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Audience 8.8 - A little bit one dimensional but at least that dimension is very good! Vocals a bit behind here, but only a little. Drums, guitar – aw yeah! -
Audience 7.5 - Some depth for a one dimensional middle of the stadium recording. Bass is in a good place, relatively clear but somewhat distant. -
Audience 7.9 - Low levels but pretty clear when you turn it up. Some lack of distinction, but a straightforward audience recording with nothing to offend but not going to blow anyone away. -
Audience 7.3 - Noisy, but a pretty huge bass crunch which will appeal to the those who like it heavier sounding. The size of the hall does confuse the frequencies and so you get too much mess in the middle and what not but you can hear this and get used to it and it will pull you in. A good performance! -
Audience 7.5 - What saves this is a rich bottom end that is surprisingly warm without overt boominess. Guitar is present but sometimes hides behind the noise. Sound tends to come in and go slightly out in a wave like fashion but it’s subtle. Sometimes this gets clear and decent and then sometimes it seems to be brittle and cluttered in the lower end of the midrange. The rating is pretty accurate. It’s not atrocious – it’s for collectors though. -
Soundboard 9.4 - Powerful, living room clarity in your face and just as good a mix as you can do. -
Audience 9.1 - Coming from the original master tape, this show circulated online claiming 1st generation source and let me tell you, just toss that one out because ladies and gentlemen prepare to ENTER THE PALLADIUM and be blown away! After adjusting position during first song, the rest of the show (with just one or two minor dropouts) really soars to great heights both sonically and performance-wise. A crisp, airy but tight sound very close up front and no distortion, tape noise, or artifacts. Simply put, if you are a Rush fan, you need this. -
Audience 7.6 - I have it in my mind to collect every single performance the band did in Toronto. That means I am gonna get some good, some bad, some in between. This is probably some in-between. Not horrible but not great either. Now, I will say this, let your ears adjust and you get a reasonably clear but phasing sound. Recorded from somewhere pretty well back of the auditorium, sounds like. -
Audience 7.4 - A very thin recording, now it does come from a master source so it is as clean as it will ever be. I mean, I suppose you do hear it all, just do not expect much bottom end. -
Soundboard 9.3 - Long admired by fans for being both a fantastic performance and excellent soundboard with a good mix. A staple in every self-respecting Rush fan’s collection. -
Audience 8.4 - This is a case of a show, actually let me re-phrase that, this WAS a show that many collectors lamented as being a superb performance marred by very marginal sound quality. Not anymore! Friends, this new direct from master source and re-mastered version of this totally excellent gig is simply a joy to get to listen to in this improved quality. Not that it is astounding, in fact it still has issues, but the jump from what it was (about a 7.3) to what it is now is too great an improvement to not shower heaps of praise upon it. Note: It doesn’t get good until about halfway through the first song, then there is a little cut in the tape, and then it gets noticeably better and better. -
Audience 8.7 - So it’s kind of in the middle of the venue and so you sacrifice a little clarity in the low mid but man, somebody did know what they were doing here. It’s very clear in the upper end, there’s no real boominess or echo either. It’s the best middle of the floor aud tape I think I have ever heard, and the best part is the band is really cooking. I think you will be happy with this. -
Audience 8.6 - Sometimes, a rating cannot reflect the magnitude of a recording. I can specifically say that this one is only an 8.6 in a sonic sense, which means it is very good and worthwhile, but man, let me tell you what this show REALLY is – it’s an 11. Why? Because this is, quite simply, Rush in an unbelievable fine form playing their (arguably) best stuff, and the recording has captured that and a very palpable atmosphere at the same time. A little clarity is lost in the bass/guitar separation as they seem to sound as one unit which is not such a bad thing as it creates a sonic roar, a lion’s roar it is too, but it does get a little crowded in that frequency range. But, it captures an amazing power those two had on stage, the sound is ferocious and menacing. -
Audience 7.7 - While the ratings may show this to be an average sounding tape, let me reveal my own bias for a moment. This is Rush’s best tour. You may argue with that, I mean, the previous two tours were pretty amazing too. I find the set list and performances of the Permanent Waves tour to be exceptional, and this show, while maybe not the best of the lot, does reveal yet more of the Rush mystique. A recording that requires 10 minutes to adjust to but eventually begins to sound pretty decent apart from a guitar that sits behind the action a little (except during solos). A little boomy but not a deal breaker. A good, not great, tape. -
Audience 9.2 -
Soundboard 9.0 -
Soundboard 9.7 -
Soundboard 9.4 -
Audience 8.8 - Taper had good gear for this one, you can tell there is some sense of space, and the music has a chance to float above you. A rather sweet recording. -
Soundboard 9.0 - A little bit of hiss in the background but otherwise a solid, and enjoyable one! -
Soundboard 8.8 - A good and clear tape. -
Audience 8.8 - This is a really nice one, pretty atmospheric without being reverby and hollow and the live sound mix is pretty right-on. The sound separation here presents itself as what feels like stereo to me, whether or not taper used two mics I do not know but it does sound like it. The band is really hot! -
Soundboard 8.8 -
Soundboard 9.8 - Wow! Superb! -
Audience 8.7 - Lacks maybe some good mid punch, lows are good, Chris sounds good, but honestly listening now it kind of haunts you. RIP Chris Cornell. -
Audience 9.0 - This recording has a good solid middle highlighting the musicianship of the band, possibly at the expense of Chris in the overall mix. Don’t let that stop you, by all means this is one to get. -
Audience 7.6 - Guitar cuts through quite well on this one. DVD is pro shot from French TV 1970 and features the original band members. DVD is a real treat. -
Audience 8.6 -
Soundboard 8.5 - It’s really hard to tell but I think it’s a board because of the way the sound is mixed. Vocals are way up front, and then they get pushed a little back, and there’s a lack of surrounding noise. There is some tape noise present. The audience noise you do hear sounds like it is picked up from one of the stage mics. -
FM Radio Broadcast 8.8 -
Audience 7.9 - A delightful tape, rather warm and intimate although not super bright and clear. It still works, it has that vibe and emotional thing happening. -
Various sources, all generally very good to excellent. Well worth picking this up. -
Audience 8.1 - Not that bad, but vocals a little back, and some tape distortion in the mid band somewhere that does not bother but it is there lurking. The Mellotron adds a nice sweeping atmosphere. Bonus disc - Audience 7.0 - Presents occasional tape flaws, so is something for collectors only. Spirit My Father's Place Old Roslyn, New York August 8th 1976, 1st and 2nd shows Disc 1 1st Show 01. Nature's Way 02. Veruska 03. Little Time To Fly 04. Like A Rolling Stone 05. Farther Along 06. Mr Skin 07. Stoney Night 08. Fresh Garbage 09. World Eat World Dog 10. 1984 11. It's All The Same 12. I Got A Line On You 13. Animal Zoo 14, Hey Joe Disc 2 2nd Show 01. Prelude - Nothing To Hide 02. Nature's Way 03. Like A Rolling Stone 04. World Eat World Dog 05. Mr Skin 06. Farther Along 07. Stoney Night 08. Mega Star 09. I Got A Line On You 10. Reelin' In The Night 11. Dark Eyed Woman 12. 1984 Original reunion with Neil Young, Santa Monica, Ca., August 28 1976 13. Just Like Thumb's Blues 14. Like A Rolling Stone -
Audience 9.0 - Very present and clear guitar! The whole band sounds great – this is a great tape! -
Pro Soundboard 9.3 -
Audience 8.4 - Some tape hiss present, and recorded from maybe midway back in the hall but if you turn up the volume a bit, this actually is very decent quality. Having relatively low recording levels means, essentially, they were conscience of overloading and distortion so they protected against that. You can turn the volume up as loud as you can stand, and it sounds better and better! -
Audience 8.6 to 9.3 - From different sources and a great collection! -
Soundboard 9.0 - For those who want to know what Bruce Springsteen was about before he went all FM friendly singer songwriter, look no further than this hard and heavy hard rock jam fest from 1971. I do not like Bruce, I think he’s kind of a big douche, but damn you have to give him props because he is a rock and roll survivor and this early stuff smokes. -
Audience 9.5 - A lovely recording! -
Soundboard 9.5 - An absolutely marvelous, bright, snappy recording here! Get it! -
CD 1 - Soundboard 9.0 / CD 2 - Soundboard 8.8 -
CD 1 - Soundboard 9.0 and Audience 8.7 - The Sparrow show is great, amazing that such an early document was captured so well (by a radio station no less). The Dallas material comes after and is also very good, and at first it may seem it could even be a board tape but closer inspection suggests otherwise but it’s pretty decent. The Baltimore material filling out the 2nd half of Disc 2 is the worst of this collection at an 8.3 Audience rating which is not bad at all really. John Kay sounds very prominent in the mix, guitar and bass pretty heavy sounding, keys and drums kind of washed out a bit, but you hear pretty much all of it nonetheless. -
Soundboard 8.7 - Sounds like it comes from a video source, with some of that compression factor present. For such a major stadium act, there are surprisingly few tapes out there of him. -
Soundboard 8.8 - Somewhat dated sound, and a touch of hiss, but by golly this is pretty good stuff considering the age! For those who thought Steve Miller began with Fly Like An Eagle, you may want to hear the raw bluesy psychedelia he was rooted in. -
Audience 8.8 - Captured live at his home away from home, Fitzgerald’s Club in Houston, this is perhaps one of the very best small club gigs ever recorded. It has a certain vibe, perhaps that is why this show has a very special place in the hearts of SRV collectors. -
Audience 8.8 - Very well recorded, superb atmosphere! -
Audience 8.0 - Typical big rock sound. I like the Palo Alto show here, it’s the stronger of the two as far as clarity, but the San Francisco show sounds somewhat meatier ~ it’s a trade off.
