-
Audience 7.4 - Vocals and Guitar are audible above the denseness. Not a clear tape, but surprisingly it is very quiet meaning I believe this is VERY low generation if not from a master source. Decent for 1971, we take what we can get! -
Pro Recording 9.1 - The engineers for this live recording opted to not close mic so you have a live recording with lots of atmosphere and probably sounding truer to the actual event than a pure soundboard. The bass is well recorded here, normally you’d expect the sound mix to favor only guitar as that is what the fans are wanting most – but here the mix is rather democratic. Good job! Yngwie Malmsteen Live at Sun Plaza Hall Tokyo.Japan 1985-01-24 01.Intro - I'll See The Light, Tonight 02.As Above, So Below 03.Don't Let It End 04.Far Beyond The Sun 05.On The Run Again 06.Anguish And Fear 07.Icarus'Dream Suit - I Am A Viking 08.Hiroshima Mon Amour 09.Black Star 10.Jet To Jet 11.Kree Nakoorie 12.Guitar Solo 13.Disciples Of Hell Yngwie Malmsteen-Guitars Jens Johansson-Keyboards Marcel Jacob-Bass Jeff Scott Soto-Vocals Anders Johansson-Drums -
Audience 9.6 - This is a special set, not just because it also contains the complete soundcheck but because it is stunning quality and off the hook performance. Like I have said before, I think this is the best Dweezil ever sounded. Zappa Plays Zappa House of Blues Cleveland, Ohio July 3, 2009 Disc 1 01 Intro / Crowd 02 I'm the Slime 03 Montana 04 Wind Up Workin' in a Gas Station 05 Village of the Sun 06 Instrumental 07 Instrumental 08 Instrumental 09 Black Page No. 1 10 Black Page (Melody) 11 Inca Roads 12 Pygmy Twilight 13 Bamboozled by Love 14 Instrumental Disc 2 15 Instrumental 16 Instr / Drum Solo 17 Lucille 18 Outside Now 19 Titties 'n Beer (Fragment) 20 Cosmik Debris 21 Peaches en Regalia 22 Trouble Every Day 23 Encore applause 24 Zombie Woof 25 Don't Eat the Yellow Snow 26 Willie the Pimp 27 Outro / Crowd Disc 3 ZPZ soundcheck (same date, venue, source) 01 guitar 02 guitar 03 guitar 04 guitar 05 instrumental 06 Wind Up Workin' in a Gas Station 07 Discussion 08 San Ber'dino 09 San Ber'dino II 10 San Ber'dino III 11 Trouble Every Day 12 Pygmy Twilight 13 Discussion 14 Penguin in Bondage 15 Inca Roads (jam) 16 St. Alphonzo's Pancake Breakfast 17 guitar 18 guitar 19 guitar 20 guitar -
Audience 9.3 - Again, we discover that yes some people do really know how to use stealth recording gear to great effect. Lovely balance, warm, in the pocket and thankfully so because this tour was perhaps him at his peak. That is not to say he does not perform well now, it is just that this tour seems to have them so up and enthusiastic almost every show, with great special guests and great set lists. Zappa Plays Zappa The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, UK 2009.06.17. Disc 1. 01. -Apostrophe 02. -Purple Lagoon 03. -Magic Fingers 04. -Carolina Hardcore Ecstasy 05. -lumpy Gravy 06. -Montana 07. -Village Of The Sun 08. -Echidna's Arf 09. -Don't You Ever Wash That Thing 10. -Dirty Love 11. -Gas Station 12. -Inca Roads Disc 2 13. -Outside Now 14. -Bamboozled By Love 15. -A Pound For A Brown 16. -Zomby Woof 17. -Peaches En Regalia 18. -Cosmic Debris 19. -Yellow Snow 20. -Willie The Pimp -
Audience 9.5 - Outstanding! Yes, it’s just another killer quality audience tape that seems to be the hallmark for the Zappa legacy. Probably because you have devoted fans keen on preserving the experience and doing it with care, and an artist who diligently worked hard to provide a high quality audio experience. ZAPPA PLAYS ZAPPA Sentrum Scene Oslo, Norway November 24, 2013 Disc 1 01. Intro 02. The gumbo variations 03. Dweezil's intro to "Roxy and elswhere" 04. Penguin in bondage 05. Pygmy twylyte 06. Dummy up 07. Village of the sun 08. Echidna's arf (of you) 09. Don't you ever wash that thing 10. Cheepnis 11. Son of orange county 12. More trouble every day Disc 2 13. Be bop tango 14. Florentine pogen 15. Teenage wind 16. Teenage prostitute 17. The black page # 1 (drum solo) 18. The black page # 2 19. Dweezil talks 20. I come from nowhere 21. Dweezil talks 22. The duke of prunes Disc 3 23. Peaches en regalia - Intro to... 24. The torture never stops - Audience ovations 25. Encore intro 26. Watermelon in easter hay 27. Dweezil talks 28. Zombie woof 29. Muffin man Dweezil Zappa: guitar, vocals Scheila Gonzalez: saxophone, flute, keyboards & vocals Ben Thomas: vocals, trumpet, trombone, percussion Chris Norton: keyboards, vocals Kurt Morgan: bass Ryan Brown: drums -
Audience 9.0 - Nice and clear, with a sharply defined and articulate high end of the spectrum. During full band loud jam sections I find the guitar too low in the mix, but just fine in most of the sections where the overall band intensity is not as high (like during Zoot Allures, for instance). Overall it’s quite a tour de force this show – and brilliant on point guitar pyrotechnics abound. ZAPPA plays ZAPPA Date: 2007-12-04 Venue: Enmore Theatre, Sydney, Australia CD1: Stink Foot (FZ on video screen) Cheepnis Lonely Little Girl Eat That Question Son Of Suzy Creamcheese Brown Shoes Don't Make It Zoot Allures Pygmy Twylite CD2: Audience Participation Time Dupree's Paradise (with aussie icons Irwin Thomas [aka Jack Jones] and Johnny Diesel [aka Mark Lizotte]) Uncle Remus Willie The Pimp Andy I'm The Slime Echidna's Arf Dumb All Over (FZ on video screen) What's New In Baltimore? Advance Romance Filthy Habits City of Tiny Lights CD3: Cosmic Debris (FZ on video screen) G-Spot Tornado Muffin Man The band: Dweezil Zappa: guitar Ray White: vocals, guitar Joe Travers: drums Billy Hulting: percussion Scheila Gonzalez: keyboards, saxophone, vocals Aaron Arntz: keyboards, trumpet Pete Griffin: bass Jamie Kime: rhythm guitar With special guests: Steve Vai: guitar (from Andy onwards) Irwin Thomas [aka Jack Jones]: guitar (Dupree's Paradise) Johnny Diesel [aka Mark Lizotte] : guitar (Dupree's Paradise) -
Audience 9.7 - Superb in just about every category, and literally surpasses whatever kind of “perfection” you may imagine you get with a board tape. This is how one should relive a live concert, by listening to a tape made by guys who used excellent gear, sat in the best spot, and were respectful the whole show (in fact the whole audience is). Vibrant, clear, flawless mix, great atmosphere…what else could make this better? Even the performance is amazing, with great special guests, it’s one for the collection for sure. MUST HAVE!! Zappa Plays Zappa Special Guests Steve Vai & Ray White Yokohama Blitz, Japan 2008-01-23 Dweezil Zappa(Guitar) Scheila Gonzalez(Saxophone, Flute, Keyboards & Vocals) Billy Hulting(Marimba, Mallets & Percussion) Aaron Arntz(Keyboards & Trumpet) Pete Griffin(Bass) Jamie Kime(Guitar) Joe Travers(Drums & Vocals) Special Guests: Ray White(Guitar and Vocals) Steve Vai(Guitar) Disc 1 01. -Eat That Question (11:27) 02. -Cosmik Debris (08:33) 03. -The Illinois Enema Bandit (11:22) 04. -Joe's Garage (05:44) 05. -Wind Up Workin' in a Gas Station - San Ber'dino (09:20) 06. -Pygmy Twylite (10:11) Disc 2 07. -Dupree's Paradise - Uncle Remus - Willie the Pimp (38:02) 08. -Andy (06:52) 09. -Filthy Habits (08:35) 10. -Advance Romance (09:45) Disc 3 11. -What's New in Baltimore? (05:08) 12. -Peaches En Regalia (03:49) 13. -I'm The Slime - Echidna's Arf (Of You) (08:59) 14. -City of Tiny Lights (10:07) 15. -Yo' Mama (13:04) 16. -G-spot Tornado (03:24) 17. -Muffin Man (10:00) -
Pro Soundboard 9.6 -
Audience 9.1 - Taper was very close to the main PA but it does not distort and the sound goes directly to your brain, it does not stop for directions. HOT HOT HOT!! Get it. -
Audience 8.4 - Another one of those audience recordings that, while being listenable and clear, does not have a great separation of instruments or vocal clarity. That being said, this recording is certainly worth having, because it’s not a pile of muddy crap – it’s very listenable. Features a packed set list too. ZZ Top Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena, Binghamton, NY March 8, 1977 Band line-up Billy Gibbons - guitar, vocals Dusty Hill - bass, vocals Frank Beard - drums, percussion Total Time = 01:28:56 Disc One 01 Thunderbird 02 Chevrolet 03 Precious & Grace 04 Waitin' On The Bus 05 Jesus Just Left Chicago 06 Enjoy & Get It On 07 Pan Am Highway Blues 08 It's Only Love 09 Ten Dollar Man 10 Movin' On Down The Line 11 Heard It On The X 12 Balinese 13 Arrested For Driving While Blind 14 Nasty Dogs & Funky Kings Disc Two 15 She's A Heartbreaker 16 Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers 17 Blue Jean Blues 18 Rattlesnake Shake 19 La Grange 20 Mexican Blackbird 21 Backdoor Love Affair 22 Tush 23 Goin' Down To Mexico 24 Mellow Down Easy -
Audience 8.6 - A tape that starts off pretty rough and then gets better and better until it is quite good and clear, especially nice when you consider that it has taken the better part of 40 years to start getting half decent ZZ Top live recordings. -
Audience 8.5 - This band, while known as a blues band, played at rock and roll volume. That is why most of their 70’s recordings are either muddy or distorted. This one is creeping up to the very edge of distortion but it does not cross over – it does max out the headroom of the tape though. Look at the rating, it’s a very, very good recording considering the scarcity…and the amazing set list! Come on, if you are a fan, dive into this one! -
Audience 8.3 - Whenever you come across any 70’s ZZ Top, your instantly going to ask “how does it sound”? because we all know how rough most of them are – but this one reveals layers of the band previously lost in a dense fog of distortion and volume – an articulate bass. Billy’s tone is lovely as ever but only his solos soar above the rhythm section who are LOUD but not distorted. One to pick up! -
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. -
Soundboard 9.6 - A high point of this show is the song "We're Barefootin'", the only known performance of the song. There's the "Crosses Sermon", from none other than Rev. Willie G. and one helluva La Grange Medley too! Great vibe and the crowd is insane. Ahhhh, the good 'ol days! ZZ Top April 15th, 1980 (Deguello Tour) Pine Knob, Claskston, MI 01. -I Thank You 02. -Waitin' For the Bus 03. -Jesus Just Left Chicago 04. -Precious And Grace 05. -Francine 06. -I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide 07. -Manic Mechanic 08. -Heard It On The X 09. -Fool For Your Stockings 10. -Nasty Dogs & Funky Kings 11. -We're Barefootin' 12. -Cheap Sunglasses 13. -Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers 14. -La Grange - Sloppy Drunk - BBQ Medley 15. -She Loves My Automobile (Lone Wolf Horn Section) 16. -Hi-Fi Mama (Lone Wolf Horn Section) 17. -Tush -
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.