Audience 8.0

Audience 7.7 - A little quiet but good low end presence, very narrow in the mid range though. Could easily be remastered to sound great.

Pro 9.0

Audience 8.3 - A fine recording all things considered. It’s a big hall, recording comes from somewhere in the middle of the arena but the capture is reasonable albeit without a good definition and some mild boominess. Overall you can be happy with this recording and of course the band has a fine repertoire.

Soundboard 9.0 and Audience 8.6 - This is a very interesting document of a period of time in the band’s history where they lost a key member of the band in guitarist Randy Bachman. That did not stop them, as these shows attest. Quality varies but is consistently good across all shows with the first part being Soundboard and the rest very clear and reasonably dynamic Audiences.

Soundboard 9.6 - Professional recording and mix…almost perfect in every way!

Audience 9.5 - Technically speaking, you could argue with my rating, but a rating must not only represent sonic clarity but also overall enjoyability of a show/recording. This one rates as high as I can allow for both excellence and all the other aspects of what makes a tape really great.

Audience 9.0 - Fantastic recording really, in fact I can only try and be real nitpicky to try to find anything outright bad about it. It’s close up, warm, atmospheric (I don’t mean echo or reverb either), and pretty good separation of instruments. Kick drum is even present, so it is also detailed. Good One!

Pro Broadcast quality with minor tape hiss but when the music is going, it’s not a bother.

Soundboard 9.2

Audience 7.4 to 7.7 - A tape that varies in consistency but man oh man, this is incredible! I don’t care about the limitations of the tape, I can hear everything, at times it gets quite good and clear, there is some phasing at times, sometimes the taper is walking around too but it doesn’t even matter. This is amazing!

Audience 6.7 - Really do wish this sounded better but it’s the only known live recording of this wonderful and amazing prog band. Keyboards are more prominent in the mix, followed by drums, then bass. So the important elements are here. When the band is quieter you get much more out of it, that being said, WOW just to even have this is quite special, really. I find more to enjoy from this than to be grumpy about.

Soundboard 9.8 - Put down whatever you are doing immediately. This SMOKES! This is the one you do not want to pass up!

Audience 8.7 - Very good! Much wider stereo sound field with some hall dynamics present, and just a little less definition with Pete in the mix but it's actually got a great live feel to it. Highly enjoyable.

Audience 8.8 - Once the taper settles in this show sounds fantastic! Clear, decent mix and great atmosphere. A real treat!

Audience 7.1 - A kind of muddy mix with Roger coming through OK, and the lead guitar is fine. Not the worst 1971 show, which we take whatever we can get as Who fans.

Audience 7.1 - Definitely not a hi-fi recording but I can say this, you actually hear not only Roger fine above the din, but also Pete’s backing vocals! Next up is bass and guitars, with drums in the back kind of buried. Still, I just love these 68 shows, before Tommy, and the band is just so jazzed and audiences are too. Historical document well worth hearing.

Audience 7.7 - Pretty decent recording, rather quiet audience this time. The sound rings out clear. My hunch is this may be a vinyl source but it’s been handled properly. Really good for the time.

Audience 6.8 to 7.0 - You get mainly Roger and Keith crashing cymbals and his kick drum, then Pete shows up in the mix. Interesting atmosphere though, because the audience must be large but you can’t hear them much on this tape, possibly mic was elevated above the crowd. The sound changes a little as it goes and gets better to my ears. Hence the kick up to 7.0.

Audience 8.2 - A tape with some good qualities despite being technically average. For instance, I like the vocals on this tape, and Pete’s guitar is in a better spot than on most average audience recordings, it comes through ok, with great atmosphere! Roger sounds great, and the bass is a nice fat, round sound that gets a little pushy but also gives the show its darker vibe. Interesting moment in the show, during the pause in Young Man Blues (the one right before the jam) where Keith traditionally tosses the sticks and catches them, the audience really reacts so it must have been a spectacular one by Keith. Pete shines on guitar throughout this gig.

Audience 7.2 - I love this, for many reasons beyond sound rating. This is one of those shows to me that rises above all other shows of better quality. It is not bad, it is actually a good, fun listen with nothing that annoys or distracts. It is not overly dynamic with crystal highs and deep lows, but the space it occupies does not offend. A good one, while he’s away!

Audience 8.2 - This recording, while not astounding, has an unusual feature for an amateur recording early 70’s – and that is good highs and good lows! There’s stuff to work with here. Very enjoyable!

Audience 8.7 - This tape barely contains the driving, relentless energy of the Who. It does, in fact, manage to remain somewhat stable even if Roger gets a little lost in the mix. Sheer power, loudness that probably caused some major hearing loss for a few folks.

Soundboard 7.8 - The main problem here is the funky mix. It may be a monitor mix, because where the instruments are placed and how they are mixed overall not only changes occasionally, but seem to indicate this is probably just that, a monitor mix.