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Audience 8.4 - Good solid punch, a well defined mid band and decent highs. A keeper! -
Audience 8.8 - Clear solid and a good live mix where everything is clearly heard. -
Soundboard 8.6 - Needs a wider and brighter sound spectrum EQ job but it’s still a great listen, perfect for someone to remaster. -
Audience 8.7 - Very clean, levels a little low so turn it up. Very nice, and the band is great. -
Audience 8.8 - Decent sound quality with good low end which helps immensely. The louder you crank this the more realistic it gets. Mix-wise, I hear guitar maybe a little low, but bass, drums, vocals especially present. -
Audience 8.7 - A very high quality effort made here, with the only detracting factor being a little less than ideal clarity but nevertheless it is a very fine listen, with all instruments nicely separated, and a good mix from the mains (and good atmosphere) so yeah, get it. -
Audience 8.4 - A very good 8.4! So what I mean is, as any die hard Yes collector will probably agree with me on, is that the 1978 and 1979 period of Yes is perhaps their absolute zenith. This performance here is right up there with the best of the best, and the rating might be misleading because while it is maybe on the “average” side, it is still a good representation, giving you pretty good stage sound balance but maybe missing a little separation of instruments (drums get a little buried)- but overall this one should be thoroughly enjoyed by the Yes fan as it’s all here, and reasonably good too! -
Audience 7.8 - Interesting recording, seems like it was done from the keyboard side of the stage for sure as they come through clear and loud, followed by guitar. The rhythm section is somewhat indistinct and vocals, while pretty front and center too, are fighting for the space that the keyboards occupy causing a bandwidth battle. What you have is a fight to control the mid-band range, so while I think this recording is good and clear, it’s too much happening in the middle. One thing you may also notice, the feeling you might get is that this is still the 70’s, even though it is the end of the decade, the music and atmosphere here is still firmly planted in the 70’s. -
Audience 8.0 - A good reference recording, does not deliver a palette full of dynamic sound colorization or anything like that but it is a pretty clear, one-dimensional recording. One thing I can say is that collectors will want this, as any 1972 show is well worth having in my opinion and this one is very decent even if it lacks a solid low end (not necessarily thin, just not a lot of bottom). -
Audience 8.4 - Very few 1980 recordings out there, this one is pretty decent, no glaring flaws to mention, but there is some tape hiss (although the music is sharp for the most part). -
Audience 8.7 - If you took any audience tape from 1983 with an 8.7 rating, this show would still sound better because for some reason, I guess maybe it’s the microphones or something, but recordings made in the 70’s have more of a warmth, a more natural texture and quality to the sound. -
Audience 8.5 - A legendary vinyl boot back in the day, this comes from a tape source and features a good recording capturing all the action in reasonable clarity and fidelity. A really fine set too! -
Audience 9.8 - Complete 2 hr show with some killer guitar from the master himself. This is a must have for any collector (one of my fav's) with classic song selections at the Performing Arts Centre in New York. -
Soundboard 9.4 -
Audience 8.6 (Early Show) -
Audience 8.5 - Slightly more echoey than the early show but otherwise about the same. (Late Show) -
Audience 8.2 - This is an unmastered 1st generation audience tape. Could be immensely improved if mastered, right now it is pretty clear although lacking real bottom end. -
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. -
Audience 8.4 - Technically a good tape since everything is clear, not very dynamic and levels are kind of low. That being said, it is a tape you will crank very loudly, and that actually helps immensely. Do that, and this show rocks out! -
Soundboard 8.6 -
Audience 8.4 -
Soundboard 8.5 and Soundboard 8.2 - One half of the show is much clearer than the other for some reason. Both have been remastered but one can only do so much. Still, this can be appreciated and being a board tape, it is pretty easy to hear each instrument. -
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 8.6 - A tape that starts off pretty rough and then gets better and better until it is quite good and clear, especially nice when you consider that it has taken the better part of 40 years to start getting half decent ZZ Top live recordings. -
Soundboard 8.8 -
Soundboard 9.3 -
Audience 8.7 - Very direct sound, as if taper had great seats, but there’s some background hiss that is not too bad, and the sound is not exactly “full bodied” but it’s pretty darn clear. A good one, and 1977 was not a tour where there is an overwhelming amount of recordings for some reason. -
Soundboard 9.2 - Clear sound and great mix and very worth having. -
Soundboard 9.1 - Love the bass sound here, very defined, and good mix but I think keys could have been up more, but they are there. Guitars sound very present and living room live. -
Soundboard 9.7 - GREAT mix here, very bright and lively recording that will please everyone. -
Audience 8.4 - A somewhat narrow sound field but a thoroughly enjoyable 1973 performance nonetheless. There are one of two tape flips and a little audience conversation (in Norwegian) but that is to be expected. -
Soundboard 9.2 - Leaning toward treble but still a good, tight show again by Zappa and crew. -
Soundboard 9.0 - Some piano trouble apparently began this show, and there’s some hissiness (not that bad) to contend with in the quieter parts. Still, a lot of fun. -
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 8.8 - 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! -
Soundboard 8.7 - It’s real good, but maybe needs boosting of some frequencies somewhere, and the mix does not favor drums or keys too much, but, um, loves the guitar so there ya go. -
Audience 7.3 - Hissy, compressed leaning towards bottom end side and vocals are drowned out. Somewhere in the middle is where all the music is and you can actually discern pretty much all of it, mainly bass, keys, and some drums in there too (drums in the stew). -
Audience 8.2 (both shows) -
Audience 8.7 - Clear, and a good mix with Frank at the front – performance here is stellar! -
Audience 8.3 - A tape that desperately cried out for remastering finally got its wish, and man, what a difference! This show really deserved something to help it from what was a painful mid range boominess. It got that and more. A great show and a great set list is now a great addition to your collection thanks to some skilled handiwork in the art of re-mastering. -
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! -
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! -
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. -
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 8.5 - Sounds typical of medium halls where there’s some atmosphere but not terrible echo, a nice balance. Sonically, this is a little above average maybe, you get everything in balance, no ultra high highs or deep throbbing lows either. -
Audience 9.1 - Every now and then you get a tape you knew nothing about and it just blows you away. This is one such. Epic performance for starters, but it’s also got a great, lively energy and a totally in-the-pocket sound. The whole band is inspired, the songs just sound incredibly fresh, every solo is a thrill, and the crowd seems to be aware that they are witnessing an inspired concert performance.