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Pro 8.8 - At times this recording gets even better but there are tape problems, what sounds like tracking issues (if this came from a video source), but overall it is very good and was taped professionally for broadcast. The DVD is pro shot, but suffers from age deterioration, tracking issues, color bleed, etc. but in fairness it is a very old video format and those old ¾” umatic tapes either held up or they failed, that these still played is amazing.
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Complex prog rock inspired by Genesis primarily but you will hear a lot of different things that might remind you of any of a dozen other bands. These guys were just playing music they loved and did not mind if it crossed genre too much. They began in Houston in 1970, the CD contains liner notes so you get more of their history. Very cool stuff!
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Audience 8.8 - I rate this highly for the excellent atmosphere of the sound, where the vocals seem to just soar. It is not as thick in the mids where you want them, but that is why the vocals soar because they occupy a lot of the midrange and highs. Sometimes you also get a nice vibration of sound from the drums and all in all it adds tremendous intensity and excitement to the tape. Listen to Toccata and tell me I am wrong! This tape has a unique feel to it that I find very enjoyable. Another cool thing is that a lot of the problems with tape cuts have been fixed with crossfades making for a smoother listen…that includes the large section in Toccata which was unlistenable (unfortunately).
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Audience 7.4 - History has shown that most recordings originating from the UK’s Brighton Dome are pretty bad, this one seems to be on the better side of bad. It’s quite listenable if not somewhat muddy and not the clearest ever, but once your ears adjust, and if you add some treble to it, it’s fine.
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Sale!Audience 7.8
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Pro Video Source 8.5 - These sound like they were taken from video tape sources and have the telltale compression characteristics. These are actually several different broadcasts during the year 1976, with the final four tracks coming from UC Santa Barbara, which is also the best sounding of the batch.
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Audience 8.8 - A very atmospheric recording that gives you an amazing sense of space and proximity to the action. The music has room to move around, so it’s a natural sounding recording and the listening experience benefits greatly. Sometimes at full volume when the band is really cooking, the music gets a little bunched up but the tapers were good with levels so it does not offend and I appreciate that. This is a real gem!