Complete version of Bob Marley & the Wailers - Live! concerts coming 12/16/16

I haven't done a track by track comparison, but the fellow above (Gerbrand) on superdeluxeedition, appears to have reached the conclusion that the tracks released on the original Live! LP back in the seventies were all from what Universal is now calling "July 17, 1975 Set One" with the exception of Lively Up Yourself which comes from what Universal is now calling "July 18, 1975 Set Two".

Now the interesting thing is the back cover of the original Live LP says "recorded at the Lyceum, London 18th July 1975."

 

I imagine they simply put the wrong date on the back of the LP.

 

I have found this recording on the web and it is definitely not either of the Lyceum shows, so we can put that to rest.

The same package of shows where I found it also had another show what was labeled as the 18th, and included both audience and soundboard recordings, but apparently incomplete. First of all this is the same show as the original Live! album and as set one of the Deluxe. The audience recording seems to run continously and has this sequence: ”No Woman, No Cry”, ”Kinky Reggae”, ”Stir It Up”, ”Lively Up Yourself”, ”I Shot The Sheriff” and ”Get Up, Stand Up” (there seems to be no encore gap between the two last songs). The soundboard part has the same sequence but adds ”Trenchtown Rock” and ”Burnin' and Lootin’” at the beginning, and I think this is also correct because some of the same random percussion (Conga) hits heard after ”Burnin' and Lootin’” here are also heard at the very start of the audience recording of ”No Woman, No Cry”. All of this seems to suggest that the show as presented on the Deluxe has the songs out of order, and also makes it hard to understand where the additional song should fit in (because I'm pretty sure ”Trenchtown Rock” was the first song played and ”Get Up, Stand Up” was the last). Oh, and the "Lively Up Yourself" heard here is the same familiar take, so seems to actually be from the same show too, unlike what has been said.

This is incorrect, the "Rebel Music" on Babylon By Bus is not the same as either version on the Deluxe.

I think the person is mixing the song up with "Stir It Up", which is not mentioned, but which is the same recording on Babylon By Bus and the first set on the Deluxe.

I have been saying since the early pages of this thread that if you simply swap the dates (or sets) on the new release everything else makes sense - or at least it did. Now, with this last finding, I'm starting to doubt everything. Songs could have been jumbled up in every possible way.

It seems much more probable that they knew the origin of the tracks back in '75 and that the swap has been made now, especially since they initially, regardless of date, seemed unaware which verions were the previously released ones.

One thing that does speak against this though is that the announcer says "welcome to the second show" at the start of set two...

While I did the above comparisons I checked this out and I think the mix might be the same, they are very similar sounding (even down to the ending fade).

 

That soundboard set order above from Burnin’ and Lootin’ through Get Up Stand Up is what Wolfgang’s Vault lists for the KBFH broadcast of the July 18th show. I wouldn’t take this as dispositive, as it could easy have been edited. As we can all see, it leaves out Them Belly Full and Rebel Music, which the new deluxe has being played after Burnin’ and Lootin’ and before No Woman No Cry. I guess it’s possible that they were played before Burnin’and Lootin’ if the order on the deluxe is mixed up. The deluxe also has Natty Dread being played on both nights, in the middle of that sequence, and it doesn’t appear anywhere on that KBFH/soundboard nor the audience tape that 99th Floor references. So where would that fit?

 

I guess it's possible those songs/recordings could be missing from the KBFH tape WV have, primarily if the tape WV have is 'only' an edited for radio broadcast tape. So, it's possible those 2 songs missing (from the KBFH) in the sequence were just not included in what was the KBFH tape, for broadcast, and that Natty Dread was also not included at the time. Just a thought...

 

I also can't say for sure that there are no edits in that audience tape, it is poor sounding, but I just don't hear any obvioius ones. It is usually easy to hear if there is an edit in audience cheering, but there could be edits that are just hidden under layers of hiss and noice added through copying. But then the soundboard tape (which could be the same thing as the "KBFH tape", and where there are small pieces missing between songs compared to the audience tape) has the songs in the same order too. Of course someone that compiled all this could have edited everything together according to what was thought to be the "correct" order. Besides songs missing there is also the addition of "Lively Up Yourself", which is the same version on all these sources as what is on the original album, so it doesn't seem to be from the other show. On the site bobmarleyconcerts it says that "Trenchtown Rock" was not part of the KBFH broadcast, but it says that one together with the broadcast songs are the whole show (I don't know where they get that from though, even if there weren't recordings of other songs in existance it would still be a very short show): Bob Marley Concerts

 

Yes, from the recorded evidence, it doesn’t make sense for Trenchtown Rock plus that sequence to be the whole show, so bobmarleyconcerts would seem to be wrong. Island only taped the Lyceum shows, so Them Belly Full, Rebel Music and Natty Dread were very likely played both nights, as the deluxe set shows, and Slave Driver was played one night.

 

Has anything more been learned about the stereo tapes used for this release and the whereabouts of the multitracks?

 

So, what version is the best? I've never heard this album and would like to. I've only heard a handful of Bob Marley tunes but what I've heard is amazing and so inviting, it makes me want more.

 

Bump

 

To my ears, it's pretty awesome. Highly recommended.

 

I've been on a bit of a Bob Marley kick lately and am considering getting this. Does anyone have a recommendation between the EU and US versions. According to Discogs, the EU is cut and pressed at Optimal but there's no information on the US version. Do they use the same mastering?

 

Bump for the above question^^^

 

Buried on p. 6 of this thread: "I finally got the Expanded Live LP. It appears to be a US Domestic Pressing, mastered at Capitol. The packaging is extremely flimsy. I got it from Deep Discount. The cardboard on the lp is paper thin, and arrived crushed around the lps and the top of it was torn. I waited for the price to come down, it was still $35. Pressing isn't great, probably done at United or Rainbo. I was hoping for a European pressing"

Other posts confirm that the EU version is pressed at Optimal and likely better. I'd bet money they use the same mastering.

I think I read every post and there is virtually nothing about the sonics on this set, other than to say that apparently some of the mixes are different than those on the original release.

How do these records sound, people?

 

I have commented on sound a few times in the thread, but mostly in comparison to the original release, as you mention. It's not perfect, as it seems they could not mix it from multi tracks, the mix is what it is, but as this is the only way to get the complete concerts (or "completish", the jury is out on that) I have no problem with it, the music shines through. See my comments:

 

I'm sure it was mentioned before, but I Shot The Sheriff had backing vocal overdubs added for the original release. I'm actually pleased they're left off here, probably not by choice but at least it's a bit closer to the actual concert as performed on the night.

 

The I-Threes were actually the I-Twos for these concerts, Marcia was not present because she was pregnant at the time. "Sue and Sunny" (whoever they were) overdubbed vocals, we've mentoned this previously in the thread.

 

I have the two cd version. The second cd almost sounds mono to my ears and the mixes on disc one sounds not so good as the original album but on the second cd the anouncer said welcome to the second show.....????

 

Sorry this is not true. I have the starbucks release and it's not the same no woman no cry. They mislabeled on this cd. It's the Boarding House recording on that cd.

 

Yes it's the Boarding House recording. Not Lyceum.

 

Mmmm Babylon by bus used tracks from these recordings. Only not the Rainbow shows. But i think Island has te mulitracks because the heathen has a different mix on Exodus deluxe and exodus40. They used stir it up from lyceum and rat race from hammersmith and maybe tried to include some rainbow tracks in the first place so maybe the tapes never returned to the vaults after 1978 when babylon by bus was mixed?

 

Heathen on 40 has a scream and running away has not the guitar at the end so different mixes.

 

But on Exodus deluxe the same tracks sounds different on exidus40. The mixes from exodus deluxe are from 1977.

 

No woman no cry is not only edited. On legend and single it has one I three in the left channel and one in the right. (The same on kinky reggae) not on the album.