| Identifier | 8922499 |
| Created At | Tue May 23 2023 23:54:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) |
| Note | Asia 1982-04-29 Orpheum Theatre, Boston, MA, USA
Balrog Source, Lestat Remaster, Recording Notes: The recording was made from front-row balcony, somewhat off-center. Three microphones were used as an experiment and the mix changes somewhat during the show. The band had PA trouble that night but it's difficult to identify when it occurred from the recording. Lestat Notes: I think we all agree this is Asia at their best. Anyhow, we have a Balrog AR of it and can be eternally grateful for that. As he notes below however there are some issues stemming from Asia's PA output and mix, which became more and more evident as more detail uncovered in the remastering process. Not the least among them is some very noticeable and quite frustrating distortion in all guitars and vocals. Vocals also have an unpleasant 'early PA' aspect evoking the tinny, 'boxy' sound of amplified ballpark announcers and speeches from the 1930s. The PA mix is also rather less balanced than we'd expect from a band like Asia, with Wetton's bass especially high and Palmer surprisingly low. Bass guitar is so strong in fact it makes natural realism in things like toms and kick drums impossible to reveal fully without the former becoming too much. Being the very beginning of the first tour I guess we shouldn't be surprised. Bugs do happen even to the best at such times. Another bug in the PA output was uneven amplitude, which will be noticeable between left and right channels in some tracks and in both channels of other tracks otherwise even. Some balancing has been done, but only in the narrow parameters the recording will permit without itself becoming "mixed," to wit, artificial sounding and not what the audience heard. Efforts to mitigate SQ issues overall were successful to varying degrees, and the resulting audio while not the best of "BLG" by any means does qualify for the label. The detail, depth and definition we set as our goal are in place, along with the "you are there" sound we strive for. Between the new transfer and remaster we're confident it now sounds better and more realistic than any version previously circulated, Asia sound system flaws and all. Remaster Summary: EQ and other work to reveal - not mix - extant AR detail, to every extent possible as the audience heard and felt it. No need for or attempts to alter band-crowd-venue sound balance as audience volume was well below that of band, locally and at a distance. No compression or noise reduction applied. Tape hiss is noticeable, especially during the quieter musical sections, but even there the signal to noise ratio remains favorable enough to avoid risky NR. |
| Tech Note | Lineage: 1982: Nakamichi CM-100/CP-1 > Nakamichi 550 (Dolby B in) > Maxell UD XL II 2011: Maxell UD XL II > Nakamichi Dragon (Dolby B out) > RDL FP-UBC6 > MOTU 896 > Sound Forge Audio Studio 9.0 > Wave [96kHz/24 bit] > Izotope RX, Audition Pro with Izotope Ozone [mastering and downsample/conversion to 44.1KHz/16 bit] > Wave > FLAC |
| Trades Allowed |
Performance
| Asia 1982-04-29 Orpheum Theatre, Boston, MA | |
|---|---|
| Set 1 | Time Again One Step Closer Without You Excerpts from Tales from Topographic Oceans * The Clap * Midnight Sun Only Time Will Tell The Smile Has Left Your Eyes Cutting it Fine Untitled Instrumental ** Wildest Dreams Here Comes That Feeling *** Sole Survivor Heat of the Moment |
| Set 2 | |
| Set 3 | |
| Comment | * Howe Acoustic Guitar Solo ** Downes Keyboard Solo *** includes Palmer Drum Solo |