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Audience 7.5 - What saves this is a rich bottom end that is surprisingly warm without overt boominess. Guitar is present but sometimes hides behind the noise. Sound tends to come in and go slightly out in a wave like fashion but it’s subtle. Sometimes this gets clear and decent and then sometimes it seems to be brittle and cluttered in the lower end of the midrange. The rating is pretty accurate. It’s not atrocious – it’s for collectors though. -
Soundboard 9.4 - Powerful, living room clarity in your face and just as good a mix as you can do. -
Audience 9.1 - Coming from the original master tape, this show circulated online claiming 1st generation source and let me tell you, just toss that one out because ladies and gentlemen prepare to ENTER THE PALLADIUM and be blown away! After adjusting position during first song, the rest of the show (with just one or two minor dropouts) really soars to great heights both sonically and performance-wise. A crisp, airy but tight sound very close up front and no distortion, tape noise, or artifacts. Simply put, if you are a Rush fan, you need this. -
Audience 7.6 - I have it in my mind to collect every single performance the band did in Toronto. That means I am gonna get some good, some bad, some in between. This is probably some in-between. Not horrible but not great either. Now, I will say this, let your ears adjust and you get a reasonably clear but phasing sound. Recorded from somewhere pretty well back of the auditorium, sounds like. -
Audience 7.4 - A very thin recording, now it does come from a master source so it is as clean as it will ever be. I mean, I suppose you do hear it all, just do not expect much bottom end. -
Soundboard 9.3 - Long admired by fans for being both a fantastic performance and excellent soundboard with a good mix. A staple in every self-respecting Rush fan’s collection. -
Audience 8.4 - This is a case of a show, actually let me re-phrase that, this WAS a show that many collectors lamented as being a superb performance marred by very marginal sound quality. Not anymore! Friends, this new direct from master source and re-mastered version of this totally excellent gig is simply a joy to get to listen to in this improved quality. Not that it is astounding, in fact it still has issues, but the jump from what it was (about a 7.3) to what it is now is too great an improvement to not shower heaps of praise upon it. Note: It doesn’t get good until about halfway through the first song, then there is a little cut in the tape, and then it gets noticeably better and better. -
Audience 8.7 - So it’s kind of in the middle of the venue and so you sacrifice a little clarity in the low mid but man, somebody did know what they were doing here. It’s very clear in the upper end, there’s no real boominess or echo either. It’s the best middle of the floor aud tape I think I have ever heard, and the best part is the band is really cooking. I think you will be happy with this. -
Audience 8.6 - Sometimes, a rating cannot reflect the magnitude of a recording. I can specifically say that this one is only an 8.6 in a sonic sense, which means it is very good and worthwhile, but man, let me tell you what this show REALLY is – it’s an 11. Why? Because this is, quite simply, Rush in an unbelievable fine form playing their (arguably) best stuff, and the recording has captured that and a very palpable atmosphere at the same time. A little clarity is lost in the bass/guitar separation as they seem to sound as one unit which is not such a bad thing as it creates a sonic roar, a lion’s roar it is too, but it does get a little crowded in that frequency range. But, it captures an amazing power those two had on stage, the sound is ferocious and menacing. -
Audience 7.7 - While the ratings may show this to be an average sounding tape, let me reveal my own bias for a moment. This is Rush’s best tour. You may argue with that, I mean, the previous two tours were pretty amazing too. I find the set list and performances of the Permanent Waves tour to be exceptional, and this show, while maybe not the best of the lot, does reveal yet more of the Rush mystique. A recording that requires 10 minutes to adjust to but eventually begins to sound pretty decent apart from a guitar that sits behind the action a little (except during solos). A little boomy but not a deal breaker. A good, not great, tape. -
Audience 9.2 -
Soundboard 9.0 -
Soundboard 9.7 -
Soundboard 9.4 -
Audience 8.8 - Taper had good gear for this one, you can tell there is some sense of space, and the music has a chance to float above you. A rather sweet recording.
