Live and Loud!: July 2017

Welcome - About Live and Loud!

Live and Loud! began as a fortnightly internet radio show in 2012 taking old unreleased live concert recordings I could find and working to repair and improve them - fixing tape hiss, noise, tape drop out, clicks, speed variations, defects - before improving the sound quality by EQing the sound to bring out the instruments as clearly as possible. These are now made directly available to download for free to reach as many fans of the music as possible.

Depending on the quality of the original recording, these can often be made to sound almost like commercial recordings - but of course I can't guarantee that for every show. What I can guarantee is it will sound far better than the original files available which have been floating around the internet and on bootleg recordings for many years.

Almost all are either "soundboard" recordings (taken directly from the mixing desk used at the gig on the night) or old FM radio recordings. A few gigs, if they are of special historical importance, make an appearance even if they were recorded from the audience - these can also be made to sound better than ever.

Do your ears a favour and listen on headphones or good speakers to get most benefit - laptop speakers will always sound pretty poor by comparison.

All shows still available are listed, including a link to download the remastered show for free. If you want to support the site with a small donation, you can receive the shows as either separate MP3s or FLACs (your choice) - head over to the Rewards for Donations page and see how you can get a lot for very little!

If you want to email me, an email link is in my profile in a link in the side panel.

And finally... These are great fun to listen to but DO NOT replace original releases - support these artists and buy their music. There is nothing you can go and buy in a regular record store here. If a gig is made available as a regular release, then it will be removed (as a couple have been already).

Friday, 28 July 2017

Show 107 - Fad Gadget - Rotterdam Arena The Netherlands - 17 March 1984

A long overdue debut on Live and Loud! for one of the true originals in synthpop from the late 70s and early 80s - Fad Gadget.

This is a show from The Netherlands from soon after the release of his 4th album, Gag. I imagine this must have been broadcast on Dutch FM radio at some point. Unfortunately the copy of the broadcast I was able to find had already been "worked on" by someone... When I loaded this show in my editor, the waveform was max'ed out completely - brickwall limiter clumsily applied, I guess. So it sounded hard on the ears and tiring to listen to - everything was LOUD (I know this site is called Live and Loud! but really, this was too much).

So I set to work with the EQ to see if I could fix it - the worst of those excesses are now gone, it sounds far more rounded a recording and easier to listen to. With the added bonus of making the instruments easier to hear, tightening up and reducing the bass a bit, levelling off the top end and...all the usual stuff I do!

The show is available to download here as 1 MP3 file.

Or, if you would like to have separate tagged MP3s, or even lossless files in FLAC format, head on over to the Donations tab to see how you can obtain these for a very small donation towards the site costs.

Setlist
State Of The Nation
Coitus Interruptus
Ideal World
Collapsing New People
The Ring
Ad Nauseum
Lemmings on Lovers Rock
For Whom The Bells Toll
Ricky's Hand
Back To Nature
Fireside Favourite

Friday, 21 July 2017

Show 106 - Secret Affair - University of Bristol - 11 February 1980

This is in response to a request from a Live and Loud! listener - always happy to take requests (even though this did take a year to sort out! Sorry about that) It's mod revival band Secret Affair in a 1980 set originally from an FM broadcast. Most of the material comes from their debut album, Glory Boys, released just a couple of months earlier, but also a version of When The Show's Over, which would appear on the 2nd album later that year, Behind Closed Doors.

This was generally a fairly clean recording in good condition so not much repair work this time. Careful use of a 30 band EQ was applied to bring the instruments and voices into focus and open up the spaces in between and I finished off with some mastering tools to bring everything into focus a bit and make it sound punchy.

The finished result is a powerful, clear stereo recording which really does sound good. The show is available to download here as 1 MP3 file.

Or, if you would like to have separate tagged MP3s, or even lossless files in FLAC format, head on over to the Donations tab to see how you can obtain these for a very small donation towards the site costs.

Setlist
Glory Boys
Shake and Shout
Road Runner
Going to a Go-Go
When the Show's Over
Don't Look Down
New Dance
Let Your Heart Dance
One Way World
Time For Action
I'm Not Free (But I'm Cheap)

Tuesday, 18 July 2017

Show 105 - The Cars - Nakano Sun Plaza Tokyo - 30 October 1980

This week its The Cars in a 1980 set from Japan captured on FM radio once upon a time, from their Panorama tour - featuring plenty of tunes from their first 2 albums as well, of course.

This was generally a fairly clean but flat and crowded-sounding recording. 30 band EQ was applied to bring the instruments and voices into focus and open up the spaces in between. A couple of defects were fixed but that and the EQ was all that was required really.

The finished result is a powerful, clear stereo recording which really does sound good. The show is available to download here as 1 MP3 file.

Or, if you would like to have separate tagged MP3s, or even lossless files in FLAC format, head on over to the Donations tab to see how you can obtain these for a very small donation towards the site costs.

Setlist
Misfit Kid
My Best Friend's Girl
Moving In Stereo
Just What I Needed
Gimme Some Slack
Candy-O
Good Times Roll
Bye Bye Love
You're All I've Got Tonight
Panorama
Don't Tell Me No
Double Life
Getting Through