LA 17.04.1987 - D3/Aiwa CM-30

Los Angeles Sports Arena

Los Angeles (California), USA.

17 - April - 1987.

Attendance: 14.835 (sellout) - Support: Lone Justice

Disc 1 (45:35)

01. Where the Streets Have No Name

02. I Will Follow

03. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For / MLK / The Unforgettable Fire   (some problems, almost missing, see comments below)

04. Bullet the Blue Sky

05. Running to Stand Still

06. A Sort of Homecoming

07. Sunday Bloody Sunday

08. Exit

09. In God's Country

10. Gloria

Disc 2 (40:15)

01. Bad

02. October / New Year's Day

03. Pride (In the Name of Love)

04. With or Without You

05. I Shall Be Released

06. "40"

Recording Equipment - History

Aiwa CM-30 single point stereo mic > Sony WM-D3 Pro Walkman 

Taper: Brother KM in association with JEMS

Transfer: Analog Master Cassette > Nakamichi CR-7A > DAT > FLAC

Additional comments (by JEMS): Though not at the sublime level of Brother KM's Tempe 4/4/87, this is nonetheless another fine, not widely
circulated document of the early stages of the Joshua Tree tour. As the set list reflects, he had some technical difficulties at this show which resulted in the loss of a few songs early on (all grouped together as track 3). Once he regains control at "Bullet the Blue Sky" the rest of the show is intact. I was surprised by how good this recording and show are, definitely a cut above the many average recordings from the tour, though a step below the very best.

Comments

Bright audience recording with excellent sound quality overall. All instruments and vocals are clearly audible and sound close, and crowd noise is placed in the background. Overall definition is strong and solid, so this tape is an upgrade to the so-called 'All the Way to the Top' in terms of sound quality.

However, this source is incomplete. Problems start on CD1 track-3, with a first tiny skip in Still Haven't Found at 1:54 that makes the song to miss a few seconds. The definitive skip occurs at 01:57 and the rest of the song is totally missing. Then it sounds very low MLK for a few seconds, and then The Unforgettable Fire kicks in halfway the song at 2:03, sound warbles for a few moments until 02:25, and definitely Bullet the Blue Sky cuts in on track-4, missing around 20-30 seconds of the beginning, so song the lasts 4:07. There are a two-second dropout at 4:21 in New Year's Day, and some minor hiccups in Pride at 1:05 and 3:51.

To me, highlights are a nice rendition of A Sort of Homecoming and the cover of Bob Dylan's I Shall Be Released.