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Audience 8.9 - Most of the recent tour recordings are excellent and all offer something different for the ears in terms of atmosphere, intensity, and clarity. This one I find has less of an emphasis on separation of instruments and more on depth of bass and overall sound. The guitar comes right at you, and the bass is nicely anchoring the bottom, drums are not as clear but still nicely placed. So, overall I like what this recording delivers.
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Soundboard 9.6 - This rating reflects what I feel about this recording in the way that the guitar and bass come across in the mix. So, what you get is a well rounded, brassy bass sound that is articulate and not lost in the low end wastelands or overshadowed by Pete. It sounds like two guitar players playing in perfect harmony, and a lot of Who recordings you do not get that effect so much as just a wall of power and volume. This one is just so good in that sense and deserves a special acknowledgement.
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Audience 7.1 - One for completists only, but even then, this version has been given a touch of boost (recording levels were low), EQ and hiss reduction (very very lightly) making it an upgrade to previous versions. Good set list, band sound good (Ozzy in a great mood). I think it’s not a total loss of a recording, because the one thing it does also have going for it, is that it is not a garbled muddy mess (that is a deal breaker for me).
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Audience 8.6 - A strong recording that you know was done by people who were careful and prepared because right away you can hear them getting the recording levels set during the opening bars of the first song. They knew what they were doing! A lively gig, the band riding high and looking to prove that the hype was for real. Get this!
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CD 1 - Audience 8.4 - Surprisingly good, I’d never had this one in my collection until recently and I enjoyed it. CD 2 - Audience 8.7 - A very strong contender to be one of the best ’71 Audience tapes (along with the Copenhagen show). CD 3 - Audience 7.5 - The weaker of the three shows in this set, but it’s not crap, just not super clear or dynamic. A show your ears will adjust to, and you’ll have it in your collection all wrapped up in a nice package. A set that I recommend to get your fix on less common but good early performances.
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Studio 8.7 - A little sonic degradation to these professional studio demos (the bonus tracks are abbreviated probably due to legal reasons at the time they were recorded). Some of the tracks are better quality, but the worst are still very good, just maybe a little loss of clarity and fidelity but nothing major. You’ll enjoy this if you are a fan.