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Audience 8.4 - A weird sound mix on this show, the kick drum is up front, and then vocals, with an indistinct full band behind it all. A recording that lacks a lot of mid range kick, so an EQ boost in that range would help a lot. That all being said, it seems taper did eventually move to a better spot because it gets clearer as it goes, and Frank’s guitar does shine at many intervals as well. Note: Also features a pre show interview with Frank on WGRQ 97 Rock. -
Audience 8.8 - Someone did their homework on how to capture a great sound on their recording device. Guitar especially, very defined and crisp. Drums are somewhat behind the action but everything is still clearly heard. Good job! -
CD 1 - Audience 8.7 - A good and vibrant sound with maybe a touch of tape noise, but not enough of it to ruin the experience at all. CD 2 - Audience 9.1 - A much crisper and clearer tape than the first set, Both are highly enjoyable, the second set is really well done! -
CD 1 - Chicago 1973 - Audience 8.2 (10-31-73) ~ Halloween CD 2 - NYC 1973 - Audience 8.6 (11-4-73) -
Early Show Audience 8.8 - Not to be confused with another Chicago ’81, this is from the Uptown Theatre on November 27th, and it’s relatively new to circulation. The sound quality is very good, with especially nice meatiness on drums, and a close, warm guitar tone and presence which makes this one to have in the collection.
Late Show Audience 8.8 - Very similar to the early show, maybe just a touch less defined due to being in a different spot, but at times it’s also just a touch clearer – so this leads me to believe it’s just a matter of where the microphone is at any given time. Must have been a good recorder though, because the sound is good on the low end and the mids, and highs are not excessive but rather kind of toned down in a good way. It’s the kind of recording that you can turn up real loud.
Frank Zappa Chicago 1981
Disc 1 Uptown Theatre Chicago, IL. 11-27-1981 Early show 1. -Treacherous Cretins 2. -Cosmik Debris 3. -You Are What You Is 4. -Mudd Club 5. -The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing 6. -A Pound For A Brown 7. -The Dangerous Kitchen 8. -The Blue Light 9. -Sinister Footwear 10. -Stevie's Spanking 11. -Cocaine Decisions Disc 2 12. -Nig Biz 13. -Tinsel Town Rebellion 14. -Alien Orifice 15. -Teenage Prostitute 16. -Flakes 17. -Broken Hearts Are For Assholes 18. -Yo' Mama 19. -Joe's Garage 20. -Why Does It Hurt When I Pee? 21. -The Closer You Are 22. -City Of Tiny Lights Disc 3 Uptown Theatre Chicago, IL. 11-27-1981 Late show 1. -Zoot Allures 2. -Montana 3. -Easy Meat 4. -Fine Girl 5. -Teenage Wind 6. -Harder Than Your Husband 7. -Bamboozled By Love 8. -King Kong (q: Rite Of Spring) 9. -Sharleena (q: Little Drummer Boy) Disc 4 10. -Drowning Witch 11. -What's New In Baltimore? 12. -Moggio 13. -Dumb All Over 14. -Goblin Girl 15. -The Black Page (q: Fernando) 16. -Strictly Genteel
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Early Show - Audience 8.8 - Superb for an audience tape really, the only real flaws are some lack of low end depth and instrument separation but it’s not a deal breaker at all. Late Show - Soundboard 9.7 - So good, I mean it is as if they recorded it for official release. Great mix, great fidelity. -
Audience 9.0 - This is the first of 2 nights at the Auditorium in Chicago (3-3-88). Sting (The Police) does a song with Frank (Murder by Numbers) which makes for an added, rare surprise. -
Audience 9.3 - This is the second night at the Auditorium in Chicago (3-4-88). -
Audience 9.0 - Two songs from this show are included on the rare "As An Am" release. -
Audience 8.7 - A good, solid audience tape that has been remastered nicely to showcase what was already decent sound, bringing out the life and helping with some clarity. You can tell there was once some tape noise or background noise once but this sounds really good now. From what I understand, it is a very rare tape. -
Audience 8.4 - Using a master tape source, this show has been remastered to reveal what is a very decent recording with flaws. There are occasional hiccups throughout mainly the 1st half then it evens out, but even those have been carefully edited for a smoother flow. Overall this is a great find, a band that seems to be enjoying every performance and especially when it is time to improvise. -
Audience 8.7 - Every audience tape has a certain unique “timbre” to it, a quality hard to define – it encompasses distance from source, surrounding ambience, equalization, harmonics, and more. So, this recording is what I would call “very good” but different than other 88 Euro Zappa tapes in timbre. I find this one leaning too far in upper mid band and treble, not irritatingly, but wanted more bottom end. My ears were telling me that is what it wanted…yours may not it is all very subjective. It’s a good recording though. Frank Zappa 19880425 Copenhagen, Denmark Falkoner Theater Set 1: 01. Heavy Duty Judy 03:49 02. band introductions 02:04 03. Packard Goose > 07:41 04. Alien Orifice > 04:19 05. When The Lie's So Big > 03:42 06. Planet Of The Baritone Women > 02:45 07. Any Kind Of Pain > 06:13 08. Jesus Thinks You're A Jerk > 07:30 09. Texas Motel Medley > 09:10 10. Sofa 02:57 01. Torture Never Stops Medley > 19:49 Set 2: 02. Find Her Finer > 02:44 03. Big Swifty > 16:23 04. Bamboozled By Love 06:23 05. Bolero 05:28 06. Peaches En Regalia > 02:58 07. Stairway To Heaven 09:07 Encore: 08. Mr. Green Genes > 03:58 09. Florentine Pogen > 06:40 10. Andy 05:38 11. Inca Roads 09:32 ________ 02:18:49 -
CD 1 - Studio 8.8 - Some tape hiss present and the music can get a little bunched up when at full blast but this is a good and lively recording nonetheless. CD 2 - Studio 8.6 - Some tape hiss and mildly compressed but overall should make for a fun listen as the material is certainly more fleshed out here as opposed to disc one where songs are being dissected and worked on. * Bonus: The live bonus tracks sound great! -
Audience 8.8 - A tape that showcases a great guitar tone that soars above the audience with a nice biting attack. The rest of the music is slightly behind it and not as clear but whoa when the guitar is jamming this one RULES! Get it! -
Soundboard 9.5 - A great addition to anyone's collection. It features Steve Vai on guitar, who was part of Franks "Rockin' Teenage Combo" from approx 1980 - 82. -
Audience 8.7 - Hard to believe recordings keep turning up so many decades after the fact. Here’s one from Pirates World in Dania, FL. And it sounds pretty good! Frank Zappa 1973 03 03 Pirates World, Dania FL Lineup: FZ, Jean-Luc Ponty, Ian Underwood, Bruce Fowler, Ruth Underwood, George Duke, Tom Fowler, Ralph Humphrey Disc 1 01 intros 02 RDNZL 03 preamble 04 Exercise Four Dog Meat 05 Fifty Fifty 06 Inca Roads 07 Cletus Awreetus-Awrightus 08 preamble 09 Cosmik Debris 10 preamble 11 Be Bop Tango Disc 2 12 preamble 13 Montana 14 Dupree’s Paradise 15 I’m The Slime 16 Don’t You Ever Wash That Thing 17 Mr. Green Genes King Kong Chunga’s Revenge -
CD 1 - Detroit 1968 / CD 2 - Denver 1968 ..... Both Audience 9.0 -
Soundboard 9.7 - GREAT mix here, very bright and lively recording that will please everyone. -
Audience 9.4 - I love these tapes that make you feel you are in very small area with the band, like sitting at a little table having a cocktail as the band plays just feet in front of you. That is what this tape feels like, and the separation of instruments is delicious, with your ear hearing this show as if you were right there (meaning there is a stereo separation going on, a real one). So buckle up, because you are going to feel as though your actually at this show, it’s that good.
Frank Zappa Dortmund, Germany 5 May 1988 Disc 1 01. Instruments Check (1:07) 02. Intro (1:08) 03. The Black Page #2 (7:03) 04. Band Introductions (2:00) 05. The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing (3:08) 06. Alien Orifice (4:23) 07. Who Needs The Peace Corps (2:47) 08. I Left My Heart In San Francisco (0:36) 09. Outside Now (7:10) 10. Eric Dolphy Memorial Barbecue (7:59) 11. Bamboozled By Love (5:26) 12. Zoot Allures (6:25) 13. Cosmik Debris (4:51) 14. Stolen Moments (10:10) 15. Stick Together (1:54) Disc 2 16. My Guitar Wants To Kill Your Mama (3:38) 17. Willie The Pimp (2:58) 18. Montana (4:05) 19. City Of Tiny Lights (10:07) 20. Pound For A Brown (11:30) 21. Cruising For Burgers (9:19) 22. Instruments Check (0:25) 23. Dancin' Fool (3:29) 24. Whippin' Post (5:47) 25. I Am The Walrus (3:46) 26. Strictly Genteel (6:25) 27. Watermelon In Easter Hay (5:43)
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Audience 8.5 - Despite being a clean recording (probably from a master), this is captured from possibly middle of venue meaning it does sound a little distant (vocals are the giveaway). At times, it sounds like the tapers try to adjust their position and the sound gets fuller, although the music is still kind of blended together and you don’t get distinct guitar notes, even though you get the overall impact of guitar – now solos are a different thing, because those seem to soar above it all and are actually much clearer and more present in the mix. Frank Zappa 19820508 Drammen, Norway Drammenshallen Disc 1 01. -Tuning 02:01 02. -Treacherous Cretins 04:47 03. -Band Introductions 00:56 04. -Society Pages 02:30 05. -I'm A Beautiful Guy 01:52 06. -Beauty Knows No Pain 02:48 07. -Charlie's Enormous Mouth 03:34 08. -Fine Girl 03:11 09. -City Of Tiny Lites 09:22 10. -Harder Than Your Husband 02:35 11. -Bamboozled By Love 06:24 12. -Let's Move To Cleveland 05:58 13. -Tinsel Town Rebellion 04:19 14. -Sinister Footwear 07:53 Disc 2 15. -Stevie's Spanking 07:18 16. -Cocaine Decisions 04:00 17. -Nig Biz 05:24 18. -Disco Boy 03:08 19. -Teenage Wind 02:34 20. -Truck Driver Divorce 05:32 21. -Tell Me You Love Me 01:37 22. -crowd noise 01:50 23. -banter 00:47 24. -Strictly Genteel 06:16 25. -crowd noise 01:43 26. -banter 00:36 27. -No No Cherry 01:55 28. -The Man From Utopia Meets Mary Lou 03:33 29. -crowd noise 01:12 30. -banter 00:39 31. -Bobby Brown 02:41 32. -Zomby Woof 04:58 ________ 01:53:53 -
Audience 8.8 -
Soundboard 9.0 -
Soundboard 8.9 - Includes Mystery Tracks -
Soundboard 9.6 -
Audience 8.2 - I’m probably being overly critical, I find this tape on the “harsh” side, meaning it is strong in the higher end, almost brittle. The good news is that having all your highs intact you can add filters and EQ and season to taste without losing anything in the process. -
This set contains both shows recorded on Halloween night at the Felt Forum in NYC back in 1974. Early Show - Audience 8.5 - Right in the middle of the road, its good, not great. Late Show - Audience 8.9 - The only way I can explain this tape is that it starts off similar to the early show and at some point the taper moves to a hotter spot and the tape explodes with Frank’s amazing guitar right in your face. Even Frank himself makes a comment about his incendiary guitar work, I won’t spoil it though. -
Audience 8.8 - Another great Halloween show at the Felt Forum in NYC. This was Franks favorite Holiday and so I think he always enjoyed playing at his best and with the help of whatever line up he chose to have, the performance was always top notch. -
Audience 8.2 (both shows) -
Audience/Soundboard 8.5-9.0 - A composite of shows from different locations, all from 1984; NYC, Kansas City, and Seattle (see back cover). -
Audience 8.7 - 9.2 - Compilation of 5 shows, all from 1988 (see back cover) -
Audience 8.6 -
Soundboard 9.2 - Super clean if just a tiny little bit of over-driving happening in the extreme lows, which will probably be cool if you are playing through a very high end system that can filter that out a little. It’s not a real “spacious” board but 90% of the time board feeds are not going to be very atmospheric.