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Audience 8.6 - The number score doesn’t tell the story on this show. The “flaws” here work to the advantage of the listener depending on what you like about live recordings. In this case, it’s too loud, a touch distorted (not distracting at all), and maybe slightly compressed but man, what a show and the recording delivers max energy and excitement. I LOVE this tape! It is absolutely brimming with power and energy.
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Audience 8.8 - Deep, rich lows are what highlight this tape. There is the tiniest amount of distortion in the bass due to just how profound it is in this recording but not to the expense of everything else mind you – although I would say the rest of the music sits a little behind the low end. I can wholeheartedly recommend this but bear in mind if you want to blast it loud you may want to tune down the bass frequency.
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Audience 7.6 - Don't confuse this with anything they committed to vinyl back in the day. Not what I would call restrained Italian progressive music here - more like power prog pre-metal heavy riff bashing Italian flavored rock! Killer killer killer. While it is an aud with limited dynamic range due to tape limitations, certainly the power and glory comes across well enough. What a revelation for me to hear this band live. I certainly have a new appreciation for them! Hells yeah!
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Audience 7.7 and 7.5 - The Gaelic Park show is an outdoor show and the band struggles at times to tune up but it is the better of the two in terms of clarity and sonics, with maybe just a bit of extra treble boost present which puts guitar into the forefront. The Academy of Music gig is not as present and bright but it is perhaps more even, with a broader spectrum of instruments in the mix although guitar is now downplayed. I would say both recordings deliver different characteristics which help the listener get a better sense of the rare live Ramatam experience
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Audience 9.1 - A concert recording that defines the term “immersive”. So, you are basically transported back in time and placed into a seat pretty close to the stage, sitting next to a couple of enterprising tapers. The audience is a part of this experience, it’s open, vibrant, clear, and dynamic and you are right in the middle of it all. Dang, you really should dive into this one if you do not have it.
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Audience 8.4 - The situation with this recording is that although it is really clean, like master quality clean, the clarity gets a little lost when the band is at full volume. And that is because it is incredibly “live” and atmospheric and does not focus the audio directly into the mic. So, it’s very much an experience that immerses you but lacks super tight sonic clarity but a VERY nice recording otherwise. For 1975, it’s a great capture.
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SDBRD 9.4 - I actually believe this recording probably sounds a lot better than what the people at the show were hearing. I say that because these huge outdoor concerts did not always have the pinnacle of clear sound mixes, and ear-bleeding volume does not always mean it sounds good it just means it sounds stupid loud. I’d rather have a good sounding recording rather than the damaged hearing.
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Berlin 1971 - Audience 7.6 and Pro 8.7 - Material originates from an average audience tape but two songs come from a pro TV recording (most likely). Stockholm 1970 - Soundboard 8.9 - Material is most definitely from a TV source (thus explains the short interview). The second disc contains BBC tracks from 1970 and some rare color 16MM pro shot film from Berlin 1971. The disc is formatted as a data disc so you can only play it on a computer, opening the audio files and video file with the player of your choice. Quatermass Berlin 1970-1971 Berlin 1971, Stockholm 1970 and BBC 1970 Bonus Video from Berlin 1971 Disc 1 Berlin 1971 1. Monster In Paradise 2. Up On The Ground 3. Monster In Paradise (reprise) 4. One Blind Mice 5. Make Up Your Mind 6. Laughin' Tackle - Keyboard Solo 7. Unknown Track Stockholm 1970 8. Black Sheep Of The Family 9. Interview 10. One Blind Mice Disc 2 John Peel Session 1970-07-28 1. Black Sheep of the Family 2. Laughing Tackle 3. Make up your Mind Now 4. One Blind Mice Rare 16MM color pro shot film from Berlin 1971 (this disc is not formatted as a playable CD. It is a DATA disc and must be opened on your computer in order to play the files).