First Time In Boston 1978 (Refine Masters 2008)
Paradise Theatre, Boston, MA – August 21, 1978
(62:03): Intro Live Wire, Problem Child, Sin City, Gone Shootin’, Bad Boy Boogie, The Jack, High Voltage, Rocker, Encore Break with Short Bon Interview, Dog Eat Dog, Radio Announcer Wrap Up
Some of the best early live documents of AC/DC come from radio broadcasts and this new release has one of the best. Recorded during the bands tour to promote their most recent and underrated album “Powerage” the Boston show is high energy from start to finish. The recording has been around for ages, having been previously released in both LP and CD format under such titles as “Bad Boy Boogie”, “Boston Babies Play Live”, “Live 78”, “Live USA”, and “In Memoriam Bon Scott”.
All titles come from the FM broadcast version of the show and this release is release is from a rebroadcast done in the 80’s, and is superior to other versions I have which are “Boston Babies Play Live” and “Live 78”. It much more clear and dynamic sounding and does not have the typical FM buzz so many radio recordings have.
The recording starts of with a radio station ID before the band launches into the first song Live Wire, and for me it is the classic opener. Full of energy and balls. If your looking for trouble, they are the band to see. Problem Child is cranked out next followed by a new song Sin City, a classic tune about women, booze and a roll of the dice.
Another new track, Gone Shootin’ follows and is great AC/DC style boogie, stretching out for over six minutes. After a station ID and brief guitar tuning Bon introduces one the most defiant songs in the bands catalog “Bad Boy Boogie”, a song more or less a Hoochie Coochie Man type. Clocking in at almost 9 minutes it has everything from the great Angus solos to his “change of attire” portion of the show.
The Jack is up next and contains the newer lyrics less about a card game and more about a dirty little bitch. Again a song that always delivers live, if you have every heard the 76 versions with the gonorrhea intro you know what I mean. More tuning and we have the title track from their US debut High Voltage and it is exactly what it implies, high energy boogie rock and roll.
Rocker rounds of the set before a encore break and a radio DJ backstage asks Bon for a few words, the funny thing is he calls him Bon Tyler. Dog Eat Dog is the last track from the set, and what can be said that hasn’t been said. This recording sounds great at high volume and that the way I play it.
Headlining bands must have feared them and a warm up band, they pack so much energy into the hour set it is astonishing. I first started listening to AC/DC in my teens, they were your parents worst enemy and my favorite band and the years have not diminished my love for this band, especial the 74-79 Bon Scott era. He lived and breathed his lyrics. This sonic upgrade should please fans everywhere, my self included and until the pre FM master comes out, This release should be considered essential listening to not only AC/DC fans but fans of kick ass rock and roll everywhere.
3 Comments
I’ll second that. this is an excellent sounding cd,as well as the going dutch cd. I hope (hint hint!) the cleveland agora show from 1977, and the old waldorf show also from 1977, get an overhaul sometime in the near future. great stuff!
I love the Bon Scott years and this title is a welcome addition to my collection. Another great title to pick up from this time period is “Going Dutch” Holy Smoke HS-10402. It’s a 1 cd title with 10 tracks in excellent quality and 3 bonus tracks in good quality. Holy Smoke released this title with two different covers in 2002 / 2004. Trust me , NICE ARTWORK ! If you don’t already have this release it is definitely worth looking for – thanks.
I already had a few AC/DC shows in my collection. One with Bon Scott and one with Brian Johnson. This recent addition to my collection is seriously my favorite out of the 3 I now have. I agree with Relayer67 about the fantastic sound quality of this release and also wanted to mention that the single CD comes housed in a nice digipack with Bon era pictures and some history on the Young brothers and AC/DC printed on the inside covers.