• Audience 7.8 - Excellent! Good dynamics and tons of atmosphere.
  • Audience 9.2 - I rated this highly because even though the levels are hot there is no distortion and it’s a decent live mix with some atmosphere present too (you can distinguish the delay on the guitar and echo on vocals over all the intense action of the band which is a pleasant thing). It’s also a great gig!
  • Pro FM Broadcast 8.8 - Sounds like the band is right at the top of their game, with Johnny inspired and ripping out one superb lead after another flawlessly.
  • Audience 8.3 - An aged tape that still contains a very good frequency from low to high – maybe a touch on the thin side but overall this whole thing is very fun to listen to.
  • Audience 7.8 - A large hall sound, but cleanly captured. Kind of sounds like you are there – tons of atmosphere without boominess. Pleasant!
  • Both Excellent Radio Broadcasts 9.7 - to be clear, this set contains two shows both recorded for broadcast and both as good as could be.
     
    First show
    Reunion Arena
    Dallas, TX. July 10, 1981
     
    1. Intro-Meadows
    2. Over And Over
    3. In The City
    4. Life Of Illusion
    5. The Bomber
    6. Band Introductions
    7. Dreams
    8. Theme From Boat Weirdos
    9. Funk #49
    10. You Never Know
    11. Life's Been Good
    12. Rocky Mountain Way
    13. All Night Long
     
    Second show
    Reunion Arena
    Dallas, TX. July 24, 1981
     
    1. In The City
    2. Life Of Illusion
    3. Funk #49
    4. The Bomber
    5. Theme From Boat Weirdos
    6. Rocky Mountain Way
    7. All Night Long
    8. Get Back
  • Audience 8.7 - Is it possible to be too good of a player? I mean, he’s clearly got mastery of the instrument, and the material, but there’s something about a player that gets too close to the edge that excites me, like Rory Gallagher for instance, you know, where it seems at any moment they might just completely take it to the ragged edge – and Joe has a very controlled fire in contrast which is fine, but I need more. Fans will love this performance, he’s clearly at the top here.
  • Audience 8.6 and Audience 8.5 ... two shows are represented in this set, and both sound similar but the 2nd disc sounds maybe a touch more distant and less defined, but also less overloaded. Both sets are guitar-centric, so Page admirers are going to be good good with this set.
  • Audience 7.8 - A somewhat distant sound, not as in stadium distant, but recording levels. It’s as if the center has dropped out from the mix, but what saves it is the fact that you can really turn up the volume and make up for some of that. The new re-mastering really has saved this tape; it is MUCH easier to listen to now. This is a RARE tape I am told, only surfacing recently.
  • Audience 9.0 - It takes a song or two for the tape to balance out to the ears but when it does you immediately sense how realistic a recording this is. I mean, this would have been exactly what your ears would have heard had you been there. Excellent!
  • Audience 7.8 - Let me first say this: Why did this album get panned so harshly? I mean, even the band expressed some regret over it. Look, I get that Passion Play may not fit with the preconception of what Jethro Tull’s music is supposed to be, but at face value the music and playing is superior. The fault may have been the accompanying stage show, and maybe if I were to criticize one thing about the compositions would be that they relied a lot on overly dramatic minor key shifts way too often. However that stuff does not diminish the overall content and performance of a fine and unfairly panned album. This CD captures a complete performance of Passion Play in pretty good overall quality with some minor issues here and there. Fascinating!
  • Audience 8.3 - Not that bad really, some hiss present but otherwise it’s worthy of your attention.
  • Audience 8.6 - Good and clear recording, no distortion, sounds very center, punchy.

Title

Go to Top