Sting/TX,USA 1996 Pre-FM Master

In 1996, Sting embarked on his biggest world tour of his career, sending his ambitious work “MERCURY FALLING” which stepped into contemporary music to the 5th place in the US. This masterpiece soundboard album is now available. This work was recorded at the “September 8, 1996 Houston performance”. It is a stereo soundboard recording. Sting is a workaholic who always does a huge number of live shows, but even in his solo career, the only tours that exceeded 200 shows were “MERCURY FALLING Tour 1996-1997” and “BRAND NEW DAY Tour 1999-2001”. It was one of the biggest projects of his life. First of all, let’s look back at the whole picture and check the position of the show. 1996 ・February 15th – March 5th: Promotion (3 shows) {MERCURY FALLING released on March 8th} ・March 9th – June 18th: Europe #1 (57 shows) ← *ROCK AM RING 1996 ・June 21st – September 8th: North America #1 (56 shows) ← ★Here★ ・September 21st – November 11th: Asia/Oceania (34 shows) ・November 17th – December 22nd: Europe #2 (27 shows) 1997 ・January 13th – February 8th: Europe #3 (20 shows) ・February 28th – March 6th: North America #2 (6 shows) ・June 20th – July 13th: Europe #4 (12 shows) {July 21st: “Superstar Concert” broadcast} This is Sting in 1996/1997. The Houston performance of this work was the final day of “North America #1”, exactly half a year after the album’s release. The “MERCURY FALLING Tour” also brought a performance to Japan, but this work was the concert just before that. This show is also known for being broadcast on FM, and its air check was a major staple that has produced many previously released groups. This work is also a broadcast sound board, but it updates its highest quality. In fact, this FM sound board is also available in a two-disc long version, but this work is different from that. It is a famous product that was created from the pre-broadcast master of WESTWOOD ONE’s famous program “Superstar Concert”. In fact, the quality is the best ever. The long master had distortion due to mp3 compression, but this pre-FM master is not only not broadcasted via radio waves, but is a completely lossless master. There are no dubbing marks or compression marks, and the glossiness without distortion to the very end of the extended notes is wonderful. Even though it has not been digitally remastered, the outline is clear and crisp, completely different from the conventional round and sizzling degraded sound. Such a superb sound depicts a show that makes you enjoy a huge tour. As mentioned above, this work is only a pre-FM master of the “Superstar Concert” and is not a full recording, but it is still packed with masterpieces in a broadcast frame of about 75 minutes. Speaking of the sound board of the “MERCURY FALLING Tour”, the masterpiece “ROCK AM RING 1996” is also familiar. Let’s organize the set while comparing it. Solo (8 songs) Mercury Falling: The Hounds Of Winter (★) / I Hung My Head (★) / You Still Touch Me (★) / Lithium Sunset (★) Ten Summoners’ Tales: Fields Of Gold (★) / If I Ever Lose My Faith In You (★) Others: If You Love Somebody Set Them Free / Englishman In New York (★) Police (4 songs + α) Ghost in the Machine: Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic (★) / Demolition Man Synchronicity: Synchronicity II / Every Breath You Take (★) Others: Roxanne / Bring On The Night-When The World Is Running Down You Make The Best Of What’s Still Around *Note: The ★ mark indicates a song that was not heard on “ROCK AM RING 1996”. …And so on. Although “ROCK AM RING 1996” was a little unsatisfying, you can understand that you can enjoy a wide range of masterpieces, mainly the new songs of “MERCURY FALLING”. By the way, the five songs that were removed from the broadcast were “I Was Brought To My Senses”, “Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot”, “Seven Days”, “I’m So Happy That I Can’t Stop Crying” and “Fragile”. It is unfortunate that they were cut again and again, but the superb sound that we cannot help but introduce is wonderful. A soundboard album where the real and natural beautiful sound of the ultimate Gene pre-FM master touches the heart. The best stereo soundboard recording of the “Houston performance on September 8, 1996”. This is the highest quality version created from the pre-FM master of the famous program “Superstar Concert”, and the sound is absolutely outstanding, different from the conventional master with compression marks. The glossiness without distortion to the very end of the extended notes is wonderful, and the “MERCURY FALLING” number unique to that time is also a semi-official masterpiece that allows you to enjoy plenty of shows. Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, Houston, TX, USA 8th September 1996 STEREO SBD Westwood One Superstar Concert Series for broadcast the week of 21st July 1997 (74:55) 00. J.J. Jackson Broadcast Introduction 01. The Hounds Of Winter 02. I Hung My Head 03. If You Love Somebody Set Them Free 04. Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic 05. Fields Of Gold 06. You Still Touch Me 07. Synchronicity II 08. Roxanne 09. Bring On The Night / When The World Is Running Down You Make The Best Of What’s Still Around 10. Demolition Man 11. Englishman In New York 12. If I Ever Lose My Faith In You 13. Every Breath You take 14. Lithium Sunset 15. End Credits STEREO SOUNDBOARD RECORDING Sing – bass guitar, vocals Dominic Miller – guitar Kenny Kirkland – keyboards Vinnie Colaiuta – drums Clark Gayton – trombone Conrad “Butch” Thomas – saxophone