Detroit 04.12.1981

Royal Oak Music Theater

Detroit (Michigan), USA.

04 - December - 1981.

Disc 1 (65:01)

01. Gloria

02. Another Time, Another Place

03. I Threw A Brick Through A Window

04. An Cat Dubh

05. Into the Heart

06. With a Shout

07. Rejoice

08. Cry / The Electric Co.

09. I Fall Down

10. October

11. I Will Follow

12. Twilight

13. Out of Control

14. Fire

15. 11 O'Clock Tick Tock

16. The Ocean

Recording Equipment - History

Teac M-100 mic (Nakamichi 300 clone) + Sony TCM-600 handheld dictation recorder > Analog Master > Nakamichi CR-7A azimuth-adjusted transfer > 24/96 capture to Peak 5.2 > Peak 5.2 resample to 44.1 > FLAC

Taper: JEMS

Additional notes (by JEMS): In the '70s and early '80s, one branch of JEMS was based in Detroit which explains how many great master recordings we have from the Motor City. And this, J's second U2 show, is no exception. Whatever befell the circulating copies of the show, the fresh transfer offers a significant upgrade in sound quality. For reasons lost to history the show was recorded on an off-brand blank (GST, which stands for "Great Sounding Tape") and the levels were pretty inconsistent, especially between channels. The azimuth adjust definitely helped get things in line and I corrected as best I could on the rest. I really enjoyed hearing this one. It is close sounding and the spirits of the band are high, even though it is a short show.

Comments

This is an excellent recording with minimal crowd noise. All instruments and vocals are quite good audible, so music comes through perfectly well, punchy and close. Sound is pretty crisp and strong overall. There is little low-end clipping on occasion, but nothing too annoying. Note small edits before Twilight and after Out of Control, that only affect to crowd noise. To sum up, this source is rather powerful and clear, a very enjoyable recording.