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Audience 9.3 - I found this to be highly immersive and exceptionally enjoyable. First of all the band sounds invigorated, breathing new life into the old catalog of songs but fiery with the newer material. I like how you can tell when the taper has to duck so as not to be discovered because at those moments (thankfully few) you hear the music suddenly seem above you and farther away, kind of cool actually. All in all – great sound, great performance. ROLLING STONES SOFI STADIUM INGLEWOOD, CA. 2021-10-14 Disc 1 01. intro 02. Let's Spend The Night Together 03. 19th Nervous Breakdown 04. Here`s to you Charlie 05. Rocks Off 06. Get Off My Cloud 07. Tumbling Dice 08. Ruby Tuesday 09. You Can't Always Get What You Want 10. Living In A Ghost Town 11. Start Me Up 12. Honky Tonk Women Disc 2 13. band introductions 14. Connection 15. Slipping Away 16. Miss You 17. Midnight Rambler 18. Paint It Black 19. Sympathy For The Devil 20. Jumpin' Jack Flash 21. Gimme Shelter 22. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction 23. outro -
Audience 8.8-9.2 - All seem to be recorded with the same gear but the Marseille show seems maybe slightly upgraded due to either taper position or just better acoustics. Over all this is a highly rated set of shows for the quality of the recordings. The stage mix does vary just a bit as to who is more present, but you hear all the stuff going on as it was live-mixed for the performance (meaning I don’t think taper error caused any lack of presence of, say, synthesizer or guitar on any given performance). The taper used the first song, and in some cases part of the second song to dial in the levels (an indication of really good gear being used) and as such you may notice a volume change, albeit relatively smooth, and once he’s dialed in it is smooth sailing. The performances are sometimes a little hesitant but do gel during instrumental segments much more. I will say this: Mick Taylor is a fantastic player, but I would not call him “progressive” and this music wants to be more prog but it is constrained and maybe that is why it did not blossom much. Jack Bruce, Carla Bley & Mick Taylor Tour Of Europe 1975 Volume Three Musikhalle Hamburg, WG 1975-05-13 Disc 1 01 -Can You Follow 02 -Morning Story 03 -Keep It Down 04 -Pieces Of Mind 05 -Tickets To Waterfalls 06 -Weird Of Hermiston 07 -Post War 08 -Spirit Disc 2 09 -One 10 -You Burned The Tables On Me 11 -Without A Word 12 -Smiles And Grins 13 -Sunshine Of Your Love -
Audience 8.8-9.2 - All seem to be recorded with the same gear but the Marseille show seems maybe slightly upgraded due to either taper position or just better acoustics. Over all this is a highly rated set of shows for the quality of the recordings. The stage mix does vary just a bit as to who is more present, but you hear all the stuff going on as it was live-mixed for the performance (meaning I don’t think taper error caused any lack of presence of, say, synthesizer or guitar on any given performance). The taper used the first song, and in some cases part of the second song to dial in the levels (an indication of really good gear being used) and as such you may notice a volume change, albeit relatively smooth, and once he’s dialed in it is smooth sailing. The performances are sometimes a little hesitant but do gel during instrumental segments much more. I will say this: Mick Taylor is a fantastic player, but I would not call him “progressive” and this music wants to be more prog but it is constrained and maybe that is why it did not blossom much. Jack Bruce, Carla Bley & Mick Taylor Tour Of Europe 1975 Volume Two Mozartsaaal im Rosengarten Mannheim, WG 1975-05-05 Disc 1 01 -Can You Follow 02 -Morning Story 03 -Keep It Down 04 -Pieces Of Mind 05 -Tickets To Waterfalls 06 -Weird Of Hermiston 07 -Post War 08 -Spirit Disc 2 09 -One 10 -Out Into The Fields 11 -You Burned All My Tables 12 -Without A Word 13 -Smiles And Grins -
Audience 8.8-9.2 - All seem to be recorded with the same gear but the Marseille show seems maybe slightly upgraded due to either taper position or just better acoustics. Over all this is a highly rated set of shows for the quality of the recordings. The stage mix does vary just a bit as to who is more present, but you hear all the stuff going on as it was live-mixed for the performance (meaning I don’t think taper error caused any lack of presence of, say, synthesizer or guitar on any given performance). The taper used the first song, and in some cases part of the second song to dial in the levels (an indication of really good gear being used) and as such you may notice a volume change, albeit relatively smooth, and once he’s dialed in it is smooth sailing. The performances are sometimes a little hesitant but do gel during instrumental segments much more. I will say this: Mick Taylor is a fantastic player, but I would not call him “progressive” and this music wants to be more prog but it is constrained and maybe that is why it did not blossom much. Jack Bruce Band Tour Of Europe 1975 Volume One Salle Vallier Marseille, FR 1975-04-29 Disc 1 01 -You Burned The Tables On Me 02 -Morning Story 03 -Pieces of Mind 04 -Keep It Down 05 -One 06 -Spirit Disc 2 07 -Without A Word 08 -Tickets To Waterfalls 09 -Weird Of Hermiston 10 -Post War Band: Jack Bruce - Vocals, Bass, Piano Mick Taylor - Guitar Carla Bley - Organ, Synthesizer, Clavinet, Mellotron, Electric Piano Ronnie Leahy - Piano, Electric Piano, Synthesizer Bruce Gary - Drums Jack Bruce, Carla Bley & Mick Taylor -
Audience 9.3 - It’s hard to get much better than this as far as overall enjoyment…for one thing yes it sounds great but man, the band is in the pocket, razor sharp and ready to fuck things up in Netherlands. Sammy has his shtick so dialed in it is easy to forget the effortless banter of his nemesis David Lee Roth. And…finally there is Satch’s incredible fiery guitar work that is quite breathtaking here. Chickenfoot Poppodium 013 Tilburg, The Netherlands 01-17-2012 Disc 1 01. Lighten Up 02. Alright Alright 03. Big Foot 04. Sexy Little Thing 05. Soap on a Rope 06. Up Next 07. My Kinda Girl 08. Down the Drain Disc 2 09. Three and a Half Letters 10. Something Going Wrong 11. Turnin' Left 12. Future in the Past 13. Crowd cheering & Sammy talks 14. Different Devil 15. Oh Yeah 16. Foxy Lady -
Upper Darby 1975 Audience 8.7 - This is not an easy one to pull off – you have to give a lot of credit to this taper as he’s trying to capture an excessively loud and aggressive rock band in a smallish club. That means you’d better be in a good spot with a tape machine that can prevent distortion due to high volume. Taper got those two essentials right. What is the flaw then? I would say unless you are super picky, you really will understand the value of this tape. Good sound quality, you hear everything (both guitars clear!), drums, bass even! So it isn’t board tape perfect, but I think this rare 1975 audience tape belongs in every fan’s collection. It is that good. Central Park 1975 Soundboard 9.8 - What a thrill this is! Man, if you can’t get excited listening to this you are dead. This recording wakes the dead! Get ready for max rock madness in crystal clear excellence. Ted Nugent Live '75 Disc 1 Tower Theater Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania May 3, 1975 01. Intro 02. Hibernation 03. Stranglehold 04. Lady Luck 05. Pony Express 06. Tuning Up 07. Queen Of The Forest 08. Living In The Woods 09. Where Have You Been All My Life 10. Feedback Frenzy 11. Papa's Will Disc 2 Schaeffer Music Festival Central Park New York, NY August 29, 1975 01. -Hibernation 02. -Stormtroopin' 03. -Just What the Doctor Ordered 04. -Stranglehold 05. -Motor City Madhouse Ted Nugent - lead guitar, vocals Derek St Holmes - vocals & rhythm guitar Rob Grange - bass Cliff Davies - drums -
LA 1977 Soundboard 9.4 - THIS is what PUNK should sound like live…loud, brash, and totally in your face – that is exactly what this board tape delivers and I LOVE IT! Get it and you’ll see why. CBGB’s 1977 Audience 9.2 - A pretty clean recording, which is surprising to me as this is a punk band in a small club at full volume (presumably). So, either taper is affiliated with the club and set up somewhere with some good equipment or it’s a fan who just knew what he was doing and nailed it. I am going with the former. Ramones LIVE 1977 Disc 1 Whisky a Go Go Los Angeles, California October 21, 1977 01 -intro 02 -Loudmouth 03 -Beat On The Brat 04 -Blitzkrieg Bop 05 -I Remember You 06 -Glad To See You Go 07 -Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment 08 -You're Gonna Kill That Girl 09 -I Don't Care 10 -Sheena Is A Punk Rocker 11 -Rockaway Beach 12 -Commando 13 -Here Today, Gone Tomorrow 14 -Surfin' Bird 15 -Cretin Hop 16 -Listen To My Heart 17 -California Sun 18 -I Don't Wanna Walk Around With You 19 -Pinhead 20 -break before encore 21 -Suzy Is A Headbanger 22 -Chain Saw 23 -Today Your Love, Tomorrow The World 24 -break before second encore 25 -Now I Want To Be A Good Boy 26 -Let's Dance Disc 2 CBGB's New York, NY 10-27-77 1. -Loudmouth 2. -Beat on the brat 3. -Blitzkrieg Bop 4. -I Remember You 5. -Glad To See You Go 6. -Teenage Lobotomy 7. -You're Gonna Kill That Girl 8. -53rd And 3rd 9. -Sheena Is A Punk Rocker 10. -Rockaway Beach 11. -Commando 12. -Here Today, Gone Tomorrow 13. -Surfin' Bird 14. -Cretin Hop 15. -Listen To My Heart 16. -California Sun 17. -I Don't Wanna Walk Around With You 18. -Pinhead 19. -Let's Dance 20. -Today Your Love, Tomorrow The World -
Soundboard 9.3 - There are quite a few board tapes from this period, so which ones do you get? After listening to this one, I really think it’s one of the ones to get. Great sound, but a really strong performance (when did they not?) too.
The Police "Live In Melbourne '81" Disc 1 01 Voices Inside My Head 02 Don't Stand So Close To Me 03 Walking On The Moon 04 Death Wish 05 Fallout 06 Man In A Suitcase 07 Bring On The Night 08 De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da 09 Truth Hits Everybody 10 Shadows In The Rain Disc 2 01 When The World Is Running Down 02 The Bed's Too Big Without You 03 Driven To Tears 04 Message In A Bottle 05 Roxanne 06 Can't Stand Losing You 07 So Lonely -
Audience 9.3 - A beautiful wide, spacious, and clear recording of a band absolutely demolishing it. How much friggin’ better do you want it? I’ve heard major label released live albums that didn’t sound as good as this.
Black Sabbath Stadthalle Offenbach, Germany 1980-06-02 Disc 1 101 Supertzar 102 War Pigs 103 Noen Knights 104 N.I.B. 105 Lonely Is The Word 106 Sweet Leaf 107 Drum Solo 108 Sweet Leaf (Reprise) 109 Children Of The Sea Disc 2 201 Black Sabbath 202 Heaven And Hell 203 Iron Man 204 Guitar Solo 205 Die Young 206 Paranoid 207 Children Of The Grave -
Pro Audience 9.2 - This rating may seem confusing and that is because I just don’t believe this to be a board feed recording, nor do I believe it to be a straight audience tape. I believe this may have been recorded for broadcast locally and the station probably hung mics or placed them somewhere in the hall because there’s too much ambience for a straight board tape. It’s very good, it’s got a critical element missing in every board tape and that’s some sense of the room, the audience, etc.
Black Sabbath Civic Center Hartford, CT 1980-08-10 Disc 1 101 Supertzar 102 War Pigs 103 Neon Knights 104 N.I.B. 105 Children Of The Sea 106 Sweet Leaf 107 Drum Solo 108 Sweet Leaf (Reprise) 109 Black Sabbath Disc 2 201 MC 202 Heaven And Hell 203 Iron Man 204 Guitar Solo 205 Die Young 206 Paranoid 207 children Of The Grave Bonus track Hammersmith Odeon London, UK 1980-05-08 208 Children Of The Sea -
Soundboard 8.8 - Not your typical board tape here, in fact I hesitate to even call it one because to me it sounds like a stage recording. Either way, it is decent but not great. What is great, however, is this period of the band and this performance is indicative of that peak they attained. Marvelous playing throughout – and like I said the sound quality is decent and enjoyable but I expected more from a professional recording.
The Coliseum St Austell, UK 28th April 1982 Disc 1 01 -Blackout 02 -Dont Make No Promises 03 -Loving You Sunday Morning 04 -Make It Real 05 -We'll Burn The Sky 06 -Coast To Coast 07 -Lovedrive 08 -Always Somewhere 09 -Holiday Disc 2 01 -Cant Live Without You 02 -He's A Woman She's A Man 03 -Another Piece Of Meat 04 -Dynamite 05 -The Zoo 06 -Steamrock Fever 07 -Cant Get Enough -
Soundboard 9.2 - What I like most about this board tape is that it emphasizes Bill Wyman, and I mean where you can hear individual notes that he is playing, while also laying down a strong, sonically speaking, low end (so it’s not just bass notes being plucked out). This is a new, and good way to listen to another ’81 Tour board tape without being bored…’cause we all know the set list didn’t change at all.
Rolling Stones Rosemont Horizon Des Plaines, IL. 11-23-1981 Disc 1 1. -Take The A Train - Under My Thumb 2. -When The Whip Comes Down 3. -Let's Spend The Night Together 4. -Shattered 5. -Neighbours 6. -Black Limousine 7. -Just My Imagination 8. -Twenty Flight Rock 9. -Going To A Go Go 10. -Let Me Go 11. -Time Is On My Side 12. -Beast Of Burden 13. -Waiting On A Friend 14. -Let It Bleed Disc 2 1. -You Can't Always Get What You Want 2. -Band Intros 3. -Little T&A 4. -Tumbling Dice 5. -She's So Cold 6. -Hang Fire 7. -Miss You 8. -Honky Tonk Women 9. -Brown Sugar 10. -Start Me Up 11. -Jumping Jack Flash 12. -Satisfaction 13. -Star Spangled Banner - School Day -
Soundboard 9.0 - Nothing particularly wrong with this one, but a did feel as though the mix was a little bit overcrowded at time (especially when the band was cooking), but at the same time I loved how the organ sounded and the sheer power of this band came across very convincingly.
Patti Smith Group The Place Eugene, Oregon, USA May 4, 1978 Disc One 01 -Land 02 -Rock And Roll Nigger 03 -Privilege 04 -Free Money 05 -Pissing In A River 06 -Pumping 07 -You Really Got Me 08 -Time Is on My Side 09 -Ghost Dance 10 -Because the Night Disc Two 01 -Easter 02 -Radio Ethiopia 03 -Gloria 04 -Jailhouse Rock 05 -My Generation Civic Center Santa Monica, California May 12, 1978 06 -Land 07 -Rock And Roll Nigger 08 -Privilege 09 -Kimberly 10 -Till Victory 11 -Redondo Beach
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Audience 9.3 - One thing you must concede about recordings from this venue – they are almost 100% of the time decent overall but more importantly extremely pleasant atmospherically. Audiences here are generally very attuned to the performer on stage, knowing the music, and there to listen to the music. The Roxy was a venue for music connoisseurs. A brilliant tape here to add to your collection.
Peter Gabriel The Roxy West Hollywood, CA September 30, 1978 Early Show Disc 1 01 Me And My Teddy Bear 02 On Presuming To Be Modern 03 On The Air 04 Moribund The Burgermeister 05 Perspective 06 Indigo 07 White Shadow 08 D.I.Y. 09 Waiting For The Big One 10 Band Introductions 11 Mother Of Violence Disc 2 12 Slowburn 13 Flotsam And Jetsam 14 I Don't Remember 15 Solsbury Hill 16 Modern Love 17 The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway 18 Animal Magic 19 Here Comes The Flood
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Audience 8.3/8.5 - Despite the low approval ratings of these audio tapes, I have to say I still think they are important to the Megadeth collector for several reasons. There’s just not a lot of recordings from these early periods for some unknown reason, and these shows, having been cleaned up and re-mastered as well as could be done, represent listenable time capsules of perhaps one of the all-time greatest metal band. Megadeth do not get the same accolades as some of the other big metal bands (do I have to mention them?) but I always loved their complexity and sarcasm. I did listen to both of these shows and once my ears adjusted I stuck with it and wrote this review without bias. Average tapes that deserve a place in any collection because of the significance of this band.
Megadeth The Windy City Gigs Disc 1 Metro, Chicago, IL (USA) June 30, 1985 01. -Last Rites - Loved To Death 02. -Killing Is My Business 03. -Skull Beneath The Skin 04. -These Boots 05. -My Last Words 06. -Looking Down The Cross 07. -Chosen Ones 08. -Mechanix 09. -Bad Omen 10. -Encore break 11. -Good Mourning - Black Friday 12. -Rattlehead Disc 2 (U.I.C) Pavilion University of Illinois Chicago, IL 1987-02-12 1. -Intro 2. -Wake Up Dead 3. -The Conjuring 4. -My Last Words 5. -Bad Omen 6. -Rattlehead - Dave's talking about Chicago 7. -Peace Sells 8. -Devil's Island 9. -The Mechanix
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Birmingham 1976 Pro Radio 9.5 - Obviously this should be excellent quality seeing as how it was recorded for British Biscuit radio broadcast. Well, yeah, it’s really good!
Dallas 1981 Pro Radio 8.9 - Sounds maybe a gen or two down (but no tape hiss) or perhaps just the age of the tape this was recorded on as it was presumably tapes off the air. Still, it’s very good and I am sure with some EQ touches could really bring more of the highs out.
Marshall Tucker Band Disc 1 The Odeon, Birmingham, England November 29th, 1976 1 -British Biscuit Intro 2 -Long Hard Ride 3 -Searching For A Rainbow 4 -Can't You See 5 -This Old Cowboy 6 -Fire On The Mountain 7 -Take The Highway THE BAND Doug Gray lead vocals percussion Toy Caldwell lead electric and acoustic guitar steel guitar Tommy Caldwell bass guitar backing vocals George McCorkle electric and acoustic guitar banjo Jerry Eubanks flute alto baritone and tenor saxophone backing vocals Paul Riddle drums Disc 2 Wintergarden Theater Dallas, TX March 15th 1981 1 -K.B.F.H. Intro 2 -It Takes Time 3 -See You One More Time 4 -Tell The Blues To Take Off Tonight 5 -This Time I Believe 6 -Take The Highway 7 -Fire On The Mountain 8 -In My Own Way 9 -Ramblin' 10 -This Ol' Cowboy 11 -KZAM THE BAND Toy Caldwell Guitars Steel Guitar Background Vocals Doug Gray Vocals Jerry Eubanks Flute Saxophone Keyboards Background Vocals Paul Riddle Drums Background Vocals George McCorkle Guitar Franklin Wilkie Bass Background Vocals