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Stuart Ferguson's Collection

The Who   12/08/1979

International Amphitheatre, Chicago, IL
Source Soundboard
Media CDR   2 discs
Notes DVD 2541; lineage: Soundboard recording. Low generation cassette => Stand-alone Pioneer CD burner => EAC => Magix Audio Cleaning Lab => WAV => FLAC front end (level 8)
J-Card Comment This came to me in trade in 1994; I can't prove the lineage although it was represented to me as a 2nd gen. from the soundboard. It sounds as though it comes from the pro shot video source; whether the generation is counted as being from the original video master or whatever source tape was used down the line. In any case, it is a low generation recording -- the fidelity is pretty good and there is minimal tape hiss. There is more crowd than one typically hears in a board tape, but I think the crowd was miked pretty loudly.

This show happened at what I think is the peak of the post-Moon era; the performance is great and the band are in great spirits. The show sold out so quickly that the show was broadcast via closed-circuit to movie theaters throughout the Chicago area; Roger, Pete, and John occasionally shout out to the various suburbs with funny comments. I think the heavy crowd miking was for the benefit of the remote audiences to create more a "live" feel.

I burned this onto audio-grade CDRs with a stand-alone CD burner, then used Magix Audio Cleaning Lab to break up the tracks and apply light dehissing. No further processing was done.

The audience version torrented a couple of weeks ago is great for the era; no question. IHMO this version is superior. Perhaps an enterprising person can make a matrix and surpass both.
Trades Allowed Yes
Reference / Generation 2541
Owned by Stuart Ferguson · Last Updated May 23, 2023