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Pro 8.8 - At times this recording gets even better but there are tape problems, what sounds like tracking issues (if this came from a video source), but overall it is very good and was taped professionally for broadcast. The DVD is pro shot, but suffers from age deterioration, tracking issues, color bleed, etc. but in fairness it is a very old video format and those old ¾” umatic tapes either held up or they failed, that these still played is amazing.
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Audience 8.8 - I rate this highly for the excellent atmosphere of the sound, where the vocals seem to just soar. It is not as thick in the mids where you want them, but that is why the vocals soar because they occupy a lot of the midrange and highs. Sometimes you also get a nice vibration of sound from the drums and all in all it adds tremendous intensity and excitement to the tape. Listen to Toccata and tell me I am wrong! This tape has a unique feel to it that I find very enjoyable. Another cool thing is that a lot of the problems with tape cuts have been fixed with crossfades making for a smoother listen…that includes the large section in Toccata which was unlistenable (unfortunately).
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Soundboard 8.7 - A show that factors in to what would become a stellar career over many decades. Pretty much on her own now (no longer paired with Gram Parsons R.I.P.) she started playing in the clubs in the DC area when a producer came to record this show for future reference as he crafted her breakout solo album. Did she know he was at the gig? Who knows, but she obviously made an impact. Emmylou Harris and the Angel Band 1974-05-08 Red Fox Inn Bethesda, Maryland Disc 1 01 -Hot Burrito #1 02 -Hickory Wind 03 -Shop Around 04 -Honky Tonk Blues 05 -Louise 06 -California Cottonfields 07 -High On The Hilltop 08 -Reconstructed 09 -When Will I Be Loved 10 -God Knows I Love You 11 -Before Believing 12 -Queen Of The Silver Dollar 13 -Someone I Used to Know 14 -Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down 15 -A Song for You 16 -High On The Hilltop 17 -Born Again 18 -Drifting Too Far From Shore Disc 2 01 -Country Baptizin' 02 -That's All It Took 03 -Together Again 04 -Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad 05 -Our Father 06 -Maybe Mexico 07 -Sold it All Away 08 -Instrumental (Jeff Wisor & J.B. Morrison) 09 -Satan's Jewel Crown 10 -Born Again 11 -Country Baptizin' Angel Band : Bruce Archer - Guitar Mark Cuff - Drums Tom Guidera - Bass Danny Pendleton - Steel Guitar w/ John & Fayssoux Starling, J.B. Morrison & Jeff Wisor on tracks 7-11 (disc 2) {After Gram Parsons's death} Emmy moved back to D.C., where Tom Guidera had also become a country music convert. With pedal steel player Danny Pendleton and two other musicians, they put together the Angel Band and started gigging around the clubs, playing some of the songs she’d performed with Gram. Eddie Tickner made Harris his number one priority and he convinced Mary Martin, an A&R representative from Warner/Reprise Records (the label that had released Parsons’ solo work) to investigate an Angel Band show in a Washington nightclub. Emmylou Harris became a Reprise Records recording artist in 1974; with her daughter Hallie in tow, the Angel Band relocated to Los Angeles to begin work on Harris’s first true solo album. To produce, Martin paired Harris up with Nova Scotia native Brian Ahern, the mastermind behind Anne Murray’s spate of hits in the early 70’s. She brought the quiet Canadian to hear the Angel Band, and he recorded the performance on a hand-held cassette machine to study at home. This sounds better than a hand-held cassette machine recording, purportedly a sound board, but it's not by any means what we think of as soundboard quality by today's standards.
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Soundboard 9.3 - Excellent presence and clarity. Her backup band is excellent, but do the Dutch get her style of music? I guess they did! Emmylou Harris & the Hot Band "RAI Congresgebouw" Amsterdam 13 November 1975 Track list: 01 -Announcements 02 -That's All It Took 03 -Coat Of Many Colors 04 -Feeling Single, Seeing Double 05 -If I Could Only Win Your Love 06 -Amarillo 07 -Together Again 08 -Grievous Angel 09 -Bluebird Wine 10 -Band Introduction 11 -Till I Gain Control Again 12 -Wheels 13 -Queen Of The Silver Dollar 14 -Cry One More Time 15 -Sin City 16 -Las Vegas
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Audience 8.8 - On the rarity scale this is one of those needle in a haystack recordings. It’s an obscure “group” (actually just a duo but here it sounds like they have some accompaniment), and the music straddles the fence between fold psyche and space rock (that’s a good thing). I would say this couple was trying to stretch something as far as they could in the context of a “folk” duo. Interesting material, very positive vibes! Emtidi Quarter Latin Berlin, Germany 1973 01. Unknown Title 02. Unknown Title 03. Die Reise 04. Unknown Title 05. Unknown Title 06. Saat 07. Touch the Sun 08. Unknown Title All attempts were made to decipher the unknown song titles.
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Radio Broadcast 8.8 - A most welcome discovery! Insanely cool hearing this band play live in the USA. The material is compelling, the band is tight and very convincing although they needed some work on their stage banter ha ha! Very cool indeed! Epitaph Agora Cleveland, OH (WMMS-FM) 1973-10 01 Introduction 02 Fresh Air 03 Outside the Law 04 Big City 05 Early Morning 06 Reflexion 07 Stop Look and Listen 08 Who Do You Love
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Studio 10 - Well, this is a rarity! Not only has this flown completely below most collectors radars, but it also qualifies as being a perfect recording…and it doesn’t necessarily begin as such (although I’d still rate it a 9.8), it becomes one. Why is that? Because it has all the elements of greatness and not just the audio quality. Eric is heard here in a more jazzy setting, with players who are well versed in music theory and are top shelf players in their own right – maybe it pushes Clapton to explore more deeply, and he does…although he still manages to make it more bluesy which to me is really cool because it gives these sessions the swing that can be sometimes absent in technical jazz. This obviously was let out on purpose, the recordings are too clean and if indeed they are rehearsals, they are very dialed in and sounding more like an album is being recorded. But if you listen super closely, there are moments where you can just hear the faintest of mic bleed through and it seems to be the kind of talk, or “shouts” that you might hear during a soundcheck or rehearsal. This is a highly recommended listen to anyone who wants to hear Eric Clapton at his tastiest best. Eric Clapton Legends Flawless (Studio) Rehearsals S.I.R. Rehearsal Studios Hollywood, CA June 1997 Disc 1 1. -Snakes 2. -Marcus #1 3. -Marcus #1 4. -Full house 5. -Full house 6. -Ruthie 7. -Ruthie 8. -Put It Where You Want 9. -Suggestions 10. -Peeper Disc 2 1. -Going Down Slow 2. -I Got You I Feel Good 3. -Silver Rain 4. -Layla 5. -Rock Me Baby 6. -Jelly Roll THE BAND Marcus Miller Bass Eric Clapton Guitar, Vocals David Sanborn Saxophone Joe Sample Keyboards, Piano Steve Gadd Drums
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Pre-FM Master 9.5 - Great quality, as you would imagine, but aside from that it’s a really sparkling performance. I love the mix here too, this would make a nice live LP release. Eric Clapton Convention Center Dallas, Texas, USA November 15, 1976 Track List: 1. -Hello Old Friend 2. -Sign Language 3. -Badge 4. -Knocking On Heaven's Door 5. -One Night With You 6. -Tell the Truth 7. -Can't Find My Way Home 8. -Blues Power 9. -Layla 10. -Further On Up the Road (with Freddy King) Band Lineup: Eric Clapton Guitar, Vocals George Terry Guitar, Vocals Carl Radle Bass Dick Sims Keyboards Jamie Oldaker Drums Sergio Pastora Rodriguez Percussion Yvonne Elliman Backing Vocals Marcy Levy Backing Vocals, Harp
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Soundboard 9.3 - Not the typical sounding board mix here, it’s got a much more live sounding guitar sound, like mic’d a little further away giving it some spacial quality, and vocals same way, like they are not fed direct into the board. It’s just sounds different than most, not in a bad way, just different. Eric Clapton Another Ticket Tour RDS Simmonscourt, Dublin, Ireland Saturday January 31st, 1981 Disc 1: 01. -Tulsa Time 02. -Early In The Morning 03. -Lay Down Sally 04. -Wonderful Tonight 05. -Blow By Blow 06. -Worried Life Blues 07. -Country Boy 08. -Double Trouble 09. -All Our Past Times 10. -Blues Power 11. -Knockin' On Heaven's Door Disc 2: 01. -Setting Me Up 02. -Ramblin' On My Mind - Have You Ever Loved A Woman - Ramblin' 03. -After Midnight 04. -Further On Up The Road 05. -Cocaine 06. -Layla Line-up: Eric Clapton guitar, vocals Albert Lee guitar, vocals Dave Markee bass Henry Spinetti drums Chris Stainton keyboards Gary Brooker keyboards, vocals
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Audience 8.7 - It's not the clearest, deepest of recordings but it is not boomy, muddy, irritating, or ruined by shouting morons either. It gets the job done, and what's more it's one of those shows where another guitar legend just happens to be there and just happens to get on stage and jam at the end...this guitar legend is none other than Jeff Beck so there is that.
Eric Clapton Versus Jeff Beck Civic Hall Guildford, Surrey, England May 18, 1980 Disc 1 1. Roll Over Beethoven 2. Tulsa Time 3. Early In The Morning 4. Lay Down Sally 5. Wonderful Tonight 6. Country Boy 7. Hold On 8. Blues Power 9. Double Trouble 10. Setting Me Up 11. Thunder and Lightning 12. If I Don't Be There By Morning Disc 2 1. Ramblin' On My Mind 2. Have You Ever Loved A Woman 3. Home Lovin' 4. After Midnight 5. Cocaine 6. Further On Up The Road 7. Layla - Shut Up 8. Long Tall Sally 9. Lawdy Miss Clawdy Eric Clapton - guitar, vocals Albert Lee - guitar, vocals Chris Stainton - keyboards Gary Brooker - keyboards, vocals Dave Markee - bass Henry Spinetti - drums Jeff Beck - guitar (CD2 Tracks 1 & 2) -
Soundboard 9.0 - This recording, to me, sounds like it was in a television studio for a live audience. I can’t tell for sure, but it is the way the audience reacts and the type of reverb going on. Either way, it’s a good recording, first couple of tracks a little hissy but it clears up considerably. Eric Clapton Honolulu International Center Honolulu, Hawaii, USA Sunday October 9th, 1977 Track List: 01. Hello Old Friend 02. Sign Language 03. Alberta 04. Tell The Truth 05. Can't Find My Way Home 06. Double Trouble 07. I Shot The Sheriff 08. Knockin' On Heaven's Door 09. Further On Up The Road 10. Badge Line Up: - Eric Clapton - GEORGE TERRY, guitar - CARL RADLE, bass - JAMIE OLDAKER, drums - DICK SIMS, keyboards - MARCY LEVY, backing vocals