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Soundboard 9.7 - A pure unadulterated masterpiece of classic Prince music that ANYONE can appreciate. Rediscover this amazing talent, this is a packed set and well worth exploring. -
Soundboard 9.6 - This guy literally can play Happy Birthday and make it sound sexy and groovy (proof is available). Too bad I was so hard-headed and never went and saw him live. I could have on many occasions, but I just never saw myself as one of the “beautiful people” I guess. What a shame I would have loved it. (Soundchecks, Rehearsals and Jams) -
Soundboard 9.7 - Sparkling, and I mean all facets – the sound quality, the performances, the musicianship, everything! Get it now, you won’t regret it. -
Audience 8.6 - A gem of a show, and a recording that thankfully is pretty decent although it does highlight Halford at the expense of the rest of the band. That actually works well here because Rob is just killing it, hitting every high note and wowing the audience. The musicianship is as always a cut above the rest, hence the reason this band lives on to this day. A keeper! -
FM Broadcast 9.2 - A professionally recorded and mixed production that does not seem to have much in the way of compression so it has a good spaciousness to it, it is crankable. -
Audience 8.6 - A “crisp” sounding tape, emphasis on drummer and vocals in the mix but you also can really hear the background keys which is nice. Not saying Joe is buried, just that this house mix seems very democratic in allowing all players to have a presence. I appreciate hearing how much the piano and keys helped shape this material. The audience is very respectful, and they love their Joe, that’s for sure. -
Audience 8.5 - A real surprise this old tape, it sounds pretty darn good! The sound is warm, rounded, and has great atmosphere without losing the immediate punch of the music. Even at full tilt volume, the tape manages to hang together and not get overly saturated. Good job early tapers! -
Audience 8.4 - Not super dynamic but pretty clear, a decent ’74 tape where you can hear and enjoy everything (including the crowd) quite clearly but without a wide palate of audio spectrum. Not saying it is thin, not saying it is one-dimensional either, just that from highs to lows you aren’t going to have much depth although you can EQ and probably adjust to your specific needs. A good tape. -
Audience 8.8 - Another great tape made by someone obviously knowing what they were doing. There are a couple of cuts here and there, not deal breakers by any means but full disclosure. Anyway, a solid, in the pocket recording of a sizzling gig with great interplay between Jobson and Beck. -
CD 1 - Audience 8.4 - A lively, jumping tape that is a fun listen but the limitations include some minor over-saturation which surprisingly does not ruin anything, but keeps the rating in the mid 80’s technically speaking. I like this recording personally, I find it exhilarating! CD CD 2 - Audience 8.8 - A very well made recording with a great balance to it, a warmth and tone that is pleasing to the ears. Lovely! CD 3 - Audience 8.2 - A tape with a preponderance of low end, to the point where you can’t ignore it, not that it is particularly muddy, just that it is bass heavy. I do get the other instruments thankfully, but like I said…bass. CD 4 - Same as disc 3, but I will say this much, on songs where the bass work is minimized, it sounds excellent. -
Audience 8.5 - Tape is a little hissy, but it is still a clear recording where you hear a lot of separation between instruments and “air” or “headroom” which allows music a chance to unfold and show peaks and valleys. Very good, not great, but very good. -
Audience 8.6 - A great job by taper to get center mic placement and not too distant from the stage. Good presence, good atmosphere, good tight show. -
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Audience 8.7 - This is a radio broadcast that sounds very good with some minor signs of age and occasionally a dodgy mix in spots that get corrected quickly, at least. The band play pretty much every song that you remember most by them, the set list is thrilling. -
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Audience 9.3 - This recording effectively conveys the power and volume of the gig, with pretty much a direct blunt force to your brain. There’s not a helluva a lot of headroom in the recording meaning the levels are at peak (no clipping or distortion) so if you plan to crank it loud, just be prepared for a lot of neighborhood complaints. -
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Audience 9.5 - When you listen to this, just keep in mind it is taped by someone in the audience…you won’t believe it. Great balance, superb low end, sweet middle band tone, lush and warm with the perfect amount of high end (no sizzle or annoying squeal or cymbal wash). Just terrific, and the band sounds great! -
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Audience 8.9 - Just the right amount of sonic clarity and separation of instruments with “live atmosphere” to make for a realistic listening experience. Sounds much like what you could have expected having been there. This was also the last show of the tour. Excellent! -
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Audience 8.9 - A really good, solid, and clear tape, showcases the considerable talent of Zappa and the always excellent cast of characters he assembles each tour. This show features a lot of solid horn work, and Zappa plays very nicely with a good tone. There were a couple songs I was unfamiliar with and enjoyed quite a bit. I rather like the song Rollo! Fun stuff. -
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Early and Late Shows - Soundboard 9.1 and Soundboard 8.6 - The late show board tape is slightly problematic in that vocals and to some extent the drums are really prominent in the mix but the rest is pushed back. Acoustic songs come through nicely, they bring up piano and acoustic guitar so you get everything more even. At times it gets a little better, it’s not bad it’s just not as good a mix as the early show. -
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Soundboard 9.4 - As can be expected this is professionally done and the source is low gen as it sounds fresh and crisp with minimal tape noise. -
Audience 9.3 - Did you miss Queen in their prime? Don’t worry, because now you can be there again by listening to this show. I think every English band that plays Boston elevates their game, perhaps it is because Boston feels like home to them…it is kind of quaint and vaguely British I guess. -
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Audience 8.6 - This recording straddles the fence a little. On the one hand, it’s got very defined highs and good overall acoustics but also a pretty rowdy audience that whoops and hollers (this is Texas after all). I can’t really blame them though, this is actually THE best Presto gig I have ever heard as far as the performance. Not all Rush shows are homogenous by the way. Listen to Alex rip on La Villa Strangiato for example. They are firing on all eight (with the lone exception being a marginal effort on the beginning of Xanadu). -
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Soundboard 9.1 - Technically super clean and tidy recording but it lacks that electric atmosphere you get when you allow some “room” and crowd noise in the mix. That is my personal preference, the actual recording quality is excellent with maybe a bit of FM radio compression that takes the edge off a little. -
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Soundboard 9.8 - Hard to find any fault in this recording, and the mix is a matter of preference so I leave .02 open to interpretation on the rating. It actually may be a 10 it is that friggin’ amazing. -
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Audience 8.9 - Taper sitting very close, and manages to get a great recording without distorting or invasive shouting and screaming into the mic during the songs (well, maybe at the beginning of some songs). A good one, an old fashioned in your face bootleg recording of the Stones! -
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Audience 7.8 - I love these little time capsules, maybe it’s not the best fidelity, but I can hear pretty much everything here and the bass is fat without distorting so it’s got some balls to it. You know, listening to things like this makes one really wish they had an actual time machine. -
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Soundboard 9.7 - I love the way they recorded the vocals, it has a very cool quality to it, such that it lends that sort of electric spark to the proceedings. This is very energetic set by the band. -
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Soundboard 9.7 - A pre FM master was used and it clearly magnitudes better than what you’d get recording off the radio! -
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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. -
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Soundboard 9.5 - Of course it is immaculate. The way that Prince orchestrates his bands, the sound is so dialed in, I could not imagine a bad sounding Prince show. This is also a show with an amazing setlist, pretty much most of his more well known tunes. -
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Soundboard 9.2 - Taken from a television broadcast, but to my ears does not sound all compressed and one dimensional, so my guess it is a source not derived from the broadcast but tape possibly made of the gig separate from the TV production. Who knows for sure, but it sounds pretty good. -
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Soundboard 8.8 - This tape does not feature the greatest mix ever, but it’s functional and is a good full show. Question: Was Lou Reed really well known in Australia? A guy from the barrio of New York City, but well known in Australia somehow?!?! I think that is strange, haha! -
Soundboard 9.3 - Wonderful guitar tone is the highlight here, the magical guitar interplay throughout. Seriously, it’s as if Lou’s delivery is just a setup for the band to do their thing. One of the best I have heard, right here.