost, your copy either has a smear problem or a transparency problem.\u003c\/strong\u003e Those are certainly easier to live with -- all the 70s systems I owned were smeary and opaque compared to my system today and I enjoyed the hell out of all of them -- but far from ideal.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLess grit - smoother and sweeter sound, something that is not easy to come by on Black and Blue.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\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\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMore bass and tighter bass. This is fundamentally a pure rock record. It needs weight down low to rock the way Glyn Johns wanted it to.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePresent, breathy vocals. A veiled midrange is the rule, not the exception.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGood top end extension to reproduce the harmonics of the instruments and details of the recording including the studio ambience.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\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 that easy to find.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOur best copies will have it though, of that there is no doubt.\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 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\u003eOne Tough Album (To Find \u003cu\u003eand\u003c\/u\u003e To Play)\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot only is it hard to find great copies of this album, \u003ca href=\"\/search?q=tag:%22difficulty-of-reproduction%22\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eit ain't easy to play 'em\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e either. You're going to need a hi-res, super low distortion front end with careful adjustment of your arm in every area -- VTA, tracking weight, azimuth and anti-skate -- in order to play this album properly. If you've got the goods you're gonna love the way this copy sounds. Play it with a budget cart \/ table \/ arm and you're likely to hear a great deal less magic than we did.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rolling Stones, The","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51848669364520,"sku":"rolliblack","price":149.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0257\/3415\/2295\/files\/blackandblue.jpg?v=1722781290","url":"https:\/\/better-records.com\/products\/rolliblack_2605","provider":"Better Records","version":"1.0","type":"link"}