I agree. It's completely overdone and excessive. Cranking up the treble to make it a bit more listenable brings out other issues though. I can then hear an incessant, swirling, ringing sound that sounds a lot like MP3 artifacts to me. It could be artifacts from the excessive noise reduction though, especially if it was done digitally, so I can't tell which it is. Doesn't really make any difference, it is quite aggravating like you said regardless of what it's from.
Maybe I'm being cynical, but isn't it likely this was done intentionally so that in a year they can sell a "newly remastered" version that does indeed sound better? I'd be surprised if EVSD didn't milk this for all it's worth.
I'm glad I cancelled my order... just check out the Zeppelin Rarities 928 post on YouTube. This fan spent some time on cleaning up this over processed mess. There's a link to mega download his mix based on the (cleaner) left channel. Superb job, pitch corrected, powerful...this should be the source for all subsequent silver releases.
IMO, they most certainly were recorded. Who has them, who's heard them...maybe no one outside of the band. But I highly doubt that at some point those board tapes did not exist. Yeah that Millard news is incredible. They also discovered other shows he recorded for other bands that don't appear to be out there as well.
When I gave the new Osaka soundboard a listen over the weekend, I have to admit I didn't notice any issues with the tape. Instead, 3 things in particular came to mind: 1 - How fantastic the band was at this point in their career. THIS is the Led Zeppelin I love and will never tire of. 2 - The instruments & vocals are well recorded/balanced, plus you get a good sense of room ambience. Highly enjoyable. 3 - How blessed we are to have this nearly 50 years after the fact. That said, the Youtube re-master posted above does sound pretty good! Gives me an excuse to re-listen to the show!
JEMS said that they now hold 280 master Millard recordings which quadruples the known Millard's in circulation. Obviously that also means every tape already out there will be improved on by at least 1 generation if not more. That is incredible news. I am most looking forward to the Zeppelin 6/21/77 master, but Mike also taped the best audience show from Rush's Moving Pictures tour, Anaheim Ca. 6/12/81, which I cant wait to hear. If there is any bad news here, its that JEMS says there are no unknown Millard Zeppelin tapes coming out. All the Zep shows are already out there in some form. Also for a huge Rush nerd like myself, unfortunately the Moving Pictures Tour was the only time Mike ever saw/taped Rush. I would have loved to have a Millard from the Signals tour, but I'm just grateful he was in the audience with his gear for that fantastic show in Anaheim in 1981.
Can you share a link to where JEMS has discussed these Millard Masters they have in their possession now? I would love to read about it in full.
JEMS put up a 1st gen of the Rush Millard tape. It's fantastic, though the band drops the ball a few times. It's funny to hear Rush make mistakes - It didn't happen often. In any event, the JEMS version of Rush Anaheim '81 is better than whatever "Definitive Version" was previously considered best. There's also a Uniondale, NY Signals show from the master that was posted. It's super clean and clear, but needs some help with the low end. With some bass, it might be better than the London Signals show that's considered the best one so far. If I understand correctly, JEMS doesn't have the Millard Zep masters. Hopefully, they have MM's Yes masters.
Comparing what was released and the cleaned up version, I cant figure out how he was able to get that much out of it. Its like night and day, passable bootleg to possible official release level.
This was a snippet from an unreleased Jan 1975 soundboard, not a little medley from the 1971 Japan show. The band played some unique songs only on the first few dates of the 75 tour and these shows have all been hoarded but someone recently released the first 30 seconds or so on a Led Zeppelin forum.
I'd hurry though... it was posted previous week, so valid for a few hours only, I guess Minn.sample1.wav and 1 more file
Can someone please let me know why some fans find joy in keeping stuff to themselves? You read about these acetates of very rare material being purchased by some fan, and the rest of the world never gets to hear it. Do these fans enjoy knowing they're the only ones who get to hear this stuff? I find it very, very selfish.
That still sounds like a low resolution MP3. This one sounds better still... Led Zeppelin - Live in Osaka, Japan (Sept. 28th, 1971) - SBD + AUD Patches
For some people, hoarding is a reaction to all the time, effort and money that they spent to acquire the recording in the first place. They don't want to give up the recording unless they are fairly compensated. Other times, people hoard tapes because the tapes are stolen and they don't want the original owner to know about the theft. Other times, it's just a matter of honoring the request of whoever gave them the tape in the first place.
YouTube makes everything sound that way. The DL from the Mega link should be a noticeable improvement.
With soundboard tapes, high quality video and studio material from the big, classic bands, I can understand some level of paranoia, which leads to hoarding. And, naturally, that stuff is worth good money. But hoarding vintage audience tapes? Even uncirculated ones - how much is an audience tape worth? Anyway, the biggest Led Zeppelin hoarder of all is the guy who used to be the guitarist in the band...
Thanks for this link! My question is - if you drop an entire channel of a true stereo recording, you must be losing SOMETHING in the process, right?
No way to say for sure, but I can give you a great example - for quite a long time, there was an audience tape that was rumored to exist of Queen's Los Angeles December 1977 show, where they played "White Christmas", and was never performed again. A few years ago, I think someone changed their mind and let it loose. Pretty strange decision after all those years. Queen themselves may not have had a tape of that show, as they weren't recording everything back then, and apparently never did on any tour.
I can't remember whether Dan Lampinski's tapes were traded out way back when, or if he just held onto them for his own collection until somebody convinced him to share, but some of them are as good as any I've heard. His recording of Rush in Boston in 1979 is fantastic. There must be a few high-quality Zep aud. tapes collecting dust, or actively hoarded. For example, I've been told Denver '72 is a great recording, but it's never been circulated, or circulated among just a handful of fans.
There's long been a rumour of a bloke hoarding Denver 26/12/68. Has parties where he breaks the tape out for his mates. Supposedly....
