Thursday, March 31, 2011

PF - 1971-02-25 - Hamburg, West Germany


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7 comments:

Dr. Forrester said...

pink floyd
Grosser Saal Musikhalle,
Hamburg, West Germany
February 25, 1971




1) Green Is the Color
2) Careful With That Axe Eugene
3) Cymbaline (missing first verse)
4) The Embryo
5) Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun

1) A Saucerful of Secrets
2) Atom Heart Mother

The Details:

"M-502"
RoIO DB link- http://www.pf-roio.de/roio/roio-lp/untitled_m502.lp.html

2x74min CD-R release DFA-019 produced by The Digital Floyd Archives
original vinyl release cover art scans (look for the tape on the spine...)

total time: 96:35 (49:45 & 46:50)

NOTES by



This is the holy grail of recordings of indeterminate origin.
I've been collection RoIOs since high school (when vinyl was king) and even
then this was the one to get. I saw a real one for $75 in 1986 in NYC
(at "It's Only Rock'n'Roll" on 8th, ah, what a store that was)
and when i came back with the money it was gone. my brush with greatness.
anyway...

M-502 is the matrix number of the original 2-LP vinyl set that was made
in europe sometime in the (late?) 70's. Although there are many different
versions of this show, all of them are sourced from a M-502 vinyl copy.
Some sound better than others, none of them sound anything like this.
(Take Linda Surfin' was a popular one). This 2-CDR set comes from a mint
condition original LP, and has been beautifully remastered by the Digital
Floyd Archives. Not only is this one of the best sounding recordings
(especially of this era), this is one of the best vinyl remastering jobs
I have ever heard.

Known Flaws:

If there's any surface noise on this, I can't hear it. May be a little at
the start of disc 2, but this is a non-issue. The original recording does
sound slightly "overdriven"; there is some mild distortion on the loudest
parts of the first set. Also, as i mentioned in the RoIO millionaire
contest, cymbaline fades in around the second verse. There is also a bit
of static in 'green is the color'; this is mic noise caused by the taper,
and is in the original. Overall sound quality is a solid 9 out of 10, with
the only penalty being for the above flaws. ooh... those cymbals!

The performance:

Wow. This seems to be the only concert with the brass/choir on Atom Heart
Mother where the brass section didn't make any mistakes! Also, the 18+
minute version of A Saucerful of Secrets is probably the definitive version
of this song. Did I mention that this is my favorite version of Careful
With That Axe, Eugene? Roger's doesn't scream, he roars. Hold on to your hat.


The Details:
"M-502"
RoIO DB link- http://www.pf-roio.de/roio/roio-lp/untitled_m502.lp.html
2x74min CD-R release DFA-019 produced by The Digital Floyd Archives
original vinyl release cover art scans (look for the tape on the spine...)

March 31, 2011 at 3:36 AM
Anonymous said...

Thanks for posting this. It's a classic. However, there is a bit of misinformation in the notes, which I realize came with the files. (I've seen the exact same notes attached to other postings of this recording.) I'm posting the following correction in the hopes that someone, somewhere, has the original LPs. They would earn the everlasting devotion of Floyd fans everywhere if they were to make lossless digital files of their copy available.

The 2 LP vinyl bootleg commonly referred to as "M-502" is apparently not the original version. The LP set with matrix number M-502, whose actual title is simply Pink Floyd, is itself a copy of another 2 LP set that had very similar cover artwork. Apparently, the slight distortion heard during some of the loudest passages on "M-502" was not present on the original LPs, which makes the originals highly desireable. Unfortunately, they are even rarer than copies of "M-502."

The original came in an odd white gatefold sleeve, made of thin laminated paper, that had the openings for the LP pockets facing inwards instead of outwards. The outside of the cover had the same black and white drawing later used on "M-502" but had no text at all. The tracks were listed on the inside of the gatefold. The only matrix numbers on the discs were the side numbers (1, 2, 3, 4).

You can read all about these two vinyl bootlegs on The Pink Floyd Vinyl Bootleg Guide (at http://floydboots.com). They are listed as "Pink Floyd (1,2,3,4)" and "Pink Floyd (M-502)." This site gives "M-502" a rarity rating of 3 out of 5 and the original LP set a 5 out of 5.

March 31, 2011 at 8:49 AM
Anonymous said...

i got this double lp when i was just a young lad.still got it,now i need to buy a new record player to play it on.(ah the sound of vinyl)the lps are just numbered 1 to 4.when you open up the double lp cover it shows you the full picture

March 31, 2011 at 2:31 PM
Anonymous said...

I find the topic of vinyl boots really interesting. I assume that the people who worked for record manufacturers must have printed some boots behind the scenes using their employers record manufacturing machines. Does anyone know if the vinyl bootleg makers owned their own record manufacturing equiptment?

April 1, 2011 at 12:55 PM
Anonymous said...

just looked out my double lp,on the front the left leg it just says pink floyd.on the back the right leg the track listing says.1.careful with that axe,eugene cymbaline.2.embryo set the controls for the heart of the sun.3.saucerful of secrets.4. atom heart mother. just now i just found a note inside the sleeve, it says R.Morgan 19/12/74 probe. side 1 25.52. side 2 24.27.total 50.29.i bought this lp back in 1983.No more writting anywhere on the lp

April 1, 2011 at 1:31 PM
Osvaldo said...

Oh my God, the sound is awesome. Thank you very much Dr.

February 6, 2012 at 4:32 PM
Anonymous said...

The reference to It's Only Rock & Roll brought back great memories. That store had one of the best selections of vinyl bootlegs in Manhattan, although prices could vary from fair to frightfully high.

The Internet is a Godsend for collectors, but I'll never forget the mystery and exclusivity of vinyl boots back in the 1980s. Seeing a release for the first time, drinking in the cover art, and pouring over the track listing was such an incredible experience.

Claude

February 18, 2012 at 8:57 PM

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