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Boston 1973 - Soundboard 9.7 - Professionally recorded for broadcast, as you can expect with a jazz rock combo the sound has to be extraordinary due to the nature of the musicianship and sound they each produce - in other words it is easier to manage the sound when it isn't over distorted and ear-splittingly loud. This is, as a result, a lovely sounding tape (during the quiet sections there is some minor tape noise in the background but it disappears as soon as the music starts). New York 1974 - Audience 9.0 - I had a hard time figuring out whether this was an aud or a soundboard because of the proximity of the vocals. I determined it had to be a semi-professional audience recording because of the crowd responses being pretty well picked up in the tape after songs...if it was a board tape that would not be as audible (if at all). But it could still easily pass as a board tape if you didn't take that into account - so is it a board tape? It is very good for this venue, Carnegie Hall acoustics did not lend themselves well to loud rock music, if this is indeed an audience tape they did a fantastic job! Return To Forever Jazz Workshop Boston, MA, USA May 15th, 1973 Disc 1 01. Announcer intro 0:28 02. Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy 3:39 03. Chick introduces the band 1:23 04. Spain 13:49 05. CC intro 0:50 06. Sometime Ago 31:08 Chick Corea - Fender Rhodes Stanley Clarke - bass Bill Connors - guitar Steve Gadd - drums Mingo Lewis - congas and percussion Disc 2 Carnegie Hall, New York, NY July 3, 1974 1. Applause - Ambiance 1:40 2. Beyond the Seventh Galaxy 3:18 3. Song Intro by Chick Corea 2:08 4. Song to the Pharoah Kings 15:42 5. Song Intro by Chick Corea 0:51 6. The Shadow of Lo 9:48 7. Song Intro by Stanley Cl… 0:52 8. Where Have I Known You B… 6:09 9. Stanley Clarke bass solo 5:12 10. Song Intro 0:43 11. The Vulcan Empire 10:05 12. Closing Announcements 1:47 Chick Corea - keyboards Stanley Clarke - bass Al DiMeola - guitar Lenny White - drums -
Audience 9.0 -A sparkling audience tape that captures a band that is firing on all cylinders in frightening precision and dexterity (all members). Good bass presence here, no rumble just nice and solid which helps give clarity to everything else. Return To Forever Jahrhunderthalle Frankfurt, Germany 1976-03-21 Disc 1 101 Medieval Overture 6:01 102 Band Intros 2:19 103 Sorceress 12:25 104 The Magician 6:41 105 The Duel Of The Jester And The Tyrant 12:59 Disc 2 201 Lenny White Acoustic Set Introduction 1:20 202 The Romantic Warrior 12:20 203 Chick Piano Solo - Trio (Stanley, Lenny) On Green Dolphin Street, La Fiesta 9:22 204 Al Acoustic Guitar improvisation - RTF 11:37 205 Stanley Acoustic Bass improvisation incl. Bass Folk Song - RTF 10:52 206 Lenny White Drum Solo 10:39 207 Space Circus - Lopsy Lu - Coda 15:47 -
Pro 9.6 - Sharpness, precision, dynamic, and beautifully clear. A tiny amount of tape noise barely perceptible unless the room is silent and trust me, that is just me looking for something to be critical of…there are no faults with this recording. RETURN TO FOREVER CALDERONE CONCERT HALL, HEMPSTEAD,NY,USA NOVEMBER 22,1975 CD1 1-INTRO 2-VULCAN WORLDS 3-TALK 4-SHADOW OF LO 5-TALK 6-ROMANTIC WARRIOR CD2 1-CHICK'S SOLO > LA FIESTA 2-AL'S SOLO 3-STANLEY'S SOLO 4-LENNY'S SOLO 5-OUTRO Chick Corea Al DiMeola Stanley Clarke Lenny White -
Soundboard 9.7 - Pro recording in a live in-studio setting so it better be as good as it gets, and this is. Aside from minor tape hiss (only noticeable during the lulls), this is near perfection. Return To Forever Electric Lady Studios New York City, NY, USA 1975-06-xx 1. Chick Introduces the Band 1:18 2. Day Ride 3:34 3. Beyond the Seventh Galaxy 3:38 4. The Shadow of Lo 9:22 5. No Mystery 6:28 6. Vulcan Worlds > Stanley Speaks 16:00 7. Celebration Suite 15:35 Lenny White: Drums Stanley Clarke: Bass Al DiMeola: Guitar Chick Corea: Keyboards -
Audience 9.1 - Great sound and atmosphere, just as good as you want it to be. Some tape hiss present during quieter passages, which is being nitpicky though. This recording shines with just the right amount of headroom and the atmosphere is special as the crowd is LISTENING to every note you can clearly tell. Return To Forever Civic Auditorium Santa Monica, CA April 8, 1977 Disc 1 01 The Endless Night 02 The Musician 03 Hello Again 04 So Long Mickey Mouse 05 Musicmagic 06 Do You Ever Disc 2 07 Come Rain Or Shine 08 Serenade 09 The Moorish Warrior and the Spanish Princess 10 Spanish Fantasy 11 On Green Dolphin Street 12 Musicmagic (Reprise) -
Stockholm 1972 SDBRD 9.1 - Some minor tape hiss present but otherwise it’s quite good for its age. It was recorded well, I mean, the sound to me is very organic and that suits this style of music. Princeton 1973 SDBRD 9.3 - First thing you’ll notice is the lively, massive drums, and a good, round, full bass followed by sharp and clear guitar tone. A very very nice board tape! Nottingham 1975 SDBRD 8.7 - A somewhat subdued sound (tape age?) but pretty clear and could maybe just use a little EQ to bring out the frequencies…and also a little volume boost but other than that it’s a good tape that could be great. There’s a lot of communication with the crowd, more so than usual. Return To Forever Dramaten Stockholm Jazzdays Stockholm, Sweden September 17, 1972 FM Disc 1 01 -Band intro by Chick 02 -Spain 03 -Children's Song 04 -500 Miles High 05 -Noon Song 06 -Matrix 07 -Radio Announcer Chick Corea - Fender Rhodes and Acoustic Piano Joe Farrell - Flute and Soprano Saxophone Stanley Clarke - Acoustic Bass Airto Moreira - Drums Disc 2 Princeton University Princeton, NJ 1973-11-30 01 -Theme To The Mothership 02 -Bass Folk Song 03 -Children's Song 1 04 -Space Circus 05 -Captain Senor Mouse 06 -The Game Maker Chick Corea -keys Stanley Clarke -bass Lenny White -drums Bill Connors -guitar Disc 3 University of Nottingham Nottingham, U.K. February 22, 1975 1. -beyond the 7th galaxy 2. -song to the Pharoah kings - Vulcan worlds 3. -the shadow of Lo 4. -talk Disc 4 5. -Vulcan worlds 6. -talk and tuning 7. -no mystery 8. -talk 9. -celebration suite Chick Corea: keyboards Al Di Meola: guitar Stanley Clarke: bass Lenny White: drums -
FM Broadcast 9.3 - Very well recorded, this one can be fully cranked because there’s great instrument separation allowing for a full and wide (as in panned) sound mix. Rick Derringer 'Whisky-A-Go-Go 1977' February 8th, 1977 01. Radio Intro 02. Still Alive and Well 03. Let Me In 04. Teenage Love Affair 05. Sittin' By The Pool 06. One Eyed Jack 07. Sailor 08. Beyond The Universe 09. Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo (inluding You Really Got Me) 10. Roll With Me 11. Rebel Rebel 12. Keep On Makin' Love 13. Let's Make It -
Audience 9.6 - This sound is so real, so present, and SO LOUD but thankfully hangs together without shredding the tape it is stored on…mostly. On occasion there’s some minor breaking up in a certain frequency due to the sheer volume and proximity to the microphone but to be honest that is kind of what makes this recording such a revelation for me. I just never predicted that King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table would be as heavy and manic as it is here in an expertly recorded live setting. Rick Wakeman is a badass! Rick Wakeman Convention Center Anaheim, CA November 11, 1975 Disc 1 01 Intro 02 The Journey 03 Recollection 04 Catherine Howard 05 Lancelot & The Black Knight 06 Down And Out Disc 2 07 Anne Boleyn 08 The Forest 09 Arthur & Guinevere 10 Merlin The Magician 11 Catherine Parr 12 Hungarian Rhapsody 13 The Battle -
Pro Recording 9.4 - This is actually recorded from the audience, or the pit, or somewhere within the hall with professional equipment possibly for broadcast or posterity but it is obviously not an amateur job. The dynamics and atmosphere are excellent, and to my ears it just seems like the band wanted to record this gig for whatever reason.
Rick Wakeman November 16, 1981 Guildhall Preston, UK Disc One (70:34) 1) War Games? (10:29) 2) King Arthur Medley (12:10): a) Arthur b) Lancelot and the Black Knight 3) Sea Horses (5:17) 4) Julia (6:11) 5) Three Wives (13:12): a) Catherine of Aragon b) Anne of Cleves c) Catherine Howard 6) The Proles (5:30) 7) Journey to the Center of the Earth - Part 1 (17:45) Disc Two (60:16) 1) Danielle (4:30) 2) The Probe (4:05) 3) Chamber of Horrors (7:03) 4) The Hymn (3:14) 5) Anne Boleyn (29:04) 6) Robot Man (4:57) 7) Journey to the Center of the Earth - Part 2 (7:23) a) The Battle b) Hall of the Mountain King
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Audience 9.1 - I love these in your face recordings that are well done. No distortion, max volume, hear every instrument – in fact great separation of the guitars that is so realistic and cool they seem to pan across the speakers! A very well done tape for this time period in that it does not sound like one of those heavily compressed Aiwa tape recordings, it has a lot of liveliness and decent headroom. RIOT City Island Harrisburg, PA. June 21st 1982 1 -Intro 2 -Hard Lovin' Man 3 -Loanshark 4 -Restless Breed 5 -When I Was Young 6 -Swords & Tequila 7 -Outlaw 8 -Loved By You THE BAND Rhett Forrester vocals harmonica Mark Reale guitar Rick Ventura guitar Kip Leming bass Sandy Slavin drums -
SDBRD 9.7 A fantastic stereo board that has a ton of excitement and great atmosphere (unusual for a board tape). If you collect Plant shows, this is considered a must. ROBERT PLANT Brighton, Centre December 17, 1983 Disc 1 01. -In The Mood 02. -Pledge Pin 03. -Messin' With The Mekon 04. -Worse Than Detroit 05. -Keyboards Solo - Thru With The Two Step 06. -Other Arms Disc 2 07. -Horizontal Departure 08. -Moonlight In Samosa 09. -Wreckless Love 10. -Band Intro - Slow Dancer 11. -Like I've Never Been Gone Robert Plant - Vocals Robbie Blunt - Guitar Jezz Woodroffe - Keyboards Bob Mayo - Keyboards, Guitar Paul Martinez - Bass Richie Hayward - Drums -
Audience 9.4 - A delightful and warm atmosphere highlight this bright and well mixed concert recording. I struggled to find any reason to criticize it, but there are some occasional voices behind taper, and that is REALLY nitpicky. So, this is certainly a treasure of a recording and I highly recommend it. Robert Plant presents Saving Grace Piazza dei Signori Vicenza, Italy September 6, 2023 Disc 1 01 Gospel Plow (Traditional) 02 The Cuckoo (Traditional) 03 Let The Four Winds Blow (Robert Plant and the Strange Sensation) 04 Friends (Led Zeppelin) 05 Out In The Woods (Leon Russell) 06 Too Far From You (Nashville Cast) 07 Satan, Your Kingdom Must Come Down (Traditional) 08 Everybody's Song (Low) 09 It's A Beautiful Day Today (Moby Grape) Disc 2 10 The Rain Song (Led Zeppelin) 11 As I Roved Out (Traditional) 12 Chevrolet (Lonnie Young, Ed Young & Lonnie Young Jr) 13 Down To The Sea (Robert Plant) 14 Four Sticks (Led Zeppelin) 15 Angel Dance (Los Lobos) 16 Band Introduction 17 House Of Cards (Richard & Linda Thompson) 18 Gallows Pole (Led Zeppelin) 19 And We Bid You Goodnight (Traditional) -
Audience 9.2 - Both of these shows are fantastic, clear, and punchy. This is also a great period for Robin, his playing is mature, muscular, solid every note beginning to end. His recent material is on display here and there which is cool but the old stuff really shines…as always. Robin Trower The Country Club Reseda, CA 1-30-1987 Disc 1 1. Too Rolling Stoned 2. Secret Doors 3. Day Of The Eagle 4. Bridge Of Sighs 5. Passion 6. No Time Disc 2 7. Spellbound 8. Bad Time 9. Rock Me Baby 10. Won't Even Think About You 11. Little Bit Of Sympathy New George's San Raphael, CA 1/27/88 Disc 3 1 Too Rolling Stoned 2 Love Attack 3 Day of the Eagle 4 Bridge of Sighs 5 Second Time 6 No Time Disc 4 1 Take What You Need 2 Rock Me Baby 3 Tear It Up 4 Little Bit of Sympathy 5 Lady Love 6 Into the Flame -
Audience 8.5 - What this tape represents is an almost uncanny time warp back in time, the sound that the taper captured is amazing – the mix and separation of instruments is what damages an otherwise exceptional sounding tape. With that being said, it’s got a lot to appreciate regardless of the actual music contained herein. For instance, once the soundman dials the mix in better, the music does sound MUCH better and guitar rises slightly higher up front making for a more enjoyable listening experience. The sound of this tape is good, with a punchy upper midrange but not uncomfortable, and roaring “low end” and I say that because while bass is not well defined, it certainly is present in the lower frequencies here. This tape will grow on you, and I promise once you start, and get past the first song (where the live mix is getting dialed in), you’ll find yourself more and more sucked in to it. Robin Trower Long Island Arena, Commack, NY November 19th 1976 THE BAND Robin Trower guitar James Dewar vocals Bill Lordan drums Rustee Allen bass SETLIST 1 -Intro 2 -Same Rain Falls 3 -Lady Love 4 -Bridge Of Sighs 5 -Caledonia 6 -The Fool And Me 7 -Long Misty Days 8 -Too Rolling Stoned 9 -Daydream 10 -Day Of The Eagle 11 -Little Bit Of Sympathy 12 -Messin' The Blues 13 -Rock Me Baby 14 -Goodnight -
The set features mostly soundboard tapes but for a few discs that are included for historical reasons (but are not bad, just not soundboards). The first set that will be special to Trower fans is the previously uncirculated Madison Square Garden 1976 show. Wishbone Ash opened, and for both bands it was the first and last time they ever played MSG. Robin Trower performs the song Sailing which to my knowledge is the only time it has ever appeared on tape. The Winterland 1975 show is legendary because Bill Graham Productions preserved the event for posterity on in-house camera systems. The audio is a board feed, but gets off to a rough start with video tape tracking issues (on the master) but thankfully only during the first song. As a bonus, the video itself is included in this set. Robin Trower Decades 1974-1984 Disc 1 2/20/74 Bob Harris Show 01. -Alethea 02. -Too Rolling Stoned 03. -I Can't Wait Much Longer 04. -The Fool and Me 3/5/74 John Peel Radio Show 05. -Little Bit of Sympathy 06. -Alethea 07. -Bridge of Sighs 08. -In This Place 1/28/75 John Peel Radio Show 09. -Fine Day 10. -Confessing Midnight 11. -It's Only Money 12. -Gonna Be More Suspicious Disc 2 Winterland SF, CA. March 15,1975 1. -DAY OF THE EAGLE 2. -BRIDGE OF SIGHS 3. -GONNA BE MORE SUSPICIOUS 4. -FINE DAY 5. -LADY LOVE 6. -DAYDREAM 7. -TOO ROLLING STONED 8. -I CAN‘T WAIT MUCH LONGER 9. -ALETHEA - DRUM SOLO 10. -LITTLE BIT OF SYMPATHY Disc 3 Travis St. Electric Company Dallas, TX. March 20, 1975 KZEW-FM broadcast 1. -RADIO INTRO 2. -DAY OF THE EAGLE 3. -BRIDGE OF SIGHS 4. -GONNA BE MORE SUSPICIOUS 5. -FINE DAY 6. -LADY LOVE 7. -DAYDREAM 8. -TOO ROLLING STONED 9. -CAN‘T WAIT MUCH LONGER 10. -ALETHEA - DRUM SOLO 11. -LITTLE BIT OF SYMPATHY 12. -CONFESSION MIDNIGHT 13. -RADIO CREDITS 14. -ROCK ME BABY Disc 4 Boston Music Hall Boston, Mass. U.S.A. April 20, 1975 1. -Day of the Eagle 2. -Bridge of Sighs 3. -Gonna Be More Suspicious 4. -Fine Day 5. -Lady Love 6. -Daydream 7. -Too Rolling Stoned 8. -I Can't Wait Much Longer 9. -Alethea 10. -Little Bit of Sympathy 11. -The Fool and Me 12. -Rock Me Baby Disc 5 MADISON SQUARE GARDEN New York, NY. MARCH 24, 1976 1. -DAY OF THE EAGLE 2. -BRIDGE OF SIGHS 3. -SAILING 4. -LADY LOVE 5. -LONG MISTY DAYS 6. -FOOL & ME 7. -TOO ROLLING STONED Disc 6 New York cont'd 8. -DAYDREAM 9. -SAME RAIN FALLS 10. -I CAN'T WAIT MUCH LONGER 11. -ALETHEA 12. -LITTLE BIT OF SYMPATHY 13. -ROCK ME BABY 14. -S.M.O. Disc 7 Veteran's Memorial Coliseum New Haven, CT 1977-10-18 01. -Lady Love 02. -Somebody Calling 03. -Falling Star 04. -Too Rolling Stoned 05. -Smile 06. -Daydream 07. -The Fool And Me 08. -Bridge Of Sighs 09. -Day Of The Eagle 10. -Little Bit Of Sympathy 11. -Messin' The Blues 12. -Further On Up The Road Disc 8 Selland Arena Fresno,California November 23,1977 1. -Lady Love 2. -Somebody Calling 3. -Bluebird 4. -Too Rolling Stoned 5. -Smile 6. -Further On Up The Road 7. -Daydream 8. -The Fool and Me 9. -Day Of The Eagle 10. -Bridge Of Sighs 11. -Little Bit Of Sympathy 12. -Messin' The Blues 13. -Rock Me Baby Disc 9 Criteria Studio In City Dreams Sessions & Demos Miami, FL Summer 1977 1. -Somebody Calling 2. -Sweet Wine of Love 3. -Bluebird 4. -Smile 5. -Little Girl 6. -Love's Gonna Bring You Round 7. -Instrumental #1 8. -Hold Me 9. -Instrumental #2 10. -Further on Up The Road #1 11. -When That Wild Wind Blows 12. -King of the Dance 13. -Further on Up the Road #2 Disc 10 Graham Central Station Albuquerque, New Mexico November 07, 1984 01. -Tuning - Intro 02. -Too Rolling Stoned 03. -Into Money 04. -Keeping A Secret 05. -For The Last Time 06. -Beyond The Mist 07. -Shame 08. -Day Of The Eagle 09. -Bridge Of Sighs 10. -Lady Love 11. -Under Pressure 12. -Rock Me Baby Disc 11 Winterland March 15th, 1975 B/W In-House Camera Footage -
Delaware 1985 Soundboard 9.3 Nice to hear this period of Trower with a good, punchy board tape that does present a minimal amount of hiss (evident between songs) but other than that not much to complain about. W. Hollywood 1990 Soundboard 9.2 Technically speaking this would rate much higher as it is what one would call a “pristine” board tape. Yes it sounds crystal clear and Robin is literally singing in your ear (a bit much perhaps), but the rating reflects what I personally consider to be a downside of board tapes…the lack of atmosphere and reliance on perfect mix. This was probably mixed for the benefit of what was coming from the stage and not for the sake of the recording being made. It’s a reference tape is what it is. Contrast this to the next show in the set and you’ll begin to understand why I always say a great audience tape beats a board tape. Karlsruhe 2009 Audience 9.5 This show gets a stellar rating because while it is not technically a superior recording (mainly due to the very slight amount of overdrive) it represents most of what I love about great audience recordings. This recording captures the lightning into a bottle so to speak. The fact that there is just a slight bit of overdriven energy (for lack of a more technical term) or lets call it “saturation” for the sake of the audiophiles out there – either way the point is that this recording will get more repeat plays than the board tapes in this set. Robin Trower Three Decades 1985-2009 Disc 1 The Stone Balloon Newark,Delaware,U.S.A. 1985-07-24 01 -Too Rolling Stoned 02 -Into Money 03 -Keeping A Secret 04 -Day Of The Eagle 05 -Bridge Of Sighs 06 -None But The Brave Musicians Robin Trower - Guitar Dave Bronze - Bass & Vocals Martin Clapson - Drums Disc 2 The Roxy West Hollywood CA. March 25th 1990 01 -Intro 02 -Too Rolling Stoned 03 -Rock Me Baby 04 -Sea Of Love 05 -Day Of The Eagle 06 -Bridge Of Sighs 07 -Turn The Volume Up Disc 3 08 -No Time 09 -Ev'ry Body's Watching You 10 -Daydream 11 -Tear It Up 12 -Natural Fact 13 -Little Bit Of Sympathy 14 -The Ring 15 -Extermination Blues THE BAND Robin Trower guitar Davey Pattison vocals Glenn Letsch bass Dee Johnson drums Disc 4 Jack Bruce & Robin Trower Karlsruhe (GER) Tollhaus 2009-02-25 01 - Seven Moons 02 - Lives Of Clay 03 - Distant Places Of The Heart 04 - Sunshine Of Your Love 05 - Carmen (New song, unreleased) 06 - She's The One 07 - We're Going Wrong 08 - So Far To Yesterday Disc 5 09 - Just Another Day 10 - Perfect Place 11 - Bad Case Of Celebrity 12 - The Last Door 13 - Come To Me 14 - I'm Home 15 - White Room 16 - Politician Musicians: Jack Bruce: b, v Robin Trower: g Gary Husband: dr