Jimi Hendrix - Berkeley 1st Show May 30th 1970 - Complete Soundboard

Since there is an interest for that kind of information. Here you go (I did not want to hijack more another thread about the latest Hendrix Fillmore East release)

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Jimi Hendrix - Berkeley 1st Show - Complete Soundboard (ATM-0256/257)

Berkeley Community Theatre, Berkeley, California, USA
Saturday 30 May 1970 first show

Jimi Hendrix
vocals and guitar

Billy Cox
bass and vocals

Mitch Mitchell
drums

Speeches:
1st speaker Bill Graham
2nd speaker unknown

Recorded on 8-track by Abe Jacob with the Wally Heider mobile truck

This set is an uprade of ATM-0123/24 The Berkeley Concerts, now presenting the entire show in continuous uniform soundboard quality ("Star spangled banner" & "Purple haze" were completely missing from the older versions of the soundboard tape and the ATM discs as well as the start of both "Foxy lady" & "Freedom") and without the distortion audible on the previous ATM release.

The files are numbered from 1 to 13. In order to burn a 2 cdr set tracks numbered 1-6 should be burned on disc 1 and tracks 7-13 on disc 2.

Disc 1
1 Intro (cut at 2.56)
2 Fire
3 Johnny B Goode
4 Getting my heart back together
5 Foxy lady
6 Machine gun

Disc 2
1 Freedom
2 Red house
3 Message to love
4 Ezy ryder
5 Star spangled banner
6 Purple haze
7 Voodoo child (slight return)

It seems that all copies of the Berkeley soundboard tapes originated from Bob Terry. The Cooper Owen auction listings for the Bob Terry tapes include three reels with the 2nd part of the concert. It is however probable that Terry also had similar reels for the 1st half, for some reason omitted from the auction (like many other tapes Terry had), so very likely all of his Berkeley multitrack mixdowns were on 15 ips 10" Ampex reels or similar studio quality tapes.

It seems that Bob Terry circulated several different edits of his Berkeley tapes, this is why there are at least 3 different versions of the first show going around all originating from the same reels but with different cuts and missing tracks. The basis of this set was a low generation cassette originally received from Bob Terry that came into circulation in 2011. Unlike previous versions this cassette came directly from Terry and includes all of the music but has some cuts between songs.

This set uses a new transfer of that cassette (done on different equipment than the transfer circulated in 2011) as the main source with cuts between the tracks, some drop-outs, noises and the end of Voodoo child (slight return) patched with the dub/edit of the tape that was used for the previous ATM release 0123/24. The intro was taken from a third dub/edit (taken from a previous multi source composite version of the concert) with one cut patched with the main source.

There's only one cut remaining and that occurs pre-concert before Jimi enters the stage. It's unknown whether this is also present on the multitrack tapes but as the other edits on the various versions of the tape were "clean" and the sole remaining cut clearly has the tape speeding up after the cut. So it's quite likely that the cut was introduced by different equipment than the other cuts and thus could well be on the master tapes, possibly the multitrack deck was halted when the start of the actual concert was delayed.

There's no way to be sure if Bob Terry used his original reels to dub the cassette used as the main source here, it's also quite possible that he dubbed from a safety copy. So the lineage of the main source would read something like this:
Master (multitrack) > 15ips mixdown reel (> reel?) > cassette > wav

The exact lineage of the patch sources is unknown.

No eq was applied to the main source, it was necessary to invert channels and apply eq to the patches in order to make seamless repairs but some variation remains. Apart from the usual differences in hiss levels there were slight differences in the stereo image between the tapes, some tapes had wider stereo than others even though the actual mix of the instruments appeared to be the same. This difference was either introduced deliberately or is down to the copying process, either way some repairs/patches are not 100% inaudible because of this."

 

I've never heard the 1st set, only the 2nd, why have they never released it?

 

Where can I buy or download this set.

 

I have the first set on CD from Radioactive (Mike Jefferies estate).

 

Exactly. Is this a new Dagger release, or what? I have the other Berkeley show. I’d be interested in this one too.

If it’s just a new source or upgrade of a bootleg, well, I know you can’t discuss where to find it here. But some clarification would be helpful.

 

To all of you I do not have a download link, I have just provided information about recordings that have been made for that concert. If it is available somewhere , I am sure you can find it.

 

Thanks. It just wasn’t clear what this was, or if it was an official (Dagger) release or not.

 

If it isn't an official release, should it be discussed?

 

Why not, nobody is saying where to find it. It's not hard to find anyway.

 

A lot of the set has been released in scatter shot form:

Disc 1
1 Intro (cut at 2.56)
2 Fire-Released on Sacred Sources V1
3 Johnny B Goode-First released on In the West and many times thereafter
4 Getting my heart back together-First released on Rainbow Bridge, then extended for :blues (just a little more talking)
5 Foxy lady
6 Machine gun

Disc 2
1 Freedom-Released on the 3 track CD with the UK Live at Berkeley back in the early 90s
2 Red house-Released on the 3 track CD with the UK Live at Berkeley, then on WCSB
3 Message to love-Released on Sacred Sources V1
4 Ezy ryder-Released on Band of Gypsys 2 (all configuations), then edited on the 3 track CD
5 Star spangled banner-Appears in the film, but has not been released in audio form
6 Purple haze-Appears in the film and on the "Film for Jimi Hendrix soundtrack" (has not been reissued as of yet)
7 Voodoo child (slight return)<<

So we've actually got a good portion of the set available, we're really just missing 3 songs. Not counting on a deluxe type reissue of the whole thing (both sets, rehearsals and both cuts of the film), but the first set should be issued already. It's different enough from the second to warrant it.

 

You are correct John, it is different enough to warrant it's own release. In fact when EH released Berkeley it baffled me that they put the second set out when the first set is mostly superior.

 

I wish EH or Dagger would release this set. Much prefer it to the 2nd set.

 

I was just asking. It read like somebody was posting about where to get a bootleg and doesn't appear to be an official release.

 

I am a collector of live shows myself including Hendrix so I did enjoy reading KC's info on the first set recording.

I have found it is a fine line when discussing bootlegs as Steve H makes his living working with official recordings. I respect this and try to limit my comments on bootlegs.

Not trying to bust your stones, just sharing the concern.

 

I've got this 1st show...it's very good. It always baffled me why EH didn't release both sets at the time.

 

They needed to hold something back people wanted for their next distribution deal. It is also most likely the reason the complete San Diego and Los Angeles 1969 shows have not been reissued officially.

 

Hard to think of another show or artist which hits so many highs as this performance - fire, passion, unbelievable technical prowess, control over feedback, emotion, speed - I love how Mitch and Billy raise their game too. Incredible concert. I bought the double LP from Radioactive records when it came out - I believe it came from a tape from Mike Jeffries' estate.

 

Forum rules, as I understand it, are such that you can discuss a bootleg but not discuss where/how to find it.

Having said that, clarification (Which the OP sort of did later) about what this recording is certainly helps facilitate conversation and avoid confusion.

 

Forum rules. They can be discussed, but links can NOT be discussed.

 

This isnt exactly new. It’s been out for a few years.

 

I'm not sure the CD I have is exactly a bootleg. With the recorded legacy of JH and the MJE there are huge grey areas.

 

What about "Stages" and "Lifelines"?

 

@John Buchanan Neither show was complete on those releases and I said reissued officially if you read my quote again.

 

True - missed the "reissued" bit - sorry.