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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!Soundboard 9.2 - Taken from a television broadcast, but to my ears does not sound all compressed and one dimensional, so my guess it is a source not derived from the broadcast but tape possibly made of the gig separate from the TV production. Who knows for sure, but it sounds pretty good.
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Sale!Audience 9,6 and Audience 8.4 - The UK 78 material is fantastic! Vibrant and dynamic, should be released officially.
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Sale!Rare footage shot with Sony open reel video system (CV-2000 tape format B/W). Entire performance spanning 2 discs (encoded for optimal quality). This comes from the 3/4" Umatic master tapes (CV-2000 reels transferred onto 3/4"). Quality is fair, poor lighting hampered the video shoot, but for historical purposes most fans will find this fascinating due to the exceptional performance of the band and Roky in particular.
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Sale!Soundboard 9.5 - A very good mix, if there’s any complain I can make it’s that I found the music slightly compressed in the mid frequencies but this is extreme nitpicking…just trying to find a blemish in an otherwise perfect recording I guess.
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Sale!Soundboard 9.4 - Great mix and solid punch in the center.
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Sale!Audience 8.4 - Decent, maybe a little bit thin (needs more low end) but all highs are really there, so a bit of compression is not going to hurt this if someone wants to re-master it. A good one for the collection nonetheless.
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Sale!Audience 7.9 - The only thing that stops this recording from shining bright is the low end. It’s a thunderous low end, a roaring train, but it’s probably what the gig sounded like too. So, it’s not that it’s ruined, but that you should roll off the bass a little if you have an EQ, and then you’ll have something much better to listen to. A good recording – with loads of bass!
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Sale!Audience 8.7 - A good strong sounding tape with a minimal bit of clutter somewhere in the middle frequencies that does not distract thankfully. Recorded on some good gear, you can tell. Just listen to the organ when the music stops during Gypsy and you know what I'm talking about...just ripping!
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Sale!Audience 8.5 - A loud and brassy sound with a little tiny amount of overload somewhere in the upper mid frequency which, if you were to choose where to have it, would be there. So, that all sounds bad, but not really…this is a very satisfying listening experience because the actual tone and ambience of this recording is amazingly realistic and gives a sense of the venue (which gives a “time-trip” feeling to it). I rather like it a lot.
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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!Audience 8.8 - A solid and punchy recording that delivers bass and vocals in super detail. Drums come through real nice too, guitars and keys, while not as up front in this mix are still present in a stereo pan where they sit nicely because it gives the recording a balance. It’s easy on the ears and maybe more accurately replicates what you would have been hearing had you been sitting in the tapers seats.
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Sale!Audience 7.8 - One of those gigs I am sure the band is glad they have forgotten. Sound quality is not dismal though, the levels of the music are on the low side, and turning the volume up to high reveals more undesired noise than one would care for. That being said, it is clear enough to be able to get each individual on stage and hear them playing a rather uninspired set. For completists only, unless you just want to hear a bad Zeppelin gig.
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Sale!Soundboard 9.4 - A fantastic stereo board tape! I would have preferred more guitar in the mix, but it’s great nonetheless.
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Sale!Soundboard 9.5 - I believe this originates from an ALD recording, so yeah, it’s real good.
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Sale!Audience 9.4 - Soundboard that manages to include enough audience to make me think this was a total pro recording meant for something else besides being shelved.
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Sale!
Audience 8.5 - This tape sounds very low generation if not direct from a master, very articulate high end but missing a good solid low end – that does not kill it though. It’s got a good amount of hall atmosphere without actual reverb effect which is fine. Listening to this, I realize that the Turbo tour was really damn good, a lot of good songs and great playing.
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Sale!Audience 8.8 - This is a huge stadium and the sound is very atmospheric, you can hear the music swirl above your head giving you an amazing sense of space. It’s actually very cool! I feel like I am there, and I missed this concert so I am so happy to get to experience it.
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Sale!Audience 8.7 - An interesting tape, the recording is very lifelike and captures one of the best keyboard dominate performances I have ever heard. What I mean is, the keys really come to life on this one, as opposed to being merely “sound effects”, and the rest of the band is great too. A keeper!
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Sale!Audience 8.9 - A really cool recording in that keys, drums and bass sound right next to you but guitar swirls above them, and over your head, and around your ears… VERY nice atmosphere and picked up extremely well by the taper.
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Sale!Audience 8.7 - A decent tape that documents the first show of the ’77 Euro tour. There is a little bit of overcrowding in the mid to upper band, it’s not horrible but it prevents some of the detail in the guitar from being clearly heard. Bass sounds round and brassy, vocals are up front and clear.
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Sale!Audience 9.1 - The last of a four night stand in Paris, and probably the best of the recordings made. Strong, clear, and a nice warm mid tone, although not as atmospheric, meaning taper must have been close (and knew how to operate the recording levels!).
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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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Sale!Audience 7.7 - A distant recording, and some hiss present, but the music can be discerned. Not going to have a lot of dynamics, but for collectors out there, you can enjoy this one for what it is…and it continues to fill in the missing pieces of the Keith Moon years.
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Sale!Soundboard 9.5 - Of course it is immaculate. The way that Prince orchestrates his bands, the sound is so dialed in, I could not imagine a bad sounding Prince show. This is also a show with an amazing setlist, pretty much most of his more well known tunes.
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Sale!Audience 8.9 - Taper sitting very close, and manages to get a great recording without distorting or invasive shouting and screaming into the mic during the songs (well, maybe at the beginning of some songs). A good one, an old fashioned in your face bootleg recording of the Stones!
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Sale!Audience 8.6 - This recording straddles the fence a little. On the one hand, it’s got very defined highs and good overall acoustics but also a pretty rowdy audience that whoops and hollers (this is Texas after all). I can’t really blame them though, this is actually THE best Presto gig I have ever heard as far as the performance. Not all Rush shows are homogenous by the way. Listen to Alex rip on La Villa Strangiato for example. They are firing on all eight (with the lone exception being a marginal effort on the beginning of Xanadu).
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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!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!Audience 8.9 - Just the right amount of sonic clarity and separation of instruments with “live atmosphere” to make for a realistic listening experience. Sounds much like what you could have expected having been there. This was also the last show of the tour. Excellent!
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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 8.7 - 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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Sale!Audience 9.0 - Ok, so here’s the deal with this one – skip past the first song because it’s toast, the levels were not set and the distortion is off the charts. After that the taper readjusts levels and off we go to a really nice, atmospheric and clear recording of a powerful show.
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Sale!Soundboard 9.8 - One of the best board tapes I have heard, I love where each instrument sits in this mix. It also helps that the gig is exceptional, therefore I must categorize this one as a must have.
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Sale!Audience 8.7 - This is a radio broadcast that sounds very good with some minor signs of age and occasionally a dodgy mix in spots that get corrected quickly, at least. The band play pretty much every song that you remember most by them, the set list is thrilling.