Friday, June 27, 2014

Procol Harum - USA Tour 1969




Procol Harum
1-9 Live at the Fillmore East, 1969
10-14 Live at the Troubadour 1969

MP3 320
VG

Excellent early Procol performances!

*Original Notes
Long time I had not posted any Procol Harum live recording. This is not one with a very good quality to say the least but the band is really fantastic on it. Procol Harum fans can only be in heaven in hearing a setlist melting a splendid raw and heavy blues such as "Going Down Slow" with a Robin Trower ready to become the white Hendrix and a demoniac doom instrumental as "Regent Walpurgis" that do the path for the macabre vein of rock, a Matthew Fischer classic if there is one. And when doom and blues melt together, it provides the fantastic "Cerdes". But of course there are the masterpieces any Procolomaniac such as I am, will find here all the sound beverages we are addicted to. These 2 concert extracts were taken during the US tour in March and April 1969, after the unexpected chart success of the Shine On Brightly LP and before the Salty Dog LP (deceiving one for my part, and released some weeks after this tour). It is clear that the band is here in a between-two period, but what a great between-two. But it's true than one can be surprised by the rather heavy blues dominant of the times. Procol was not far to be pre-stoner on some tracks. I found this bootleg on BB Chronicles. I was not able to improve its sound quality but I'm sure it could be done. Enjoy it still in this form here or there.

Free - Coatham 1972




Free
Coatham, England
Oct 12 1972

MP3 320
VG+

* Original notes below are pretty blistering, not in a good way, about this show. Upon listening however, I tend to agree. 

Here's one of the worst and pathetic concert, not only by Free but maybe by any band I've heard.
Played in Coatham the 12th October 1972, Free has lost Andy Fraser (replaced by Tetsu on bass
and Rabbit on keyboards) but also Paul Kossoff, although on stage, but totally elsewhere.
I've never heard a guitarist so out of it in my life. It's like he doesn't know how to play, not
only the songs, but more largely, to play guitar. It's pathetic and difficult to listen to
until the end. If I post this disastered show, it's because it's an historic document that proves
how this great guitarist was a wreck some nights, because the sound is correct (an important
parameter for me) and because 2 days later, in Berkshire (next post), Koss would be operational
again, and it's fascinating that he could be so different in a so small interval of time. The
only track that was not totally ruined was "Child" since Paul Kossoff was not really necessary.
But all the rest is a pain to hear. Listening to this document, it's not difficult to understand
that Andy Fraser decided to be out and that Paul Rodgers decided to rent someone on guitar to
supply his lost friend. Can't say enjoy it, so have an ear to it here.

Download

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Pink Floyd - Best of Tour 72 - Restored



Here's an upgrade of a classic Floyd boot. Essential!

*Original notes below.

This historical recording captures Dark side of the
moon in its earliest stage.
No other recording available from the jan/feb 72
tour (in which dsotm was first performed)
sounds as good as this.
It has one ugly flaw (still) with the
annoying cuts in Tr. 4, 8 & 11 but the music &
sound is just too good to leave.
This upgrade is by far the best sounding version
of this recording of the few I have ever heard.
Includes artwork, made with great care.
You need this, average fan or diehard.

Enjoy,
Menno

PINK FLOYD -
Rainbow Theatre, 2-20-1972
"The Best Of Tour '72 - Restored"
Remastered From Original 1st LP Pressing

Sound: A
Flac


01. Speak to me (cuts in, only last 8 secs left)
02. Breathe  
03. Travel Sequence
04. Time (cut within)
05. Home again
06. Religious Theme  
07. Money  
08. Us & Them (cut within, misses most)  
09. Dave's Scat Section  
10. The Lunatic Song
11. Eclipse (cuts off)

Time: 40:52:66

-------------------------------------------


Source Info:
High Quality Condensator Stereo Mics -> Reel-to-Reel Master ->
Mastering -> Mastered source (likely recorded on Hi-Speed
Reel-to-Reel) -> 1st Pressing Vinyl Bootleg (16-421/422) ->
Technics 1210mk2 with -881mk2s stylus -> Tascam DA20mk2
(A-D conversion 16 bit, 48kHz) -> PC -> Cubase SX 2.0
-> Wave (downsampled to 44.1k) -> FLAC -> Torrent

See below for clarification.

Re-Mastered @ the Soundhouse by Prof. Stoned, February 2006.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A note from the Prof.:

Today, 34 years and a couple of days after this was first recorded,
I present to you all a significant digital upgrade -maybe even
the definitive version- of the legendary "The Best of Tour 72" boot.
It KILLS both the "Swinging Pig" and the "Original Masters Series"
bootleg CD's of this album that most of you all know.
These two boots were both taken from the same inferior source
which is ruined by a heavy NoNoise treatment.
This is a trueful reproduction of the original vinyl bootleg and will
make you hear details in the recording that you never heard before.

***About the Original Bootleg***

The content of this CDR has been carefully mastered from a rare
vintage (1972) vinyl copy (strictly rated: EX), the very 1st
pressing of this classic floyd bootleg, and therefore the closest
source to the (unfindable) original tape.
The recorded content of the original LP was handled professionally
from start to finish (not counting the cuts in the recording).
The sound is beautiful. A very wide stereo image with clear
separation of instruments & voices. There is little hiss or distortion.
The unmastered source that the bootleggers used must have been
0th or maybe 1st generation tape.
The original pre-vinyl tape has had a mastering treatment with a
compressor, Dolby(A) and likely some EQ-ing.

The vinyl itself is nice and thick, made to last.
This could very well have been pressed at a pressing plant which
was used by major record company's as well.
As you can read in Clinton Heylin's excellent book
"Bootleg! The Rise and Fall of the Secret recording industry"
this used to happen a lot in the early 70"s, and it would explain
why the bootleggers were so keen to hide the name Pink Floyd,
even on the record label itself.

Although the pre-vinyl part in the source info chain is speculated,
it's 100% certain that this is NOT a soundboard and/or FM.
Ever since this came out, the SQ has led people to believe it is.
Even the above mentioned book, erroneously stated this was
taken from a BBC radio broadcast.
And even to this day, this recording is way more often labelled
as "radio" or "soundboard" than as what it is: "EX audience".

Have a look here to learn more about the countless vinyl
pressings of this legendary bootleg:

http://backtrax-records.co.uk/floydboots/pages/b8.html

(NB: A few more details to identify the first pressing:
The record label is dark blue with silver characters and edge.
The matrix number on Side 1 is 16-421 and can be seen both
on the label and also in small characters between the running
grooves. The label says: "We did it for you".
Same goes for Side 2 but the number is 16-422 instead and
the label says: "We did it for you too"
On both sides you can see: "composed and arranged by TOUR 72".
There's no mention of Pink Floyd anywhere.
The only direct sign referring to PF are the tour dates on the
back of the laminated sleeve.
This LP or the 2nd pressing are very much worth the hunt.)

***About the Mastering***

The vinyl was cleaned carefully one hour long using anti-stat.
Because both the SQ of the original recording and the mastering
of the LP are so outstanding, I felt it would be a waste to correct
anything in that aspect.
This means that no further eq-ing or compression has been applied
by me. ObviousIy, I did not use any noise reduction;
the big sin that made the previous (and unfortunately) common
cd(r) versions of this recording sound like poop.

There is a little bit of vinyl distortion hearable, most notably in the
gentle parts during the last 11 min. of Side 2 on the left channel.
It's nothing to write home about but still.
I picked out the biggest clicks by hand and handled the rest
with the excellent 'Waves' Click & Crackle plug-ins.

I corrected the speed of the recording with +0.15 semitones.
I tuned Rick Wright's organ with great precision to an exact A
(440 Hz), bringing down the playing time from 41:13 to 40:52.
I also swapped the channels as heard on the LP to match the
stereo image as much as possible with PF's then stage order;
Dave's guitar & vocal are clearly on the left, the toms are coming
from the left to the floor-tom on the right, (as if you are standing
in front of the drums).

An edit was done to make side 1 run seamlessly into Side 2.
The point where the edit was made can be heard on
both sides of the LP, so not a millisecond got lost.

Enjoy,

Prof. Stoned

Download

Sunday, June 15, 2014

Jethro Tull - Radio City Music Hall 1977



JETHRO TULL
1977-01-22
Radio City Music Hall
New York City,New York

*Incomplete Excellent Audience Recording
MP3 190
Single File
"Unknown Low Gen" cassette>CDR>EAC>WAV>TLH>FLAC>DIME

Setlist

DISC 1

1. WOND'RING ALOUD
2. SKATEING AWAY...
3. JACK IN THE GREEN
4. THICK AS A BRICK
5. SONGS FROM THE WOOD
6. Instrumental incl.Drum Solo
7. TO CRY YOU A SONG
8. A NEW DAY YESTERDAY
9. Flute Solo/Bouree'/LIVING IN THE PAST(Instr.)
10. VELVET GREEN


DISC 2

1. HUNTING GIRL
2. TOO OLD TO ROCK-N-ROLL...
3. Beethoven's 9th Symphony
4. MINSTREL IN THE GALLERY
5. CROSS-EYED MARY
6. AQUALUNG
7. Guitar Solo
8. WIND UP
9. BACKDOOR ANGELS/WIND UP(reprise)
10. LOCOMOTIVE BREATH/BACKDOOR ANGELS(reprise)

*Maybe missing the opening number


Musicians;

IAN ANDERSON- Vocals/Flute/Harmonica/Acoustic Guitar
MARTIN BARRE- Guitars
JOHN EVAN- Organ/Piano
DAVID PALMER- Organ/synthesisers
JOHN GLASCOCK- Bass/Voices
BARRIEMORE BARLOW- Drums/Percussion

*Original Comments
I will let the artist & their music speak for themsleves.
Comments from YOU, the listener will be much more interesting....

Download

Jethro Tull - Germany 1970



Jethro Tull
Feb 21 1970
Jahrhunderthalle, Frankfurt, Germany

VG-
MP3 208
Single File
Low vocals, clear sound, good show

Nothing Is Easy (cuts)
Bourée
Living in the Past
A New Day Yesterday
Play in Time
Dharma for One
We Used to Know
Instrumental Jam
For a Thousand Mothers (incomplete, fades out)

45:34 mins

Note: 1 out of 2 shows

Download

Jethro Tull - Japan 1972




Jethro Tull
July, 1972
Sinjuku Hall, Japan

Pile of Bricks
Digital Reproductions (DR 79972-0)

Recorded live at the Sinjuku Hall in Japan in July of 1972

This unauthorized and unofficial release was created by Digital Reproductions for Jethro Tull fans.
MP3 256
-EX

Disc 1: (Thick as a Brick 78:04)

01. Thick as a Brick pt.1 21:21
02. Flute Solo 12:47
03. Thick as a Brick reprise 9:51
04. News Reports 4:15
05. Thick as a Brick pt.2 2:21
06. Drum Solo 13:32
07. Thick as a Brick reprise 14:05
08. Introduction 0:51
09. Cross Eyed Mary 2:53
10. A New Day Yesterday 12:41
11. Aqualung 8:38
12. Wind Up - Guitar Solo 15:13
13. Locomotive Breath 8:43
14. Wind Up reprise 2:27


This is an incredible performance of the entire
Thick as a Brick album, at nearly 80 minutes long!

Download

Pink Floyd - Rotterdam 1971




Pink Floyd

Date: 3 April, 1971
Location: Oude Ahoy Hallen, Rotterdam, Holland
Source: Cassette(1)>DAT(2)>CDR>EAC>WAV>SHN
Rating: EX-

Disc One:
1. Astronomy Domine 13:03
2. Careful With That Axe, Eugene 16:57
3. Fat Old SUn 16:14
4. Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun 16:56
5. Cymbaline                          13:21
6. Extended Tuneups ("Onnne - Twwwo") 3:20
Total: 79:51

Disc Two:
1. Embryo         13:11
2. A Saucerful Of Secrets       26:05
3. Atom Heart Mother        31:48
Total:  71:04

*Original Comments: Source 1 of 2. Another stellar show, excellent sound. This comes
from the 1st generation tape of the great performance in Rotterdam.

This is Pink Floyd at their best! It has less hiss than other tapes commonly in
circulation. SQ is easily VG+ or EX-. Except where noted below, it includes
complete and sometimes rather lengthy tuneups between tracks. I really like this
concert since it includes Pictish rants during 'A Saucerful Of Secrets'. The
concert itself is also quite long with some interesting jams and gong bashing!
This is an essential roio. Any "serious" Pink Floyd collectors should have this.

Disc One:
- 'STCFTHOTS' - Very minor break in the master tape at 14:45.
- There is an extended tuneup session after 'Cymbaline', which I have split as a separate track.

Disc Two:
- 'ASOS' - There are 10 seconds missing from the end of Roger's pre-break announcement. The few
   missing words are found on the ROIO "The Band Who Ate Asteroids For Breakfast." Roger has a
   chance to let loose with a short Pictish rant.
- 'Atom Heart Mother' - Complete with brass and choir conducted by Jerry Mitchell.

Sgt weathermans Tweaks

This was a very nice set but there were some really annoying noises on the left hand channel. So decided they had
to go no real problem as its a mono recording. So I converted to wave de-clicked with Wave Corrector and removed
the left hand track with Audacity. Then loaded the mono file into Nero wave editor saved as a stereo wave file.
Converted to FLAC (level 6) check and sorted any SBE problems. Now there is no horrid noise on the left channel and no loss of clarity. No noise reduction or compression used

Thursday, June 12, 2014

Dead Links

Just a note to my loyal followers, one of my file servers has decided to dump about half of my files, approx 10 or so. Why, I have no idea. I'm fixing what I can, but I know some strays are still out there. If you find a dead link, drop me line...I'll fix!


Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Procol Harum - Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra,1973






Procol Harum
Hollywood Bowl
August 4, 1973
With The Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra

MP3 320
VG+/EX

*Original Notes
Here we find Procol Harum 20 months after the concert with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra that gave the official Live release everyone knows. The band played 7 times with an orchestra between these 2 dates (but I don't know any bootleg from these concerts, if you know tell me please) and the Hollywood Bowl concert will be the last experience of the band with a complete orchestra until 1992, with (again) the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. Compared to the Edmonton concert, the band seems in more relax mood this time and personnally, I prefer this last one even if some may find that the music is less somptuous, which is the case. I'm not usually amateur of live bootlegs but I've always made an exception for Procol Harum since hearing the various interpretations of their songs is a constant delight. Hearing how they slightly modify a thing here and there, raising shivers in your back at different moments, is a for me a consolation in life for more than 35 years. This is a reason Procol Harum will be the rare band I'll share some of them here. At the time they played with the Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra, they had released Grand Hotel 5 months before an album that was received enthusiastically worldwide but did not sell as much as expected. Mick Grabham had taken the guitar after the short Dave Ball staying. Actually, this concert sounds as a Grand Hotel with Orchestra more than the previous one that closed the 60's period of the band. The sound is quite good for a bootleg and one can listen to it as an official one without being bothered by the production. I post here the version edited by Lobster records a decade or so ago. I don't think the sound is different from the ones found here and there but I don't think so. For streaming I chose one of my fave Procol song, "Simple Sister". The version here is much better than the one released as bonus track on the Salvo re-release of the Edmonton concert.
Enjoy this fantastic moment of music here.

Download

Family - London 1971





Family
London Playhouse Theatre 1971
MP3 320
VG+

Download

Free - Stockholm 1970






Free 
Live Stockholm, Sweden 1970
MP3 320
Ex

*Original Notes
This is the last of the 3 well-recorded live sets of Free in 1970.
The 2 previous (Sunderland Locarno and Croydon) have been posted previously. Don't expect the
intensity of these live shows. This one is strangely weak and rather soporific. A day off it
seems. Probably the fact that the radio studio with a small audience doesn't stimulate their
adrenals enough. At the begining of the set, Paul Rodgers says they have been relax in Sweden,
and unfortunately, it's quite obvious when listening to the show. Everything seems to be taken
on a slow pace and chosen songs are mainly the sad and melancholic ones. Paul Kossoff is
fantastic on one song ("Be My Friend") but rather catastrophic on many songs,
notably "Mr Big" that is the shittiest version I heard by Free. All in all, an interesting but
rather deceiving testimony of the well-known uneven quality of their presentations.
Enjoy however here.

Download

Saturday, June 7, 2014

Pink Floyd - Yet Another Lost Album - Fan Creation




A couple of weeks ago, I posted an excellent Fan Creation Project based on Umma Gumma. Well, here is another little beauty, this time based around Zabriskie Point. To my ears this production is almost flawless, expertly put together with the same passion and imagination you expect to find from a dedicated Floyd nut! Rather than trying to stumble through the details myself, original notes are below. Enjoy!


PINK FLOYD
YET ANOTHER LOST ALBUM
MQR - 009

1. In The Sky
2. Embryo
3. Cymbaline
4. Zabriskie Roastbeef

All  music  heard  on  this  album  played  live  or  in  the  studio  by  Pink  Floyd.  Dissected  and  puzzled  together  by  creamcheese  in  2011/2012.  Creative  Assistance  by  WRomanus.
A  Magna Qualitas Records  Production  2012.

Sources:

In The Sky
Organ Loop: Love Scene 1 from „A Total Zabriskie Point of View - The Complete Collection“,
Vibes: 1 Channel of Love Scene 5 from  ATZPoV
Birds: Cirrus Minor from „More“ 2011 Remaster CD

Embryo
Song: Studio Rec. from "Picnic - A Breath of Fresh Air" Vinyl restored by creamcheese & WRomanus
Percussion: Nick's Boogie from original TLMALIL-EP
Playground Athmo and Seagull Guitar: „Embryo“ from „Since we were Teenagers“, Santa Monica 1970-05-01
Gong: „STCFTHOTS“ from „Since we were Teenagers“, Santa Monica 1970-05-01

Cymbaline
Sleep Section: Amsterdam 1969-09-17
Song: Studio Recording from „More“ 2011 Remaster with Center Channel extracted and Oilcan-Echo-treated to achieve a similar effect as heard on many live recordings
Bass: „Sleep/Nightmare“ from Amsterdam 1969-09-17
Organ Improvisation Section: „Sleep/Nightmare“ from Amsterdam 1969-09-17
Foot Steps: „Cymbaline“ from „Since we were Teenagers“, Santa Monica 1970-05-01
Birds: Cirrus Minor

Zabriskie Roastbeef

a) Heart Beat, Pig Meat
Loop: Heart Beat, Pig Meat Original Studio Recording from ATZPoV
Pictish Noises: Pink Room Corrosion from French TV 1970-12-04/05
Piano: „Sysphus“ Studio Recording from non-remastered CD.
Gong: „STCFTHOTS“ from „Since we were Teenagers“, Santa Monica 1970-05-01

b) Oenone:
Restored Oenone Studio Recording from ATZPoV
Love Scene 3 Studio Recording from ATZPoV

c) Restored Cleaned, and Stereoized Moonhead from „What if it's just green cheese“ 1969-07-20

d) Violent Sequence:
Piano: The Violent Sequence Studio Recording from ATZPoV
Bass: The Violent Sequence Live Recording from Paris 1970-01-23
Windchimes and Gong: A Saucerful of Secrets Studio Recording from „ASOS“ 2011 Remaster CD
Organ Loop: Interstellar Overdrive: Unreleased Ummagumma Live Recording
Slide Guitars: Atom Heart Mother Quad Mix from Quad-Reel DVD-A
Ride Cymbals: „Come In Number 51, Your Time Is Up“ Studio Recording from ATZPoV
Percussion: Nick's Boogie from original TLMALIL-EP

Notes:
This release started off as a fun project. I started to experiment with different snippets from many early Pink Floyd Songs and tried to seperate single instruments from those pieces.
The original idea was to make a LP-side long suite from Embryo.
This idea was dropped later when someone (god bless him) suggested the „Birmingham Suite“ to reconstruct as a studio recording.
Obviously the Floyd had been working on two suites at the beginning of 1970, which both contained rejected material from the Zabriskie Point sessions, one being what later became „Atom Heart Mother“, the other one being the Birmingham Suite. This second one was dropped from the setlist after a few shows because it obviously was not strong enough to become an early Floyd classic (but even more obviously became an early Floyd collectors' classic because it was played so rarely and even never was properly taped). But what could it have sounded like, if Pink Floyd had not dropped it and had recorded it in studio?

A few words on song titles: The work title of „In The Sky“ was „Vibes/Organ/Birds“. After having completed this album we at MQR thought it might be nice to rename it. „In The Sky“ sounded very nice and was kept for this reason. Absolutely no idea if Pink Floyd would have given it a similar title. In the end they didn‘t even play it that way...
We knew about the Birmingham Suite being referred to as „Halcyon Piano in Niagara Dellof“ but we didn't like that title and there is no evidence for this title being an original band idea.
So we sought after a title that referred to something to eat just as the other suite's working title „The Amazing Pudding“, that would later become the almost equally stupid titled „Atom Heart Mother“.
After a few attempts like „Zabriskie Stew“ „Zabriskie Soup“ WRomanus came up with the fantastic and inimitably stupid „Zabriskie Roastbeef“...

creamcheese, july 2012

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Monday, June 2, 2014

Jimi Hendrix and Traffic




Jimi Hendrix & Traffic - A Session

(1968-1970) [Bootleg]160 kbps
VG

1. Jam Thing 18:39
2. Guitar Thing  5:15 (abrupt end)
3. Session Thing  35:27(cuts)

I'm taking this one at face value. Certainly sounds like Jimi, can't say any more than that. Makes me think of Peter Greens 'End of the Game'.
Cover pic features (LtoR) Eric Burdon, John Mayall, Jimi, Steve Winwood, Jeff Lynne
If anyone has some info on this please share.

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Jethro Tull - Japan 1974






Jethro Tull
Osaka, Japan
August 21st 1974

OUT OF EGYPT
2 CD: All Of The World AOTW-94002, ('??) (JA)

Quality: Good/Very good
MP3 192

TRACKS:

Disc 1
Opening
A Passion Play
Thick As A Brick
Queen And Country
A Passion Play
How Much Is That Doggy In The Window
Skating Away On The Thin Ice Of A New Day
My God (including God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Bourée and keyboard solo)

Disc 2
Cross-eyed Mary (including No Rehearsal and part of The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles)
Aqualung
Back-door Angels (containing part of Minstrel In The Gallery)
Locomotive Breath, Hot-headed English General, Wind-up (medley)

TOTAL TIME:
51:29 min, 59:34 min.


*Original REMARKS:
Original Bootleg. Recorded in Osaka, Japan, August 21st, 1974.
First "A Passion Play" excerpt is
listed as "Sweet Dream".
"For A Thousand Mothers" is mentioned on the sleeve, but not played.
Cover says Australia
 

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Sunday, June 1, 2014

King Crimson - Boston 1972






King Crimson - Celebration Of The Lizard  [1994]
Live at the Orpheum Theater, Boston, USA 1972 03 27

*Original notes
Bootleg
CD: 1994.05.21? IT Gold Standard (My Phenix?) KC-21-94-05
        Sound: clear, low volume, little distortion.
        Performance: HOT!

MP3 320

Others names for this Bootleg:
- Formentera Memories
- Colours Out of Time

1.  Intro-Pictures Of A City
2.  Pictures Of A City
3.  Formentera Lady
4.  Cirkus
5.  Groon
6.  21st Century Schizoid Man
7.  Earthbound
8.  Cadence And Cascade


Robert Fripp (guitar, keyboards)
Ian Wallace (drums)
Mel Collins (saxophone, flute)
Boz Burrell (bass, vocals)

lizards art by Kroboville & Woody
cover design by Woody

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