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Disc 1 Pittsburgh 1974 Audience 8.5 A rather middle of the road tape that does not offend the ears, but does not offer great separation of instruments. It’s not that it is real muddy either, it’s just that Sabbath were very loud, and unless you were seated ideally for taping, and, if your taping gear was high quality, you “might” get a very good recording of this band. That being said, I have heard much worse, and this is a new tape to circulation. Some good jams, Ozzy is very excited this night. Disc 2 Niagara Falls 1978 Audience 8.7 A bit better than the previous disc in this set, it offers better separation of instruments and more dynamics. In parts, it’s actually even better than the 8.7 rating. A rare tape, it offers something to collectors and features complete versions of the Technical Ecstasy songs which is a big plus. Disc 3 Live Rehearsals and Unknown Live 1979-80 Soundboard 9.8 Two very cool pieces that may have fallen through the cracks for most collectors but thankfully included in this Lost Recordings set. Both are worth repeated listening. Black Sabbath Lost Recordings 1974-1979 Disc One Civic Arena Pittsburgh, PA 02-02-1974 1. -Introduction 2. -Tomorrow's Dream 3. -Sweet Leaf 4. -Killing Yourself To Live 5. -Snowblind 6. -War Pigs 7. -A National Acrobat 8. -Cornucopia 9. -Sabbra Cadabra 10. -Guitar-Drum Solo 11. -Unknown 12. -Drum Solo 13. -Supernaut 14. -Guitar Solo 15. -Sabbra Cadabra (reprise) Disc 2 Niagara Falls Convention Center Niagara Falls, NY September 8, 1978 1 -Supertzar (intro tape) 2 -Symptom of the Universe 3 -Snowblind 4 -War Pigs 5 -Never Say Die 6 -Black Sabbath 7 -Dirty Women 8 -Rock 'n Roll Doctor 9 -Bill Ward drum solo 10 -Jam I 11 -Orchid 12 -Jam II 13 -Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (riff) 14 -Jam III 15 -Jam IV 16 -Jam V 17 -Electric Funeral 18 -Iron Man Disc 3 New York 1978 Cont'd 19 -Fairies Wear Boots 20 -Encore break 21 -Paranoid 22 -She's Gone (outro tape) 1979 Rehearsal Session 23. -Heaven And Hell 24. -Slapback Unknown Venue August 1980 25. -War Pigs 26. -Neon Knights 27. -Children Of The Sea 28. -Black Sabbath 29. -Die Young -
Audience 9.2 - I rate this one highly because it has a unique quality to it. First though, it’s a good recording, but interestingly it gives a clear and powerful representation to the often overlooked and seldom FELT kick drum. This instrument is kind of crucial to the sound of a heavy metal band, especially one whose primary power source is closer to the bottom end of the sound spectrum. So, a nicely defined and powerful kick drum propels this show in ways others do not. Highly recommended!Black Sabbath Nippon Seinen Kan Shinjuku-Ku Tokyo, Japan 11-17-1980 Disc 1 1. -Opening - Supertzar 2. -War Pigs 3. -Neon Knights 4. -N.I.B. 5. -Children Of The Sea 6. -Sweet Leaf 7. -Drum Solo 8. -Sweet Leaf 9. -Lady Evil 10.-Black Sabbath Disc 2 11. -Heaven And Hell 12. -Iron Man 13. -Instrumental 14. -Guitar Solo 15. -Instrumental 16. -Guitar Solo 17. -Instrumental 18. -Orchid 19. -Die Young 20. -Paranoid 21. -SE - Announcement Tony Iommi - Guitars Ronnie James Dio - Vocals Geezer Butler - Bass Vinny Appice - Drums Geoff Nicholls - Keyboards
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Soundboard 9.2 - A solid board tape that feels more like a good stage recording to my ears..but the thing is this is an interesting line up and having a great quality live recording of it is of prime interest. Tony Martin can be analyzed very carefully, and I think he comes out as one of the better sounding voices but still not quite as good as Dio or Ozzy of course…but he’s not bad! BLACK SABBATH Live At Summer Arena Vienna, Austria 24th September 1989 CD 1 1.Supertzar/ The Gates of Hell 2.Headless Cross 3.Neon Knigths 4.Cildren Of The Sea 5.Die Young 6.When The Death Calls 7.War Pigs 8.The Shining CD 2 1.Mob Rules 2.Black Sabbath 3.Iron Man 4.Children Of The Grave ENCORE 5.Heaven And Hell 6.Paranoid / Heaven And Hell Tony Martin . Vocals Tony Iommi . Guitar Neil Murray . Bass Cozy Powell . Drums Geoff Nicholls . Keyboards -
Audience 8.9 - A very nice recording of a period I rather like for the songs and the renewed vigor of this venerable doom metal band. Black Sabbath Eulachhalle Winterthur, Switzerland 1992.09.14 Disc 1 101 E5150 102 The Mob Rules 103 Computer God 104 Children Of The Sea 105 Time Machine 106 War Pigs 107 I 108 Die Young 109 Guitar Solo 110 Black Sabbath Disc 2 201 Master Of Insanity 202 After All (The Dead) 203 Drums Solo 204 Iron Man 205 Heaven And Hell 206 Neon Knights 207 Paranoid - Heaven And Hell (Reprise) -
Soundboard 9.4 - All but the Darmstadt 1981 are soundboards of excellent quality. The one and only audience tape is very good though, recorded very up close with all the low end power as evidence that this band shook your bones (I know, I saw them in 1980 and I am still deaf!). Because it is recorded what seems like dead center, you aren’t going to hear the guitars and vocals as distinctly as the drums (super sounding kick by the way) and bass (pumping!). I like the audience tape here as it is kind of a relief to have a chance to be in the pit with the fans and hear what you would have heard had you been there, and I am not knocking the board tapes they are well done. Blackfoot Highway Song Of The 80's 1980-1984 Disc 1 Veteran's Memorial Coliseum Jacksonville, FL July 20, 1980 01. Gimme, Gimme, Gimme 02. On The Run03. Every Man Should Know 04. Train Train 05. Highway Song Stadion am Böllenfalltor Darmstadt, West-Germany 1981-08-23 06. Gimme Gimme Gimme 07. On the Run 08. I Got a Line on You 09. Every Man Should Know (Queenie) 10. Good Morning 11. Too Hard to Handle 12. Train, Train 13. Guitar Solo 14. Highway Song Music Hall Cleveland, OH. Sept. 30, 1981 15. Gimme, Gimme, Gimme Disc 2 Cleveland '81 cont'd 01. On The Run 02. I Got A Line On You 03. Road Fever 04. Trouble In Mind 05. Rattlesnake Rock 'N' Roller 06. Train Train 07. Highway Song Hollywood Palladium Hollywood, CA. July 29, 1983 08. Rattle Snake Rock 'N' Roller 09. Wishing Well 10. Teenage Idol 11. Train, Train 12. Easy Livin' 13. Highway Song Disc 3 Hollywood '83 cont'd 14. On The Run 15. Fly Away Royal Oaks Theater Detroit, MI Feb. 09, 1984 01. intro 02. I Want To Talk To You 03. Heart's Grown Cold 04. Wishing Well 05. guitar solo 06. Roll And Tumble Blues 07. Fly Away 08. Morning Dew 09. Gimme Gimme 10. Rattlesnake Rock 'N' Roller 10. Train Train 11. Living In The Limelight 12. Highway Song -
Audience 8.7 A small club vibe permeates this recording which has merits in that it offers a “fly on the wall” perspective, as if you are sitting next to the PA, which taps the meters of the taper’s gear just to the breaking point. There is the smallest amount of distortion in the cymbal crashes which are mitigated through careful remastering. When the music is at full tilt there’s some competition in the frequencies which drowns out the vocals a bit but you get a good, clear guitar which is essential with this band. It’s one of the only bands that has a horn player but I don’t classify as a “horn” band due to his judicious use of the instrument. Oh, did I mention the KILLER guitar work on this? Man, Mick Abrahams really delivers some very tasty hard rock riffing and lead work! Birmingham 1969 Audience 9.0 - The bonus material from 1969 is short but very good quality. A lot of on stage banter by Mick, I guess it gives you more insight into his character...but what a guitarist! I sure hope more of this tape is discovered. Blodwyn Pig Cooks Ferry Edmonton, UK 1974-05-27 Disc 1 01 -Blues of a Dunstable Truck Driving Man 02 -Where Did You Go 03 -I Know 04 -See My Way 05 -Cosmogrification 06 -The Leaving Song 07 -Cat Squirrel 08 -It's Only Love Disc 2 09 -Six Days On The Road 10 -Unknown Title 11 -Drum Solo 12 -Unknown Title The Band Andy Pyle - Bass Clive Bunker - Drums Mick Abrahams - Guitar, Vocals Jack Lancaster - Saxophone, Horns, Flute Mother's Birmingham, England March 22nd, 1969 13 -Sweet Caroline 14 -Talk 15 -Leave It With Me 16 -Talk 17 -Dear Jill THE BAND Mick Abrahams guitar vocals Jack Lancaster saxophone flute Andy Pyle bass Ron Berg drums -
Radio Broadcasts 9.4/9.1 - Overall quality is excellent with a couple of these sounding a little dated but nevertheless the quality of the content combined with broadcast over the air quality (never mind how many decades ago) I think this holds up quite well. BLODWYN PIG The Live Sessions John Peel Radio Broadcast Tracks 1-6 1st Feb 1970 Tracks 7-12 13th Dec 1970 1. -The Change Song 2. -Ain't You Coming Home 3. -See My Way 4. -Instrumental 5. -Same Old Story 6. -See My Way (Reprise) 7. -Meaney Mornay 8. -Rock Me Baby 9. -Somebody Just Like Me 10. -See My Way 11. -Slow Down 12. -Worry Personel: Mick Abrahams - guitars, vocals; Andy Pyle - bass; Jack Lancaster - saxophone, flute; Ron Berg - drums; Peter Banks - guitars (B tracks) -
Broadcasts 8.8/9.4 - A little variation depending on the source of the recording in question (all fully annotated in the notes), what you get here is a collection of broadcasts over the air during 1969 and 1970 when music was in full change mode and experimentation and blending of genres was all the rage. Blodwyn Pig certainly has to be included in that product description with their jazz-tinged hard rock akin to Jethro Tull without flute (substitute sax instead). Makes sense, since Mick Abrahams helped define Tull’s sound in the beginning days. This is great stuff though and is HIGHLY recommended. BLODWYN PIG 1969-1970 Sessions Disc 1 01 -Ain't Ya Comin' Home ......... 03:14 02 -The Change Song .............. 04:23 03 -The Modern Alchemist ......... 04:45 04 -Mr. Green's Blues ............ 03:47 05 -It's Only Love ............... 03:30 06 -Ain't Ya Comin' Home ......... 03:35 07 -See My Way ................... 06:06 08 -Summer Day ................... 04:09 09 -The Modern Alchemist ......... 06:42 10 -Same Old Story ............... 02:33 11 -It's Only Love ............... 03:25 Disc 2 12 -Same Old Story ............... 03:17 13 -Cat's Squirrel ............... 08:55 14 -Drive Me ..................... 03:37 15 -Slow Down .................... 05:59 16 -Worry ........................ 03:38 17 -Somebody Just Like Me ........ 05:50 19 -See My Way ................... 06:05 19 -Moon's Gone .................. 02:59 20 -Lady Of Liberty .............. 04:22 21 -Lovely Lady .................. 05:11 22 -Lady Of Liberty .............. 05:32 (01-02) February 24, 1969 BBC Studio 2, Aoelian Hall, London UK (BBC Radio "Symonds On Sunday" broadcast March 2, 1970) (03-06) March 24, 1969 BBC Playhouse Theatre, Northumberland Ave London UK (BBC Radio "Top Gear" broadcast April 13, 1969) (07-08) October 1, 1969 BBC Maida Vale 4, London UK (UK BBC Radio "WS R&B" broadcast October 25, 1969) (09) October 10, 1969 Bremen (German TV "Beat Club 48" broadcast October 25, 1969) (10-11) December 27, 1969 BBC Studios London UK (12) January 29, 1970 Top Of The Pops, Paris Theater, London UK (13-15) February 1, 70 BBC Radio "Top Gear" London UK (16-17) March 4, 1970 BBC Maida Vale 4, London, UK (BBC Radio "WS R&B" broadcast April 5, 1970) (18) May 25, 1970 Bremen (German TV "Beat Club 55" broadcast May 30, 1970) (19-20) September 23, 1970 "Sounds Of The Seventies" London UK (21-22) October 3, 1970 Peel session, London UK Personel: Mick Abrahams - guitars, vocals (01-18) Andy Pyle - bass Jack Lancaster - saxophone, flute Ron Berg - drums Peter Banks - guitars (19-22) Barry Reynolds - vocals (19-22) -
Audience 8.9 - A nice recording job in that you really hear the music as clear as can be but also some atmosphere to let you know where you are at. It’s surprising really to hear how an amateur audience tape from ’74 can feature such nice depth, this is not a brittle or thin recording, there’s some meat to this one. Nice! Blood Sweat & Tears Helsinki, Finland 1974.06.06 Disc 1 01 Engine 49 02 God Bless the Child 03 Snow Queen 04 Maiden Voyage 05 She’s Coming Home 06 Mean Ole World 07 So Long Dixie 08 She Does It To Me Disc 2 09 I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know 10 You Girl 11 Are You Satisfied 12 Mirror Image Suite - Maglomania 13 Mirror Image 14 South Mountain Shuffle 15 Rock Reprise 16 Almost Sorry (That I Left You) 17 Spinning Wheel 18 And When I Die Jerry Fisher - Vocals Jerry LaCroix - Vocals,Saxophone,Harmonica (R.I.P) Georg Wadenius - Guitar Ron McClure - Bass Larry Willis - Piano Bobby Colomby - Drums Bill Tillman - Woodwinds (R.I.P.) Tony Klata - Trumpet Dave Bargeron - Trombone & Tuba -
Soundboard 9.6 - A very very clean tape, still after all this time it has been properly preserved. The band is in fine form, it’s the right time frame in history and the world is pretty familiar with the band by this time.Blood Sweat & Tears Amsterdam, The Netherlands 1970-09-20 Disc 1 01 - introduction (1:44) 02 - Fire and Rain (4:31) 03 - Somethin' Comin' On (7:09) 04 - 40,000 Headmen (5:24) 05 - I Can't Quit Her (4:25) 06 - Smiling Phases (15:42) 07 - Sympathy for the Devil (9:37) 08 - Sometimes in Winter (4:46) 09 - Lucretia McEvil (18:19) Disc 2 10 - And When I Die (9:05) 11 - Hi De Ho (6:46) 12 - Spinning Wheel (8:20) 13 - You've Made Me So Very Happy (11:26) 14 - Blues Part 2- Somethin' Goin' On (32:37) Bobby Colomby - Drums Steve Katz - Guitar & Vocals Jim Fielder - Bass Dick Halligan - Keyboards,Trombone,Flute Fred Lipsius - Alto Saxophone, Keyboards Lew Soloff - Trumpets Chuck Winfield - Trumpets Jerry Hyman - Trombone David Clayton Thomas - Vocals -
The sole LP released by Houston hard rockers Lic back in 1979 has been remixed and re-mastered and is released officially in partnership with ProgAor Records UK. The music is muscular, tight, heavy blues based bar rock of a high caliber. Includes bonus tracks. -
Audience 8.6 - Loud and noisy but every instrument heard…loudly. Here’s the thing – this is a complete show from 1975, for BOC fans, yeah it’s gotta be in your collection. It’s not terrible either, it’s just loud and thankfully not distorted but make sure you turn volume down before you press play ha ha! Blue Oyster Cult Tivolis Koncertsal Copenhagen, Denmark. October 27th 1975 Disc 1 01.Intro 02.Stairway to the stars 03.OD'd on life 04.Harvester of eyes 05.Flaming Telepaths 06.Last days of may 07.Candy store (fill in jam)-Cities on flame (with rock n roll) 08.Maserati GT 09. Buck's Boogie-with drum solo Disc 2 01.ME-262-with 5 guitars 02.Hot rails to hell 03.Born to be wild The Band Eric Bloom - Vocals/Guitar/Keyboards Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser - Lead Guitar/Vocals Joe Bouchard - Bass/vocals Allen Lanier - Guitar/Keyboards Albert Bouchard- Drums/vocals -
Levittown 1981 FM Broadcast 9.3 - Crisp and nicely mixed for broadcast this recording does not suffer from any degradation or compression, it’s wonderful! London 1984 FM Broadcast 9.2 - Excellent quality recording with some atmosphere to give you a sense of space, so not what I would call a direct to board feed, it was recorded and mixed for air and has that distinct feel to it. Blue Oyster Cult Spit Levittown, New York June 15, 1981 Disc 1 01 -Dr Music 02 -ETI 03 -Burnin' For You 04 -Fire Of Unknown Origin 05 -Cities On Flame 06 -Joan Crawford 07 -Flaming Telepaths 08 -Veteran of Psychic Wars 09 -ME 262 10 -Hot Rails To Hell 11 -Godzilla 12 -Born To Be Wild Disc 2 13 -Heavy Metal 14 -(Don't Fear) The Reaper 15 -Roadhouse Blues Hammersmith Odeon London, England 14 February 1984 16 -Introduction 17 -ME-262 18 -E.T.I. 19 -Born To Rock 20 -Cities On Flame With Rock And Roll 21 -Take Me Away 22 -Shooting Shark 23 -(Don't Fear) The Reaper 24 -Born To Be Wild 25 -Let Go 26 -Outro -
Audience 8.7 - A good recording with what seems to be a little middle band compression but not too much. So, it’s smooth low end and louder upper middle and highs but softer middle band, that is not necessarily bad, it’s just lacking in that punch factor. It is though, as stated, a pretty decent recording. Oh, and the last song of the evening is “Don’t Fear The Reaper” so VERY cool to hear another live version of that. You know why BOC fans love the live recordings? Because with 5 guitar players at any given time, you just want to hear what they do with these amazing songs on stage. Folkets Park Malmo, Sweden 1978-05-25 01 R.U. Ready 2 Rock 02 ETI 03 Harvester of Eyes 04 Cities on Flame 05 Golden Age of Leather 06 Then Came the Last Days of May 07 ME 262 08 Hot Rails to Hell 09 Godzilla 10 This Ain't the Summer of Love -> 5 Guitars 11 Born to be Wild 12 Don't Fear The Reaper -
Radio Broadcast 8.7 - This is one of the toughest tapes to review because I don’t know what it is, literally I don’t know how they captured this to tape. To my ears it sounds like it was broadcast over the air and someone placed a microphone in front of their stereo speaker and recorded it. Either that or maybe it was broadcast over AM, I just can’t tell you but for sure it’s not as good as a radio broadcast should be, not is it as bad as an amateur audience recording, this one hovers somewhere in between but I still thought it was decent. Someone definitely re-mastered this, and I am 100% sure it was a major benefit. Blue Oyster Cult Veterans Memorial Coliseum Phoenix, Arizona December 27, 1979 Disc 1 1.-Introduction 3:24 2.-Dominance & Submission 5:28 3.-Dr. Music 3:43 4.-Mirrors 4:21 5.-Cities on Flame 5:31 6.-The Great Sun Jester 5:26 7.-The Vigil 5:32 8.-The Vigil (Reprise) 1:26 9.-Extraterrestrial Intelligernce 4:51 10.-Astronomy 8:35 11.-ME 262 3:42 Disc 2 1.-Godzilla - Drum Solo - Godzilla 9:18 2.-Hot Rails to Hell 5:31 3.-Bass Solo 1:39 4.-Five Guitars 4:52 5.-Born to Be Wild 4:58 6.-Encore Break 3:14 7.-O.d.'d on Life Itself 4:03 8.-(Don't Fear) The Reaper 7:02 -
FM Broadcast 8.9 - Good because it's a broadcast, but there is some compression so you do not get the crisp, soaring highs and separation of instruments is not perfect. It's a somewhat "rough" professional recording and I am not talking about just age or generation of tape either - some of this is probably in the actual recording and/or live sound mix. That being said - it's a really good tape nonetheless and worthy of your collection. Blue Oyster Cult Centrum Worcester, MA. September 24, 1982 01. Pre-show interview 02. This Ain't The Summer Of Love 03. Hot Rails To Hell 04. Joan Crawford 05. Cities On Flame 06. Veteran of the Psychic Wars 07. Don't Fear The Reaper 08. Godzilla intro 09. Godzilla 10. Drums 11. Godzilla (reprise) 12. Bass solo 13. Born To Be Wild 14. DJ and stage banter 15. Burnin' For You Albert Bouchard - drums, percussion, vocals Allen Lanier - keyboards, guitars, vocals Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser - lead guitar, vocals Eric Bloom - lead vocals, rhythm guitar Joe Bouchard - bass guitar, vocals