Pink Floyd / CA, USA 10.16.1970 Remastered

In 1970, Pink Floyd released *Atom Heart Mother* and deepened their journey into expansive progressive rock. Now, a legendary recording from that era has been polished and refined, set for release as a definitive 2-CD set. This release captures the concert held in San Rafael on October 16, 1970—a rare stereo audience recording. 1970 was a year packed with significant releases and events. To help organize your collection, let’s first take a bird’s-eye view of their activities during that time: • Jan 10–Feb 28: Europe #1 (18 shows) ← *Live at Leeds*, etc. (*March 1: Production of Atom Heart Mother begins*) • Mar 5–30: Europe #2 (15 shows) ← *Nuremberg 1970*, etc. • Apr 9–May 16: North America #1 (17 shows) ← *Fillmore West 1970*, etc. (*Tour interrupted due to equipment theft*) • Jun 27–Jul 26: Europe #3 (7 shows) ← *Hyde Park 1970*, etc. (*July 26: Atom Heart Mother recording completed*) • Aug 8–Sep 12: Europe #4 (4 shows) • Sep 26–Oct 25: North America #2 (20 shows) ← ★Here★ • Nov 6–Dec 22: Europe #5 (21 shows) ← *Hanover 1970*, etc. This is the full picture of 1970, the year that birthed the masterpiece *Atom Heart Mother*. It was a year of vigorous live performance, running parallel to the creation and release of that historic album. The San Rafael concert featured here took place during the “North America #2” leg of the tour, coinciding with the release of *Atom Heart Mother*. Let’s take a closer look at the schedule. “North America #2” Details: *Sept 26: *Electric Factory 1970* *Sept 27: *Fillmore East 1970 (Early Show)*; Sept 27–Oct 2 (3 shows) <<Oct 2: *Atom Heart Mother* released>>; Oct 3–15 (9 shows); *Oct 16: San Rafael show ← ★This Title★; Oct 17: San Rafael show; *Oct 18: *University of California 1970*; Oct 21: San Francisco show; *Oct 23: *Santa Monica October 1970*; Oct 25: Boston show. The definitive edition: a polished version of a legendary stereo recording. As indicated, concerts were held at Pepperland on two consecutive nights; this release captures the first night, October 16. Although this recording circulated for a long time as the October 17 show, testimony from the taper himself later revealed it to be a recording of the October 16 performance. This release, which perfectly preserves that show, is a masterpiece among masterpieces, with the best available master source meticulously polished by “Graf Zeppelin.” Regarding the master source itself: it originates from a first-generation open-reel tape that once caused a sensation. It is a rare stereo recording for 1970, offering an incredibly intimate sound; among collectors, it is renowned as one of the top three audience recordings of 1970 due to its superb audio quality. However, the original master cassette was reused by the taper to record a Jethro Tull concert the following day, effectively vanishing from existence after just one day. All that remained was a single open-reel copy made from it. That reel, too, was on the verge of becoming unplayable due to age, but digitization was successfully completed just in the nick of time. In short, no tape source superior to this first-generation copy exists, nor is there any prospect of a new transfer being made in the future; it is truly the “best” possible master. This release features meticulous mastering by “Graf Zeppelin,” who have polished this miraculous source material to perfection. Previous editions suffered from significant phase misalignment, causing the stereo image to skew heavily to the right—wasting the potential of the stereo recording. This release thoroughly corrects those issues, locking the performance firmly in the center and carefully balancing the frequency range. The result allows listeners to fully appreciate the exceptional sound quality inherent in the original recording. This definitive, upgraded sound captures a historic full show by a rapidly evolving Pink Floyd. By this time, the band had significantly matured from the blues-rock style they had pursued since the early 1970s, with their arrangements and performances becoming far more polished. The setlist is superb, with a performance of “Green Is The Colour” standing out as a major highlight. While the new track “Atom Heart Mother” is performed by the four-piece lineup, Dave Gilmour’s slide guitar solo demonstrates remarkable improvement compared to earlier in the year. What makes this particular day truly special, however, is a dramatic “incident.” Due to insufficient power supply at the venue, the opening track “Astronomy Domine” was interrupted by multiple power failures. Consequently, the band had to restart the song no fewer than four times. This release captures everything in vivid detail—from the tuning between songs to the bizarre power outages themselves—serving as a true document of history. Not only is a 1970 stereo recording a rarity in itself, but this is also a legendary tape—often cited as one of the top three recordings of the era—for its sheer quality. “Graf Zeppelin” has refined the best existing first-generation master to create an album that stands as a cultural treasure. It is a historic two-disc set that encompasses everything: the provenance of the tape, the weight of the live performance, and even the drama of the power failure. This is the legendary audience recording from the October 16, 1970, San Rafael show. Widely considered one of the top three recordings of 1970, this release represents the pinnacle of the source material; “GRAF ZEPPELIN” has refined the best existing first-generation master to create a definitive version. It stands as a new “cultural heritage” album, vividly capturing the incident where the band had to restart “Astronomy Domine” four times due to power issues. An update after a long hiatus! While it uses the same master as the previous release, this is the definitive edition, featuring phase correction and frequency range adjustments. Previous releases suffered from a significant right-channel phase bias; by correcting the phase and centering the performance, the true, exceptional audio quality of this recording becomes strikingly apparent. The sound is incredibly close and intimate, and the fact that it is a stereo recording makes it a rare gem among 1970-era sources. Although the repeated power failures during the actual concert might catch you off guard, this is undoubtedly a top-tier, high-fidelity stereo audience recording—easily ranking among the best three from 1970! Pepperland Auditorium, San Rafael, CA, USA – October 16, 1970 – ULTIMATE SOUND UPGRADE!!! Disc 1 (69:48) 1. Astronomy Domine (1st Attempt) 2. Astronomy Domine (2nd Attempt) 3. Astronomy Domine (3rd Attempt) 4. Astronomy Domine (4th Attempt) 5. Fat Old Sun 6. Cymbaline 7. Atom Heart Mother Disc 2 (63:44) 1. Tune Up 2. The Embryo 3. Green Is The Colour 4. Careful With That Axe, Eugene 5. Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun 6. A Saucerful Of Secrets