Pink Floyd Pink Floyd/Switzerland 1972 Recorder 1 & 2

The final prototype of “Dark Side Of The Moon”…If you have ever dabbled in Floyd’s unofficial recordings, you know how special it was. The North American tour starting in March 1973 was performed in accordance with the album version, but until the previous year it was performed in a prototype form that was quite different from the album version, and its vivid composition still attracts fans. The final version of that “prototype madness” reached its peak during the European tour from late October to early December 1972, and there are many recordings of this period, but the recording of the performance in Zurich, Switzerland on December 9th in particular attracted the attention of fans because there were two sources. [Recorder 1 and Recorder 2: Their history and transition] One is the famous source that saw the light of day as the bootleg LPs “LIVE IN ZURICH (FROG RECORDS – PF1A/B PF2A/B)” and “LIVE IN ZURIGO (WIND RECORDS – BP 0013)” in the early 1980s, commonly known as Recorder 1. Although there were some cuts in the songs, the sound quality was quite good, and as you know, it was widely known as a good sound source that recorded a valuable performance in the winter of 1972. However, Recorder 2 suddenly appeared on the Internet soon after the spread of the Internet, and it was a shocking excavation sound source that clarified and confirmed the entire show of that day by including “Speak To Me” that was more than a minute and a half longer and the encore “Childhood’s End” that was not recorded on Recorder 1. After that, the original tape source used for the analog LP of Recorder 1 was found. This was carefully denoised and the pitch was corrected as a whole, and released by our store as “ZURICH 1972: RECORDER 1 (free 2CDR)”. Since then, this has been the forefront as the title representing Recorder 1 up to the present day. Since it was recorded from the original tape rather than the LP master, the recording time is significantly longer than the analog version, and “The Great Gig In The Sky”, which was cut out halfway on the LP, is recorded uncut. “Money”, which was cut out at about 3 and a half minutes on the LP, is recorded for 5 minutes and 6 seconds, and “Us And Them” has a longer opening than the analog version by about 45 seconds. Above all, it was a shocking advantage that the sound quality was much better than the analog version, despite being the same master as the LP, due to the difference in generation. On the other hand, Recorder 2 was released on other labels early on, but in April 2006, “ZURICH 1972 (Sirene-170)” made its striking debut on the Sirene label, the predecessor of the current Sigma. This was digitized from the original master tape owned by the recorder himself, and the sound quality was clearly different from that of other labels. The sound of the original sound was so powerful that it won the title of the top title on its debut, and the staff still remembers the episode of the prepared version being sold out instantly. This latest title, which will be released this time, is the best coupling of these two existing sources, and the cutout of “Money” on Recorder 1 is also perfectly supplemented by Recorder 2, making it the ultimate 4-disc set! [Recorder 1: Re-examination] Discs 1 and 2 contain the ideal final completed form of the perfect rebuild of Recorder 1, which has a long history. Basically, the source used is the same as that used for the aforementioned gift album “ZURICH 1972: RECORDER 1”, but from the moment it starts, you will be instantly captivated by the sound image with the thickness and deep depth of the mid-range peculiar to Recorder 1, and the bulge to the left and right. In addition to the performance, Gilmour’s singing voice can be heard from a very close position in “Breathe”, so you can once again hear the good recording position. “On The Run” has a sound image in which the sound output configuration of each instrument can be precisely traced on Recorder 2, but this Recorder 1 has a powerful sound image with a powerful driving feeling, and both are songs that make you feel the high quality of the original recording. The advantage of “The Great Gig In The Sky” is that you can clearly hear the monologue SE of the voice that is almost inaudible on Recorder 2. Of course, there are no cutouts here, which were seen on early analog records. “Money” has a partial cut, which is the biggest drawback of Recorder 1, but this approximately 1 minute gap is perfectly compensated for by Recorder 2 with 1/1000th of the waveform. Recorder 2 has the same good sound quality, so for the first time in history, a perfect connection without any sense of incongruity has been realized. In “Us And Them”, noise due to some equipment failure can be heard in the middle of the performance (※ Poor contact of the plug?), but here too, the rawness of the sound generated at the scene is calmly absorbed more than the same part of Recorder 2, and you will once again realize that this was an excellent source for documentary recording. “Any Colour You Like” tells us in detail how the eloquent guitar sounded in the venue on the day, and the spatiality of this full sense of the scene is also different from Recorder 2, which is interesting. “Brain Damage” also tickles the ears with its voluminous sound, and the dazzling reflection of the two-voice vocals and the organ sound (※ This smooth texture!!) further enhances the listener’s aural evaluation. Perhaps the microphone was turned around during the interval, but from “One Of These Days” the sound becomes loud and high-resolution, and it is goosebumps to hear the challenging performance of the day with the aggressive bass resonating. In terms of transparency, the hidden potential of “Careful With That Axe, Eugene” is further exposed from the introduction, and the sound image that perfectly captures the acoustic energy that changes in an instant is guaranteed to take your breath away. “Echoes” also fills the ears with a vivid sound wave that fully absorbs the sound of the scene, and it is worth noting that even the thin sound of the organ that was not recorded on Recorder 2 can be heard perfectly just before entering the scene of the cry. [Recorder 2: Re-examination and the perfection of the Sirene version] Discs 3 and 4 are straight copies of “ZURICH 1972 (Sirene-170)” released by the Sirene label in 2006. You may ask, “What, exactly the same?” This is proof that the Sirene version was outstandingly perfect and of high quality. In fact, after the project for this work was launched, the Sirene version was re-examined by Sigma staff, and the sound image and finish were so perfect that there was no room for tampering even with modern sound sense and technology, which once again tells us how excellent the original sound quality of the original master tape that the recorder himself had was. By the way, in the second half of the sound sources of other labels, each song fades in and out repeatedly, but this Sirene version is recorded uncut by cross-fading processing, and the fact that it can be listened to smoothly is also a major topic. The Sirene version is already out of print and difficult to obtain, so if you haven’t gotten your hands on it yet, we hope you’ll experience its excellent sound quality with this work. The appeal of Recorder 2 is that it has a sound image that is more transparent than Recorder 1. In the first few songs, it seems to be one step behind Recorder 1 in terms of the range of sound, but as the show progresses, it easily surpasses Recorder 1, and it’s also nice that Recorder 2 is about +1 to 1.5 closer to the sound from the beginning. What feels lacking is that the lightness of the sound = the volume of the mid-range is not felt in the first few songs compared to Recorder 1, but this difference almost disappears around “Time”, and from the middle of the song (especially around the beginning of the guitar solo), the weight of the sound increases dramatically, and it’s surprising that the sound components eventually become almost the same as Recorder 1. The greatest appeal of “Money” is that you can hear the sound that was filled in the cut part of Recorder 1 in the original full-length version, and the closeness of the vocals and the reverberation are more dense than Recorder 1. “Any Colour You Like” has a perfect volume balance (※ Although the positioning of this song on Recorder 1 is correct, the input of the original sound is slightly stronger on the right side), so it has an advantage in ease of listening and will fill the listener’s intellect with a deep sense of satisfaction. “One Of These Days” also has a massive bass dynamism that is closer and clearer than Recorder 1, and the sound of the guitar and organ and the monologue voice are about +2 closer, and you will notice that the range of sound exceeds Recorder 1. In “Careful With That Axe, Eugene”, the cymbal movement that gets noisy early on (from 2 minutes 23 seconds) and scenes like Roger’s poetry reading make it more enjoyable than Recorder 1, and you can enjoy the various expressions of this day at an even higher level. However, since “Echoes” remains in a very good recording on Recorder 1, it cannot be said that it is better than the other, but the advantage of this work that is not available on all previously released boards is that you can get close to this song with two excellent sound quality, and I would like you to taste the luxurious sound with both sound sources here. And as you know, the biggest thing that characterizes Recorder 2 is that “Childhood’s End” is recorded after this. There is something special about the joy of being able to enjoy “one more song” that is probably only available in this recording, uncut, and the high transparency that seeps out from the beginning of the song, the graininess and power of each sound, and above all, the closeness of the singing voice and the smoothness of the sound make Recorder 2 immortal. Consider one performance from multiple different angles. This is exactly the joy of having different sources on the same day. As experienced listeners will know, when Recorder 2 appeared on the Internet, the scene was in an uproar. Of course, this was because it included “Childhood’s End”, which was not included in Recorder 1, but more than that, the good recording condition, that is, listening to it together with Recorder 1, gave a deeper understanding of the performance on this day, and the “buzz of knowledge” caused a stir in the scene. In other words, it was a history of both the sound sources and the welcome sound sources because both sources remained with sufficient sound quality for comparison, and this work is also a title that couples that impact in the best possible form. The Floyd specialty label has thoroughly examined the characteristics of the best and best recording state, which has advantages in both sources, and pressed it into a sound board, so unless Recorder 3 with an unknown upper source is excavated, it is certain that this work will continue to be the top title of Zurich in 1972. Please take this weekend to find out why the winter 1972 performance was particularly dazzling with this latest work, and the miraculously existing best two sources.Enjoy a multifaceted look! Live at Hallenstadion, Zurich, Switzerland 9th December 1972 TRULY AMAZING/PERFECT SOUND Recorder 1 The original tape source of the famous recording from the analog era live album “Live in Zurich” (FROG RECORDS) Disc 1 (47:36) The Dark Side Of The Moon 1. Speak To Me 2. Breathe 3. On The Run 4. Time 5. Breathe (Reprise) 6. The Great Gig In The Sky 7. Money ★Since it cuts out at 5:06, “Recorder 2” is cross-faded and inserted from around 4:49 to 5:58 without cutting. It connects naturally. 8. Us And Them 9. Any Colour You Like 10. Brain Damage 11. Eclipse Disc 2 (47:03) 1. One Of These Days 2. Careful With That Axe, Eugene 3. Echoes Recorder 2 107-minute diffmaster including the encore Childhood’s End, which appeared later Disc 3 (49:18) The Dark Side Of The Moon 1. Speak To Me 2. Breathe 3. On The Run 4. Time 5. Breathe (Reprise) 6. The Great Gig In The Sky 7. Money 8. Us And Them 9. Any Colour You Like 10. Brain Damage 11. Eclipse Disc 4 (57:32) 1. One Of These Days 2. Careful With That Axe, Eugene 3. Echoes 4. Childhood’s End