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New York 1978 Audience 9.3 - What a wild, out of control ride this is! Not only perhaps one of the most engaging live Kinks bootleg recording (or at least in the top 5), It also may just be one of THE coolest bootleg audience recording of any band. Why? Why such praise? It captures an intangible quality, that thing you can’t accurately describe with words…it’s a statement of sorts. We have a foundation rock band (first British wave) who have always been sort of disregarded but who refuse to pack it in, and here is why. These guys were punk before punk was a thought, and here they are a decade and change removed from their 60’s heyday, playing the birth place of US punk and they STILL can out punk the punks. Brilliant! Magical. A MUST! Buffalo 1978 Audience 8.7 - A very clear recording, good solid mid range and leaning toward emphasis on the high end which gives cymbals the little bit of crispiness that makes them heard and not washed out. Drums are highlighted and have a great sound too. The Kinks New Century Theater, Buffalo, NY May 27, 1978 Band line-up Ray Davies – lead and backing vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards Dave Davies – lead guitar, backing and lead vocals Gordon Edwards – keyboards, piano, backing vocals Mick Avory – drums, percussion Jim Rodford – bass, backing vocals John Beecham - trombone Nick Newall - saxophone Disc 1 01 Intro 02 Life On The Road 03 Sleepwalker 04 Mr. Big Man 05 Permanent Waves 06 Hay Fever 07 Waterloo Sunset 08 Celluloid Heroes 09 Misfits 10 Lola Disc 2 11 A Well Respected Man 12 Death of a Clown 13 Sunny Afternoon 14 Trust Your Heart 15 You Really Got Me 16 Slum Kids 17 Alcohol 18 Rock-n-Roll Fantasy 19 All Day & All of the Night 20 Live Life 21 Jukebox Music The Kinks Central Park New York, NY September 8, 1978 Disc 3 01 You Really Got Me (Theme) 02 Sleepwalker 03 Life On The Road 04 Mr. Big Man 05 Permanent Waves 06 Hay Fever 07 Lola 08 Misfits 09 Celluloid Heroes 10 Sunny Afternoon Disc 4 11 Trust Your Heart 12 You Really Got Me 13 Slum Kids 14 Alcohol 15 Rock And Roll Fantasy 16 All Day And All Of The Night 17 Live Life 18 Twist and Shout 19 Juke Box Music -
Audience 8.7 - So this is one that fell below the radar but absolutely must be considered by any Crue fan to be one of the best of the best…and technically speaking it should not be. It’s not a board tape, it’s not even the best audience tape out there – but it is one of the best from this tour AND it just friggin’ smokes as far as performance goes. It’s one of the best played shows I have ever heard by them. The atmosphere is electric, the band is feeding off it, and they just deliver one hell of a performance. The tape captures the evening quite well, and you really feel as if you are there. I love that, I want the tape to be clear and I like some dynamics but I also really like a good atmosphere – this just delivers man. Motley Crue Theater of Pain Tour Live in Pittsburgh, at the Civic Arena August 7, 1985 Disc 1 In The Beginning Looks That Kill Use It Or Lose It Shout At The Devil Fight For Your Rights Ten Seconds To Love Piece Of Your Action Home Sweet Home Red Hot Mick Mars Guitar Solo Keep Your Eye on The Money Disc 2 Intro Louder Than Hell Tommy Lee Drum Solo Too Young To Fall In Love Knock ‘em Dead Live Wire Smokin’ In The Boys Room City Boy Blues Helter Skelter Jailhouse Rock -
Soundboard 9.5 - Two tapes have surfaced and both are very strong. The tapes are so good they should be officially released. A good one, rare and certainly worth the time and effort. THE GROUNDHOGS - Quinn Abbey, UK 1971 Disc 1 1. -Mistreated 2. -Split part 1 3. -Cherry Red 4. -Split part 2 5. -Groundhog Blues 6. -Still A Fool 7. -Garden 8. -Eccentric Man Disc 2 WMC Studios, CA, June 8, 1972 1. -Eccentric Man 2. -Music Is The Food Of Thought 3. -Still A Fool 4. -Split part 1 5. -Groundhog Blues 6. -Cherry Red - Split part 2 Tony McPhee - guitar, vocals Pete Cruickshank - bass Ken Pustelnik - 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 -
Soundboard 8.8 - This tape shows some signs of age but it is holding its own and is strong in many aspects. The only thing that prevents the higher rating is that there is some “dirt” present, what I mean is just some extracurricular noise present in the mid band, nothing that destroys any enjoyment at all – it is a strong tape as I said, but for a soundboard you expect purity and this one is not pure. Still, I think the setlist answers the question “should I”? Yes. You should. This is a kick ass show and the Zeppelin covers just put it over the top. Heart Waukegan, IL. August 1976 Set List: 1. -The Rover 2. -Rock n' Roll 3. -Heartless 4. -Battle Of Evermore 5. -White Lightning & Wine 6. -Sing Child 7. -Devil Delight 8. -Magic Man 9. -Drum Solo - Magic Man Pt.2 10. -Crazy on You Band Line Up: Ann Wilson Vocals Nancy Wilson Guitar, keyboards and vocals Roger Fisher Guitar Howard Leese Guitar, Keyboards Steve Fossen Bass Guitar Mike Deroiser Drums -
Audience 8.4 - I think the draw is, when you are dealing with these old audience tapes that don’t have very wide dynamic range, is that as long as you get a solid guitar, and reasonable vocals, it’s going to appeal to collectors because what they want is the performance mainly – and I tend to agree because this is after all the peak period for the band. You can hear guitar, vocals, and keys in pretty decent clarity and forceful too – I see the value in this recording, a little rough around the edges when band is at full flight due to limitations with the recorder, but let me tell you I hung around, listened to the whole thing, and came away satisfied. It’s not too bad! Palasport, Genova, Italy March 11, 1973- Intro
- Highway Star
- Smoke On The Water
- Strange Kind Of Woman
- Mary Long
- Keyboard Solo - Lazy
- Drum Solo - The Mule
- Space Truckin'
- Black Night
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Audience 8.3/8.4/8.8 - When listening to the first two discs, it would be easy to dismiss them right away as being inferior, but I encourage the listener to stick with them for a while. The first disc is not bad, the sound is loud and narrow but guitars and vocals are clear and extremely direct! That means you get to actually hear it, and it’s an early period gig in a small venue and these are few and far between. The second disc is a little further from the stage, but I get the music pretty well if somewhat noisily. Here the audio is reasonably balanced too, so drums very much there, as is guitar and vocals. I actually got into it once I adjusted. The third disc is the best of the three, with clarity and balance, and even some dynamic range. You can increase the volume and not damage your ear drums. All three discs are above average performances too, with the third disc being among the very best ever. A worthwhile collection here. MÖTLEY CRÜE Red Hot 1983-1985 Disc 1 1983-12-05 City Coliseum Austin, TX 01 -Shout At The Devil 02 -Bastard 03 -Take Me To The Top 04 -Ten Seconds To Love 05 -Merry-Go-Round 06 -Knock 'Em Dead, Kid 07 -Piece Of Your Action 08 -Too Young To Fall In Love 09 -God Bless The Children Of The Beast - Red Hot - Guitar Solo 10 -Looks That Kill 11 -Live Wire 12 -Helter Skelter 13 -Jailhouse Rock Disc 2 1984-02-05 Riverfront Coliseum Cincinnati, OH 01 -Intro - Shout At The Devil 02 -Take Me To The Top 03 -Knock 'Em Dead, Kid 04 -Too Young To Fall In Love 05 -Red Hot 06 -Piece Of Your Action 07 -Looks That Kill 08 -Live Wire 09 -Helter Skelter Disc 3 1984-01-30 Madison Square Garden New York, NY 01. -Shout At The Devil 02. -Take Me To The Top 03. -Knock 'Em Dead, Kid 04. -Too Young To Fall In Love 05. -Red Hot 06. -Guitar Solo 07. -Piece Of Your Action 08. -Looks That Kill 09. -Live Wire 10. -Helter Skelter Show Notes: After their gold album presentation the previous night, MÖTLEY CRÜE are awarded platinum albums onstage during their first ever show at the famous Madison Square Gardens in New York City. This is the band's first platinum award, as they have now sold over a million copies of Shout At The Devil. When Tommy walks into his condo with his gold and platinum awards for the first time after the tour, his girlfriend Candice throws a plate at him smashing the glass frame of his gold award, after she becomes jealous over a photo she found of Tommy with some girl. Nikki takes his awards with him to the island of Nantucket, MA where he plans on meeting some girls, one of them actress Demi Moore who is working on the movie set of One Crazy Summer. Demi also shared a similar childhood to Nikki in many ways, with her father leaving before she was born, then being around drinking, arguing and beatings, and moving home a ridiculous amount of times. She greets Nikki as the prop plane lands, who in a wasted state, falls down the plane's steps onto the tarmac, smashing a bottle of Jack Daniels from his hand while his awards hit him in the head. Having been through Alcoholics Anonymous herself, Demi suggests the program to Nikki, who learns of it for the first time. -
Soundboard 9.3 & Audience 9.1 - The ’66 show is remarkably clear, they were smart enough to make sure to close mic the instruments! The ’73 show is famous for how good and clear it is for an audience tape. It’s very immersive, a great tape by all accounts. The Rolling Stones International Center Honolulu, Hawaii 7-28-66 Disc 1 1. Introduction - Not Fade Away 2. The Last Time 3. Paint It Black 4. Lady Jane 5. Mothers Little Helper 6. Get Off Of My Cloud 7. 19th Nervous Breakdown 8. Satisfaction - Outroduction HIC Arena Honolulu, HI 1973-01-21 09. Brown Sugar 10. Bitch 11. Rocks Off 12. Gimmie Shelter 13. It's All Over Now 14. Happy Disc 2 1. Tumbling Dice 2. Sweet Virgina 3. Dead Flowers 4. You Can't Always Get What You Want 5. All Down The Line 6. Midnight Rambler 7. Live With Me 8. Rip This Joint 9. Jumping Jack Flash 10. Street Fighting Man 11. Radio Ad Band Members: Mick Jagger- vocals, harmonica Keith Richards - guitar, vocals Mick Taylor - guitar Bill Wyman - bass Charlie Watts - drums Nicky Hopkins - piano, organ Bobby Keyes - saxophones Jim Price - trumpet, trombone -
Audience 8.5 - Here is perhaps one of the best captures from the tour (not quite as good as Oakland or LA but this tape has some real power). This recording seems to be rather close to the PA, but there’s no distortion. Tape is not overly wide ranging from high to low but there’s plenty of meat and a good amount of dynamics nonetheless. Certainly this is one to get. The Rolling Stones 1969.11.11 Phoenix Coliseum Phoenix, Arizona 01. -Jumping Jack Flash 02. -Carol 03. -Sympathy For The Devil 04. -Stray Cat Blues 05. -Prodigal Son 06. -You Gotta Move 07. -Love In Vain 08. -Under My Thumb 09. -Midnight Rambler 10. -Live With Me 11. -Gimme Shelter 12. -Little Queenie 13. -Brown Sugar (*) (*) Live At Altamont Speedway 1969.12.06 -
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) -
Audience 9.2 - Both of these shows are fantastic, clear, and punchy. This is also a great period for Robin, his playing is mature, muscular, solid every note beginning to end. His recent material is on display here and there which is cool but the old stuff really shines…as always. Robin Trower The Country Club Reseda, CA 1-30-1987 Disc 1 1. Too Rolling Stoned 2. Secret Doors 3. Day Of The Eagle 4. Bridge Of Sighs 5. Passion 6. No Time Disc 2 7. Spellbound 8. Bad Time 9. Rock Me Baby 10. Won't Even Think About You 11. Little Bit Of Sympathy New George's San Raphael, CA 1/27/88 Disc 3 1 Too Rolling Stoned 2 Love Attack 3 Day of the Eagle 4 Bridge of Sighs 5 Second Time 6 No Time Disc 4 1 Take What You Need 2 Rock Me Baby 3 Tear It Up 4 Little Bit of Sympathy 5 Lady Love 6 Into the Flame -
Audience 8.6 - What this old tape delivers in terms of sonic clarity and atmosphere for such a vintage ZZ Top performance has to rank it at the top of the list of must-haves for ANY collector of this band’s music. Yes, it is nothing short of a revelation, uncovering a lot of the muck, dirt, mud and distortion that most, if not all, of the early and mid ‘70’s bootlegs seem to have present. That is not to say this tape is “excellent” or even “great” as far as how it would be measured in a laboratory, but the lab is your own ear, and your mental tape measure for previous examinations of early Top. What I am saying is, this tape allows you to hear not just Billy’s immense tone, but also the notes played on bass, and they are separate just enough to let you get a bona fide realistic feel for what this concert sounded like – you can sense position, size (of venue), PA, crowd, pretty much all of the elements of a gig in a VERY reasonably well documented way by taper. Some hiccups, nothing major or too distracting and thankfully brief, and some between song hollering near the mic but music comes through without much frustration and man, that tone! Oh, and it must have been a really good night for the guys, they are playing fluidly and in high spirits. Kudos to whoever remastered this gem, or I should say whoever remastered this tape created a real gem. ZZ Top Overton Park Shell, Memphis, Tennessee (Memphis Country Blues Festival) 1971-04-25 Disc 1 1) Every Day I Have The Blues 2) Somebody Else Been Shaking Your Tree 3) Neighbor Neighbor 4) Just Got Back From Baby's 5) Whiskey 'N' Mama 6) Rattlesnake Shake 7) Goin' Down To Mexico Disc 2 8) Instrumental Improvisation 9) Memphis Blues 10) Little Queenie 11) It's My Time 12) Drums & Bass Solo 13) Brown Sugar 14) Jailhouse Rock -
Audience 8.5/8.4 - Both of these recordings are very good in not only the general fidelity but they also seem to be low gen. They are both clear and not muddy, although one is slightly clearer in the middle frequency. It seems as though these shows have been worked on with some audio tools, but with a light touch, it is greatly appreciated by these ears! Both shows are very worthwhile, and being the period before the more extravagant sets, kind of easier to sit through. The Kinks "The Ides of March" Disc 1 Emerson Gymnasium Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, OH. March 11, 1972 1. Top of the Pops 2. Brainwashed 3. 20th Century Man (Beginning tease) 4. Get Back In The Line 5. Waterloo Sunset 6. Apeman 7. Sunny Afternoon 8. Band Intros 9. Muswell Hillbillies 10. Acute Schizophrenia Blues 11. Your Lookin Fine 12. Alcohol 13. Skin & Bones 14. Lola 15. You Really Got Me 16. All Day And All Of The Night 17. Applause (Encore Break) 18. Til The End Of The Day 19. Victoria Disc 2 Chicago Auditorium Chicago, IL March 12, 1972 1. -Intro 2. -Till The End Of The Day 3. -Your Looking Fine 4. -Apeman 5. -Get Back In Line 6. -Acute Schizophrenia Paranoia Blues 7. -Muswell Hillbillies 8. -Sunny Afternoon 9. -Demon Alcohol 10. -Skin And Bones 11. -Lola 12. -Jam - One Night With You 13. -You Really Got Me - All Day And All Of The Night 14. -Victoria 15. -Louie Louie -
Soundboard 9.1 - I like the natural, expressive drum sound in this mix, it’s not often you get that out of a soundboard. This is also a very fine performance, as they pretty much all were, but this one really shines. Rory GALLAGHER Olympia Paris, France March 8th, 1982 2nd show CD 1 (1:00:58) 101. -Shin Kicker 102. -Brute, Force and Ignorance 103. -Bad Penny 104. -Nadine 105. -What In The World 106. -Wayward Child 107. -A Million Miles away 108. -The devil made Me Do It 109. -Tattooed Lady 110. -Mississipi Sheiks CD 2 (0:57:20) 211. -Out On The Western Plain 212. -Nothing But The Devil 213. -Bourbon 214. -Moonchild 215. -Philby 216. -I'm Leaving 217. -Shadow Play 218. -Louie Louie 219. -Bullfrog Blues 220. -Slow Down Total time : 1:58:18 -
Audience/Soundboard matrix 9.1- Nicely blended to sound pretty natural to the ears – good presence and excellent atmosphere. In Stones history, this was an historic run of shows. The Rolling Stones Madison Square Garden 1969 First Night 27th November 1969 01 Jumpin` Jack Flash 02 Carol 03 Sympathy For The Devil 04 Stray Cat Blues 05 Love In Vain 06 Prodigal Son 07 You Gotta Move 08 Under My Thumb / I`m Free 09 Midnight Rambler 10 Live With Me 11 Little Queenie 12 (I Can`t Get No) Satisfaction 13 Honky Tonk Women 14 Street Fighting Man -
Audience 8.4 - This tape starts off rough but gradually opens up and ends up quite listenable especially considering this originates from an early tour stop in England 1980. These tapes are few and far between, so grab it is my advice. One thing I noticed, the sound timbre is rather eerie, a spooky kind of effect I can’t explain and it is magnified by the fact that Randy’s guitar is clearest in the mix. I could not help myself while listening to ponder what may have been, such an advanced musical sensibility that would have only gotten better. OZZY OSBOURNE - "1980 Sunderland" Mayfair Theater, Sunderland, England October 28th, 1980 Ozzy Osbourne - Vocals Randy Rhoads - Guitar Bob Daisley - Bass Lee Kerslake - Drums 01 -Intro 02 -I Don't Know 03 -You Lookin' at Me 04 -Crazy Train 05 -Goodbye to Romance 06 -No Bone Movies 07 -Mr. Crowley 08 -Revelation (Mother Earth) 09 -Suicide Solution 10 -Randys Solo 11 -Lees Drum Solo 12 -Iron Man 13 -Children of the Grave 14 -Steal Away 15 -Paranoid Notes: When Ozzy left Black Sabbath in 1979 I honestly thought it could be the last we saw of him. Sure, he was a great, mad front man in Sabbath, but I really didn’t see him as a solo act. Ozzy always struck me as crazy, fearless, yet almost child-like. He fitted well within the Sabbath context, and as part of a group; but on his own? How wrong I was. Nobody could have predicted just how successful his career would turn out to be. But it was obvious from the first time I saw him in concert and heard him play his new songs that Ozzy was going to be OK, more than OK in fact. The new album had some great tracks in “Crazy Train”, “Goodbye to Romance”, and “Mr. Crowley”, and he included Sabbath favorites “Iron Man”, “Children of the Grave”, and “Paranoid” in the live show, so how could he not be great? Oh, and Randy Rhoads was simply an incredible guitarist, just as good as his legend suggests. The tour called at Newcastle City Hall, Newcastle Mayfair and Sunderland Mayfair. The line-up of Blizzard of Ozz was Ozzy (of course) on vocals, the late and truly great guitarist Randy Rhoads, Bob Daisley (Rainbow) on bass, Lee Kerslake (Uriah Heep) on drums and local lad Don Airey on keyboards (replaced by Lindsey Bridgewater for the tour). Support came from those excellent Welsh rock heroes Budgie.