Syd Barrett 1970-06-06 Olympia Rev.A [24-96]
Syd Barrett
Extravaganza '70 Music And Fashion Festival
Kensington Olympia, London
6 June 1970
Lineage: Maxell UD C-60 cassette > *Technics RS-B965-M > Focusrite Saffire Pro 14 > Audacity 2.0.3 > FLAC (24bit/96kHz)
xACT used to create FFP
*The Technics RS-B965-M is a modified deck - for details see the Tapeheads.net forum
01 Terrapin
02 Gigolo Aunt
03 Effervescing Elephant
04 Octopus
Total running time: 18 minutes 19 seconds (speed corrected version)
Syd Barrett - guitar and vocals
David Gilmour - bass
Jerry Shirley - drums
** Why a Rev.A? **
The 16/44 version of my original release with LPP is perfectly OK but the 24/96 one is flawed because I mistakenly rendered from Audacity at 16/96. My Technics is also adjusted slightly differently nowadays and is better for it, therefore meriting a fresh high res transfer of this important recording. I also wanted to make the tape available (a) with a fresh speed correction and (b) without a speed correction so others can take their own mastering approach to it if they wish to in future.
After LPP's original speed correction it took me a little while to get used to hearing this recording at the correct speed after many years of hearing versions that were too fast. Some time after our Yeeshkul release I saw some negative comments on one of the forums, complaining that the LPP version was far too slow. I put these remarks to goldeband recently and he replied:
"I've always noticed that this concert was running fast, and I thought your earlier release was absolutely correct in fixing it. The good news is that the speed is consistent throughout.
To bring it down to A 440Hz you need around -10.5%, by my ears, and that's probably the value I'd pick -- any more, e.g. -11%, would be too much.
Whether the band actually tuned to an exact A 440Hz is unknown, of course, but it's an appropriate minimum benchmark for a correction since, in my opinion, they're very unlikely to have tuned to anything higher than that pitch. The physical nature of the guitar -- strings loosening over time, vs. snapping if you tighten them beyond a certain point -- always biases it toward the flat end of the spectrum. Someone like Hendrix often tuned down, and that makes his recordings tricky to correct, but up? Never. It's harder on the instrument and on the human voice.
The only way that the tuning we hear on this recording would be possible is if both Syd and David used a capo at the 2nd fret, but AFAIK we have no evidence that either of them ever did that. The open strings of the guitar (and bass) can clearly be heard on this recording, but they sound unnatural; as soon as the speed is corrected, though, they sound like open strings on all guitars and basses everywhere.
I think the commenter is engaged in wishful thinking. Fast speeds make performances more exciting, and make performers sound more youthful and evergreen (especially their voices). It's tempting to buy into the faster speed and thereby preserve the myth of a boyish Syd, but the truth is that this is a somewhat trudgy performance and the recording should, and does, reflect that."
**Background**
Back in June 2011 when I released this cassette with Littlepieces my reference point was the late Bernard White's reel copy of the orginal recording, which many trade copies and releases have been made from over the years. After a number of listens it became clear that Kbrubaker's had a smoother, clearer sound.
According to Bernard (I knew him pretty well) the recorder was a 15-year-old who wandered down to Olympia with his girlfriend and tape machine. He chose to stand right in front of Syd's guitar monitor, explaining why his guitar dominates the mix.
The performance probably commenced at around 8pm and no photos from it appear to exist. Melody Maker announced the festival line-up on 28 March 1970. Promoter Bryan Morrison was quoted as saying "In addition to the pop and fashion attractions, record companies and all ventures allied to the record business will be taking part. There will be film shows and high divers. £10,000 in rent has already been spent so far".
Barrett, Gilmour and Shirley seemingly played for less than twenty minutes. Because of a bad PA the vocals were barely audible until part-way through Octopus when somebody balances the mix out properly. Listen carefully and you'll note that a member of the audience shouts for the vocals to be turned up. At the end of Octopus you can hear where Syd unplugs his guitar before leaving the stage.
**Mastering Notes**
This recording has a lot of level fluctuations, some caused by the recorder, some by Syd, and some by the person running the board.
I followed LPP's approach and removed the inferior right channel. For this transfer I set the levels as high as possible for a single pass - the raw version - then slowed the recording down in Audacity for the speed corrected version. Both versions are untracked.
I am not planning a 16/44 release because the LPP versions from 2011 are perfectly adequate for anybody who wishes to burn a CD.
Kbrubaker cassette / Neonmight tape transfer, December 2013