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Audience 8.8-9.2 - All seem to be recorded with the same gear but the Marseille show seems maybe slightly upgraded due to either taper position or just better acoustics. Over all this is a highly rated set of shows for the quality of the recordings. The stage mix does vary just a bit as to who is more present, but you hear all the stuff going on as it was live-mixed for the performance (meaning I don’t think taper error caused any lack of presence of, say, synthesizer or guitar on any given performance). The taper used the first song, and in some cases part of the second song to dial in the levels (an indication of really good gear being used) and as such you may notice a volume change, albeit relatively smooth, and once he’s dialed in it is smooth sailing. The performances are sometimes a little hesitant but do gel during instrumental segments much more. I will say this: Mick Taylor is a fantastic player, but I would not call him “progressive” and this music wants to be more prog but it is constrained and maybe that is why it did not blossom much. Jack Bruce Band Tour Of Europe 1975 Volume One Salle Vallier Marseille, FR 1975-04-29 Disc 1 01 -You Burned The Tables On Me 02 -Morning Story 03 -Pieces of Mind 04 -Keep It Down 05 -One 06 -Spirit Disc 2 07 -Without A Word 08 -Tickets To Waterfalls 09 -Weird Of Hermiston 10 -Post War Band: Jack Bruce - Vocals, Bass, Piano Mick Taylor - Guitar Carla Bley - Organ, Synthesizer, Clavinet, Mellotron, Electric Piano Ronnie Leahy - Piano, Electric Piano, Synthesizer Bruce Gary - Drums Jack Bruce, Carla Bley & Mick Taylor -
Audience 9.3 - It’s hard to get much better than this as far as overall enjoyment…for one thing yes it sounds great but man, the band is in the pocket, razor sharp and ready to fuck things up in Netherlands. Sammy has his shtick so dialed in it is easy to forget the effortless banter of his nemesis David Lee Roth. And…finally there is Satch’s incredible fiery guitar work that is quite breathtaking here. Chickenfoot Poppodium 013 Tilburg, The Netherlands 01-17-2012 Disc 1 01. Lighten Up 02. Alright Alright 03. Big Foot 04. Sexy Little Thing 05. Soap on a Rope 06. Up Next 07. My Kinda Girl 08. Down the Drain Disc 2 09. Three and a Half Letters 10. Something Going Wrong 11. Turnin' Left 12. Future in the Past 13. Crowd cheering & Sammy talks 14. Different Devil 15. Oh Yeah 16. Foxy Lady -
Studio 9.0-9.4 - Varies as far as the overall sound and mix but does not stray much below a solid 9.0…but man what you are getting here is bona fide Aerosmith and NOT the dressed up, slicked out, packaged presentation of Aerosmith that the record company needed in order to make vast profits. This is down and dirty, raw, primal, and above all – fantastic! To hear unadulterated guitars, guttural, almost fuzz style bass, and howling, tortured Steven, and this is 1987 mind you! How can it be? I don’t know but this set rocks! Aerosmith Permanent Vacation Outtakes 1987 Disc 1 1. Heart's Done Time (early studio rehearsals AKA Right Key, Wrong Key Hole) 2. Magic Touch (early demo version) 3. Magic Touch (final pre-production with different lyrics) 4. Rag Doll (final pre-production with different lyrics and solo) 5. Simoriah (final pre-production) 6. Simoriah early demo version) 7. Dude (looks like a lady) (final pre-production without intro) 8. Dude (looks like a lady) (early demo version with different lyrics) 9. Dude (looks like a lady) (early studio rehearsals) 10. Dude (looks like a lady) (original working demo version) 11. St. John (final pre-production) 12. St. John (early demo version) 13. St. John (early studio rehearsals) Disc 2 1. Hangman Jury (early studio rehearsals) 2. Girl Keeps Coming Apart (final pre-production) 3. Girl keeps coming apart (early studio sessions without vocals) 4. Girl keeps coming apart (early studio rehearsals without vocals) 5. Angel (original working demo version) 6. Permanent vacation (final pre-production) 7. Permanent vacation (early demo version) 8. I'm Down (final pre-production) 9. Got To Find A Way (original working demo version including "The movie") 10. Got To Find A Way (early studio rehearsals) Disc 3 1. Walking On Danger Street (original working demo version) 2. Walking On Danger Street (early studio rehearsals) 3. Feel The Pain (original working demo version AKA Sleeping Sickness and Scream In Pain) 4. Feel The Pain (final complete demo version) 5. Hollywood (early studio rehearsals) 6. Hollywood (original working demo version) 7. Funky Thing (original working demo version) 8. Funky Thing (Joe's Funky early demo version) 9. Once Is Enough (original working demo version) 10. Love Me Like A Bird Dog (original working demo version) 11. Love Me Like A Bird Dog (early studio rehearsals) 12. Take It Easy (early studio rehearsals) 13. Is Anybody Out There? (early studio rehearsals) -
Audience 8.7 - This slightly above average tape sounds like it has been re-mastered and life restored to it, but the mix favors percussion and keys. The rest of the band is a little behind them but thankfully Carlos’ solos rise up above much more in the mix. I did find it an interesting tape with an atmosphere that lets you kind of soak up the Italian vibe – between the chatter and the feel of the venue itself it is kind of strangely…renaissance. Let’s just say the recording captures a little more than just the rock band that evening and it adds a lot to the experience. That is why I can still recommend this to fans, and the fact that it is 1971 which is that interesting period with Neil Schon. Santana Palaido Milano, Italy April 27, 1971 1. -Waiting 2. -Incident At Neshabur 3. -Toussaint L'Overture 4. -Taboo 5. -Batuka 6. -Evil Ways 7. -Soul Sacrifice 8. -Samba Pa Ti 9. -Black Magic Woman - Gypsy Queen 10. -Oye Como Va 11. -Savor 12. -Jingo -
Audience 9.5 - Outstanding! Yes, it’s just another killer quality audience tape that seems to be the hallmark for the Zappa legacy. Probably because you have devoted fans keen on preserving the experience and doing it with care, and an artist who diligently worked hard to provide a high quality audio experience. ZAPPA PLAYS ZAPPA Sentrum Scene Oslo, Norway November 24, 2013 Disc 1 01. Intro 02. The gumbo variations 03. Dweezil's intro to "Roxy and elswhere" 04. Penguin in bondage 05. Pygmy twylyte 06. Dummy up 07. Village of the sun 08. Echidna's arf (of you) 09. Don't you ever wash that thing 10. Cheepnis 11. Son of orange county 12. More trouble every day Disc 2 13. Be bop tango 14. Florentine pogen 15. Teenage wind 16. Teenage prostitute 17. The black page # 1 (drum solo) 18. The black page # 2 19. Dweezil talks 20. I come from nowhere 21. Dweezil talks 22. The duke of prunes Disc 3 23. Peaches en regalia - Intro to... 24. The torture never stops - Audience ovations 25. Encore intro 26. Watermelon in easter hay 27. Dweezil talks 28. Zombie woof 29. Muffin man Dweezil Zappa: guitar, vocals Scheila Gonzalez: saxophone, flute, keyboards & vocals Ben Thomas: vocals, trumpet, trombone, percussion Chris Norton: keyboards, vocals Kurt Morgan: bass Ryan Brown: drums -
LA 1977 Soundboard 9.4 - THIS is what PUNK should sound like live…loud, brash, and totally in your face – that is exactly what this board tape delivers and I LOVE IT! Get it and you’ll see why. CBGB’s 1977 Audience 9.2 - A pretty clean recording, which is surprising to me as this is a punk band in a small club at full volume (presumably). So, either taper is affiliated with the club and set up somewhere with some good equipment or it’s a fan who just knew what he was doing and nailed it. I am going with the former. Ramones LIVE 1977 Disc 1 Whisky a Go Go Los Angeles, California October 21, 1977 01 -intro 02 -Loudmouth 03 -Beat On The Brat 04 -Blitzkrieg Bop 05 -I Remember You 06 -Glad To See You Go 07 -Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment 08 -You're Gonna Kill That Girl 09 -I Don't Care 10 -Sheena Is A Punk Rocker 11 -Rockaway Beach 12 -Commando 13 -Here Today, Gone Tomorrow 14 -Surfin' Bird 15 -Cretin Hop 16 -Listen To My Heart 17 -California Sun 18 -I Don't Wanna Walk Around With You 19 -Pinhead 20 -break before encore 21 -Suzy Is A Headbanger 22 -Chain Saw 23 -Today Your Love, Tomorrow The World 24 -break before second encore 25 -Now I Want To Be A Good Boy 26 -Let's Dance Disc 2 CBGB's New York, NY 10-27-77 1. -Loudmouth 2. -Beat on the brat 3. -Blitzkrieg Bop 4. -I Remember You 5. -Glad To See You Go 6. -Teenage Lobotomy 7. -You're Gonna Kill That Girl 8. -53rd And 3rd 9. -Sheena Is A Punk Rocker 10. -Rockaway Beach 11. -Commando 12. -Here Today, Gone Tomorrow 13. -Surfin' Bird 14. -Cretin Hop 15. -Listen To My Heart 16. -California Sun 17. -I Don't Wanna Walk Around With You 18. -Pinhead 19. -Let's Dance 20. -Today Your Love, Tomorrow The World -
Soundboard 9.3 - This is a rough and tumble sort of board tape. Obviously never meant to be used in any official release, but it does certainly get the job done regardless. Very definitive instrument separation so you can concentrate on any instrument you want and you will get maximum information out of it – until you choose another one and then you will get stuck on that one. THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND - Fillmore West, San Francisco January 29, 1971 1. Statesboro Blues 2. Trouble No More 3. Don't Keep Me Wonderin' 4. In Memory of Elizabeth Reed 5. Midnight Rider 6. Dreams 7. You Don't Love Me 8. Whipping Post Greg Allman - organ, vocals; Duane Allman - guitar; Dicky Betts - guitar; Berry Oakley - bass; Butch Trucks - drums; Jai Johanny Johanson - percussion -
Stereo Soundboard 9.0 - While this show is also featured on another set here, we found an alternate version that seems to have a wider stereo separation, it does make it sound a tad brighter, but there are some trade-offs too, like a touch more hiss but it doesn’t bother so TURN IT UP! Black Sabbath Espace Balard Paris, France 30th September 1983 1. Children Of The Grave 2. Hot Line 3. War Pigs 4. Supernaut 5. Drum Solo 6. Rock ‘N’ Roll Doctor 7. Disturbing The Priest 8. Iron Man 9. Guitar Solo 10. Digital Bitch 11. Smoke On The Water 12. Paranoid/Heaven And Hell(reprise) Bonus Tracks Sporthalle, Boblingen, Germany 28th September 1983 13. Black Sabbath 14. Smoke On The Water 15. Paranoid/Heaven And Hell(reprise) Ian Gillan – Vocals Tony Iommi – Guitar Geezer Butler – Bass Bev Bevan – Drums Geoff Nicholls – Keyboards -
Pro Audience 9.2 - This rating may seem confusing and that is because I just don’t believe this to be a board feed recording, nor do I believe it to be a straight audience tape. I believe this may have been recorded for broadcast locally and the station probably hung mics or placed them somewhere in the hall because there’s too much ambience for a straight board tape. It’s very good, it’s got a critical element missing in every board tape and that’s some sense of the room, the audience, etc.
Black Sabbath Civic Center Hartford, CT 1980-08-10 Disc 1 101 Supertzar 102 War Pigs 103 Neon Knights 104 N.I.B. 105 Children Of The Sea 106 Sweet Leaf 107 Drum Solo 108 Sweet Leaf (Reprise) 109 Black Sabbath Disc 2 201 MC 202 Heaven And Hell 203 Iron Man 204 Guitar Solo 205 Die Young 206 Paranoid 207 children Of The Grave Bonus track Hammersmith Odeon London, UK 1980-05-08 208 Children Of The Sea -
Soundboard 9.2 - What I like most about this board tape is that it emphasizes Bill Wyman, and I mean where you can hear individual notes that he is playing, while also laying down a strong, sonically speaking, low end (so it’s not just bass notes being plucked out). This is a new, and good way to listen to another ’81 Tour board tape without being bored…’cause we all know the set list didn’t change at all.
Rolling Stones Rosemont Horizon Des Plaines, IL. 11-23-1981 Disc 1 1. -Take The A Train - Under My Thumb 2. -When The Whip Comes Down 3. -Let's Spend The Night Together 4. -Shattered 5. -Neighbours 6. -Black Limousine 7. -Just My Imagination 8. -Twenty Flight Rock 9. -Going To A Go Go 10. -Let Me Go 11. -Time Is On My Side 12. -Beast Of Burden 13. -Waiting On A Friend 14. -Let It Bleed Disc 2 1. -You Can't Always Get What You Want 2. -Band Intros 3. -Little T&A 4. -Tumbling Dice 5. -She's So Cold 6. -Hang Fire 7. -Miss You 8. -Honky Tonk Women 9. -Brown Sugar 10. -Start Me Up 11. -Jumping Jack Flash 12. -Satisfaction 13. -Star Spangled Banner - School Day -
Soundboard 9.0 - Nothing particularly wrong with this one, but a did feel as though the mix was a little bit overcrowded at time (especially when the band was cooking), but at the same time I loved how the organ sounded and the sheer power of this band came across very convincingly.
Patti Smith Group The Place Eugene, Oregon, USA May 4, 1978 Disc One 01 -Land 02 -Rock And Roll Nigger 03 -Privilege 04 -Free Money 05 -Pissing In A River 06 -Pumping 07 -You Really Got Me 08 -Time Is on My Side 09 -Ghost Dance 10 -Because the Night Disc Two 01 -Easter 02 -Radio Ethiopia 03 -Gloria 04 -Jailhouse Rock 05 -My Generation Civic Center Santa Monica, California May 12, 1978 06 -Land 07 -Rock And Roll Nigger 08 -Privilege 09 -Kimberly 10 -Till Victory 11 -Redondo Beach
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Radio Broadcast 9.4 - Slightly dated sounding it’s still very strong, clear (sounds like someone did some work on it) and pretty much everything you want. Patti Smith Group "Joan Of Arc At The Burning River" Rock Around The World broadcast Agora Ballroom, Cleveland, OH April 18, 1978 01 -Interview - Redondo Beach 02 -Interview - Ain't It Strange 03 -Interview - Privilege (Set Me Free) 04 -Interview - Easter 05 -Radio Ethiopia 06 -Gloria 07 -Interview -
Soundboard 9.0 - This is most definitely off the radio, it has all the tell-tale signs of a radio broadcast including the FM compression (not horrible) but I also think, if not radio, it may have come from a TV broadcast. Michael Schenker Group 1981-06-08 Pinkpop Festival Burgemeester Damen Sportpark Geleen, Holland FM broadcast recording 01 Cry For The Nations 02 Victim Of Illusion 03 Natural Thing 04 Feels Like A Good Thing 05 Rock Bottom 06 Lost Horizons 07 Doctor Doctor -
Audience 8.3/8.5 - Despite the low approval ratings of these audio tapes, I have to say I still think they are important to the Megadeth collector for several reasons. There’s just not a lot of recordings from these early periods for some unknown reason, and these shows, having been cleaned up and re-mastered as well as could be done, represent listenable time capsules of perhaps one of the all-time greatest metal band. Megadeth do not get the same accolades as some of the other big metal bands (do I have to mention them?) but I always loved their complexity and sarcasm. I did listen to both of these shows and once my ears adjusted I stuck with it and wrote this review without bias. Average tapes that deserve a place in any collection because of the significance of this band.
Megadeth The Windy City Gigs Disc 1 Metro, Chicago, IL (USA) June 30, 1985 01. -Last Rites - Loved To Death 02. -Killing Is My Business 03. -Skull Beneath The Skin 04. -These Boots 05. -My Last Words 06. -Looking Down The Cross 07. -Chosen Ones 08. -Mechanix 09. -Bad Omen 10. -Encore break 11. -Good Mourning - Black Friday 12. -Rattlehead Disc 2 (U.I.C) Pavilion University of Illinois Chicago, IL 1987-02-12 1. -Intro 2. -Wake Up Dead 3. -The Conjuring 4. -My Last Words 5. -Bad Omen 6. -Rattlehead - Dave's talking about Chicago 7. -Peace Sells 8. -Devil's Island 9. -The Mechanix
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Audience 9.1 - A very well done audience tape is the source, and the atmospherics are nice and immersive. Sound quality is right in the pocket! Show was unfortunately cut short due to severe weather, but there’s enough music here to satisfy regardless. Santana Estadio Universitario Caracas, Venezuela October 7, 1973 01 Introduction 02 Going Home - A-1 Funk - Every Step Of The Way (including Boogie Woogie Waltz) 03 Black Magic Woman - Gypsy Queen (including Third Stone From The Sun) 04 Oye Como Va 05 Bambele 06 Um-Um-Um 07 Yours Is The Light 08 Batucada 09 Xibaba (She-Ba-Ba) 10 Stone Flower - Waiting -
Audience 8.7 - This is definitely the best sounding version of this show. Not bad either – typical of the time period but tapers managed to capture the entire show in pretty good quality. You can easily forgive some of the minor flaws because that is what they are…minor. A keeper!
The Rolling Stones Soldier Field Chicago, IL 1978-07-08 Disc 1 1. -Let It Rock [03:25] 2. -All Down The Line [04:46] 3. -Honky Tonk Women [05:10] 4. -Star Star [04:28] 5. -When The Whip Comes Down [06:49] 6. -Lies [05:55] 7. -Miss You [10:42] 8. -Beast of Burden [06:09] 9. -Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me) [08:34] Disc 2 1. -Shattered [05:50] 2. -Respectable [04:01] 3. -Far Away Eyes [05:53] 4. -Love In Vain [06:08] 5. -Tumbling Dice [06:07] 6. -Happy [03:40] 7. -Sweet Little Sixteen [03:49] 8. -Brown Sugar [04:41] 9. -Jumping Jack Flash [09:43] 10. -(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction [05:47]