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Audience 7.3 - Sounds very close to the stage, and the tape machine struggles, but there’s something magical about this one…the band sounds more experimental and “free” to just rock it and jam. There is a palpable energy and the recording does capture that. -
Audience 8.7 - A kick ass show and quality is perfectly suited for the kind of loud and raucous music the Kinks made…albeit with excellent melodic sense. Recording has loads of power without overloading so I believe taper was using very good stuff for the time. -
Soundboard 9.3 -
Audience 8.2 - Not great in the instrument separation dept. but sonically it is very good and clear with no distortion. A “real” sounding large hall vibe is present. Kind of like being there I would say. -
Audience 8.2 -
Audience 8.6 -
FM Radio Broadcast 8.5 - The tape source shows its age, and then there’s the telltale radio compression as well so you get a reasonably clear sound with a lack of high end clarity, occasional minor drop outs, that sort of thing. It’s not that bad, I expect better of an FM broadcast but there’s not much out there from this station, this is a pretty rare thing, and the band, while very good, never achieved a lot of commercial success. They are traditional AOR rock that sometimes reminds me of Bob Seger or Meatloaf. -
Soundboard 9.5 -
Soundboard 9.3 - From various locations during the 1976 tour. Really, I find this about as pleasurable a collection as I have ever heard. It’s all acoustic selections too. Really wonderful. -
Audience 9.6 - Combining three different sources would be superfluous unless each independent source had things that one of the others did not. In this case, it is exactly what happened, and the result is spectacular. Simply put, this is a must have! -
Audience 9.2 - A very clean and clear tape, with a solid and intense mid range giving it an immediate thump that I find makes for a close approximation to having been there. -
Audience 8.8 - Solid right in the middle, with perhaps a little bit of “darkness” in the mix towards the low end that causes a fractional amount of over saturation but this is a fine recording. Let me put it this way, something like this seems to have been “authorized” or at least recorded with the knowledge of the artists. It’s placed too well in the venue, and no audience interference you have to think they knew it was being recorded. -
Audience 9.4 (Mid South Coliseum) -
Audience 8.0 - Very good recording that has tons of life to it, drums sound great, bass is there too, in kind of a defined way but not providing super bottom which is fine, guitar is clear and defined and crunchy. Ozzy sounds good, this is a fine show! -
Audience 7,8 - It’s hard to get across the reason why Ozzy/Randy era collectors really ought to get this even though the rating seems low. Well, it was lower until it got remastered, and that helped highlight what is good on this tape, which is that the guitar is nicely in front, and that you can actually hear everything and it is not distorted or too muddy…except when taper seems to have to hide his mic, which thankfully is not often. But, yes, it’s got issues like most stadium rock bands that played at high volume, where the tape deck just cannot get the hugeness of the sound onto the old magnetic tape. Now, let me just say, when Randy solos, you get that clear and center here, and especially during his solo part in Suicide Solution where it’s just him. It’s kind of like pulling off the bed sheets, it really opens up. A good tape for collectors that has a lot to offer, the bonus being it is not a common tape at all. -
Audience 8.8 - Sonically it sits in a good place. Although separation of instruments is a little quirky to my ears, the signal is very strong, as if right in front of the main PA system, but Plant is crystal clear, and the guitar/bass combo is super fat right behind him. It makes for an interesting experience, really giving a sense of being in the front row.