Saturday, April 16, 2011

PF - 1974-11-16 - BBC Archives

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Dr. Forrester said...

Pink Floyd
"BBC Archives 1974"
Harvested Records (HRV CDR 033)

London, Wembley Empire Pool, November 16, 1974

01. Speak To Me
02. Breathe
03. On The Run
04. Time
05. The Great Gig In The Sky
06. Money
07. Us And Them
08. Any Colour You Like
09. Brain Damage
10. Eclipse
11. Echoes

Liner notes:
------------

In the spirit of our previous "BBC Archives" series (after "BBC Archives 1967-1969" and "BBC Archives 1970-1971"), Harvested is proud to finally present "BBC Archives 1974"! In 1974, the BBC taped the second set (The Dark Side On The Moon) and the encore (Echoes) of the Floyd performance at Wembley Empire Pool, on November 16. However, Echoes was never broadcast, and for many years only the DSOTM set was circulating from broadcast sources.

In recent years, recordings taken from the BBC pre-FM tapes began to circulate, some of them including the long lost soundboard version of Echoes. However, none of these RoIOs are fully sonically satisfactory in our opinion. Most of them are processed and used some kind of noise reduction, sometimes very slightly (the Sirene releases), and other times more heavily (the Winston remasters, "Time In London") The rare, unprocessed versions currently circulating, like the "FM Pre-Master" Russian bootleg, are pleasant but not without a certain amount of hiss, which reveals that the lineage was not without some generational loss. The hiss from the unprocessed versions available until now is probably one of the reasons why so much NR was used on the various remaster projects.

After much research, Harvested found a superior source, totally unprocessed, with much less hiss than the other unprocessed versions circulating until now. A spectral analysis of the audio file showed that this source was very pure and could be the result of direct transfer from the BBC masters.

However, it is well known that the BBC mastering of that concert sounds rather dry and flat, especially the DSOTM set and our source was no exception. Therefore, we felt this new source needed the "Harvested treatment," in order to make this recording really shine, with good dynamics. The remastering was done very carefully in an attempt to leave the music intact, avoiding NR, dehissing, or any other processing that would generate artifacts. The majority of the remastering work consisted of adjusting the audio levels, balancing the recording when needed, and bringing more clarity and depth by applying specific EQ settings here and there. The final result sounds great to our ears and this version boasts excellent dynamics and a well defined high end without the flaws present on most of the other sources. This CD is free from all NR artifacts, the amount of hiss is minimal, and the low frequency noise that can be clearly heard on all of the currently circulating versions of Echoes (especially during the quiet parts) is not present here.



"BBC Archives 1974" brings you this famous BBC recording in its most complete form (the lines,"I've been mad for f*cking years...," as well as the applause and tuning between Eclipse and Echoes are present), offering the best possible quality for your listening pleasure! "

For those of you who'd like to know how this Harvested version compares with other pre-FM RoIOs from the same concert, comparative analysis is detailed here after.

Enjoy!

The Harvested Team.

April 16, 2011 at 3:20 AM
Dr. Forrester said...

"BBC 74 Remastered" (Winston Remaster #1)
-----------------------------------------

It includes only DSOTM, with the lines "mad for f* years" during Speak To Me. During the loud parts, this remaster sounds really good, however some dynamic NR was used, which affects all the parts where the music is quieter. A typical example can be heard just before David sings the 1st verse of Breathe, or during the lines "home, home again" of Breathe Reprise: there's a sudden drop of clarity, with cymbals muffled, when the level of the music is lower than a certain treshold. This annoying effect is also disturbing during the intro of Time, the second half of TGGITS, the central part of ACYL, the verses of BD, ...

Harvested's "BBc Archives 1974" does not have all these artefacts and has a better defined clarity, even during the loud parts.


"BBC Completely Revisited" (Winston Remaster #2)
------------------------------------------------

This 2CD RoIO includes an audience recording for the 1st set and a pre-FM master source for the 2nd set and encore. DSOTM is very similar to the previous remaster ("BBC 74 Remastered"), with all the quiet parts altered by NR. The 2nd CD includes Echoes, as well as the tuning and applause between Eclipse and Echoes. Echoes suffers from a constant low frequency noise, not too disturbing, but noticeable anyway during the intro and the seagull part (this is the case for all the versions of Echoes on the other pre-FM RoIOs). It seems that less NR was used for Echoes, compared to DSOTM, as there is no obvious artifact. However, a spectral analysis shows that some processing was used for frequencies around 18kHz.

Harvested's "BBC Archives 1974" has a better sound, especially during the quiet parts (the beginning of the reprise after the seagull part is a perfect example). And on Harvested's version, the low frequency noise is not present.


"Time In London" (TSPDP09)
--------------------------

Complete DSOTM and Echoes, with the "mad for f* years" line in Speak To Me, but the tuning between Eclipse and Echoes is slightly shorter than on other RoIOs.

Same remarks as for the Winston remasters: the NR process that was applied ruins the quiet parts. The effect is even worse on "Time In London", as the NR was used more heavily. For instance, the high frequencies are cut as soon as their level is below a treshold. As a result, the end of the cymbals sound (during the sustain) is often cut abruptly. A spectacular example can be heard around the "staying home to watch the rain" lines: on any unprocessed source, one can hear that Nick is using a ride cymbal, but on "Time In London", it's as if Nick was playing the hi-hat! Also, the process to "dynamise" the recording makes the recording sound too artificial, even if at first impression it's very punchy. A direct comparison between "Time In London" and an unprocessed source clearly shows that "Time In London" sounds rather un-natural.

And again, Echoes has the low frequency noise, present on the other RoIOs.

These flaws and artefacts are not present on Harvested's "BBC Archives 1974", which sounds much more natural.

April 16, 2011 at 3:59 AM
Dr. Forrester said...

"Wembley 1974 Pre-FM Master" (Sirene-009)
-----------------------------------------

This RoIO includes DSOTM and Echoes (with the low frequency noise again), as well as the applause and tuning between Eclipse and Echoes. However, on that version the lines "mad for f* years" are edited out.

As usual, Sirene used some processing during remastering, but compared with the other remasters above, this version was processed rather carefully. The sound is really good despite the processing, although Harvested's "BBC Archives 1974" sounds brighter.

On the Sirene release, Echoes is apparently from mp3 origin.


"Wembley 1974 FM Premaster" (Russian bootleg)
---------------------------------------------

This obscure bootleg, remastered by Pink Robert, contains only DSOTM (with the "mad for f* years" lines), but shows no sign of heavy processing. The sound is bright and clear, very natural, without artifact. However, there's a certain amount of hiss, probably revealing some gens in the lineage.

Harvested's "BBC Archives 1974" offers slightly better clarity in terms of sound definition (due to lower gen), with much less hiss.

April 16, 2011 at 3:59 AM
Osvaldo said...

Hi Dr., as usual thank you very much for uploaded this music. Your work is my main sources for happiness!
Before listened this record I come out with a doubt, this show is the same than the DSOTM Experience and Immersion editions?

January 30, 2012 at 2:21 PM

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