The Wailers
Pall’s Mall
Boston, MA
7/11/1973 (July)

WBCN-FM— FMMR > R > CD > Eac > Wav > Flac (show id: 180359

Recorded by the legendary Neil Cronin and copied in a trade in the mid 70’s to two Sony PR-150 reels for Taper Pat. Mastered to cd by Matt Smith — R >apogee mini me (24/96) > apogee mini dac (monitoring) > wavelab 5.0 (dithered to 20/44) > CD (thanks a ton guys!!!) @

1 Intro > Lively Up Yourself
2 400 Years
3 Stir it Up
4 Slave Driver
5 Stop that Train
6 Kinky Reggae
7 Concrete Jungle
8 Get up Stand Up > Outro (DJ Banter)

notes:

@ a little background on this gem. i saw this version of this show on one of Taper Pat’s lists and asked for a copy. I believe Matt had part of it and Pat had the rest of it, and then they put it together and sent me a copy. so grateful my friends! new wailers sources of this quality are truly rare and just wonderful. despite the minor blemishes on all copies that come from the set up and station, this is a joy to listen to and i don’t think this will get any better. maybe someday we’ll see a transfer from the mr or prefm source but that it has taken this long to get this source out, I’m not counting on it.

1st US performance – great show – overall, very enjoyable sound
of course it still has the slight monitor and / or equipment noise and perhaps some fm interference that are present on the commonly available sources (faint hum or buzz and occasional slight crackle?)

morever, we have had a copy with unknown generation
and then in 2005 emerged a 3rd gen tape. i really enjoy it but it was edited
by a person with little experience. i believe they did a nice job with
what they had but there are a few differences between sources:

* this source is a touch longer. it has more of the preshow recorded (bob’s short intro). both are complete however.

* the 3rd gen tape has it’s volume boosted which also boosts
the volume of the blemishes and crowd. as a result, i believe this
source has a more mellow sound and feel overall.

* the 3rd gen tape sounds tampered with, it has had some “equalizing”: it sounds and feels a little unnatural while this seems to have a more steady sound and feel to it. this new source has a fuller range and dynamic of instruments and vocals. in other words, the equalizing seems to both amplify and bury the music resulting in a less authentic and pleasing experience for me.
the edited tape version sounds more tinny and has less warmth than the unedited reel version.

* i can understand the dilemma of to edit or not: i think we need both. while
editing major issues can move toward restoration, it can also distort the actual sound of the show. editing also results in irreversible changes preventing continual improvements or remasters as individual skill and technology improve. it also reflects and embodies the subjective preferences of the editor which is very risky. still if a version can be enhanced to make the listening experience
as enjoyable as it can be at that time, that’s nice to have until even better upgrades are possible. I believe it is ideal to have a “raw” or unedited version in order to both preserve the music and allow for the best possible long term improvements.

While I don’t think you will be disappointed by either source, especially given the band and what’s generally available from them, imo, it’s critical that we get this source and upgrade into general circulation.