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Audience 8.5 - There are some shows where the ratings numbers cannot tell the story. This is certainly the best example of that. I overlooked this show in the past, I did not, could not, get past the “wall of sound” factor. Now, thanks to modern mastering techniques, this recording has morphed into a real gem. Is it better? Yes! Is it perfect? No. But, perhaps while some would still find it too much to handle, other will find it to be a ton of fun. The tapers were real close to the mains, but managed to keep levels just low enough to prevent the dreaded distortion, but in so doing got a tape without dynamics, or at least one dynamic which is SUPER loud intense power – which if you are a hard core Rush fan, will REALLY tickle your fancy when you pop this on the stereo. It’s almost like a heavy metal concert! Unbridled fury, simply an intense concert and intense recording, let yourself get into it, and your ears will adjust and you will find that the audio frequency range here is comfortable to the ears even though it’s off the charts in massiveness.
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Audience 8.4 - A great find here! So few Power Windows tour shows out there, and this one, while not a “great” recording, is pretty clear and has a lot of atmosphere. Does sound maybe midway in the venue, so you get a little of that “wash” or stadium “verb” effect but to my delight the bass notes are distinct and not just a boominess. It’s maybe the guitar that is slightly lost, with Geddy also being a touch behind the sound rather than in front. Overall, it is still a good listen and well worth having.
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Audience 8.3 - Always nice to find another decent sounding 1981 show as there’s not an abundance of them compared to other years. The recording is a little bit cluttered in the very middle of the sound spectrum but thankfully does not suffer from the aud killers such as muddiness or distortion. All the instruments fight for the center but are clearly heard notwithstanding. Occasionally you may notice a bit of phasing which helps the recording to my ears because it’s almost like a cool effect that they meant to do! A good one to add to the collection.
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Studio 8.7 - A little sonic degradation to these professional studio demos (the bonus tracks are abbreviated probably due to legal reasons at the time they were recorded). Some of the tracks are better quality, but the worst are still very good, just maybe a little loss of clarity and fidelity but nothing major. You’ll enjoy this if you are a fan.
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CD 1 - Audience 8.4 - Surprisingly good, I’d never had this one in my collection until recently and I enjoyed it. CD 2 - Audience 8.7 - A very strong contender to be one of the best ’71 Audience tapes (along with the Copenhagen show). CD 3 - Audience 7.5 - The weaker of the three shows in this set, but it’s not crap, just not super clear or dynamic. A show your ears will adjust to, and you’ll have it in your collection all wrapped up in a nice package. A set that I recommend to get your fix on less common but good early performances.