Hawkwindforum

Has anyone bought any of the Calvert live cd's issued by Voiceprint, and, if so, what's the sound quality like? The Middlesbrough and Newcastle ones are of particular interest as I was fortunate enough to be there, but I don't really want to fork out for sub standard crappy recordings (I have enough of them already )

I bought them, but I wish I hadn't. the sound quality varies from 'average bootleg' to 'so bad it's basically unlistenable'. What Voiceprint mean when they say these recordings have been digitally cleaned up, I cannot possibly imagine. The only good thing about them is some of the banter between the songs.

Someone posted this link here some time ago --> http://www.innercityunit.com/

It's Steve Pond's website (ex-Inner City Unit etc.). There's a full 1986album from Calvert & The Maximum Effect (Pond & Dead Fred's side project) available for download & it's not bad quality.

'S got a blinding version of Orgone Accumulator. There's also some ICU on the site.

Just to give you some sort of context, the sound on the Voiceprint CDs is nowhere near as good as that.

Thank you!

I downloaded the one from Steve Pond's site awhile back and it has great sound and great performances. Unfortunately the quality of clips I heard from the new Voiceprint stuff did not sufficiently motivate me to order them, but I did order the Centigrade 232 CD of spoken word, the quality of which probably is not much better, so go figure...

Even though the Centigrade 232 CD is basically Bob speaking into a cassette recorder, the quality is much better than the live CDs. I really cannot stress highly enough how piss-poor they are.

Curiously, the original recordings were better quality than the "improved" versions that Voiceprint put out.

THE LIVE CDS ARE THE WORST SOUND YOU WILL EVER HEAR SHAME
ON VOICEPRINT FOR PUTTING THIS STUFF OUT THE FREE DOWNLOAD
ALBUM IS GREAT THOUGH
DARKSTAR

Thanks for the advice folks. It's a real shame about the quality because it would be great to have some decent recordings from that era. I agree about the live gig on Steve Ponds site. Well worth getting.

I just downloaded the free MP3's from http://www.doremi.co.uk/icu/calvert.html
I haven't had a chance to listen to them all yet, but what i have sounded pretty decent.

Has anyone purchased the CD they have for sale? It claims to be "FAR SUPERIOR" but wanted other opinions.

Hiya, Your question is answered in this thread:
bob-calvert-posthumous-live-cds-86-88-t1551.html

And in the reviews on our site:
http://www.doremi.co.uk/krankschaft/cd_reviews.html

Further more if you don't think our offering is better value at half the price and twice the quality I'll happily refund your money! )

-Steve & Fred
-Really trying quite hard to provide a quality product since 1979..

The Krankshaft Stars & Stripes CD is the best live Calvert CD IMO. OK not much to chose from, but it's sound is a bit better than the Live QE Hall one, so pretty good. By contrast the Voiceprint CD's sound like poor quality 1971 HW bootlegs. One of the CD's has a song called Why Can't the World be Run by Machines from the Silicon Gulch unreleased set. It's not, it's All the Machines are Quiet mistitled, and that means precisely zero surprises on the CD's. I knew about this and the terrible bootleg quality before I got them though, as I wanted completion.

hmmm.................absolutely !!!
I copied those shoddy Voiceprint ones off a mate who bought them when they came out
the Calvert / ICU gigs I recorded back then were far better quality wise

i just got the eygpt cd on voice print.......sounds like it was recorded 3 miles away up wind

i got the stars n stripes cd and imo its a must !!!