original txt:
The Smiths
Apollo Theatre, Oxford
18 March 1985
liberated silver bootleg "Same Day Again" (Big Music BIG 061; 1993)
For as long as I can remember you can read on the internet that "Same Day Again" is the best source available for this particular Smiths concert, the most oft bootlegged gig of theirs. While it is very good, I always felt that it could be improved upon, because it is missing Morrissey's introductory quip, "We're the other funny Manchester group" AND because it omits nearly one whole minute of "How Soon Is Now" (because either the bootleggers or the radio station responsible for the broadcast that served as the source for the bootleg chopped off the bit from approximately 57" until 1'54" - basically, the repetition of the first verse).
Only this week I got hold of a digital recording from a recent re-broadcast on a digital radio station. While this particular recording is also incomplete (it's missing "What She Said" and has "You've Got Everything Now" fading out early), it does contain the parts missing from "Same Day Again"! No less importantly, it has confirmed a long-held suspicion of mine, that "Same Day Again" runs a trifle slow - in fact, it's 1.5 % slower than the recording from the digital broadcast which I expect to have run, and to have been recorded, at the correct speed.
Because "Same Day Again" nevertheless displays a better frequency analysis, compared to the recent digital recording, I have used it as the basis for this improved seed. Here's what I did:
- punch in the missing stage banter between "William" and "Nowhere Fast";
- restore "How Soon Is Now?" to its full length;
- raise the overal volume of this recording by 2.5 dB;
- speed the recording up by 1.5 %.
One more note: having previously readjusted the speed of the Madrid-bootleg while using "Same Day Again" as an important yardstick, I now feel that I should redo the speed-correction of that recording, too. Any comments?
total length is now 57:28; 360 MB, FLAC-encoded (level 8/Verify/Align on sector boundaries)
1. William, It Was Really Nothing
2. Nowhere Fast
3. What She Said
4. Hand In Glove
5. How Soon Is Now?
6. Stretch Out And Wait
7. That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore
8. Shakespeare's Sister
9. The Headmaster Ritual
10. Still Ill
11. Meat Is Murder
12. Miserable Lie
13. Barbarism Begins At Home
14. You've Got Everything Now
Enjoy!