Where The Buffalo Roam (Midas Touch MD62121/2)
Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, NY – July 15th, 1973
Disc 1 (66:13): Rock and Roll, Celebration Day, Black Dog, Over the Hills and Far Away, Misty Mountain Hop, Since I’ve Been Loving You, No Quarter, The Song Remains the Same, The Rain Song
Disc 2 (45:05): Dazed and Confused, Stairway To Heaven
Led Zeppelin made their Buffalo debut on their fourth tour in 1969 when they sold out the Kleinhans Music Hall. They played two more times in the city, on June 10th, 1972 (which was not taped as far as we know) and on July 15th, 1973, right in the middle of the second leg. Where The Buffalo Roamon Midas Touch was released in 1996 and contains the soundboard recording of the first two thirds of the show, from “Rock And Roll” to “Stairway To Heaven.” This is one of a bunch of partial soundboard tapes that were stolen from Jimmy Page’s house in the late eighties and surfaced soon after (as the story goes).
The earliest compact disc releases with this tape are And It Makes Me Wonder (American Concert Series ACS 046), with the complete tape except “Dazed And Confused,” and copied onto Buffalo 1973 (VIP) and Outrageous Live (Zoso’s Company). The same year was released Misty Mountain Crop (Flying Disc CD 6-816) with “Rock And Roll” to “The Rain Song” and Razed And Confused (Flying Disc CD 6-819) had the other two songs. The problem with the early releases is that they ran too fast, as does In Concert and Beyond (TDOLZ 0001/2). Finally, “Dazed And Confused” was featured on the compilation Best Of Tour 1973 (Forever Standard Series FSS 99-08).
Midas Touch was released in 1996, the same time TDOLZ released their version. Midas Touch was issued in a cardboard gatefold sleeve with glossy paper. The sound quality is very good to excellent and runs at the correct pitch. There is a gap of silence in “The Rain Song” betweeen 2:25-2:28 and a bit of static in “Dazed And Confused” at about seventeen minutes. These issues can easily be overlooked however, and even though this title is thirteen years old now it remains definitive. There also exists a good sounding audience tape of the entire show which remains unbooted to this day. A definitive version of this show would contain both tape sources in one package.
Regarding the performance, a review in the paper states that “Led Zeppelin doesn’t give concerts, they perform physical transformations. They kneaded the full-house crowd in Memorial Auditorium into silly putty Sunday night with two hours and 50 minutes of massive sensory massage. The sheer enormity of the sound did it (though the full moon may have helped), an enormity that resonates into your paleolithic pith, the cry of the dinosaur summoning out that primitive quickening in the face of monstrosity.
“Whatever isn’t touched by the earthquake rumble of John Paul Jones’ bass, John Bonham’s gunshot cracks on the drums or Robert Plant’s echoey heart-of-darkness voice is left quivering by the swooping electronic slices of guitarist Jimmy Page, especially his solo on the theremin. Their relatively simple brooding themes are blown larger than life, like skyscraping office buildings, and they lay on thick embellishments and broad dramatic resolutions that mean more en masse than as individual items. The four of them approached it all with unexpected good humor. John and Bonham lay back blithely amongst the folding backdrop of mirrors that run the length of the stage.
“Page in black with a rhinestone-studded rose on his open jacket, prancing around like a cocky midlands soccer player in a pub, and Plant in tight jeans and a short jacket with rhinestones and puffed sleeves strutting back his curly blond mane. The band took no breaks, despite the heat. Applause followed a few Page guitar solos but the youngish crowd didn’t really erupt until the start of Stairway to Heaven and again when the spinning mirrored ball went on as it closed. The heavy drumbeat of Moby Dick brought a rush on the stage and most of the hall stayed on its feet for that last hour, including a long Bonham drum solo with special synthesizer effects. An 8-minute ovation brought them back for an encore after their boogieing final number. ‘Thank you Buffalo, Plant said when they finished. ‘Take care until we see you again.'” (D. Anderson, Buffalo News / July 1973)
In 2001 I wrote, “This show is clearly not the best of the tour. Page makes many mistakes in Dazed & Confused, and Stairway to Heaven sounds by rote. Moreover, several huge explosions distract the group (especially during the violin bow solo). This title is recommended for fans of the tour.” Listening to it years later has altered my opinion. And while “Rock And Roll” starts off a bit slow and Page’s fingers get tangled in the guitar strings in “Celebration Day,” it does settle into a really nice groove by the time they hit “Black Dog.”
Several times the band has to contend with firecrackers and other objects thrown towards the stage. When Plant is speaking after “Black Dog” someone thrown toilet paper on stage. He quips, “judging from that toilet roll, somebody’s had diarrhea. That should do as an excuse for that.” The strap on Page’s guitar broke during the opening numbers, which is probably why “Celebation Day” is flubbed, and Plant explains that, “Jimmy’s got a guitar string that’s made of cement. His guitar’s had a bit of an accident, but we got it fixed now. So we had to use his other guitar, which you can appreciate. It feel apart.” While beginning “Over The Hills And Far Away” a firecracker blows prompting Plant to say, “That’s one guy who’s not on the same journey.”
“Since I’ve Been Loving You” sound interesting in this performance with Page answering Plant’s pleadings. But “No Quarter” reaches heights of sublimity in the guitar solo. By this time they’ve been playing the new song for several months and have worked out an effective arrangement. “Dazed And Confused,” far from being chaotic, actually shares some characteristics with the great versions played in Europe earlier in the year. Bonham in particular is very inventive with new rhythms chasing Page’s improvisation. During the violin bow segment someone lets off a loud firecracker. Page, and everyone it seems, stops for a split second in reaction. An eyewitness states how “everyone including the band jumped ten feet in surprise” and that “a girl was injured by the explosion and had to be removed from the arena.”
Plant admonishes the audience afterwards saying, “I don’t know who the sadist was who let off the bomb, but he really is a jerk off. Lot’s of love. Well, you’ve got to put up with him every week. That’s one thing we aint gotta do, thank goodness. An effective version of “Stairway To Heaven” ends the tape. As it turns out, this is the final time Zeppelin played in Buffalo or any venue in western New York. They were scheduled to play Rich Stadium on August 6th, 1977 and November 1st, 1980 in War Memorial Stadium but both were cancelled. Where The Zeppelin Roam remains the definitive version of this now neglected soundboard recording.
30 Comments
Great post Brian you are spot on!
several people mentioned bands opening the vaults and releasing “Legal” bootlegs. I think this is great and applaud the bands and labels like Rhino for getting this material out there. My only concern is some bands “improve” the live shows in the studio to fix mistakes which to me defeats the purpose as, for me, I want to experience the concert as it happened warts and all. I would rather have a bootleg of lesser quality of a show then the same show officially released which was stepped on in the studio with overdubs……
I was at a regular old brick & mortar record store (well… a pretty sorta semi-hip one in Seattle) the other day and the employees were talking about a release that the store paid $3 for and it should then sell for $5 or something as a standard markup… but it was a rather “it” local band or hot seller or something (perhaps Modest Mouse) and they were thinking about pricing it at $6 instead which would still be a good deal for the current consumer. then one of the guys says something like “yeah… just another sign that cds are a dead format”. i mean… $6 for a new CD?? WTF?
and that’s the concept that I think is underlying this current discussion. it’s not really about silver pressed bootlegs vs. cdr’s per se, etc. it’s really about “permanent” physical possession vs. “transient” digital ownership. cd’s vs. downloading.
people are moving into a fully digital format. and during this time of great transition, if consumers can have some sort of physical momento (i.e. a big classic slab of vinyl along with their digital copy, etc), many see that as a more tangible investment or something…. i.e for the time being people (esp. collectors) still want something physical for their $.
but on the other side of the coin, obtaining ROIOs has a much different physical and “moral” connotation. bootlegs are “illegal” and most interested parties don’t need a permanent physical remnant of that transaction (esp. when obtained for free i.e. old “tape trading” rules) — they’re fine with downloading. and really there is little memory of a different time when file sharing didn’t exist… and as such actual bootlegs were a rare and exotic find. the current generation as a whole could care less about “silver” cd bootlegs. the result is that professional silver cd bootlegs are ill-proportionately negatively affected.
but hardcore “collectors” still crave the permanent physical rarity behind the hunt… and always will.
some here are realistically questioning what will be left to hunt. i do, however, agree that some of the lesser known but still great great bands (like the stooges) are essentially getting bootlegs released officially since there is a demand for exciting rare material…
this will not vanish, and the hoarded tapes behind great “popular” bands will still escape to be heard… but yes, the time is probably coming to a slow end where each quality hoarded tape will be “pressed to silver disc”…it’s just no longer economically feasible.
In fact, I wonder how long the newest tapes by artists of greatest demand will continue to be de facto “pressed to silver disc”? The clock is probably ticking… so hoarders… unlock the vaults!
There is a ray of hope. I saw recent news segment, NBC I think about which they reported that vinyl sales are actually increasing ONCE AGAIN. There was a rediscovery of vinyl back in the 90’s, and a lot of record companies are printing “noticeable” amounts of vinyl again. The second largest selling album was, (drum roll) Dark Side Of The Moon. But they are making albums for new bands as well. Things move in circles. But what about availability. I’ve seen some of these silvers reviewed here, that I get through the mail, at local Mom and Pop places, and they’re starting price is $90 and up. I’ve some go on ebay for over $200. And I’m talking your average Sigma or Godfather release. If the average person can find them. People don’t go to record shows like they do the mall. Or can for that matter. And, downloading, the new way to buy music, has made an impact on the record industry, and it trickles down. But if vinyl can make a comeback, anything is possible.
Walterfive, reading your post was interesting but I disagree with you on a few points…
1). Unfortunately, it’s very unlikely that (m)any releases will pop up in “grey area countries” as more countries are signed onto trade agreements than ever before and more countries in Europe are either now in the EU or trying very hard to get in.
Even when Italy and Germany and other European countries DID release the so called “copy protection gap” titles in the late 80s/early 90s, nothing of any significance was ever released. Labels such as Great Dane, Oil Well, Living Legend, Swinging PIg, etc, released nothing but stereotypical shows such as Destroyer, Blueberry Hill and BBC Tapes. The vast majority of these were released in simple jewel cases and often with very boring artwork.
Unfortunately, this is exactly what will happen again if/when any countries get past the 50 year copyright mark you mentioned.
2). Perhaps, it may be true that Japanese are not releasing every single bootleg in the world however there is no dispute that they have been responsible for pretty much every inovation in packaging (such as paper cases, large box sets, unique collectables, etc, etc) and unearthing rare shows, as well the sheer number of releases over the years. When Japan shuts down, there may still be bootlegs, but again will there be any that you would really want?
3). It is a well known fact which has been reported in many major media outlets that obtaining music thru downloading is now nearly as popular as purchasing CDs. The percentage of “illegal” downloads of official music can be argued to be anywhere from record company quotes of 90% (yep, I think it’s bullshit too) to virtually any other figure you would like to quote. Officially released music sells in the millions of copies for popular artists. Even if we accept the premise that illegal downloads might affect some of these sales, there are still plenty of people in the pool buying the music. Record companies can even make money by selling songs for 99 cents thru Itunes (and you can’t tell me they aren’t making a profit when they can afford to sell for 99 cents)!
Compared to people listening to officially released music, people listening to bootlegs are a tiny fraction. Take a percentage of this tiny fraction out of the buying pool due to downloading, and of course you are affecting sales. Bootleggers don’t exactly have the option of selling single songs for 99 cents each nor do they have much opportunity to sell CD-R titles (you wrote yourself that you wouldn’t buy CD-R titles for CD prices).
4). There are MANY, many more times people listening to bootlegs now than there ever could have been in the 70s. Sadly, this doesn’t mean there are anywhere near the same number of hard core buyers there were in the 70s. In fact, as most of these people get their bootlegs for free, there are significantly fewer hard core buyers than there were in the 70s.
IF bootleg labels are getting their sources from downloading, it only goes to prove that the bootleg labels are selling even fewer copies than before. The labels surely can’t release CD-R titles (any collector could get the exact same show for free from the exact same source) and with fewer hard core collectors willing to lay out the cash, the labels would be seriously hurting.
5). I very much hope you are able to continue collecting until you are old and grey but you may have to find something else to collect if you are expecting releases from Empress Valley, Misterclaudel and Sigma labels as all of these Japanese labels will certainly be long gone in less than the decade you have left.
O.k. Walter I will amend my intital comments…Broadband File sharing and cheap cdr’s are slowly eating into the silver disc market where in the future I believe you will only see silver discs pressed for a handful of big name artists like Led Zep, Floyd, Beatles etc. ..This is already a reality as I deal with several big boot vendors in Japan and Europe and more and more new releases from other bands are strictly released on CDR’s. File sharing and legal downloads are already affecting the legit labels as they are not taking on as many new artists and all have down sized considerably. Bands no longer make their big money on cd releases and now rely on touring for their paydays. I agree the boot leg industry will always survive but I believe silver disc titles will continue to shrink to a handful of bands…….and by the way I collect GNR silver discs and believe me the packaging is nothing to write home about on most of them…one last comment..I am a big Stones fan and don’t hold your breath waiting for them to open the vaults. The Kleins own the rights to the early material and as long as Mick is alive I don’t see that happening and even if it does the live stuff will be stepped on in the studio like Get Your Ya Ya’s as Mick will not release stuff with warts….Just one fans opinion for what it is worth
I agree with you Jerry. I’m quite happy with the rarities from diverse bands that pop up regularly enough that a lack of silver boots on more obscure bands isn’t so much of a famine– Take the 13th Floor Elevators 10-CD Box Set, “Sign Of The Three-Eyed Men” for example– that set would cost $300+ if it had been a bootleg!
Now I’ll still buy bootleg Beatles, Floyd, Zeppelin, Hendrix and other big name bands on CD, but I won’t pay CD prices for a CDR. Why should I? Some bootleg sellers discount last year’s big titles in their inventory sales, and sell them for 1/2 to 1/4 what they were originally charging, and I’m happy to grab them at those prices.
In another 10 years the 50-year rule will start coming into play on several countries public domain laws, and I expect we’ll see a plethora of grey-area distributors popping up in those nations releasing classic rock bands, just as today we see a lot of classic jazz material from the 20’s, 30’s 40’s and even 50’s coming out on 5 or 10-CD sets that cost $15 or $20.
I’d like to dispel the rumor that all bootlegs are being made by Japanese bootleggers. It may have something to do with the ease of finding manufacturing plants that don’t ask questions, I’ll grant you that a lot of releases do come from Japan, but there are number of collectable releases that (near as I can tell) are originating in Eastern Europe, and distributed by Western European sellers– again it has to do with finding CD manufacturing plants that don’t ask questions or aren’t afraid of being busted by their nation’s equivalent of the RIAA…
The idea that file-sharing is killing the bootleg industry is just as fallacious as the music industry’s old claim ‘home taping is killing the music industry!’ As many have rightly pointed out, it seems that most bootleggers are getting their material from bit-torrent sites; the hoarders tapes are leaking out one by one… but the number of hard-core bootleg buyers only number in the thousands, same as in the mid-70’s. A lot of us (like myself) have been buying them that long– there have never been that many fanatic collectors– sure, there are some bands (like Nirvana say, Oasis or Guns ‘N Roses) whose flash-in-the-pan fans sometimes bought bootleg CDs if they were packaged pretty, but they weren’t hard-core collectors like some of my prog-rock friends are about Yes or classic rock friends are about Dylan or Neil Young. I’ll be old and gray (in another decade or so) and still collecting Floyd and Zeppelin and Beatles as long as Sigma, Empress Valley and Mr. Claudel keep crankin’ ’em out.
Great discussion as someone else noted. To the question of what else is out there: I am hopeful and actually optimistic that there are plenty of shows/outtakes/etc. that we still haven’t heard. My favourite band is the Stones and of course the question there is always what do they have in the vaults and will they ever do anything with it. Having said that, it was great to see a new ’70 show (Helsinki) surface recently and it never ceases to please and surprise me that this continues to happen, almost 40 years after the fact.
Like most of you, I’ve been collecting a long time and if you had told me when I started out 30 plus years ago that this many vintage Dolls shows, or that many early Faces tapes, would eventually be available, I would have been stunned. Final case in point: I’m a huge Stooges fan and had always hoped against hope that there were more recordings of their short-lived two-guitar line-up from spring ’71 than the one very poor-sounding tape that circulated. Well, it turns out there are, at least three, and celebrated manager/scenester Danny Fields has now sold them to the British Easy Action label who are poised to release them all in a limited edition box set. Hallelujah ! Not a bootleg, strictly speaking, but an unearthing nevertheless of some highly coveted (by the hardcore fans like myself) recordings. This stuff seems to continue to reveal itself and that’s what I love about this hobby.
I’m glad to hear that you haven’t lost the joy in collecting. I’m not sure exactly when “collecting” becomes more about obtaining everything instead of actually listening to (and hopefully enjoying) everything but it does seem to be a fairly common occurence. I’m sure with all the work you put into this site, you must spend more time than the average collector obtaining than listening (and it’s much appreciated!).
I can’t agree with your premise that the most interesting stuff has already come out because I certainly don’t know what’s left to be found. What if the first Zepp show ever was discovered? What if there were more rehearsals or unreleased songs found? What if there were versions of songs that we thought were never done live only to find out that they had? I suppose it all comes down to what excites you and that is very much be an individual preference.
Again, I’m not saying the hobby will die off but I’m saying it will change significantly IF/when silver CDs are no longer available. This will cause more people to stop collecting and let’s face it, due to the age of the music and the collectors among other factors, less people will be collectors.
If by the “entire concept of bootlegging”, we are talking about people bringing in recording devices to live concerts, etc, yes, that will likely continue well into the future. However, IF we are talking about people actively collecting the silver pressed CDs of any specific band, that will likely stop and/or significantly change and I’m afraid fairly soon.
Great discussion! I’m sure everyone has had a fair share of msuic on cdr deteriorate whether it’s a “pro-cdr” title that they’ve purchased, something they’ve burned for themselves or received in a trade, etc. I’ve certainly had my fair share of cdrs deteriorate; esp. those with paper labels and know plenty of people with the same experience.
Maybe at some point when the buyers of cdr titles realize that they are purchasing an inferior product, they will put their foot down & stop making these purchases.
I agree with your post, although I’m not implying that I’ve lost the joy of collecting. I have a large collection and I spend so much time focusing upon obtaining and reviewing each week’s stack of new releases. And there is a lot to be excited about as well as releases that seem pointless to me.
I am emphasizing that I believe the most interesting things have already come out, including the videos and soundboards surfacing in the past ten years.
Personally I don’t think the hobby will die off. I’ve been hearing that for years, yet it is still around. The lack of new material and the tape hoarders is one issue, but the death of the entire concept of bootlegging is much different and that will always be around.
Other than the artists I write about regularly on this site, I’m not really excited about contemporary acts. Most of my non-bootleg music listening is focused upon classical, renaissance and foreign music.
I agree with you about the risks and problems with predicting the future however IF we could restrict this conversation to the pressed silver bootleg, I firmly believe the death knell has already started to toll and that the best years are well behind us now.
I’m not sure how you would define revolutionary, groundbreaking or essential, but I am an optimist and believe (or at least hope) these DO exist however without labels pressing silver CDs, I doubt we’ll ever know for sure. The reason is that almost nothing that would fit any definition of revolutionary, groundbreaking or essential has been released to the great masses in any manner other than those done by labels. I would say this has been true for at least 10 years and could be honorably argued back even a few years beyond that point.
Yes, CDs might still physically exist if or when the manufacturing stops (I hope they will as I’d hate to see my collection become nothing more than 2500+ coasters) but that doesn’t mean that you will be able to actually find them. It’s interesting to read reviews of 13 year old titles here, but trying to find these original titles in decent condition at a decent price is difficult in many cases and simply impossible in a whole lot of others.
I’m sorry to hear that your joy of collecting has disappeared. Perhaps, you are a victim of your own success both thru running a web site dedicated to reviewing CDS and also to the fact that the labels have made a lot of music available to you that you would otherwise never had had the chance to experience. I hate to sound like an old guy but I absolutely DO remember only too well those days when the only soundboard from 1975 was a partial release of one Earl’s Court show and the only horrible quality videos we had was Knebworth and part of Royal Albert Hall.
I’m sure you can make a decent argument that some of the older titles you’ve reviewed here are the best version of a source. That doesn’t mean I don’t want other labels to try to beat em! There’s also been a lot of new sources, new shows and of course alt sources released in the 13 years since the above title was released. If/when there are no more labels, we may miss out on quite a bit of revolutionary, groundbreaking or essential stuff. Just a reminder since this is getting a bit long, I’m still talking silver pressed titles here.
A lot of bands I like don’t exist anymore either and none that are still out there are sure getting any younger. That’s just another reason I’m grateful for the silver boots. Personally, I love finding good new or young bands. Yeah, it’s not always easy with all the crap that is out there but WOW when I do find em.. they are well worth it.
It could be the case that our hobby is dying a slow death. Or maybe not. Predicting the future is always risky and many times in the past forty years there have been times and events that “sounded the death knell of bootlegs.”
However, at this point I do agree it is time to question the viability of our favorite artists and our collections. My favorite bands don’t exists anymore and those who are still around are getting up there in years and are not producing work up to the standards that made us love them in the first place.
Is there anything really available that is revolutionary, groundbreaking, or essential?
Regarding my collection, it has expanded exponentially since I started this site several years ago, and I don’t have time to listen to everything. At this point it seems like I’m collecting for the sake of collecting instead for the love of the music.
If and when the manufacture of bootleg silvers stops, the thousands upon thousands that have been produced over the past twenty years will still exist and be available. This is why, in case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been reviewing older titles in addition to keeping up with the new releases. This Midas Touch title is thirteen years old and still, in my opinion, hasn’t been surpased. It is the same situation with many of the Highland titles as well and the older they are the more collectible they become.
Sadly, I completely agree with Classicrawker about our hobby dying a slow death – IF he’s referring to silver pressed titles which I believe he is. The only place really making them is Japan and there’s simply no possible way they won’t be stopped/shutdown someday. I think it’s a question of when not if. Of course, that doesn’t mean there won’t be newer audience shows circulating online or collector’s looking for them. There just won’t be silvers or there will be very, VERY few of them, even less than now.
You hit the mail right on the head Wilbur. With the advent of file sharing it must not be profitable to make silver disc releases of most bands these days but it is cheap and easy to create some artwork and burn a bunch of cdr’s. And Eric you make some valid points as well. From what I am told you need to order a minimum # of discs to have silver discs made so it is much easier and cheaper to just make a cdr in small quantities as they sell. There are many shows by bands which only appear on CDr I would love to have but I refuse to pay for a CDR title so have to be satified with downloading. It is nice to have the music but it is just not the same as getting a nice new shiny silver disc of a great show. I am sure you all understand where I am coming from ;))))
I don’t know what the process is for making a silver cd, but I imagine it’s a carefully planned one. That could be n issue as well. Lets be real here, the major labels are suing kids for file sharing. I’ve had a few cd’s up on ebay that were shut down by them. maybe the labels are having some impact as well.
Hasn’t it become a bit of a vicious circle? Labels can’t or won’t release silver disks unless collectors buy them, but collectors won’t buy the stuff they already have and just about any new stuff they can download for free. Most collectors REALLY don’t want to buy CD-R titles cause they are pretty much exactly the same as the download which collectors can do themseleves.
This leaves some silver labels little choice but to go the route of extravagent packages to try to appeal to the very few hard core collectors that still remain OR go very cheap by copying another labels releases.
You can always blame the hoarders who won’t sell/give/share with the labels and/or the general collecting public but there doesn’t seem to be much left out there.
I agree GS that there will always be silver discs where there is demand but the trend seems to be that labels are only pressing silver discs for a handful of popular artists such as Led Zep, Pink Floyd, Beatles,The Stones, Clapton, Dylan, Springsteen, and to a lesser extent bands like Yes, Genesis, Deep Purple etc… Other bands which are no longer big acts are being relegated to cdr titles. I think this will be the continuing trend in our hobby where only a handful of big name acts will get the silver disc treatment while other bands end up on cdr. This has accelerated in the past year where now the percentage of silver discs offered has strunk considerably. A year ago one vendor I deal with offered nothing but slver disc releases and now the majority of releases he offers are cdr. While I do enjoy the big name bands my collection has old OOP silver shows from many other artists who are now relegated to CDR releases. While inevitable and a reality, for me this is a sad trend in our hobby..Hopefully labels like Godfather will continue to release bands other than the big names on silver disc….
Ya gotta spread the word to music lovers. It’s easier now w/the internet than ever. If you belong to any of these twitters or facebooks, put this site down, and create a link. Ask them to donate too!
But the easiest way to spread the word, is to try and get CD’s of concerts you may have been at, and play them for people or burn copies and just hand them out.
That has been the situation for a couple years now. There are tons of titles on CDR that I would love to see on CD. However, I wouid not go so far as to say the hobby is dying a slow death. Where there is a demand there is a supply.
Sadly our hobby is dying a slow death as more and more new labels are going the CDR route instead of pressing some amazing shows on silver disc. The new title announcements from the vendors I deal with now have a larger proportion of cdr releases than silver cd releases and this disparity seems to increase with each new update I receive.I have passed on more than one great new title because it was on cdr…..Now that is something to be concerned with instead of where a silver disc label gets their source from!!
I agree… 1. I know, 2. I don’t care. If it’s good, press it.
Even the most casual reader of this website should know by now that:
1. We know these tapes are from the internet torrent sites; and
2. We don’t care.
as long as the source is worth pressing, that is…
Who cares where the labels get their sources as long as they end up on silver disc??!!
Re: “Silly Putty” and other releases of similar ilk…
Silver disc and pro cdr manufacturers often if not nearly ALWAYS take torrented versions of shows as sources for their releases… Let’s not kid ourselves. This is simply the world we live in. To not endorse a release for that reason alone is a bit “silly”.
I think a great project for TCOLZ would be a five disc set with both the soundboard and audience recordings. It would fill a considerable need.
“Silly Putty” Uses the SB as the main source and fills in the gaps with a AUD source. Wendy is the first label to press the AUD source.
What is Silly Putty? I have not heard of it. I’ve really lost track of the Wendy label and am not really aware of their activities.
And don’t buy newest “Silly Putty” by Wendy. It is really a silly when someone is taking something that was just donwloaded from the tracker without any credits. (It was sourced from widely torrented version of Buffalo show just couple of weeks ago at Dime.)
Very nice review of a sorely underappreciated July, 1973 Zeppelin soundboard. Winston Remasters did this show justice in 2005, combining the SB with an audience recording that’s at least very good in quality. Nice for a fan release to beat a silver label to the punch.