Was there ever really a live concert of this magnitude recorded before this one?
I've long held the tenet that ultimately, I don't give a damn what a live recording "sounds like"if it's got "the thing".
October 3rd, 2018 Welcome to "Live Vinyl Lovefest". I'm sure any of you who are reading this right now are also aware of the announcement of the passing of Geoff Emerick yesterday. I always loved that Geoff was the first to say "we had no idea what this was all going to become". RIP Geoff your presence and energy toward our profession was palpable and infectious. I can only pray that I have a fraction of the impact on my peers that you had in your career. So in honor of Geoff and his contribution to The Beatles, I present "The Beatles At The Hollywood Bowl" -- (original pressing). This record is such an interesting study for me. I've long held the tenet that ultimately, I don't give a damn what a live recording "sounds like" if it's got "the thing". Sound quality is not what I'm in search of on live recordings. What I'm in search of is joy and spirit. The joy and spirit of playing music in front of an audience. The joy and spirit of the audience celebrating that performance. If the recording "sounds good", for me that's a bonus, not a prerequisite to enjoying the record. The live recordings I enjoy least are actually the ones that have been in post production so long that they sound like a studio performance with a bit of canned audience pushed up at the start and then again at the end. Sonically perfect, emotionally desolate. And lest you believe the audience recording is not a big part of a successful live recording -- just try to imagine listening to this performance without the audience in it. One without the other is meaningless. There has never been an audience recorded that sounds anything like a Beatles audience before or since. The excitement in Beatle crowds is indescribable and not repeatable. Recently there have been efforts to re-engineer this record to make it "sound better" ... For me I'll stick with the original thank you. It perfectly marks history in my opinion and my respect for The Beatles as performers grew dramatically as a result of this record. Thank you lads. Thank you Geoff.
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