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Hard blues rock band formed in 1975 in Houston, TX. Featured vocalist BB. Watson who left Houston to pursue a career in Nashville as a C&W singer. He had some fleeting success, eventually came back to Houston and worked with Michael Knust (Fever Tree) and Keith York (Albatross, Rare Breed) for a stint and also attempted to reunite the Rare Breed (those sessions contained on this CD). Rare Breed also featured the guitar of Robert Hampton before he joined Hooker. These are all the known recordings. -
Ratt Monsters Of Rock, Pforzheim, Germany 1987.08.30 Tracklist: 01. -Lay It Down 02. -You're In Love 03. -Wanted Man 04. -Sweet Cheater 05. -You Should Know By Now 06. -The Morning After 07. -Dance 08. -Drive Me Crazy 09. -Slip Of The Lip 10. -Walking The Dog 11. -Round and Round 12. -Body Talk Stephen Pearcy - Vocals Robbin Crosby - Guitar (RIP) Juan Croucier - Bass Warren DeMartini - Guitar Bobby Blotzer - DrumsSoundboard 9.3 - A great recording of a great hair metal band (I mean, they could play!) in their prime. I used to brush it off when I was a young man, but now I appreciate great musicians not matter how they dress or act. Good is good. -
MOR 1985 Audience 8.6 - A strong recording that gets off to a funky start (at one point a mic jack unplugs and one channel drops but it lasts only a minute). I prefer this to a dry soundboard to be honest. It’s not a perfect audience recording but it sure does deliver on energy and atmosphere! I like it. Tokyo 1987 Audience 8.7 - Nice atmosphere on this tape, and the audio comes through especially vocals and bass actually has a nice round sound to it. Guitars are not super distinct, but thankfully the solos are really soaring above and captured pretty well. I like the snare drum here, whoever was mixing this show really must have had a hard-on for the drummer ha ha! Ratt Monsters of Rock 1985 Donington Park Castle Donington Derbyshire, England August 17, 1985 1. -U Got It 2. -Wanted Man 3. -You Think You're Tough 4. -You're In Love 5. -Lay It Down 6. -The Morning After - Never Use Love 7. -Round And Round 8. -Sweet Cheater Nippon Budokan Tokyo, Japan 1987-05-14 9. -Intro 10. -Looking For Love 11. -One Good Lover 12. -Wanted Man 13. -Back For More 14. -The morning After 15. -Dangerous but Worth the Risk 16. -Lack of Communication Disc 2 1. -7th Avenue 2. -Lay It Down 3. -You Should Know by Now 4. -Guitar Solo 5. -You're In Love 6. -You Think You're Tough 7. -Drive Me Crazy 8. -Slip Of The Lip 9. -Walkin' The Dog 10. -Round & Round 11. -Body Talk 12. -Dance -
Brand New - Sealed -
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! -
Audience 7.3 - While not quite as good as the Messina show, this still presents a powerful representation of the live Il Rovescio Della Medaglia. A little of the distinction and separation of instruments not coming through as well but I found plenty to appreciate on this one as well as the other -
Audience 8.5 - Good levels, not the best separation of instruments but it is very live and active, really kind of sounds accurate to what you may have heard if you were sitting center about 20 rows back. -
Audience 7.5 -
Soundboard 9.2 and Audience 9.0 -
FM Broadcast 9.6 - This recording is beautiful, but not without a fair share of hiccups, and I don’t mean in the recording itself, but in the happenings on stage. This was a large and complex production (featuring an orchestra) and there were bound to be some technical problems. Now, if you can appreciate that, and you understand shit happens, then I highly encourage you to dive into this one because when it is good, it is extremely powerful and intoxicating. I will say that even though sometimes the equipment fails (bad mic cable, etc.), it just reinforces the appreciation for the efforts that go into a live stage production and broadcast. Renaissance Academy of Music, NYC 1974.05.17 Disc 1 01. -WNEW-FM intro 02. -intro music 03. -Can You Understand 04. -Black Flame 05. -Carpet of the Sun 06. -Cold Is Being 07. -Things I Don't Understand 08. -Intro To Running Hard Disc 2 09. -Running Hard 10. -Ashes Are Burning 11. -Mother Russia 12. -Prologue -
Various sources ranging from 9.0 to 9.7 - High quality live and studio. -
FM Broadcast 9.4 - This could be considered as one of the best live documents of the band I have ever heard. While there is the faintest amount of FM static in the background during quiet parts, this does not distract in any way the absolute mastery of music that this band delivered. Just stunning, and I can imagine how many young musicians must have been inspired after hearing this band live. Do yourself a favor and grab this, it’s phenomenal. My Father’s Place, Roslyn, NY 3rd April, 1974 1. -Can You Understand 2. -Let It Grow 3. -Kiev 4. -Things I Don’t Understand 5. -Ashes Are Burning 6. -Prologue -
Soundboard 8.9 -
Soundboard 9.1 - You can hear some bleed through during quiet times and when band is not playing but when they are playing it is loud and punchy, good mix. -
Audience 9.5 - This is what happens when professional equipment is brought in by an audience member who knows what he is doing. Could be released officially, it’s so good. -
Audience 9.0 -A sparkling audience tape that captures a band that is firing on all cylinders in frightening precision and dexterity (all members). Good bass presence here, no rumble just nice and solid which helps give clarity to everything else. Return To Forever Jahrhunderthalle Frankfurt, Germany 1976-03-21 Disc 1 101 Medieval Overture 6:01 102 Band Intros 2:19 103 Sorceress 12:25 104 The Magician 6:41 105 The Duel Of The Jester And The Tyrant 12:59 Disc 2 201 Lenny White Acoustic Set Introduction 1:20 202 The Romantic Warrior 12:20 203 Chick Piano Solo - Trio (Stanley, Lenny) On Green Dolphin Street, La Fiesta 9:22 204 Al Acoustic Guitar improvisation - RTF 11:37 205 Stanley Acoustic Bass improvisation incl. Bass Folk Song - RTF 10:52 206 Lenny White Drum Solo 10:39 207 Space Circus - Lopsy Lu - Coda 15:47 -
Pro 9.6 - Sharpness, precision, dynamic, and beautifully clear. A tiny amount of tape noise barely perceptible unless the room is silent and trust me, that is just me looking for something to be critical of…there are no faults with this recording. RETURN TO FOREVER CALDERONE CONCERT HALL, HEMPSTEAD,NY,USA NOVEMBER 22,1975 CD1 1-INTRO 2-VULCAN WORLDS 3-TALK 4-SHADOW OF LO 5-TALK 6-ROMANTIC WARRIOR CD2 1-CHICK'S SOLO > LA FIESTA 2-AL'S SOLO 3-STANLEY'S SOLO 4-LENNY'S SOLO 5-OUTRO Chick Corea Al DiMeola Stanley Clarke Lenny White -
Audience 9.1 - Great sound and atmosphere, just as good as you want it to be. Some tape hiss present during quieter passages, which is being nitpicky though. This recording shines with just the right amount of headroom and the atmosphere is special as the crowd is LISTENING to every note you can clearly tell. Return To Forever Civic Auditorium Santa Monica, CA April 8, 1977 Disc 1 01 The Endless Night 02 The Musician 03 Hello Again 04 So Long Mickey Mouse 05 Musicmagic 06 Do You Ever Disc 2 07 Come Rain Or Shine 08 Serenade 09 The Moorish Warrior and the Spanish Princess 10 Spanish Fantasy 11 On Green Dolphin Street 12 Musicmagic (Reprise) -
Stockholm 1972 SDBRD 9.1 - Some minor tape hiss present but otherwise it’s quite good for its age. It was recorded well, I mean, the sound to me is very organic and that suits this style of music. Princeton 1973 SDBRD 9.3 - First thing you’ll notice is the lively, massive drums, and a good, round, full bass followed by sharp and clear guitar tone. A very very nice board tape! Nottingham 1975 SDBRD 8.7 - A somewhat subdued sound (tape age?) but pretty clear and could maybe just use a little EQ to bring out the frequencies…and also a little volume boost but other than that it’s a good tape that could be great. There’s a lot of communication with the crowd, more so than usual. Return To Forever Dramaten Stockholm Jazzdays Stockholm, Sweden September 17, 1972 FM Disc 1 01 -Band intro by Chick 02 -Spain 03 -Children's Song 04 -500 Miles High 05 -Noon Song 06 -Matrix 07 -Radio Announcer Chick Corea - Fender Rhodes and Acoustic Piano Joe Farrell - Flute and Soprano Saxophone Stanley Clarke - Acoustic Bass Airto Moreira - Drums Disc 2 Princeton University Princeton, NJ 1973-11-30 01 -Theme To The Mothership 02 -Bass Folk Song 03 -Children's Song 1 04 -Space Circus 05 -Captain Senor Mouse 06 -The Game Maker Chick Corea -keys Stanley Clarke -bass Lenny White -drums Bill Connors -guitar Disc 3 University of Nottingham Nottingham, U.K. February 22, 1975 1. -beyond the 7th galaxy 2. -song to the Pharoah kings - Vulcan worlds 3. -the shadow of Lo 4. -talk Disc 4 5. -Vulcan worlds 6. -talk and tuning 7. -no mystery 8. -talk 9. -celebration suite Chick Corea: keyboards Al Di Meola: guitar Stanley Clarke: bass Lenny White: drums -
Audience 9.0 - Warm, inviting sound quality, with maybe my only gripe (and it’s a minor one) being that the guitar sits just behind the keyboards in this mix, still audible, but I am a guitar guy so… -
Audience 9.1 - Small club with great sound. One of those recordings that completely envelopes you with good, clearly defined sound that occasionally swirls above you giving you additional atmospherics. Killer! -
FM Broadcast 9.3 - Very well recorded, this one can be fully cranked because there’s great instrument separation allowing for a full and wide (as in panned) sound mix. Rick Derringer 'Whisky-A-Go-Go 1977' February 8th, 1977 01. Radio Intro 02. Still Alive and Well 03. Let Me In 04. Teenage Love Affair 05. Sittin' By The Pool 06. One Eyed Jack 07. Sailor 08. Beyond The Universe 09. Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo (inluding You Really Got Me) 10. Roll With Me 11. Rebel Rebel 12. Keep On Makin' Love 13. Let's Make It -
Audience 9.6 - This sound is so real, so present, and SO LOUD but thankfully hangs together without shredding the tape it is stored on…mostly. On occasion there’s some minor breaking up in a certain frequency due to the sheer volume and proximity to the microphone but to be honest that is kind of what makes this recording such a revelation for me. I just never predicted that King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table would be as heavy and manic as it is here in an expertly recorded live setting. Rick Wakeman is a badass! Rick Wakeman Convention Center Anaheim, CA November 11, 1975 Disc 1 01 Intro 02 The Journey 03 Recollection 04 Catherine Howard 05 Lancelot & The Black Knight 06 Down And Out Disc 2 07 Anne Boleyn 08 The Forest 09 Arthur & Guinevere 10 Merlin The Magician 11 Catherine Parr 12 Hungarian Rhapsody 13 The Battle -
Audience 8.8 - What a great range on this tape. Solid low end meeting up to a very accurate mid range and the highs are not burnt to a crisp but there when you need them to be. Solid Solid Solid! -
Pro Recording 9.4 - This is actually recorded from the audience, or the pit, or somewhere within the hall with professional equipment possibly for broadcast or posterity but it is obviously not an amateur job. The dynamics and atmosphere are excellent, and to my ears it just seems like the band wanted to record this gig for whatever reason.
Rick Wakeman November 16, 1981 Guildhall Preston, UK Disc One (70:34) 1) War Games? (10:29) 2) King Arthur Medley (12:10): a) Arthur b) Lancelot and the Black Knight 3) Sea Horses (5:17) 4) Julia (6:11) 5) Three Wives (13:12): a) Catherine of Aragon b) Anne of Cleves c) Catherine Howard 6) The Proles (5:30) 7) Journey to the Center of the Earth - Part 1 (17:45) Disc Two (60:16) 1) Danielle (4:30) 2) The Probe (4:05) 3) Chamber of Horrors (7:03) 4) The Hymn (3:14) 5) Anne Boleyn (29:04) 6) Robot Man (4:57) 7) Journey to the Center of the Earth - Part 2 (7:23) a) The Battle b) Hall of the Mountain King
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Audience 9.1 - I love these in your face recordings that are well done. No distortion, max volume, hear every instrument – in fact great separation of the guitars that is so realistic and cool they seem to pan across the speakers! A very well done tape for this time period in that it does not sound like one of those heavily compressed Aiwa tape recordings, it has a lot of liveliness and decent headroom. RIOT City Island Harrisburg, PA. June 21st 1982 1 -Intro 2 -Hard Lovin' Man 3 -Loanshark 4 -Restless Breed 5 -When I Was Young 6 -Swords & Tequila 7 -Outlaw 8 -Loved By You THE BAND Rhett Forrester vocals harmonica Mark Reale guitar Rick Ventura guitar Kip Leming bass Sandy Slavin drums -
Audience 8.7 - The tape starts off with some phasing issues but gets progressively better and by the fourth song is pretty solid. -
SDBRD 9.7 A fantastic stereo board that has a ton of excitement and great atmosphere (unusual for a board tape). If you collect Plant shows, this is considered a must. ROBERT PLANT Brighton, Centre December 17, 1983 Disc 1 01. -In The Mood 02. -Pledge Pin 03. -Messin' With The Mekon 04. -Worse Than Detroit 05. -Keyboards Solo - Thru With The Two Step 06. -Other Arms Disc 2 07. -Horizontal Departure 08. -Moonlight In Samosa 09. -Wreckless Love 10. -Band Intro - Slow Dancer 11. -Like I've Never Been Gone Robert Plant - Vocals Robbie Blunt - Guitar Jezz Woodroffe - Keyboards Bob Mayo - Keyboards, Guitar Paul Martinez - Bass Richie Hayward - Drums -
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. -
SDBRD 9.7 - A professional recording and it shows. -
Soundboard 9.3 - Fantastic stuff, really will give you a profound appreciation for Robert’s early solo work. -
FM Radio 9.5 - All pro recordings from three different cities in Texas. Originally broadcast by KBFH. -
Soundboard 9.8 - Stunning clarity and detail of every instrument, and great mix. -
SDBRD 9.6 - Recorded for broadcast, sounds like they are playing in your living room. -
Audience 8.8 - I like these small club recordings, they give you a terrific sense of being at the event with the atmosphere, the kinetic interaction between performer and audience it makes the listening experience much better. A really good, well positioned capture here! -
FM Broadcast 9.2 - Great guitar tone, deep, warm and beautiful with bass in 100% complimentary position. ROBIN TROWER Atlanta, Richard‘s Niteclub - August 30, 1973 Lineup: Robin Trower (guitar) James Dewar (bass & vocals) Reg Isidore (drums) TRACK LIST: 1. RADIO INTRO 2. THE FOOL AND ME 3. TWICE REMOVED FROM YESTERDAY 4. LADY LOVE 5. DAYDREAM 6. DAY OF THE EAGLE 7. I CAN'T WAIT MUCH LONGER 8. MAN OF THE WORLD 9. SINNER'S SONG 10. A LITTLE BIT OF SYMPATHY 11. AUDIENCE 12. ROCK ME BABY 13. PA AND RADIO OUTRO TOTAL TIME: 51:30 MIN. -
Audience 9.1 - Fantastic stereo separation and clarity of instruments. -
Audience 9.2 - Both of these shows are fantastic, clear, and punchy. This is also a great period for Robin, his playing is mature, muscular, solid every note beginning to end. His recent material is on display here and there which is cool but the old stuff really shines…as always. Robin Trower The Country Club Reseda, CA 1-30-1987 Disc 1 1. Too Rolling Stoned 2. Secret Doors 3. Day Of The Eagle 4. Bridge Of Sighs 5. Passion 6. No Time Disc 2 7. Spellbound 8. Bad Time 9. Rock Me Baby 10. Won't Even Think About You 11. Little Bit Of Sympathy New George's San Raphael, CA 1/27/88 Disc 3 1 Too Rolling Stoned 2 Love Attack 3 Day of the Eagle 4 Bridge of Sighs 5 Second Time 6 No Time Disc 4 1 Take What You Need 2 Rock Me Baby 3 Tear It Up 4 Little Bit of Sympathy 5 Lady Love 6 Into the Flame -
Audience 7.0 - Shrill sounding, like recorded on a very cheap cassette deck. Lead guitar does sound decent, and there is a bottom end – but I can’t rate this higher. -
Audience 8.5 - What this tape represents is an almost uncanny time warp back in time, the sound that the taper captured is amazing – the mix and separation of instruments is what damages an otherwise exceptional sounding tape. With that being said, it’s got a lot to appreciate regardless of the actual music contained herein. For instance, once the soundman dials the mix in better, the music does sound MUCH better and guitar rises slightly higher up front making for a more enjoyable listening experience. The sound of this tape is good, with a punchy upper midrange but not uncomfortable, and roaring “low end” and I say that because while bass is not well defined, it certainly is present in the lower frequencies here. This tape will grow on you, and I promise once you start, and get past the first song (where the live mix is getting dialed in), you’ll find yourself more and more sucked in to it. Robin Trower Long Island Arena, Commack, NY November 19th 1976 THE BAND Robin Trower guitar James Dewar vocals Bill Lordan drums Rustee Allen bass SETLIST 1 -Intro 2 -Same Rain Falls 3 -Lady Love 4 -Bridge Of Sighs 5 -Caledonia 6 -The Fool And Me 7 -Long Misty Days 8 -Too Rolling Stoned 9 -Daydream 10 -Day Of The Eagle 11 -Little Bit Of Sympathy 12 -Messin' The Blues 13 -Rock Me Baby 14 -Goodnight -
Soundboard 9.4 - I love the live mix on this one, it’s not a cookie cutter board mix. One of the best I have heard! -
Soundboard 9.0 - A slightly uneven, but kind of a fun sound mix. You get pretty up front drums, very crisp and focused, and then guitar which is also pretty loud, but vocals are a little behind the music (not completely drowned out) and bass hovers underneath like a viper ready to strike. You won’t distinguish the individual notes but you’ll get a menacing rumble. Interesting, and kinda cool actually. February 9, 1975 Caley Cinema, Edinburgh, Scotland Robin Trower w. James Dewar on bass & vocals and Bill Lordan on drums.- Day of the Eagle
- Bridge of Sighs
- Gonna Be More Suspicious
- Fine Day
- Lady Love
- Spellbound
- Too Rolling Stoned
- I Can't Wait Much Longer
- Alethea includes Lordan drum solo
- Little Bit of Sympathy
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Sale!
Soundboard 8.7 - The interesting thing about this particular board tape is that the bass is the “lead” instrument in the mix and thus allows you to hear the sometimes overlooked intricacies and interplay in that regard. I would say that even though I enjoy and appreciate this aspect of the recording, the average fan may lament the somewhat overshadowed guitar and vocals, but these are not issues that nullify a superb performance and decent recording. -
Audience 9.3 -
Audience 7.5 - A warm sound, a tad distant but not too much. Good for a large hall, the sound of the kick drum for instance has a good solid thump that is distinct, and I can hear individual bass notes. Pretty decent! -
Audience 9.2 - Supremely LIVE and vibrant with maybe the slightest touch of tape noise that effects this absolutely zero because it simply DESTROYS everything, it is so good.
