Performance: B
Overal: 1/5 Storage
This is mainly let down by sound quality, it really is bad and it makes this ROIO one that is not pleasurable to listen to at all, lots of sound distortion thoughout. The performance of most of the songs was good but the 'B' rating mainly comes from historic value of the fourth track in the first set; 'Sysyphus', a work by Richard Wright from the 'Ummagumma' studio album.
This is the only known bootleg of this track and only 4 performances ever, means that if you like the song then you better get this bootleg and put up with the quality. I do not really care much for it myself, it is really a failed experiment like a lot of the work in that period.
This is a combination of a handful of sources so I will include sound quality type comments in my track breakdown if the diverge from the overall score.
SET ONE
1. The Embryo: Lots of distortion, the lyrics are very hard to hear but the whale calls (if you have read some of my other reviews you will know my feelings on those) are played underneath a jaunty bass line and a nice keyboard solo.
2. Main Theme From 'More': There are no lyrics on this track which is always better for these types of recordings and is a pretty rare performance of this track and it is not bad. There are about 20 seconds of tunes ups at the end, nothing happens so you can hit that skip button once the track ends.
3. Careful With That Axe, Eugene: Lots of distortion, transfer to vinyl very evident, pops and crackles also sounds like a small cut towards the end. What was very odd was the lack of screams on this version!
4. Sysyphus: As mentioned is a very rare, sound quality like the rest, poor indeed.
5. Violent Sequence: This is a 25 minute epic has poor sound quality which does not help with this kind of piece. It is improvisation galore but the sound quality blends it all together. Of those you know are unaware this piece of music was written for the movie 'Zabriskie Point' but was never used. It later became the basis for 'Us and Them' and about 18 minutes in you get the start of that which is interesting.
SET TWO
1. Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun: Really nice spacey version, shame about the sound quality, same as the rest, which means bad.
2. The Amazing Pudding: The sound quality is quite a bit lower than the rest but once I turned it up a bit the sound quality was a little better then the other tracks, still bad though. There is also a tape warp which does not help but does not last too long, there are better versions with much better sound quality out there.
3. Interstellar Overdrive: would have been a great version if not for the quality again, really bad distortion.
4. Blues: This was even worse quality, close to the worst I have heard - horrible sound distortion.
As stated, if you don't like that one song, stay clear. One for the completists if ever there was one.
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Original info…
Format: 2CDR
Catalog: <no info>
Misc.: <no info>
Produced: March 1998
Date: 700211
Matrix: Disc 1:
Cover: CD's are in a slim lined 2CD jewel case, with the cd holding panel swinging like a page (as opposed to folding out) Book: Folded, made of standard paper stock; front is a picture of Nick in red lighting (if you have the book, Pink Floyd - A Visual Documentary by Miles, the same picture is on the same page as the Meddle release page (at least in my edition). It has Pink Floyd written at the top, with Violence In Birmingham just below it, all in red lettering. The rear of the insert has the following: an advertisement for various bands concerts for February - March - April 1970, of which Floyd is one, with this show being one of three Floyd shows listed; a ticket stub from the Birmingham show, and a picture of the band, taken from the rear of the stage, from March 13, 1970. The insert is blank on the inside. Back: track listing w/ track times in black type, with source detail (times given are not necessarily song lengths; below I've given actual song lengths); the background is a picture of the group, circa 1969-1970, with Dave in front (sitting?) and the other 3 behind him (see the page after the Zabrinskie Point release page in Miles' book). Discs: Recordable cds that are void of any details except for a hand written 1 or 2 (depicting disc one or two) with VIB written above on the gold fronts.
Sources: 11 Feb 1970, Mar 1970 Disc One: Recorded live at Town Hall - Birmingham, Warwickshire, England on February 11, 1970. Disc Two: Tracks 1-2 February 11, 1970; track 3 from Lund, Sweden March 20, 1970; track 4 from West Berlin, West Germany on March 13, 1970.
Tracks:
Disc: 1
1. The Embryo 11:31
2. Main Theme 11:25
3. Careful With That Axe, Eugene 10:07
4. Sysyphus 8:41
5. Violent Sequence 25:32
Total Time: 71:11
Disc: 2
1. Set The Controls ... 13:19
2. The Amazing Pudding (early AHM) 22:15
3. Interstellar Overdrive 12:39
4. Blues 5:34
Total Time: 56:15
Band:
Roger Waters
Nick Mason
David Gilmour
Rick Wright
Comments: times given are actual length of songs, not track times given on cd.
This is the first time (that I know of) that this significant show has been available on cd. This show is significant for several reasons. First, it contains a very early performance of Atom Heart Mother and Embryo (I had not realized until just now that Embryo had its concert debut at the same time as AHM, plus or minus a show or two) This show would be around the 10th or so performance of each song, so it's interesting to compare these early performances to later ones. The second reason why this show is so important is that it contains several rarely performed songs; Sysyphus, The Violent Sequence, and Main Theme (from More). Each of these songs had only a handful of performances. The fact that all three were played in Birmingham is significant, especially since there are only two documented shows where this occurred. It appears that this show was the final performance of Sysyphus, as well as one of the last for the other two. The Violent Sequence was given a very lengthy performance, at 25:32 minutes (probably its longest). The March 13, 1970 Blues is one of the earliest performances of this song. I'm not sure if anyone else but me cares about this sort of information, but I just love it.
The recording quality is not very good, though it is not so bad that it is unlistenable (sound quality was NOT factored into my Excellent quality rating). It sounds a little muffled at times, though at other times sounds quite good. Interstellar Overdrive (from another show) appears to have the best sound (plus a really good performance), and Blues (again from a different show) the worst. Blues is slower and a little heavier than the other versions I've heard. At this point of AHM's development (then called The Amazing Pudding), there was a drum solo featured at the end. This version has a two minute drum section before the source cuts off. Some songs appear to be cut off slightly at the end, though nothing too bad. Also, there is drop in high frequencies when the vocal section of AHM begins and which seems to last the entire section. The result is a very muffled sound that makes the vocal section hard to enjoy.
This roio is part of a continuing release of shows often previously unavailable on cd (at least in a very, very long time). The same people have also released Childhood's End (March 7, 1973) and The Man Live in Paris (January 23, 1970), among others. Word from the source is that another rare, early 1970 show (January 18, 1970 at Croydon, England) is being prepared for release. The problem is that, depending on where you live, you may not be able to get your hands on these releases. The January/February 1970 concerts show Floyd in a period of mild transition. The Man and The Journey (as a complete suite) had been permanently dropped from their set list. They temporarily dropped Cymbaline and tried out five new songs in an effort to develop a new set list that would form the basis for all shows through the end of 1971, with a few minor changes. Given the rarity of the material played at the Birmingham show and the fact that this show has not been commercially available on cd in a very long time, if ever, this release is a must have for hardcore Floyd fans if you can find it, even though the sound quality is not high. Rated as essential collection material. - Scott
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