Transmission Impossible 3CD boxsets

While browsing the Net I came across these 'Transmission Impossible' boxsets. They are 3CD sets dedicated to an artist/group and contain legendary radio broadcasts. After hearing some of these I'd say the sound quality is quite disappointing. There are bootlegs out there with better sound than the sources they used for these CDs. Because they seem to be widely available in the online stores I was wondering if anyone has more information about them. Where do they come from? Why are they mastered so poorly? Are they in any way 'official'?
Thank you.

 

These seem to be grey market releases of bootlegs found on numerous ROIO websites. I suppose they're convenient for folks who don't traffic those sites and/or who want physical copies of such recordings, but ultimately they're just monetizing the trader's scene.

 

Are these Transmission Impossible sets manufactured as replicated CDs or are they duplicated CD-R?

 

Discogs shows them as cd's like this boxset done by GZ.
https://www.discogs.com/Frank-Zappa-Transmission-Impossible/release/7953258

 

I just relocated for a year to New Zealand, and grabbed the Cheap Trick one and wondered why I had never heard of it. Only when I returned to the store did I see other titles and realize it was a series.

Does seem pretty grey market.

 

Anyone recommend the Lou Reed set?

“DISC 1 Ultrasound Studios, New York 1971 DISC 2 Roxy Theatre LA, 1976 DISC 3 Regent Theatre, Albury, Australia 1977”

 

Don't know about the US, but they're perfectly legal in the EU, just public domain, effectively.

I've got the Miles Davis one. It's proper silver CDs, not CDRs.

Sound quality is as you'd expect...

 

I bought the Lou Reed one: £10.99 for three CDs. How bad can it be?

There’s quite an interesting range of these, but from reading the reviews it seems that sound quality varies:

Amazon.co.uk: transmission impossible

Any recommendations?

 

I have The Band and Red Hot Chili Peppers; both are excellent (for those accustomed to less than stellar sound quality of soundboard recordings).

Tom Waits and Talking Heads sets are very good too, but there are better (i.e. more comprehensive) live collections available on the EU market.

 

Not quite the same series, but same idea. Anyone heard this one?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Transmissi...MG1FKVJY0Y8&psc=1&refRID=EQRCN6Q6RMG1FKVJY0Y8

 

I can only speak about the Zappa / Mothers release, which has sq that is somewhere between passable and execrable (depending on the specific performance), but if you're a completist and don't pay a whole lot for it, it's historically pretty interesting (though it's nothing you can't hear for free online).

I'm a sucker for these grey market releases in general. I have more FM broadcast Dead releases than I could even count.

 

I have a few of the sets by artists such as Tom Petty, The Byrds and Linda Ronstadt. Think I also I have sets of Cheap Trick and Neil Young as well. Those discs are mostly re-hashes of previously available live recordings which have been circulated for sometime. The sound quality varies on each performance, which makes me wonder where they source the recordings. It really depends on each release and the individual performance itself. These sets are reasonably affordable and a decent value, which make them great gifts for friends and family.

 

These are all bootlegs that are easily available as free downloads.

The manufacturers are not paying a dime of royalties to anyone and don't deserve your cash.

 

Fair enough, but most of the people on this forum use Spotify. Some Italian bootleg label releasing 500 copies of some radio broadcast to sell to diehards is doing far less damage to artists' rights than Spotify.

 

Most? I certainly don't and I bet I'm not the only one.

 

Good for you. I don't use it, either. But a glance at any of the many Spotify-related threads here would suggest that we are in the minority.

 

In my younger days I would have been all over a lot of these for the artists I collected. Today I wouldn't bother with any of them. I still like a lot of the groups but if I want a boot I can probably find it for free. So why would I pay for these?

 

All of this stuff is available for free in better sound quality on boots.

 

I have bought some of these from Amazon UK and quality varies from passable to excellent. I have to qualify my ratings in that I collect bootleg live recordings so I may not be a picky as someone expecting official release multitrack live recordings as these are generally radio shows which vary in SQ.

Sure you can find most of this material free for download but if someone prefers physical media to downloaded digital files, like myself, they represent a good value and an easy way to collect live material from favorite bands without paying expensive bootleg prices.

 

The Paul Simon one is pretty darn good. That show from 1984 is such a blast due to its unusual setlist.

 

I have a few. Quality ranges from very good to poor. Really depends on the act and which shows they use.

 

As far as the multi-show euroboots go nothing really beats the SoundStage series, usually going under Broadcast Collection title.

I have their boxsets filled with the cherry-picked sets by Blondie, CSN&Y, Jefferson Starship, Bob Marley, Pat Metheny, Pearl Jam, Lou Reed, Smashing Pumpkins, Patti Smith and Tom Waits. The guys know their stuff.

SOUND STAGE CDs

 

The Pat Metheny box set is superb :

PAT METHENY - Live In The '70s (5CD)

 

Im looking to buy the Peter Green Fleetwood Mac. I've heard that its as good that any boots out there, but cheaper.

 

If they used the best available sources, I'd be more supportive of this (hey, it's not like these artists are releasing the stuff themselves). But it seems like they just grab any old version of whatever show and throw it out there. It's a little more work, but when the free fan-circulated versions surpass the commercial ones, there's a problem.