Wahrscheinlich die erste Generation der Tapes

PS : i made an extensive study of the Pittsburg 76 tape, maybe you already read it ? It would be nice to have a complete release of that gig... I contacted two guys on Elvis-Collectors that claimed to have Tape A and Tape B in 1st gen copies...

Hi,

Here is the comparison between the two known Pittsburg tapes that were released on three known 2CD pressings. Please note that I’m comparing ONLY the releases, not the raw master tapes. Please also note that I used the original pressings, not downloaded datas or CDRs.
Sorry for my average English…

About the pitch/speed of each release : to me the John Herman tape seemed a bit too fast, despite both pressings (official and unofficial) have the same speed. The « unknown taper » tape seemed to be slower, but I may be wrong. If you have any idea about that don’t hesitate to give your opinion ^_^.
A lot of fan reactions are captured on the two tapes, some are more obstructive than others, but most are not done on the played songs.

THE RELEASES

Tape A
Taper : John Herman
Unofficial release : « Auld Lang Syne » 2CD long box digipak (1997, Live Archives)
Length : around 87 minutes 35 seconds, originally taped on two T-120 compact cassettes using two decks (the result was a complete master without any cut or tape flip). Speed may be incorrect.
CD1/CD2 : cut before « Polk Salad Annie », almost no missing music but the fade out / fade in must be reversed (no identical music on the fade out / fade in parts).
Technical infos : lossless, mono.
Notas, flaws and edits : that release is taken from the « Rockin' With Elvis New Year's Eve » 2LP set. The mono version is "better" with more headroom than on the other releases. That release is a bit shorter at the end than « Elvis New Year’s Eve », editing the whole Al Dvorin, despite it is partly available on the FTD release (the whole speech was probably taped by John ?). Some vinyl noises can be heard on "Fairytale", at the end of "You Gave Me A Mountain", and on "Reconsider Baby". You can notice a small drop at the end of "Are You Lonesome Tonight ?" and one in "What'D I Say". 5 seconds are edited from "Can't Help Falling In Love". The sound transfer from the 2LP is amazing.

Tape A
Taper : John Herman
Official release : « Elvis New Year’s Eve » 2CD digipak (2003, Follow That Dream)
Length : around 86 minutes 25 seconds, originally taped on two T-120 compact cassettes using two decks (the result was a complete master without any cut or tape flip). Speed may be incorrect.
CD1/CD2 : cut after « Polk Salad Annie », no missing music (identical music on the fade out / fade in parts).
Technical infos : lossless, mono (!).
Notas, flaws and edits : the whole recording is ruined by digital errors, due to the remastering process. The original tape was edited to a "dry" mono, probably copying each channel to the other one. Then some frequencies were reduced to avoid the audience reaction and the small « hallow sound » of the venue, resulting in audible pops and crackles. That release is a bit longer at the end than « Auld Lang Syne » as the Al Dvorin speech is included (faded out) at the very end of the closing vamp. A lot of fan reactions are edited through the show (around 90 seconds) with a few Elvis words too (before « Are You Lonesome Tonight ? ». The small problems on « Auld Lang Syne » are not present on that tape (drops, edit, vinyl noises).

Tape B
Taper : name not known
Unofficial release : « Rags To Riches » 2CD digipak (2002, Crown)
Length : around 88 minutes, 05 seconds, originally taped on a 90 minutes compact cassette tape (not confirmed, tape flip at 44 minutes).
Technical infos : lossy, mono (it seemed that the original master is mono)
Notas, flaws and edits : the release is mp3 sourced (!), with mini-gaps between all the songs, but this is not due to the writing error of the two discs, as the mini-gaps are not tracked in the same place as the tracks of the Crown set. The speed is different from the Tape A. The whole recording is mastered too loud, resulting in a few digital errors. A lot of CD-R/compression errors are present during the whole concert.
More than 30 seconds are missing at the start of « Polk Salad Annie » due to a tape flip, the missing portion (with a different speed !) is taken from « Auld Lang Syne ». A few seconds of dead airs before « Polk Salad Annie » are missing, as a few seconds at the start of the concert.
This release is the only one to include the complete Al Dvorin speech at the end.

THE GIG

The running time is taken mainly from « Auld Lang Syne » (« Rags To Riches » for the complete closing vamp).

00.00 > 01.09 : (1.09) Also Sprach… [« Rags To Riches » is missing around 5 seconds at the start]
01.09 > 06.03 : (4.54) C.C. Rider [« Elvis New Year's Eve » edited 7, 3 and 5 seconds – fan reactions – at the end]
06.03 > 13.53 : (7.49) I Got A Woman / Amen
13.53 > 16.47 : (2.54) Big Boss Man
16.47 > 19.20 : (2.32) Love Me
19.20 > 21.57 : (2.37) Fairytale [vinyl noises can be heard on « ALD »]
21.57 > 25.20 : (3.22) You Gave Me A Mountain [vinyl noises can be heard on « ALD »]
25.20 > 26.55 : (1.35) Jailhouse Rock
26.55 > 28.05 : (1.09) Presentation Of Liberty Bell [« ENYE » edited 6, 4 and 5 seconds – fan reactions – in the middle]
28.05 > 31.49 : (3.44) O Sole Mio / It’s Now Or Never [« ENYE » edited 4 and 3 seconds – fan reactions – at the end]
31.49 > 36.31 : (4.42) My Way
36.31 > 38.19 : (1.47) Funny How Time Slips Away
38.19 > 39.33 : (1.13) Auld Lang Syne
39.33 > 40.30 : (0.56) Introductions [« ENYE » edited 3 and 7 seconds – fan reactions – at the end]
40.30 > 42.08 : (1.37) Blue Suede Shoes [« ENYE » edited 3 seconds – fan reactions – at the end]
42.08 > 44.13 : (2.05) Trying To Get To You
44.13 > 48.15 : (4.02) Polk Salad Annie [« ALD » is faded out / faded in before the song, almost missing nothing, « RTR » is missing 5 seconds of dead airs before the song and 33 seconds of Polk Salad Annie – due to a tape flip. The missing portion of the song is taken from « ALD »]
48.15 > 49.53 : (1.38 ) Band Introductions
49.53 > 52.16 : (2.22) Early Mornin’ Rain
52.16 > 53.03 : (0.47) What’D I Say [small drop on « ALD »]
53.03 > 53.57 : (0.53) Johnny B. Goode
53.57 > 55.26 : (1.28) Drum Solo
55.26 > 56.56 : (1.30) Bass Solo
56.56 > 58.03 : (1.07 ) Piano Solo
58.03 > 60.36 : (2.32) Love Letters
60.36 > 62.09 : (1.32) School Days [« ENYE » edited 6 seconds – fan reactions – at the end]
62.09 > 65.16 : (3.07) Fever [« ENYE » edited 3 seconds – fan reactions – at the end]
65.16 > 68.02 : (2.46) Hurt [« ENYE » edited 10 seconds – fan reactions – at the end]
68.02 > 70.13 : (2.10 ) Hound Dog [« ENYE » edited 5 and 25 seconds – Elvis words & fan reactions – at the end]
70.13 > 73.11 : (2.57) Are You Lonesome Tonight ? [small drop on « ALD »]
73.11 > 76.08 : (2.58) Reconsider Baby [vinyl noises can be heard on « ALD »]
76.08 > 78.37 : (2.29) Little Sister
78.37 > 82.09 : (3.31) Unchained Melody
82.09 > 84.17 : (2.07) Rags To Riches
84.17 > 85.52 : (1.34) Can’t Help Falling In Love [« ALD » has 5 seconds edited in the middle of the song]
85.52 > 88.04 : (2.12) Closing Vamp [« ALD » cuts after 1.40, « ENYE » cuts after 1.51, « RTR » is complete]

TO CONCLUDE

Best sounding tape : « Auld Lang Syne ».
It is a great mono recording, and it has no digital errors. « Elvis New Year’s Eve » would have been a great release is the mono mastering was better (I made some samples with Soundforge and the result was really nice) and if the gig was not edited.
Most complete tape : « Auld Lang Syne ».
Only a few seconds between the two CDs, during "Can't Help Falling In Love" and during the closing vamp are missing.
Best looking release : « Auld Lang Syne ».
Beautiful longbox digipak.

THE COMPLETE GIG

If you want to have the more complete version of the Pittsburg gig, you must have… the three pressings. « Auld Lang Syne » will be completed with :
- a few seconds between the two discs taken from « Elvis New Year’s Eve » (this is easier than to rework the fade out / fade in on « Auld Lang Syne »)
- 1 second taken from « Elvis New Year’s Eve » to patch the small drop on "What'D I Say"
- 1 second taken from « Elvis New Year’s Eve » to patch the small drop on "Are You Lonesome Tonight ?"
- 5 seconds taken from « Elvis New Year’s Eve » to patch "Can't Help Falling In Love"
- a few seconds at the end of the closing vamp taken from « Elvis New Year’s Eve »
- around 20 seconds at the end of the closing vamp taken from « Rags To Riches »

See You

?????

PS : "Auld Lang Syne" IS LP sourced. Amazing transfer for sure !
PS2 : more infos on the flaws of "Auld Lang Syne".
PS3 : more infos about the original Herman recordings !