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Audience 8.4 - A weird sound mix on this show, the kick drum is up front, and then vocals, with an indistinct full band behind it all. A recording that lacks a lot of mid range kick, so an EQ boost in that range would help a lot. That all being said, it seems taper did eventually move to a better spot because it gets clearer as it goes, and Frank’s guitar does shine at many intervals as well. Note: Also features a pre show interview with Frank on WGRQ 97 Rock. -
Audience 8.8 - Someone did their homework on how to capture a great sound on their recording device. Guitar especially, very defined and crisp. Drums are somewhat behind the action but everything is still clearly heard. Good job! -
CD 1 - Audience 8.7 - A good and vibrant sound with maybe a touch of tape noise, but not enough of it to ruin the experience at all. CD 2 - Audience 9.1 - A much crisper and clearer tape than the first set, Both are highly enjoyable, the second set is really well done! -
CD 1 - Chicago 1973 - Audience 8.2 (10-31-73) ~ Halloween CD 2 - NYC 1973 - Audience 8.6 (11-4-73) -
Early Show Audience 8.8 - Not to be confused with another Chicago ’81, this is from the Uptown Theatre on November 27th, and it’s relatively new to circulation. The sound quality is very good, with especially nice meatiness on drums, and a close, warm guitar tone and presence which makes this one to have in the collection.
Late Show Audience 8.8 - Very similar to the early show, maybe just a touch less defined due to being in a different spot, but at times it’s also just a touch clearer – so this leads me to believe it’s just a matter of where the microphone is at any given time. Must have been a good recorder though, because the sound is good on the low end and the mids, and highs are not excessive but rather kind of toned down in a good way. It’s the kind of recording that you can turn up real loud.
Frank Zappa Chicago 1981
Disc 1 Uptown Theatre Chicago, IL. 11-27-1981 Early show 1. -Treacherous Cretins 2. -Cosmik Debris 3. -You Are What You Is 4. -Mudd Club 5. -The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing 6. -A Pound For A Brown 7. -The Dangerous Kitchen 8. -The Blue Light 9. -Sinister Footwear 10. -Stevie's Spanking 11. -Cocaine Decisions Disc 2 12. -Nig Biz 13. -Tinsel Town Rebellion 14. -Alien Orifice 15. -Teenage Prostitute 16. -Flakes 17. -Broken Hearts Are For Assholes 18. -Yo' Mama 19. -Joe's Garage 20. -Why Does It Hurt When I Pee? 21. -The Closer You Are 22. -City Of Tiny Lights Disc 3 Uptown Theatre Chicago, IL. 11-27-1981 Late show 1. -Zoot Allures 2. -Montana 3. -Easy Meat 4. -Fine Girl 5. -Teenage Wind 6. -Harder Than Your Husband 7. -Bamboozled By Love 8. -King Kong (q: Rite Of Spring) 9. -Sharleena (q: Little Drummer Boy) Disc 4 10. -Drowning Witch 11. -What's New In Baltimore? 12. -Moggio 13. -Dumb All Over 14. -Goblin Girl 15. -The Black Page (q: Fernando) 16. -Strictly Genteel
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Early Show - Audience 8.8 - Superb for an audience tape really, the only real flaws are some lack of low end depth and instrument separation but it’s not a deal breaker at all. Late Show - Soundboard 9.7 - So good, I mean it is as if they recorded it for official release. Great mix, great fidelity. -
Audience 9.0 - This is the first of 2 nights at the Auditorium in Chicago (3-3-88). Sting (The Police) does a song with Frank (Murder by Numbers) which makes for an added, rare surprise. -
Audience 9.3 - This is the second night at the Auditorium in Chicago (3-4-88). -
Audience 9.0 - Two songs from this show are included on the rare "As An Am" release. -
Audience 8.7 - A good, solid audience tape that has been remastered nicely to showcase what was already decent sound, bringing out the life and helping with some clarity. You can tell there was once some tape noise or background noise once but this sounds really good now. From what I understand, it is a very rare tape. -
Audience 8.4 - Using a master tape source, this show has been remastered to reveal what is a very decent recording with flaws. There are occasional hiccups throughout mainly the 1st half then it evens out, but even those have been carefully edited for a smoother flow. Overall this is a great find, a band that seems to be enjoying every performance and especially when it is time to improvise. -
Audience 8.7 - Every audience tape has a certain unique “timbre” to it, a quality hard to define – it encompasses distance from source, surrounding ambience, equalization, harmonics, and more. So, this recording is what I would call “very good” but different than other 88 Euro Zappa tapes in timbre. I find this one leaning too far in upper mid band and treble, not irritatingly, but wanted more bottom end. My ears were telling me that is what it wanted…yours may not it is all very subjective. It’s a good recording though. Frank Zappa 19880425 Copenhagen, Denmark Falkoner Theater Set 1: 01. Heavy Duty Judy 03:49 02. band introductions 02:04 03. Packard Goose > 07:41 04. Alien Orifice > 04:19 05. When The Lie's So Big > 03:42 06. Planet Of The Baritone Women > 02:45 07. Any Kind Of Pain > 06:13 08. Jesus Thinks You're A Jerk > 07:30 09. Texas Motel Medley > 09:10 10. Sofa 02:57 01. Torture Never Stops Medley > 19:49 Set 2: 02. Find Her Finer > 02:44 03. Big Swifty > 16:23 04. Bamboozled By Love 06:23 05. Bolero 05:28 06. Peaches En Regalia > 02:58 07. Stairway To Heaven 09:07 Encore: 08. Mr. Green Genes > 03:58 09. Florentine Pogen > 06:40 10. Andy 05:38 11. Inca Roads 09:32 ________ 02:18:49 -
CD 1 - Studio 8.8 - Some tape hiss present and the music can get a little bunched up when at full blast but this is a good and lively recording nonetheless. CD 2 - Studio 8.6 - Some tape hiss and mildly compressed but overall should make for a fun listen as the material is certainly more fleshed out here as opposed to disc one where songs are being dissected and worked on. * Bonus: The live bonus tracks sound great! -
Audience 8.8 - A tape that showcases a great guitar tone that soars above the audience with a nice biting attack. The rest of the music is slightly behind it and not as clear but whoa when the guitar is jamming this one RULES! Get it! -
Soundboard 9.5 - A great addition to anyone's collection. It features Steve Vai on guitar, who was part of Franks "Rockin' Teenage Combo" from approx 1980 - 82. -
Audience 8.7 - Hard to believe recordings keep turning up so many decades after the fact. Here’s one from Pirates World in Dania, FL. And it sounds pretty good! Frank Zappa 1973 03 03 Pirates World, Dania FL Lineup: FZ, Jean-Luc Ponty, Ian Underwood, Bruce Fowler, Ruth Underwood, George Duke, Tom Fowler, Ralph Humphrey Disc 1 01 intros 02 RDNZL 03 preamble 04 Exercise Four Dog Meat 05 Fifty Fifty 06 Inca Roads 07 Cletus Awreetus-Awrightus 08 preamble 09 Cosmik Debris 10 preamble 11 Be Bop Tango Disc 2 12 preamble 13 Montana 14 Dupree’s Paradise 15 I’m The Slime 16 Don’t You Ever Wash That Thing 17 Mr. Green Genes King Kong Chunga’s Revenge