Definitive Paris Final (Sigma 76)
Pavilion de Paris Paris, France – February 25th, 1977
Disc 1 (51:08): Sheep, Pigs On The Wing 1, Dogs, Pigs On The Wing 2, Pigs
Disc 2 (63:18): Shine On You Crazy Diamond Part 1-5, Welcome To The Machine, Have A Cigar, Wish You Were Here, Shine On You Crazy Diamond Part 6-9, Money
Four years ago Sigma released a great version of Pink Floyd’s February 25th, 1977 Paris show on Charade (Sigma-10). Utilizing a 2nd generation tape, it was the first time the entire show was made available on silver disc. The two songs missing from the generation, “Have A Cigar” and “Wish You Were Here” were edited from a higher generation tape.
Definitive Paris Final is a really nice upgrade. It is sourced from a first generation stereo audience reel-to-reel tape and is much more dynamic than the past releases. It’s also has the two missing songs, so the concert can be enjoyed without any change in sound quality.
The American shows the following summer would be a different story with many good tapes ruined by drunken morons yelling over the tape. There are minor distortion issues and slight channel drops during the first half of “Sheep,” but the tape clears up nicely and the rest of the Animals material is excellently recorded.
At this point Floyd had been touring for a month with the new material and already developed a tight presentation. The tape captures very well the Psalm 23 section of the first song which on many tapes is buried in the mix. “Dogs” has a tremendous about of bite (no pun intended) and the audience like the barking dogs in the middle.
“Pigs (Three Different Ones)” builds to a tremendous climax. At 11:57 Waters shouts out “SIX….ONE” to indicate this is the sixteenth show of the world tour. Of all the songs in the set, this one is the most recently written and one gets the impression that, as Gilmour is spitting out these angry metallic riffs, that the audience is sitting there with mouths open in astonishment.
The second half of the show featuring the Wish You Were Here material is more well known. The sound becomes slightly more fuzzy during “Shine On You Crazy Diamond Parts 1-5,” but the playing again is very aggressive and Dick Parry’s saxophone squeaks a bit. What is somewhat noticeable in the first half, but becomes more apparent in the second is that this is definitely a David Gilmour concert.
Despite the show being tightly choreographed to fit the visuals on the screen, Gilmour takes every opportunity to produce unique solos, riffs, and throwaway riffs to make this show all his own.
The sound quality is such an improvement that it warrants an upgrade over Sigma’s older release of the show. Definitive Paris Final is a worthy upgrade.
3 Comments
Yeah, some are so hard to separate. We all like the obvious upgrades, but then you get the ‘same show, different source,’ and ‘same show, different mastering’ which muddy the waters. These latter, then, must so often fall into the ‘personal preference’ category. There are some shows – not just Floyd – where I still have yet to decide!
I understand your point and debated whether or not this was an upgrade. Charade does sound more sharp. But I like Definitive’s “presence” over Charade. The live sound is more engrossing.
Thanks for the review, especially the background info on the sources. Not one that I consider an upgrade, I have to say. Barring ‘Cigar’ and ‘WYWH’ the sound is brighter and more immediate on Charade, be it vocals, guitar, bass, drums or audience reaction. Definitive sounds somewhat muffled by comparison, such that it sounds like the higher gen tape, to my ears. Either title is worth having, but I personally prefer Charade. Now, if only Sigma would release an ‘Absolutely Definitive Paris’ and replace those HAC and WYWH on Charade… (Sigma, I’m joking!)