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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 8.4 - 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 8.5 - 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 9.6 - This one is loaded with razor sharp guitar, a gem of a show. -
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. -
Pro Soundboard 9.8 -
Soundboard 9.6 -
This set contains both shows recorded on Halloween night at the Felt Forum in NYC back in 1974. Early Show - Audience 8.5 - Right in the middle of the road, its good, not great. Late Show - Audience 8.9 - The only way I can explain this tape is that it starts off similar to the early show and at some point the taper moves to a hotter spot and the tape explodes with Frank’s amazing guitar right in your face. Even Frank himself makes a comment about his incendiary guitar work, I won’t spoil it though. -
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 8.5 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. -
Early show - Audience 8.3 / Late Show - Audience 8.5 -
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 7.9 - This tape shows its age but the master source for this CD is actually an old vinyl boot long since lost to the mists of time. Glad to have it, although I think only hard core collectors will really see the value here. That is not to say its dogshit either, because at times its actually very decent, but it fluctuates also back to mediocre, and that may be due to the tapers having to move or hide their equipment. I still like this one, and I think most Sabbath collectors will appreciate it. -
Soundboard 9.3