Sound Quality : Audience

Taper: Jon Wizardo
Recording: Sony ECM-99 stereo mic > Sony TC-153SD > Maxell cassettes (possible)
Lineage: Maxell UD90 normal position cassettes > Technics RS-B565-MH >
Tascam SD-20M > Reaper v5.983 and iZotope RX6 Audio Editor > FLAC (24bit/96kHz)

Length : 121.24

Set One

01 Sheep 12:13
02 Pigs On The Wing pt 1 2:11
03 Dogs 18:06
04 Pigs On The Wing pt 2 2:14
05 Pigs (Three Different Ones) 18:55

Set Two

06 Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts 1-5) 13:34
07 Welcome To The Machine 7:56
08 Have A Cigar 5:30
09 Wish You Were Here 7:05
10 Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts 6-9) 19:52
11 Encore Break Taper Comments 2:10
12 Money 9:58
13 Outro Announcement 1:38

Total Time: 121:23 (2:01:23)

Remaster
01. Re-balance frequencies / EQ
02. Correct channel frequency separation
03. Correct channel balance
04. Verify pitch and speed
05. Repair large pops
06. Repair volume drops and audible dropouts
07. Remove many clicks and claps during music
08. Attenuate many whistles, yells and coughs
09. Patch missing sections to complete recording
10. Re-track
11. Convert to 24-bit, 48kHz

Original Release Notes:
I transferred Jon Wizardo's original California Stockyard cassettes in October 2020 and his recording is a lot more complete than the vinyl version everyone has been listening to for the past 43 years.

This is a raw release, with the exception of a few fireworks which were tamed using de-clip in iZotope. The pops and other noises some people thought were pressing problems are on the master and I have not attempted to tackle them. I believe that some of these sounds are caused by rain. No speed correction was necessary. The Technics RS-B565-MH is a deck modified by vince666.

I recommend playing Jon's capture on headphones or sitting close to your speakers to fully appreciate the movement in this recording. The stereo/quad effects are quite pronounced in some songs, possibly more so than any other tape I've heard from this period.

Side A ends with track four. Jon performed a quick flip from side A to B, with some incomplete rewinding or fastforwarding, so didn't use the full length of the first tape. He then missed the end of Welcome To The Machine at the end of side two. Side three starts with Have A Cigar and ends with Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts 6-9). Jon then had time to rewind to the beginning of side four for the Money encore.

The concert was scheduled to start at 7.30pm and first level general admission cost $9.50. There were intermittent downpours and a number of audience members recall a double rainbow over the stadium. 40,000 people were in attendance that evening.

Jon probably used a Sony TC-153SD with a Sony ECM-99, a one-point stereo electret condenser mic, to make his recording. The TC-153SD was top of the range at the time and had two microphone sockets. The ECM-99 used one battery and had two jacks. It was known for having good stereo imaging and was also used by Mike Millard and Dan Lampinski.

I rarely work on masters so additionally transferred the tapes a couple of times to reel to reels using my quarter inch Revox A77 MKIV at 7½ips. I mention this because, to my surprise, these copies have become my go-to versions, demonstrating how injecting some additional analogue magic using a mid-1970s mastering machine can have its virtues, despite the addition of a tape generation. A good sign for other first gen reels of Floyd audience recordings, I think.

A quad version of this date featuring recorder 1 could work very well.

Floydboots.com interviewed Jon Wizardo in August 2020.

Steve Anderson: "So you you recorded 'California Stockyard' also. Was the first pressing on the Dragonfly label? and who's release was it, yours, Andreas or a joint effort?"

Jon Wizardo: "The Dragonfly label sounds about right. As I recall, my only participation in the project was recording the Floyd show and mastering it on the Teac 7300 half-track. It was considered Andrea's record. I dont remember how, or even if, I got any compensation. Andrea and I were always close, long after we officially broke up, so I might have just done it to fuck with her cuckold, Downey Dave.

"The original title that I wanted to use for California Stockyard was 'David's Album: A Bakers Dozen'. An inside joke, based on the fact that I used the Sony tape deck that Andrea had gotten David for his birthday. When I was done with it, I crammed it back in the box with all the paperwork and foam packing screwed up, so David would know it had been used prior to him receiving it. Yup, I'm going to hell. Andrea wasn't about to use my suggestion. She came up with the Stockyard title as a result."

Neonknight, December 2020

Spacebandit/RMCH 2021/01/31