Speakers Corner (Germany) is doing some great reissues, the latest being Ry Cooder’s Warner Brothers debut. The Analogue Productions catalog is simply amazing, and their Beach Boys LP’s by far the best sounding versions ever made, by a country mile. I have original 1960’s "rainbow label" Capitols (terrible), DCC reissues (mastered by Steve Hoffman, and pretty good), and some later Capitol pressings (US, UK, Japan), all of which I no longer need. The AP Tea For The Tillerman is an audiophile delight, far better than the Island original, even the "pink label" pressing. For a great pink label Island, look the second Traffic album.
One under-acknowledged group of LP’s are the "swirl-label" Vertigos. I can’t speak about their Black Sabbath LP’s (which reportedly "rock" ;-), but the Manfred Mann Chapter Three album (’69 iirc) is fantastic (musically and sonically). If you like English Rock/Jazz fusion (I as a rule don’t, this being the sole exception), keep your eyes open for a copy.
The Mobile Fidelity titles introduced after the company’s purchase by Music direct are in general good, though there are exceptions. The older pre-MD MoFi LP’s should in general be avoided, as Stan Ricker had a signature sound he was after, featuring bloated bass (he played upright). The MoFi Beatles LP’s are not good. Music Direct hired Tim de Paravicini (EAR-Yoshino) to completely redo the MoFi mastering chain (he had previously done it at Pink Floyd's London recording studio), and you can hear the fruits of his labours. If you think non-audiophile labels care that much about the sound quality of their LP's, sorry, you are mistaken. There are also a number of non-reissue labels making great records containing new music, number one being Acony Records, owned by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings.
One under-acknowledged group of LP’s are the "swirl-label" Vertigos. I can’t speak about their Black Sabbath LP’s (which reportedly "rock" ;-), but the Manfred Mann Chapter Three album (’69 iirc) is fantastic (musically and sonically). If you like English Rock/Jazz fusion (I as a rule don’t, this being the sole exception), keep your eyes open for a copy.
The Mobile Fidelity titles introduced after the company’s purchase by Music direct are in general good, though there are exceptions. The older pre-MD MoFi LP’s should in general be avoided, as Stan Ricker had a signature sound he was after, featuring bloated bass (he played upright). The MoFi Beatles LP’s are not good. Music Direct hired Tim de Paravicini (EAR-Yoshino) to completely redo the MoFi mastering chain (he had previously done it at Pink Floyd's London recording studio), and you can hear the fruits of his labours. If you think non-audiophile labels care that much about the sound quality of their LP's, sorry, you are mistaken. There are also a number of non-reissue labels making great records containing new music, number one being Acony Records, owned by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings.