Frank Zappa - 1968-10-26 - Paris, FR (SBD/FLAC)

(Soundboard FLAC)

26-Oct 1968, Olympia, Paris, France
50 min, SBD, A+
Improvisations, King Kong, Plastic People, Hungry Freaks Daddy, Son Of Mr Green Genes (q: Rite Of Spring)

Lineage: SBD master->1st gen Sony Metal-XR cassette->HD->SoundForge (speed correction, level adjustments on right channel in a few spots)->FLAC Frontend

01 Improvisations
02 King Kong
03 Plastic People
04 tune-up and Hungry Freaks preamble
05 Hungry Freaks Daddy
06 Green Genes preamble
07 Son Of Mr Green Genes

I first learned about the existence of this tape in April of 2002, and got my hands on it 19 months (!) later. It was worth the wait, though, and I think it has earned a reputation as one of the truly essential FZ tapes, despite its length. Back in those days, I was still too much into "remastering", and the version that's been circulated had undergone noise reduction, as well as other digital treatment. Although I still think the result was good, it's definitely about time that a raw transfer becomes available. I'm sure many of you will prefer it.

Aside from some hiss, the sound is close to perfect. The high end deteriorates somewhat towards over time - not sure if this comes from the 34 year old master, or if my tape has been damaged somehow. This recording ends as the MOI takes intermission, and the rest of the show is available as video (http://www.zappateers.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=3798). I know other seeds have included this portion, but I've chosen not to do so.

Along with the tape, I got a photocopy of the documentation of the SBD master, with the songs in the wrong order. Here's what it says:

THEATRE DE L'OLYMPIA PARIS
Seance du 26 Octobre 1968 à 0h30