Audience 8.3 -  Do not let the “average” sound rating prevent you from selecting this AMAZING rarity. I could write paragraphs on why this is a must have for any self-respecting Priest fan, but suffice it to say that this is why I even collect live music. The details of the recording are but one small part of the equation, but I will note that the tape suffers from two main problems – it’s a little muffled and it’s a little hissy.  There is also an unfortunate cut where the solo begins in Victim of Changes (could it not have happened on any other song?), I think this is the tape flip. The quality worsens a bit after that, but there’s also good news to report: The tape has been remastered, revealing much more music that was probably buried under muck and noise for decades. What you end up with is a very intense show, and an audience absolutely being blown to smithereens. I can imagine after having to deal with mediocre top 40 and disco music, new wave, etc. having a band like Judas Priest I mean, that had to be like a sledgehammer to the skull because let’s face it, for 1979 these guys were way heavy, and not in a punkish Motorhead heavy but a very competent, sinister kind of heavy. That does come through on this tape.  Without a remastering it would have been tough to listen to it, but it’s actually not hurtful on the ears, the actual frequency range is comfortable, and there are times where it is even very decent. Overall it is simply one of those you really have to just get and appreciate for what it is because it quite simply is DEVASTATING.

Audience 8.1 - A shaky start to this recording, but it smooths out and becomes listenable with clear vocals that rise up and out of the depths. The interesting thing about this show is that Pete is nailing all his solos with precision, a rare thing to be honest. The band is in fine form, they even play “However Much I Booze” which was only done a handful of times on this tour.

Audience 8.5 - Taken from the master source, this high energy show reveals a band on the rise. Captured from the balcony, the sound is pretty much what came from the house P.A. system and is, as could be expected, insanely loud and therefore not clear and distinct but certainly forceful and once the ears adjust, is pretty realistic. Coming from a master source, it is free of tape noise and other artifacts. DVD - Shot on Hi8MM, the picture looks great! The angle is from the balcony, which was not that high or far from the stage so even though you are looking slightly down on top of the band, you see the entire stage and most of the audience on the floor without any interference. Camera occasionally zooms in, pans slightly, and at brief intervals goes slightly too high missing the front of the stage but I suppose that may have been due to the filmer trying to adjust.

FM Broadcast 9.5 - Both shows are professional radio broadcast recordings and are excellent.

Audience 8.6 - A serviceable recording that I am thankful to have in that it captures an exceptional night where the band is simply on another level, especially Ronnie James Dio.  The dynamics do not impress, and there’s a lot packed into that upper mid band frequency which is barely hanging on but the good news is that it does hang on, and you do get pretty much everything in a reasonably comfortable way. I welcomed this one, and the bonus is that taper recorded the opening act too, which is included here for completeness.

Audience 8.7 - Is this the mother of Prince shows?  It very well could be just that. A marathon to begin with, but even better, the band and Prince are in spectacular form as an audience that has waited some 19 years for Prince to return to their city literally explode as one hurricane caliber force. Perfect, intense, brilliant. Audio quality is VERY good too, some nice ambience and just enough of the crowd next to the taper to imagine yourself there at the show. Just a ton of fun listening to this, and missing Prince dearly.

Audience 9.1 - Crisp and clear, rowdy audience that thankfully do not intrude into the music that much. It is strange to hear it put this way, but the nature of these funky songs lends itself well to having a sort of background of people whooping it up. It works in this case to great effect. A really fine one to enjoy whenever you need your fix of his Royal Purpleness.