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Audience 8.8 - This is a smooth and clear recording without much on the bottom end but such a decent middle that it almost doesn’t matter…besides you can add bass if you feel it is needed. What makes this such an interesting document to me (and obviously once upon a time it made an impression on someone else enough to make an LP of it) is that contrary to just being another US tour stop in the middle of the country, it is an energetic show with the band being in good spirits and an impressive set list to boot. -
Soundboard 9.2 - Super clean if just a tiny little bit of over-driving happening in the extreme lows, which will probably be cool if you are playing through a very high end system that can filter that out a little. It’s not a real “spacious” board but 90% of the time board feeds are not going to be very atmospheric. -
Audience 9.0 - Sourced from a 1st generation master - this show is quite friggin’ excellent. -
Soundboard 9.4 - (with portions filled in with Audience 8.7) Most is Soundboard of excellent quality, including the mix, and with some great crowd response. Band is in high spirits, a great show! -
Audience 8.9 - A sort of mid-rangey tape without any kind of high end to speak of but because it is clean and warm, it is perfect to season to taste. It’s a recording that begs for personalization, because it is actually quite good, and could benefit from just minor EQ here and there. I like this one! -
Audience 8.1 - Do not be dismayed by this sound rating, in fact this has been re-mastered and is vastly superior to all other versions out there. The lineage of this recording was the cause of some confusion for decades – it was believed to have been from Rotterdam but is in fact Amsterdam. Why this show has been overlooked by collectors is beyond me, it’s a marathon concert and should be in the collection. Maybe it was the marginal sound quality of previous versions? Oh well, now we have this. -
Audience 8.8 - This is the exact kind of audience tape I love the most. It’s taped from pretty close to the stage, is not overloaded, but it is overloaded with manic energy and intensity. Steve Vai brought out the best in Frank, you can hear it on full display here. A wonderful show (open air), a great tape, a must have. Also there are fewer 1982 shows recorded than you might think. -
Soundboard 9.3 - The venue is unknown as is the exact date, but here’s what we do know – the show smokes! It captures the imagination, and is what I love about collecting. Do you remember what you were doing in May of 1973? I am sure the band played this gig and quickly forgot about it as they traveled to the next town, but it never ceases to amaze me how here they are in some college town probably, completely engaged and engulfed on this tour, yet manage to produce exemplary performances over and over again like it’s no big deal. Then, move on to whatever is next…it’s almost a little melancholy. -
Audience 9.1 - Now, we all know how Zappa felt about bootlegs, so it begs the question – how come there are so many fantastic audience recordings from every tour? Well, here’s yet another one, a very well balanced and clear (and bold!) tape. Love it! -
Pro Soundboard 9.6 -
Radio Broadcast 9.7 -
Audience tape of mediocre quality, about a 5.4 rating - maybe, but here's the thing - there are a handful of live tapes of this band from this vintage or thereabouts - until the band release what they have, this is all we will ever get. It's two discs worth of vintage ZZ Top before they made it big - I can deal with the mediocre sound. -
Audience 7.2 - Not a well defined sound, I think drums are fine with a nice staccato sound. The guitar has a particular bite to it though, I am probably too harsh of a judge here since 70’s ZZ Top recordings are few and far between. -
Audience 7.8 - This is well worth getting if you want to know what was happening before the big time. Good big hall sound, not overly echoey or boomy at all. -
Audience 7.8 - What I like about this tape is that the guitar is not only right up front, but the tone is present, you can hear that lush Les Paul phatness! Not a spectacular mix for the bass and drums but if you want Billy you got him. -
Audience 7.4 - 8.3 - Don’t let the ratings dissuade you from this one – for one thing, the material is all remastered and sounding as good as possible, which in most cases you will find it sounds better than most of the mid 70’s Top audience tapes out there. The never before circulated 1969 material sounds particularly good, in fact you might be quite astonished at how good it is.