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Audience 7.3 - 8.0 - Gets better as the show progresses. Let me just say this – I think this show is hotter than the officially released Live album! Maybe because when a band knows they are being recorded, they are less “free” in their playing. I don’t know but this show is off the hook jamming, wish it sounded a little better but even so I am happy to get to hear it.
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Audience 6.8 - Audio is Not very good but man, what a bummer because this is one of the absolute best performances I think I have ever heard. Totally intense and really good improv jams that do not bore you to tears. Wish it was better – but on the plus side you get a rather clear Richie on guitar. Quieter passages are rather decent. The main problem here is that everything is squeezed into a narrow bandwidth. Must have for hardcore fans for the ferociousness of the performance.
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CD 1 & 2 - Audience 8.9 - Very strong presence, taper had great seats and knew how to operate his levels, so, have fun because the band never sounded better! CD 3 & 4 - This show received a nice remastering which helped bring the middle up and cut out a lot of the tape hiss so what you get now is a smoother sound, and good punch in the mids while offering great solid kick drum, vocals, and guitar with keys being placed perfectly in accompaniment. Just get past the first song where taper finds his position and you are good to go.
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Audience 7.7 - A great period for Deep Purple, this is probably their peak in a lot ways. The recording here is decent, vocals a little back, some overload at times, but you don’t miss anything really all the music is there and you can pick up just about everything on stage. I like it, I think you will too.
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Audience 7.7 - This sounds way better than I remember it from years ago, not to say it is marvelous, but what I can tell you is that Ian and Jon are absolute beasts here, the intensity is off the charts folks. Because of where the sound spectrum is (focuses on vocals and keys) you get the idea maybe you won’t hear Ritchie but when he solos the guitar is riding the top of everything which is a relief. So, all in all a spectacular show, mediocre recording that sounds better than it ever has. I consider this along with the Hiroshima gig of the same year to be essential for real fans due to the insane levels of intensity present.
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Audience 8.8 - This is a strange recording because at first it may seem as though it is a board tape because there’s virtually no audience noise at all. Closer examination reveals that it is more likely an open mic placed right up on the stage or close to the mains. It is a little hot, meaning the levels are near max, but thankfully it only comes to the bleeding edge and does not fall off the cliff. A pretty darn exciting tape!
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Audience 8.7 - A real small club atmosphere that puts you kind of up front where you get a real snappy drum sound and then guitars and vocals seem panned in wide stereo field because I can only assume the recorder was standing in front of the stage and was picking up the drums first then the P.A.’s which give this a very real vibe.
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Soundboard 9.2 - Don't assume that there is any particular period of Dio's career that is "better" or somehow more desirable. Dio was a total pro, and he always put together exceptional bands. Vivian Campbell just shreds on this. The performance, the quality, Dio up to his usual high standards of excellence - this is a must have!