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Sale!ALL Soundboard 9.7 - Dive right into this amazing collection of sonically superb live offerings and get a totally new appreciation for Eddie Money and his super-tight band.
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Sale!Audience 8.7 - This is from the Royal Albert Hall, so be prepared for a lot of atmospherics as the sound dances around almost right above your head. The music is very present though, so there’s no harm in having some ‘verb which is probably exactly how you would have received the sound at the venue anyway.
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Audience 8.5 - A recording that leans towards brassy but presents the concert in a way that you get a pretty clear representation of the evening, in a slightly better than average way. The band, at times, seems to be feeling the songs out rather than be fully committed to them but that gives the show an edginess that some might find more interesting. For instance, Stairway to Heaven, the band must have played this a thousand times yet here Jimmy can’t figure out the solo!
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Sale!Audience 8.8 - This recording was made with obviously good gear, the sound on occasion will lead you to believe it is a pro-job but it really isn’t. What may give it away is the slightly buried guitars, and I mean slightly. The vocals are soaring and direct at the same time – just lovely. Good band, good recording, the magical 1970’s.
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Audience 8.5 - Slightly low recording levels meaning go ahead and turn up the volume on this one, and thankfully there’s no distortion. Recording is clear, not overly dynamic (it is metal after all) but you’ll probably enjoy this immensely if you understand that it’s really about the lyrics and the stage banter. Always fun, and it’s two discs so you get a lot of songs!
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Soundboard 9.5 - The evening before this show in Kansas City, the band had just played a stadium with a stacked line-up, so they were probably pretty amped up for this show. They got to showcase some of the Marathon LP material in front of an appreciative, but much smaller crowd than the night before. A great one!
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CD 1 - Audience 8.8 - Direct into face, a driving and persistent intensity, very clean, very clear. CD 2 - Audience 8.3 - A more open spaced recording where you lose some of the dynamics, and vocals tend to get muffled and placed further back but guitar and drums are prominent and clear…bass is present but not as articulate or deep. A good tape and collectors will be happy to hear it since it is not widely circulated.
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Sale!Audience 9.5 - When you listen to this, just keep in mind it is taped by someone in the audience…you won’t believe it. Great balance, superb low end, sweet middle band tone, lush and warm with the perfect amount of high end (no sizzle or annoying squeal or cymbal wash). Just terrific, and the band sounds great!
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Sale!Audience 8.9 - A really good, solid, and clear tape, showcases the considerable talent of Zappa and the always excellent cast of characters he assembles each tour. This show features a lot of solid horn work, and Zappa plays very nicely with a good tone. There were a couple songs I was unfamiliar with and enjoyed quite a bit. I rather like the song Rollo! Fun stuff.
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Sale!Early and Late Shows - Soundboard 9.1 and Soundboard 8.6 - The late show board tape is slightly problematic in that vocals and to some extent the drums are really prominent in the mix but the rest is pushed back. Acoustic songs come through nicely, they bring up piano and acoustic guitar so you get everything more even. At times it gets a little better, it’s not bad it’s just not as good a mix as the early show.
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Sale!Soundboard 9.7 - A pre FM master was used and it clearly magnitudes better than what you’d get recording off the radio!
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Sale!Soundboard 8.8 - This tape does not feature the greatest mix ever, but it’s functional and is a good full show. Question: Was Lou Reed really well known in Australia? A guy from the barrio of New York City, but well known in Australia somehow?!?! I think that is strange, haha!
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Sale!Audience 9.4 - What a fantastic recording! Seriously, the louder you crank it, the better it sounds. Beautiful, full round bass, punchy and clear drums and guitar that is not washed out by P.A. and hall dynamics. Good show atmosphere, appreciative home crowd, and a band inspired and having loads of fun. Hot damn!
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Sale!Soundboard 9.5 - Infinitely enjoyable!
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Sale!FM Broadcast 9.0 - Not sure what the master source is for this one, it could either be a cassette tape or an LP, either way the sound is very good but there’s a little bit of that typical kind of compression you got off FM broadcasts. Not a problem here, just that I notice it.
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Audience 8.6 - Very close to the mains, and it’s incredibly loud to the point that Robin can barely control his feedback. But the tape holds together, even if there’s some loss of vocal clarity, none of that even matters because after a couple of songs you are so bludgeoned by this devastating guitar/bass onslaught that vocals would be barely noticed anyway.
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Audience 8.4 - This is a very rare glimpse at a short lived incarnation of Johnny Winter’s band, mainly the addition of his brother Edgar. So it’s an interesting tape, sounds VERY close to the main P.A. system and consequently has some upper mid crowding which makes for a strange mixture of a tape that is both clear and bright, and overcrowded in the upper mid band. It’s good sounding but does not give you much separation of instruments. For collectors this has to be considered a very important tape though.
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CD 1 - Audience 7.4 - Tape a little hissy, but since the highs are preserved we can live with that. It’s pretty clear at times, and then sometimes a touch cluttered up but overall the listener can appreciate this old tape for the explosive performance captured decently for the time. CD 2 - Audience 7.4 - A very powerful low end is the hallmark of this tape, and then there’s Robert, man this is his show! A good tape, a great performance. CD 3 Audience 7.3 - Unlike the other FE 69 recordings, this tape showcases Jimmy’s guitar, and of course Robert who probably would not even need a microphone he is so dynamic. This show he is literally just phenomenal sounding.
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Sale!Soundboard 9.5 - Cool to hear such a nice board because quite frankly the volume and mix of most of the live recordings I have heard just have little separation of instruments and I like hearing Geezer clearly. Drums sound great on this one. It also happens to be the final show.
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Sale!Studio recordings 8.8 - sounds like a vinyl source, cleaned up for the most part.
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Audience 7.8 - A little bit rough but its incredible nonetheless…see, truth be told it took me 10 years to finally acquire this show. I have a special interest in it. I will say that, actual audio fidelity, while not hi-fi, is not lo-fi either – it has some power to it (without distortion!) and I LOVE the audience reactions throughout. A fiery gig!
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Audience 8.6 - Talk about being in the crowd, this recording is total immersion if ever there was immersion! But, here’s the good news – it’s a BLAST! The crowd is really an integral part of this performance, the band senses they have a great audience and they really play to them. It’s rather fun and gives you a tremendous feeling of nostalgia. A great ride!
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Audience 7.9 - This is the complete concert from the 23rd and NOT the officially released Dec, 24th Rainbow show. The problem with it being unofficial, or course, is that it was not recorded professionally, and in this case the audio is a little on the muddy side. I don’t think it is ruined though, because it’s not “thick” mud, it’s just missing something on the high end.
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Audience 8.6 - A very early tape featuring the bands original guitarist. For those who have not heard anything like this before, well, it does not sound like the Police as we know them, it’s still good, but different. To my ears, the guitarist does not have the polish we have come to expect from this band, but he’s got quite a lot of spit!
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Audience 8.8 - A warm and inviting recording that spreads the audio spectrum out very evenly. May be from midway back in the hall, as it is not super sharp, but likewise it is also not too echoey or bassy either. It is a pretty atmospheric sound, with guitar leads swirling above and around adding to the liveness of the recording.
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Soundboard 9.6 - This rating reflects what I feel about this recording in the way that the guitar and bass come across in the mix. So, what you get is a well rounded, brassy bass sound that is articulate and not lost in the low end wastelands or overshadowed by Pete. It sounds like two guitar players playing in perfect harmony, and a lot of Who recordings you do not get that effect so much as just a wall of power and volume. This one is just so good in that sense and deserves a special acknowledgement.
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Audience 7.8 - A recording that slowly gets a little better after the first song or two but I have to tell you – for historical purposes this recording is the first time Brian Johnson appears on tape with the band (live, not studio). I think he does a fine job filling the spot too, but that’s up to every fan to decide.
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Audience 8.3 - At first, you would have expected this to sound awful, being an awfully loud band playing in a small club with primitive gear…and it’s not exactly perfect but for what it is it is DAMN good! Guitars up front, vocals a but buried, drums reasonably clear, but you get a real sense of the action and the sound is not bad at all. Historically, this is absolutely a must for any ACDC fan.
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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.
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Audience 7.4 - Interesting to listen to this, it’s almost like they are performing on a soundstage, but the quality is only so-so. I do not know what to make of it, my instinct says this was a TV broadcast, maybe this was recorded off the TV volume? It’s not too bad, just not a very wide dynamic range.