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Audience 8.5 - Certainly has to be considered as one of the clearest of the ’68 aud recordings out there. The other great thing about this one is the performance is very good, Jeff is on point throughout the gig. -
Volume 1: Audience 8.4 - Very clear, especially Jeff, with Rod pushed to the background. Tends toward “shrill” with the cymbals but because it is a “hot” show with decent clarity we overlook some of the minor gripes. -
Volume 2: Audience 8.2 - Sounds like taper attended the first two nights and had different seats each time because this one, while pretty strong, shows a rather overloaded bass signal that does not distort the tape as much as it crowds the sound field in the middle. This places guitar secondary in the mix, and vocals third. Drums sound good. The overall mix is what I would call decent for 1969 audience but not as clear as the first night. -
Aud 8.4 - A very good, clear tape for the time (includes Corn Exchange and Saville Theater 67 both excellent). Only problem is, the taper recorded less than 1 minute on almost every song except for a Red House. Kind of infuriating. (Red House is complete and smokes! It seems this was recorded by someone who interviewed Hendrix, so he probably just wanted small pieces to embellish his interview tape to be broadcast at his college station or something). -
Aud 7.3 - Most of the 1970 audience tapes are horrible, barely audible sludge fests, this one is not. You actually can hear Jimi! His guitar, singing, and the band rise enough above the noise to actually provide a decent listening experience. Not great, but not the typical hot mess either. -
Pro Studio 9.8 -
A mix of pro SDBRD and decent aud. The sdbrd is 9.5, the aud portion is 8.0 and taken from a vinyl source. There are a handful of tracks taken from a film audio source and those are great as well. -
Volume 3: Audience 7.6 - Bass is pumping at the expense of everything else unless the music pauses now and then which makes guitar front and center for a moment. It’s somewhat muddy, but you do hear everything happening, and the ears do adjust. It’s the worst of the three night stand. Good, at times, and worth having nonetheless. -
Disc 1 Philadelphia 1969 Aud 6.5 Pretty bad one, sound is distant and distorted due to Jimi’s insane volume and lack of taper knowledge of simple dynamics. Disc 2 Philadelphia 1970 aud 7.2 A relief to the ears after playing disc one of this set. -
Aud 7.0 - Distant and muddy, but Jimi’s guitar thankfully cuts through the murkiness. If you are collecting, than you know good quality 1970 shows are in limited supply, but at least this one sort of features the guitar more or less. -
Soundboard 9.4 -
Aud 7.7 - A rather clear and exciting recording. Not especially dynamic maybe, but this is one of the few 1970 audience recordings that have qualities that are more enjoyable than not. Worth having! -
Aud 7.4 - Thankfully this is not too much of a muddy mess, I give an average rating not because it is that bad, mainly because it is kind of distant but someone mastered it and kicked up the levels so it sounds closer. -
Radio Broadcast 8.3 - A professional recording that could be better with some final mastering. Right now it sounds like it needs some multi-band compression but it is technically a good sounding tape. -
Both Shows Disc 1 Aud 6.8 There’s music here actually, but we all know these are not the best of the best. Disc 2 Aud 7.5 Clearly the better of the two shows. You can really get into this one, even though vocals are bit buried. Band just played freaking loud, gotta expect that sometimes! -
Aud 7.3 - Low levels, but surprisingly clear for this tour. You get this for the set list obviously as he played gems like Are You Experienced and Spanish Castle Magic. Disc two features the additional material from other venues and is very decent sound. -
Studio Quality Sound 9.2 -
Radio Broadcasts 8.7 - Contrary to what the title states, there is no Utica show, it was broadcast out of Utica but recorded elsewhere, two shows, two different dates – and the title should more technically be “Utica 1969/70” since the recordings date from those two years. -
Aud 6.9 - A smoking hot show marred by sub par recording quality. That being said, collectors will want this due to the scarcity of live recordings during this part of the 1968 Tour (notwithstanding the excellent Ottawa show now legitimately released). -
Audience 8.3 - This recording originates from a very low generation, but probably master tape source and as such it is very clean. The caveat is that it seems to have been recorded from the back of the hall, which is not that bad since the hall was probably not that large. It’s a good recording that needs a volume boost, which thankfully you can crank it and it does not distort. -
Studio Quality 9.2 -
Aud 7.2 - Thin, like a small transistor cassette deck recording but surprisingly the narrow bandwidth allows Jimi’s guitar to penetrate and come to the center, so you are treated to a Jimi fest on this tape. Lo Fi, yes, but it’s the Jimi show with a cutting guitar sound with that tell tale stadium echo that gives it a nostalgic vibe. I kind of like this tape. Really interesting capture! -
Sale!
Audience 7.0 - A noisy tape that is to be expected from this time period and from a fan in the audience…that being said, it has something to offer to the collector. It’s a little distorted in the low frequencies which is OK because this band does not live on bottom end anyway. The guitar is pretty clear, so you get treated to the band’s formidable front line with vocals and bass coming in behind the guitars. -
Aud 8.2 - At times this really shines, at times a little crowded too, but really a wonderful piece of history. One of the better audience tapes of the time period for sure. -
Soundboard 8.8 - A little thin to my ears, but is very clear and gets better once they sort out the mix. -
Soundboard 9.2 - With good atmosphere since the audience bleeds into the mics on stage. -
Aud 7.1 - Cacaphony, yes – but wait a minute! There’s something more here, and it kicks ass. Jimi is SHREDDING this gig and the tape gets all JIMI all the time. This is the Jimi show folks, the tape delivers on that end and is rewarding for the listener in the end. -
Audience 9.0 - Excellent in almost every way, maybe a few annoying woos from the folks near the taper (maybe a lot of woos), but the fidelity here is really nice and warm. OK, let me be honest, that idiot woo hooing through several songs ruined this otherwise excellent show for me. -
Aud 7.0 Not the best, but this is par for the course when it comes to 68 auds. Providence Aud 6.9 Another not so nice one, too loud for the poor tape deck! For collectors only. -
Aud 8.3 - Not your typical mumbled mess of a tape here, this one is rather powerful without the distortion. Anyone could appreciate this tape, which is why it comes recommended by most collectors. -
Aud 6.8 - Muffled, and a short tape clocking in at under 30 minutes. But, you know what? I still think you should have this if you are a collector, the tape itself is presented as it was recorded and for a historical document it is interesting. -
Audience 7.6 - This is a tape that you could turn up and add some bass in the Equalizer and it will improve a lot. The sound is a little thin but completely intact and very consistent all the way through.