boot reviews

[Brian Ingham <BINGHAM@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Graham*s Superb Vol 1 (IQ-059/060)
Fillmore West, San Francisco, California April 26, 1969
CD 1: (58:34) introduction/ Communication Breakdown, I Can=27t Quit You, =
Dazed & Confused (minor tape bump near end), You Shook Me, How Many More =
Times (includes Smokestack Lightning, Roll Over Beethoven, The Hunter, =
Girl of the North Country) (bass overloads the beginning)
CD 2: (62:35) Plant*s introduction/ White Summer/Black Mountain Side, =
Killing Floor (includes Lemon Song, That*s Alright), Babe I=27m Gonna =
Leave You, Pat*s Delight (cut during the instrumentation before the drum =
solo, cut near the end of drum solo), As Long As I Have You (includes =
Fresh Garbage, Shake, Hush Little Baby), Whole Lotta Love (small cut =
before the *looove* portion)

Both sets are from audience recordings most likely from the same taper. =
The sound quality for both sets is very good plus. The instruments are =
very clear in both sets. Tape hiss is present up to the first two minutes =
of I Can=27t Quit You, but vanishes afterwards. This show was previously =
released on Psychedelic Explosion (TDOLZ). Graham*s Superb Vol 1 has a few =
advantages over Psychedelic Explosion. Psychedelic Explosion*s introduction=
s are shorter, it has a small cut near the end of Dazed & Confused, there =
is more noticeable tape hiss and it runs 3-4% slower. The only advantage =
it has over Graham*s Superb Vol 1 is the lack of the cut near the end of =
Whole Lotta Love.

Graham*s Superb Vol 2 (IQ-061/062)
Fillmore West, San Francisco, California April 27, 1969
CD 1: (61:34) Plant*s introduction/ The Train Kept A Rollin=27, I Can=27t =
Quit You, As Long As I Have You (includes Fresh Garbage, Shake, Cat*s =
Squirrel, No Money Down, I*m a Man), You Shook Me, How Many More Times =
(includes Babe I=27m Gonna Leave You, The Hunter, Mulberry Bush) (small =
cut before the medleys and near the end)
CD 2: (61:50) Killing Floor (includes Sweet Jelly Roll), Babe I=27m Gonna =
Leave You, White Summer/Black Mountain Side (small cut near end), Sitting =
and Thinking (tape distortion in the beginning), Pat*s Delight, Dazed & =
Confused (ends during the beginning of the bow section), Communication =
Breakdown (volume fluctuates in places)

As with the 26th show, both sets are from audience recordings most likely =
from the same taper. The first set (disc one) is a little shy of very good =
in sound quality and suffers from some form of distortion. The distortion =
sounds similar to pops and clicks from vinyl, but not as pronounced. It =
may have been the result of a bad tape used to record the first part of =
the show. The distortion, for the most part, disappears before You Shook =
Me where a cut between it and As Long As I Have You signifies a tape =
switch. The recorder was switched off then on before How Many More Times =
resulting in its beginning sounding slightly muddy. The sound clears up a =
minute into the song. There is a small amount of tape hiss during the =
first set. The second set*s sound quality is the same as the first*s. =
There is some tape hiss, but it lessens before White Summer/Black Mountain =
Side. All the instruments come through clear in both sets. There are =
portions that get a little muddy as the volume crashes into the recorder. =
But it*s an early performance. Sonic chaos is expected=21 The back cover =
and Luis Rey*s book incorrectly list White Summer/Black Mountain Side as =
the second song in the second set. All evidence contradicts this song =
order. On the soundboard tape there is no cut between Killing Floor and =
Babe I=27m Gonna Leave You. Additionally, there is no cut between Babe =
I=27m Gonna Leave You and White Summer/Black Mountain Side on the audience =
tape. A previous release of this show, Twinight (Immigrant), used both the =
soundboard and audience tapes. The soundboard tape comprised the majority =
of that release while the audience tape was used for White Summer/ Black =
Mountain Side and Pat*s Delight. Comparing the audience portion of =
Twinight to Graham*s Superb Vol 2, Graham*s Superb Vol 2 sounds better. =
This is primarily because it has less tape hiss on those two tracks. Plus =
there is a small dropout in the beginning of Pat*s Delight on Twinight. =
Comparing Graham*s Superb Vol 2 to the stereo soundboard version would be =
an unfair comparison. A version of the soundboard tape has been circulating=
 since late 1996 claiming to be a clone from the master tape. Regardless =
if this is true or not, its sound is an upgrade to all previous releases =
using the soundboard version. Most notably it does not have the tape hiss =
found on previous releases. The cuts are still the major drawback to the =
soundboard tape. They include: Train Kept A Rollin* fades in, the last two =
minutes of How Many More Times are cut, a portion near the beginning of =
Killing Floor is cut, White Summer/Black Mountain Side is missing and =
Pat*s Delight*s beginning and end are missing. Despite some wavering in =
the balance in places, the soundboard tape still surpasses the audience =
tape in sound quality. All of the releases mentioned above, in both =
soundboard and audience versions, run at the same speed.