Various Artists - The Wonderful Sounds Of Quality Record Pressings

 

The newest addition to the unbelievably popular Wonderful Sounds... series!

180-gram three LP set!

Includes track-by-track liner notes by Michael Fremer

Celebrate vinyl record pressing excellence with Quality Record Pressings!

Music chosen by Acoustic Sounds CEO Chad Kassem and classical music label Reference Recordings!

Perfect demo record captures genres that include blues, jazz, classical, R&B and female vocal

LPs housed in a 3-Pocket Tip-On M-Pack Jacket by Stoughton Printing!

Mastered by Kevin Gray!

Celebrate the technical expertise of the world's finest LP pressing plant — Quality Record Pressings — with the finest LP sampler ever assembled!

The Wonderful Sounds Of Quality Record Pressings includes music handpicked by Acoustic Sounds CEO Chad Kassem and classical music tracks chosen by the team at Reference Recordings. This collection of songs originally appeared on a sampler LP in 2008 celebrating the 125th anniversary of Thorens. That set is long out of print and now in extremely high demand.

"I cherry-picked each of these songs to have a variety of great-sounding music. Since the Thorens sampler, many of the records that contain these songs have been pressed by Quality Record Pressings. Because we are celebrating more than 10 years of QRP and all of the hard work of our very talented and qualified team, we thought this would be an excellent opportunity to bring this amazing collection back into circulation," — Chad Kassem, Acoustic Sounds/Analogue Productions CEO

Every song meets the criteria of excellent performance, perfect recording and flawless mastering. What better way to celebrate such a monumental anniversary for one of the absolute leading brands in analog high fidelity than with this to-die-for LP sampler? Contains most genres of music — blues, jazz, classical, R&B and female vocal. From now on, you'll only need to carry one demo record around with you.

Vinyl expert Michael Fremer, of TrackingAngle and The Absolute Sound, gives you a track-by-track tour of the history and production of the songs on this special album.

What separates our world-renowned Quality Record Pressings LPs from other manufacturers? Since Acoustic Sounds CEO Chad Kassem launched QRP in 2011, the focus has been on producing consistently virtually silent vinyl playing surfaces.

The craft of pressing fine vinyl is perfected in such details. Such as plating lacquers within 24 hours of their arrival at the plant. Cut grooves are prone to change with temperature fluxuations, high humidity and time. The sooner that lacquers are plated, the better the fidelity of the final pressing. Other keys include using a proprietary silver spray formulation, made fresh daily. The result — more consistency in each LP. The ultimate sonic advantage.

 

Side 1 - Female Vocalists

1. Show Biz Kids - Rickie Lee Jones

2. Nobody's Buying - Nancy Bryan

3. Angel From Montgomery - Susan Tedeshi

4. The Spider And The Fly - Myra Taylor

5. Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys - Rickie Lee Jones

Side 2 - Classical (Reference Recordings)

1. Rimsky-Korsakov: Dance Of The Tumblers, from The Snow Maiden

2. Mozart: Piano Concerto #21 in C, K. 467

3. Jack End: Blues For A Killed Cat

4. Stravinsky: The Firebird Suite, 1919-Finale

Side 3 - Blues - APO

1. Driving Wheel - Little Hatch

2. You Had Quit Me - Wild Child Butler

3. I'll Be Around - Jimmie Lee Robinson

4. Last Night - Eomot RaSun

5. Walking Thru The Park - Big George Brock

6. The Sun Is Shining - Harry Hypolite

Side 4 - Rhythm & Blues

1. I'll Take You There - The Staple Singers

2. Theme From Shaft - Isaac Hayes

3. Mr. Big Stuff - Jean Knight

4. Rock Me Right - Susan Tedeschi

5. Just Won't Burn - Susan Tedeschi

Side 5 - Jazz

1. Sounds Unheard Of - Shelly Manne

2. The Alternate Blues - Clark Terry, Freddie Hubbard, Dizzy Gillespie

3. September Song - Chet Baker

4. My Foolish Heart - Bill Evans

5. 'Round Midnight - Wes Montgomery

Side 6 - Jazz

1. Abangoma - Hugh Masekela

2. Stimela - Hugh Masekela

Customer Reviews (5.00 Stars) 10 person(s) rated this product.

Simply fabulous! posted on 05/17/2024 5 Stars Reviewer: Ed An eclectic collection of analog masterpieces. Absolutely terrific vinyl. A must have for any discerning audiophile. Could only be theretically "bested" if it were 45 RPM. The very last selection, Stimela is not only an earnestly poignant song and masterpiece, it is also a vinyl technical wonder that has probably the highes dynamic range to be ever recorded in analog form that I have ever seen! If my McIntosh meters are to be belived, and they should, this piece has a dynamic range of 80 dB or more. Spectacular indeed for a recorded musical composition.

A Killer posted on 04/17/2023 5 Stars Reviewer: Lisa This is a killer record that you need. Sound is chilling.

Spectaclar test for your system! posted on 03/10/2023 5 Stars Reviewer: Mike G Just finished a very involving listening session to test a new phono stage, the EAT E-Glo Petite. This pressing displays a wide and deep soundstage with precise instrument placement and plenty of space between them. This was especially noticeable on the Hugh Masekela tracks on side F. On the orchestral tracks on side B, the full orchestra unfolds left to right with great depth. On the sound side, “the Firebird Suite” selection displays some of the most deep and powerful lows from the bass/timpani I have heard to date on my system. There is great impact yet the drums are well controlled and not flabby or bloated. Of course the highlight of this 3-disc pressing has to be the spectacular “Stimela” by Hugh Masekela on side F. This is a sonic masterpiece that gives your system a real work out. Vibrant and smooth across the entire sound spectrum with great dynamic range. Hugh’s trumpeting is clean and tight. Great test for any system!

Thorens 125th is back! posted on 12/22/2022 5 Stars Reviewer: ab_ba I purchased the Thorens 125th album from the Vinyl Vault for considerably more than this a couple years ago, and it is indeed a wonderful selection of music and a wonderful- sounding pressing. I also have the "wonderful sounds" sets of female and male vocals. Having not heard this particular pressing, I can triangulate to conclude it is fantastic. Especially for the price - just look at that the Thorens set is going for elsewhere.

Talkin' 'Bout Shaft posted on 04/10/2023 5 Stars Reviewer: Anthony I'm not much of a Rickie Lee Jones fan either, she has an uncanny knack for making every song sound the same and they tend to stick in my head to boot. Still, there is something for everyone here to sample. I was unfamiliar with Susan Tedeschi and was pleasantly surprised with her music. Like them or not, all the selections are audiophile quality and offer something to show off your audio system and it's good to expand one's musical horizons.

Excellent collection posted on 12/17/2022 5 Stars Reviewer: ELubow A wonderful potpourri of selections of all genres. Perfect pressings, quiet and centered. Great looking trifold. And most important, first class sound. Some of the choices stump me. Two selections by Rickie Lee Jones? Yes, great sounding songs but her voice must be an acquired taste. I might be dead before I acquire it! Anyway highly recommended

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