Audience 8.2 - Well, it isn’t a recording that will win any grammies but damn if it isn’t RAW just like the band and their music. This recording actually suits this band – it’s a little rough, but it’s brutal and in your face. The vocals fight for bandwidth against angry and loud guitars, driving bass, and furious non-stop drums. It’s actually kind of a fun listen despite its limitations. Oh, and some good news – it is not a muddy mess at all, it’s just a loud band in a small club sounding for all the world like the debut of punk rock. Iggy and the Stooges Max's Kansas City New York, NY, USA Monday August 6th, 1973 01 - Raw Power 02 - Head On 03 - Gimmie Danger 04 - Cock In My Pocket 05 - Search and Destroy 06 - I Need Somebody 07 - New Orleans 08 - Johanna Line-up: Iggy Pop - Vocals James Williamson - Guitar Ron Asheton - Bass Scott Asheton - Drums

Pro 9.6 -An obviously professionally recorded show, this will certainly provide the listener with a lot to love although I still like more atmosphere on a live recording than what is contained herein. The beginnings and endings do show the presence of an enthusiastic audience. The Smiths "Same Day Again" Oxford Apollo March 18th 1985 01. William It Was Really Nothing 02. Nowhere Fast 03. What She Said 04. Hand In Glove 05. How Soon Is Now? 06. Stretch Out And Wait 07. That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore 08. Shakespears Sister 09. Headmaster Ritual 10. Still Ill 11. Meat Is Murder 12. Miserable lie 13. Barbarism Begins At Home 14. You've Got Everything Now  

Audience 9.2 - A nice and bright tape with a good solid bass holding it all down. The Smiths Royal Court Theatre Liverpool, UK. Feb. 8th, 1986 1. Montagues And Capulets 2. Shakespeare's Sister 3. I Want The One I Can't Have 4. Vicar In A Tutu 5. Frankly, Mr. Shankly 6. Marie's The Name - Rusholme Ruffians 7. The Boy With The Thorn In His Side 8. Cemetary Gates 9. Nowhere Fast 10. What She Said 11. There Is A Light That Never Goes Out 12. Bigmouth Strikes Again 13. William, It Was Really Nothing 14. Meat Is Murder 15. Stretch Out And Wait  

Studio Quality 9.4 - I admit I never was a fan, but being a music collector I ended up discovering a few things I’d missed and this is one. While I am still not the biggest Morrissey fan, I think he certainly fits with this style and let’s admit it these songs are all quite good. The Smiths Demos & Outtakes 01 -Reel Around The Fountain (July 1983, Troy Tate final mix) 02 -The Hand That Rocks The Cradle (October 1983, John Porter monitor mix) 03 -This Night Has Opened My Eyes (June 1984, unreleased studio recording) 04 -Rusholme Ruffians (July 1984, John Porter first take) 05 -I Misses You (December 1984, instrumental) 06 -There Is A Light That Never Goes Out (September 1985, early take) 07 -The Queen Is Dead (Fall 1985, original unedited version) 08 -Frankly, Mr Shankly (November 1985, Stephen Street "trumpets" recording) 09 -Ask (9 June 1986, probable first-ever take) 10 -Is It Really So Strange? ( June 1986, original unreleased studio recording) 11 -Shoplifters Of The World Unite (December 1986, instrumental) 12 -Sheila Take A Bow (January 1987, John Porter original version) 13 -Girlfriend In A Coma (January 1987, early take) 14 -Death Of A Disco Dancer (April 1987, first take) 15 -Paint A Vulgar Picture (April 1987, early take) 16 -Heavy Track (April 1987, instrumental)  

Pro Studio 9.6 - Crystal clear and in fact does not even sound like it was recorded off air, these are certainly pre-broadcast. The Smiths BBC 1983-1986 01. Reel Around The Fountain (May 31, 1983) (5:58) 02. What Difference Does It Make? (May 31, 1983) (3:20) 03. Handsome Devil (May 31, 1983) (2:48) 04. Miserable Lie (May 31, 1983) (4:42) 05. This Charming Man (Sep 21, 1983) (2:48) 06. Still Ill (Sep 21, 1983) (3:36) 07. Back To The Old House (Sep 21, 1983) (3:06) 08. This Night Has Opened My Eyes (Sep 21, 1983) (3:43) 09. Rusholme Ruffians (Aug 09, 1984) (4:11) 10. Nowhere Fast (Aug 09, 1984) (2:45) 11. William, It Was Really Nothing (Aug 09, 1984) (2:08) 12. Is It Really So Strange (Dec 17, 1986) (3:08) 13. Sweet And Tender Hooligan (Dec 17, 1986) (3:39) 14. London (Dec 17, 1986) (2:10) 15. Half A Person (Dec 17, 1986) (3:28)  

Soundboard 8.8 - Not your typical board tape here, in fact I hesitate to even call it one because to me it sounds like a stage recording. Either way, it is decent but not great. What is great, however, is this period of the band and this performance is indicative of that peak they attained. Marvelous playing throughout – and like I said the sound quality is decent and enjoyable but I expected more from a professional recording.

The Coliseum St Austell, UK 28th April 1982 Disc 1 01 -Blackout 02 -Dont Make No Promises 03 -Loving You Sunday Morning 04 -Make It Real 05 -We'll Burn The Sky 06 -Coast To Coast 07 -Lovedrive 08 -Always Somewhere 09 -Holiday Disc 2 01 -Cant Live Without You 02 -He's A Woman She's A Man 03 -Another Piece Of Meat 04 -Dynamite 05 -The Zoo 06 -Steamrock Fever 07 -Cant Get Enough  

Soundboard 9.2 - Loud and right in the pocket! A rocket in the pocket that is… oh yeah Let’s Go! The RAMONES Utica, NY 4 Acres 1977-11-14   01 -Rockaway Beach 02 -Teenage Lobotomy 03 -Blitzkrieg Bop 04 -I Remember You 05 -Glad To See You Go 06 -Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment 07 -You're Gonna Kill That Girl 08 -53rd & 3rd 09 -Sheena Is A Punk Rocker 10 -I Can't Give You Anything 11 -Let's Dance 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  

Audience 8.3 - Don’t let the rating fool you, this is an exciting tape! What lowers the rating is just a non-biased appraisal of the sonic limitations of the tape which is mainly the upper end distortion due to volume. It’s a small club and a loud band, and probably a consumer grade cassette recorder…but, it’s actually not that bad and delivers a real exciting vibe.  I can tell you this for sure – you will be sucked into this recording and will completely get it, it’s a charming document of a long forgotten time and place.  I got that melancholic feeling during the song “Last Thing On My Mind”. THE MOVE Scarborough, England August 1969 1. I Can Hear The Grass Grow 2. Hello Suzie 3. Last Thing On My Mind 4. Curly 5. Open My Eyes 6. Goin' Back 7. Flowers In The Rain 8. Fire Brigade 9. Blackberry Way 10 Sounds Of Silence 11 Under The Ice

Soundboard 9.3 - This is, for me, a real revelation. I never knew anything of this band outside of their lone smash hit “My Sharona”, which incidentally happens to hearken me back to a very specific time and place of my youth when this song blasted from every radio every 10 minutes. Listening to this show, I am stunned at how excellent the band is, and how good ALL of the songs are. How they remained pigeonholed and forgotten as another 1 hit wonder it just amazes me because they should have been more than that. I could not stop playing this once I started…I was on board for the whole ride and will do it again! THE KNACK THE FORUM INGLEWOOD, CA 1980-03-30 01. Baby Talks Dirty 02. Your Number Or Your Name 03. Oh Tara 04. The Hard Way 05. I Want Ya 06. Mr. Handleman 07. End Of The Game 08. Hey Little Girl 09. Tell Me You're Mine 10. Good Girls Don't 11. Heartbeat 12. Can't Put A Price On Love 13. Hold On Tight And Don't Let Go 14. Come A Little Bit Closer 15. Frustrated 16. (She's So) Selfish 17. My Sharona 18. (Havin' A) Rave Up 19. Not Fade Away 20. We Love You

Audience 8.5/8.4 - Both of these recordings are very good in not only the general fidelity but they also seem to be low gen. They are both clear and not muddy, although one is slightly clearer in the middle frequency. It seems as though these shows have been worked on with some audio tools, but with a light touch, it is greatly appreciated by these ears!  Both shows are very worthwhile, and being the period before the more extravagant sets, kind of easier to sit through. The Kinks "The Ides of March" Disc 1 Emerson Gymnasium Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, OH. March 11, 1972 1. Top of the Pops 2. Brainwashed 3. 20th Century Man (Beginning tease) 4. Get Back In The Line 5. Waterloo Sunset 6. Apeman 7. Sunny Afternoon 8. Band Intros 9. Muswell Hillbillies 10. Acute Schizophrenia Blues 11. Your Lookin Fine 12. Alcohol 13. Skin & Bones 14. Lola 15. You Really Got Me 16. All Day And All Of The Night 17. Applause (Encore Break) 18. Til The End Of The Day 19. Victoria Disc 2 Chicago Auditorium Chicago, IL March 12, 1972 1. -Intro 2. -Till The End Of The Day 3. -Your Looking Fine 4. -Apeman 5. -Get Back In Line 6. -Acute Schizophrenia Paranoia Blues 7. -Muswell Hillbillies 8. -Sunny Afternoon 9. -Demon Alcohol 10. -Skin And Bones 11. -Lola 12. -Jam - One Night With You 13. -You Really Got Me - All Day And All Of The Night 14. -Victoria 15. -Louie Louie

New York 1978 Audience 9.3 - What a wild, out of control ride this is!  Not only perhaps one of the most engaging live Kinks bootleg recording (or at least in the top 5), It also may just be one of THE coolest bootleg audience recording of any band. Why? Why such praise?  It captures an intangible quality, that thing you can’t accurately describe with words…it’s a statement of sorts. We have a foundation rock band (first British wave) who have always been sort of disregarded but who refuse to pack it in, and here is why. These guys were punk before punk was a thought, and here they are a decade and change removed from their 60’s heyday, playing the birth place of US punk and they STILL can out punk the punks. Brilliant! Magical. A MUST! Buffalo 1978 Audience 8.7 - A very clear recording, good solid mid range and leaning toward emphasis on the high end which gives cymbals the little bit of crispiness that makes them heard and not washed out. Drums are highlighted and have a great sound too. The Kinks New Century Theater, Buffalo, NY May 27, 1978 Band line-up Ray Davies – lead and backing vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards Dave Davies – lead guitar, backing and lead vocals Gordon Edwards – keyboards, piano, backing vocals Mick Avory – drums, percussion Jim Rodford – bass, backing vocals John Beecham - trombone Nick Newall - saxophone Disc 1 01 Intro 02 Life On The Road 03 Sleepwalker 04 Mr. Big Man 05 Permanent Waves 06 Hay Fever 07 Waterloo Sunset 08 Celluloid Heroes 09 Misfits 10 Lola Disc 2 11 A Well Respected Man 12 Death of a Clown 13 Sunny Afternoon 14 Trust Your Heart 15 You Really Got Me 16 Slum Kids 17 Alcohol 18 Rock-n-Roll Fantasy 19 All Day & All of the Night 20 Live Life 21 Jukebox Music The Kinks Central Park New York, NY September 8, 1978 Disc 3 01 You Really Got Me (Theme) 02 Sleepwalker 03 Life On The Road 04 Mr. Big Man 05 Permanent Waves 06 Hay Fever 07 Lola 08 Misfits 09 Celluloid Heroes 10 Sunny Afternoon Disc 4 11 Trust Your Heart 12 You Really Got Me 13 Slum Kids 14 Alcohol 15 Rock And Roll Fantasy 16 All Day And All Of The Night 17 Live Life 18 Twist and Shout 19 Juke Box Music