1.01 Firebird Suite ~ Sound Chaser (10.59)
1.02 Close To The Edge (20.20)
1.03 To Be Over (10.29)
1.04 The Gates Of Delirium (22.54)
1.05 And You And I (10.03)
==============================
2.01 Ritual (29.29)
2.02 Roundabout (9.23)
==============================

YES
DATE: 11 December 1974
LOCATION: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
VENUE: Boston Garden

RECORDING TYPE: Audience ["AR"]
VERSION: Full Lestat Audio Projects remaster - CD resolution. The remaster at 24 bit/96KHz will appear soon, under a different uploader.
ART: To follow - Gromek dealing with computer problems at present. We thank all for their patience
SOURCE: Original Dan Lampinski master cassettes, whose raw version can be found on Dime at CD resolution here: [Link]
and at 24 bit/96KHz resolution here: [Link]

FUNDAMENTALS:

Lineup:

Jon Anderson - Vocals and various instruments
Steve Howe - Guitars
Chris Squire - Bass guitars
Patrick Moraz - Keyboards
Alan White - Percussion

Setlist*:

[Vol. 1]
1.01 Firebird Suite ~ Sound Chaser (10.59)
1.02 Close To The Edge (20.20)
1.03 To Be Over (10.29)
1.04 The Gates Of Delirium (22.54)
1.05 And You And I (10.03)

[Vol. 2]
2.01 Ritual (29.29)
2.02 Roundabout (9.23)

* Fades and sector boundary alignment follow this standard CD track
distribution, but ending disc 1 with To Be Over makes a really nice
transition somehow :]

LINEAGE:

As given by djscomics in the torrents linked above:

Sony TC-152SD Tape Recorder, Sony ECM-99 Stereo Microphone >Maxell
cassettes [type not stated] > Carl Morstadt: Master Cassette -> Nakamichi CR-3A cassette deck with azimuth correction -> M-Audio
Firewire Audiophile 2496 -> CDWAV 24-bit/96-KHz wav files -> Goldwave
(normalizing and crossfades) -> CDWAV (track breaks) -> FLAC Front End
(FLAC 8) FLAC files tagged with Foobar2000 Live Show Tagger, no EQ

Lestat:

Spectral, graphic and playback analysis, FFT filtering, pitch/tempo
correction, excavation EQ, retracking [to reunite announcements with
announced Yes pieces], downsampling - Izotope RX and Ozone, CEP 2.0> FLAC 1.7.1 > Back to Dime.

ORIGINAL [RAW] TORRENT NOTES:

"Once in a while, karma smiles and something really special just sort
of falls in your lap. This is one of those moments. Carl was up in
Foxboro, Mass to see John Wetton and The School Of Rock All-Stars, and
being the friendly guy that he is, he started talking with the guy
sitting next to him. Turns out they had more than a little common
musical ground, starting with King Crimson and it worked rapidly
downhill from there. Shockingly, the topic of tapes came up and it
just so happens this guy taped a bunch of shows in the 1970s that he
essentially kept to himself. You don't have to be a rocket scientist
to figure out what happened next. This series of torrents represents
the fruits of Carl's labour - multiple trips to Dan's house to pick up
tapes, lovingly and carefully transfer the recordings and then prepare
them for our collective listening pleasure. It is my honour to be able
to seed these recordings and I hope that everyone who downloads them
will get as much enjoyment out of them as we have. The master list of
the shows Dan recorded is still under construction and we will
circulate that as well as some photographic documentation of the
project somewhere down the line. Please don't clog my inbox with
requests for your favourite band(s) or a show you hope may exist after
all these years.....just kick back, relax and let the surprises
unfold.....

"Dan Lampinski recorded over 100 concerts in the Providence/Boston
area, mostly between 1974 and 1978. His earliest recordings were made
with an internal microphone deck, and though they are somewhat lo-fi
compared to his later work, some very great moments in rock history
were captured for posterity. In late 1974 he bought a Sony TC-152SD
tape recorder, a Sony ECM-99 stereo microphone, and began using Maxell
cassettes. He was also fortunate enough to have a friend who provided
excellent taping seats for many shows, resulting in high quality
recordings. In 1977, he switched over to a Nakamichi 550 tape
recorder, two Nakamichi CM-300 microphones, and continued using Maxell
cassettes.

"He recorded many of the major 70's bands: Yes, Genesis, Pink Floyd,
Queen, Blue Oyster Cult, Frank Zappa, Jethro Tull, ELP, Kiss, Black
Sabbath, The Who, Al Stewart, Alice Cooper, Jeff Beck, Bruce
Springsteen, Supertramp, Jean-Luc Ponty, Moody Blues, Neil Young, The
Faces, Rush, Rick Wakeman, Kansas, as well as several "under the
radar" acts.

"Since Dan never traded copies of his recordings, they are all
essentially uncirculated. Some copies were made for friends, but these
releases are the first time most of these recordings have ever seen
the light of day, and are direct from his master cassettes. No EQ'ing
has been done to any of the transfers. Feel free to EQ, matrix, patch,
etc and re-post if you like, just give Dan credit for the original
recording.

"Dan was very meticulous about taking good care of his tapes and is
very pleased that these recordings will now circulate among the
trading community. Please honour his kindness and generosity by
sharing these recordings freely.

"The transfers are available as 16bit/44.1KHz flac files suitable for
CD burning, and also as 24bit/96KHz flac files for those who prefer
the higher resolution.

"Always remember - the more generous you are with your music, the more
it comes back to you.

"Kev & Carl June 2009"

NOTES FROM LESTAT:

Many, many thanks to Mr. Lampinski, to djscomics and to Mr. Morstadt
for their efforts in unearthing what may be the best quality AR of Yes
from 1974 and bringing it to Dime.

Like everyone, I was floored when I heard this recording for the first
time. Even raw it surpasses every other pre-1977 Yes AR on Dime I’m
aware of for sound quality. Taper Dan’s achievement here is unique and
speaks for itself.

Even the best raw AR masters made with the best, skill equipment, and
media available nearly always have not just flaws but hidden strengths
undetectable to most. This one makes a typical example, having some
largely correctable weaknesses but more importantly a broad spectrum
of detail nearly inaudible in its raw form.

When I upload original sources I make sure such things are dealt with
in advance. What was possible with this recording has now been fully
attained, and provides its own best illustration of why. It also
generated this response from a participant in the remaster ‘beta
test’, an integral part of the process -

"I just finished listening to the remastered samples over my main rig,
and just did another comparison between the remastered and raw
versions on my computer. As always, you have done very fine work on
what was already an astounding audience capture for 1974: everything
sounds considerably crisper and more defined, and you seem to have
tamed a certain upper midrange harshness, making for a more pleasant
listen overall. For me, a standout moment is Howe's solo in "Sound
Chaser"-- while listening, I forgot for a moment that I was not right
there in the hall. The degree of holographic spatial realism you
helped bring out in this tape is extraordinary (and one of the
qualities I most appreciate in your mastering). "Close to the Edge" was a joy as well, and your mastering helped bring out the amazing
detail in Squire's bass accompaniment at the end of "I Get Up, I Get
Down," which adds an element of drama to the climax not found on the
studio version.

"Particularly with your careful mastering, this tape is a real holy
grail for Yes collectors like myself, who count the 1974 Relayer tour
as possibly the peak of Yes live performances. The only other
documents of that tour I've heard that even approach this are the Pre-FM version of the same show (which was oddly mixed, had a very harsh
midrange, and was missing "Ritual"), and the (in)famous Baton Rouge
recording. This release may very well sit at the very top of the heap
now in terms of overall quality".

The raw master had a number of issues.

1] Pitch and tempo were both off [fast].

2] Low frequencies with poor definition or nearly absent - a common
drawback of condenser microphones but Dan’s was top shelf and it got
more than most. They still desperately needed ‘liberation’, as did
frequencies in every other part of the spectrum except the very
uppermost highs occurring prior to mid-Ritual.

3] Some quite noticeable midrange distortion occurs at different
points in the raw upload, especially during Close to the Edge and
Ritual. Most likely it’s in the master cassettes and a consequence of
age - even well-cared for Maxells don’t last forever - although it may
also be a condenser mike issue.

4] A jolting change in sound properties occurs during Ritual, at about
16:45 and constant through Roundabout. It seems likely to have started
with a tape flip and probably involves a bias or Dolby switch on the
record deck, or possibly a tape manufacture defect. Whatever the
cause, symptoms include a severe high frequency dropout, an increase
in at least one type of distortion [‘swish’] and weirdly but on the
upside better low frequency definition.

All of these mitigated well except the distortion, which can only be
treated with signal-damaging compression and not very effectively.
While now more detailed along with more desirable sound, it does not
overwhelm by any means. The dynamic range transition in Ritual
Roundabout is treated with slightly different EQ settings and less
noticeable, with high frequency definition better matching the rest of
the recording.

The recording’s especially miraculous hidden tones in several
frequencies, including the lows, are now much more apparent. As one
example, different cymbal types can now be easily discerned where in
the raw recording they’re nearly indistinguishable from each other
despite the absolutely fantastic uppermost frequencies [which needed
no work at all]. Other Yessounds, from nonmetal percussion to guitars
to keyboards to voices, now have considerably more identity, presence,
and detail in all their tones

All work was done at the 24/96 resolution, before downsampling. EQ
work designed to reveal detail, as the audience heard and felt it. No
attempts to alter band-crowd-venue sound balance. If crowd sound as
real and detailed as band sound isn't desired, please pass this by and
stick to soundboards or industry releases. No compression or noise
reduction.

- Lestat, July 2009

NOTES FROM BARRY (BALROG):

Up until the discovery of the Lampinksi tape, the only known audience
recording of this show was the one I made with a mono recorder from
the back of the Boston Garden. Once I had a copy of the FM broadcast,
I copied the "Missing Ritual," the only song not included in the
broadcast, to a reel-to-reel deck. That tape, along with the master
tapes, was stored at a friend's house and lost for many years.

Over the years, I received many anxious requests from people wanting
to hear the "Missing Ritual" no matter how bad it might be.
Eventually, my friend dug out the reel. I digitized it and shared the
raw transfer with everyone who had inquired about it.

I intended to combine Ritual with the FM broadcast to create the
first-ever complete concert recording. So I asked every serious Yes
trader I could find for the best source of the pro recording. I also
tried to find someone with expertise willing to remaster Ritual.

I eventually received 22 different sources and narrowed them down to a "short list" of the five best. I planned to determine the winner using
a blind comparison test.

However, no one remastered Ritual. Even Shaun Toole (Tooleman), the
best known Yes remastering expert turned it down. Once everyone had
heard the recording, it was no longer the famous "Missing Ritual." It
was just another audience tape from 1974. Everyone lost interest in
the project, including myself. So it sat on the shelf until a few
months ago.

What brought it back to life was Lestat's willingness to do the
remaster. The sound quality turned out much better than I had hoped.
We were planning to upload the project to Dime. But now that the
Lampinski recording has surfaced, the "Missing Ritual" project is
obviously never going to see the light of day. The Lampinski is vastly
superior to my audience recording and I consider it to be superior to
the professional recording made for the FM broadcast.

Some of what I had written for the "Missing Ritual" project may still
be of interest. So here's an edited version.

Yes concerts have always had a very special significance in my life
and 12/11/74 was my first one. It was also one of the first concerts
that I taped from the audience, not knowing that the performance was
being professionally recorded for the King Biscuit Flower Hour, a
nationally syndicated radio program of live concert performances.

The Relayer album was released on December 5, 1974 less than one week
before the concert and roughly a month into the tour. No one in the
audience knew the album very well, which was quite unfortunate. Like
Tales From Topographic Oceans, the songs on Relayer are much too
intense and complex to fully appreciate on the first listen.

Similarly, no one knew how the songs from the other Yes albums would
sound with new band member Patrick Moraz on keyboards. I had been
listening to Refugee, the album that he had recorded with Brian
Davidson and Lee Jackson (formerly of The Nice) for several weeks and
knew that Moraz had way too much talent and style of his own to simply
fill in for Rick Wakeman.

Hearing the familiar Firebird Suite opening climax into Sound Chaser
instead of the anticipated Siberian Khatru might have surprised some
of the audience, but no one who was there could have possibly been
disappointed with the tight but excellent performance. Make sure to
read the concert page on Forgotten Yesterdays.

The original two-part broadcast, hosted by Bill Minkin, in "SQ Matrix" quadraphonic sound was aired only six weeks after the concert. It came
as a complete surprise to those who had been there as nothing had been
said about it being recorded for an FM broadcast.

SQ Matrix was one of several early matrix schemes from the
quadraphonic era. The matrix concept was similar to today's surround
sound technologies and SQ is considered by some to be the origin of
Dolby Pro Logic.

The broadcast included the entire Yes concert except for one song:
Ritual. It also included the entire insipid opening set by Gryphon.
That decision, to omit part of the Yes concert in favor of the entire
Gryphon set, has angered countless Yes fans for more than three
decades, none more than myself.

The original broadcast and subsequent rebroadcasts have been used as
the source of countless collector and commercial "pirate" bootleg
cassettes, LPs, and CDs. I have collected images of 21 different
pieces of cover art and I'm sure there have been many more. Some
contain the full setlist (except Ritual of course) and some are
partial. Some of these bootlegs claim to be from radio station (pre
FM) tapes or LPs. Based on the lack of compression, it's possible that
some of these bootlegs are actually pre-FM tapes.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

Many thanks to Yes, then and now

And thanks once more to Taper Dan, Carl and djscomics

When the cheaper speakers begin to fart, remember - it's a true
audience sound capture!

OTHER LESTAT REMASTERS ON DIME:

These are "BLG" productions [taped by Balrog and graced with the fine
art of Gromek]. All offer experiences as or even more stunning in
their own right, and are audience captures among the very best of
their artists and respective tours. More are coming -

- RETURN TO FOREVER, 1983 [quite simply the most incredible dynamic
range I’ve ever come across in an analog AR, any artist, any year.
Splendid and in some ways quite Yes-like RTF performance too]

[Link]">[Link]">[Link]">[Link]">[Link]
cp.php&id=231443

- WEATHER REPORT, 1981 [possibly the best AR for sound quality of WR prior to 1983 or so]

[Link]">[Link]">[Link]">[Link]">[Link]
cp.php&id=197090

- YES, 1980 [considered by many the best live recording of its tour - period]

[Link]">[Link]">[Link]">[Link]">[Link]
cp.php&id=206205

- YES, 1979 [probably the best AR of its tour for sound quality]

[Link]">[Link]">[Link]">[Link]">[Link]
cp.php&id=177371

- YES, 1978 [on the hissy side, but a real standout of its tour and torrent comments should say it all]

[Link]">[Link]">[Link]">[Link]">[Link]
cp.php&id=158894

***************************************************************

If you like what you hear in this torrent, please help it - and all your favorite torrents - reach as many downloaders as could want it with regular PMs and torrent comments. After a torrent has been up
roughly a week, many will never see it. The search word "Yestorrent" seems to do a better job in Yes’ case, but even it misses some and generates false hits.

Please share freely but losslessly, and never, EVER even THINK of selling for any sum anywhere. Reseed or redistribute this recording in its complete and original form only. Should we become aware of an incomplete reseed or distribution, we will publicly discredit the party responsible.

On that note, be also vigilant against for-profit ‘boot factory’ ripoffs. We’ve seen this done with our work already. While flattering they’d covet it on the one hand, the dishonesty of it and idea of
anyone spending good money for what can be had freely are both infuriating. Last time it happened Gromek’s fabulous art was dumped in favor of the usual boot factory crap, and none of the lineage/process info provided here was included in the ripoff either. Truly criminal - intellectually as much as legally.