U2start.com | Shows | 1985-04-18 - Worcester, Massachusetts

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"Ever Peaceful - remastered, repaired & pitch corrected"

Origins: Audience microphone
Credits: BigGiRL (Remasterer), RossMan (Recording transferer)
Lineage: [analogue 2nd Gen.] > "RossMan transfer" > Nero WaveEditor > iZotope RX05 > PristineSounds > Frontend FLAC > .flac [ > fre:ac > mp3]
Quality based on reviews:
Downloads: 180

View info file

"EVER PEACEFUL (WORCESTER '85)"
(remastered, repaired & pitch corrected)

Recorded by unknown (using RossMan transfer)
Remastered by BIGGIRL

LINEAGE: Analog Cassette (2nd Generation)* > CD-R > EAC > .flac
>[remaster]# > Nero WaveEditor ("transpose" -0.25 semi tone) >
iZotope RX05 (De-click + De-hum + Spectral Repair + De-noise) >
PristineSounds (level corrections, equalization, edit & track split)
> Frontend FLAC (7) > .flac

TRACK LISTING:

01-Gloria
02-I Threw A Brick Through A Window
03-A Day Without Me
04-I Fall Down
05-MLK
06-The Unforgettable Fire
07-Two Hearts Beat As One
08-Seconds
09-Sunday Bloody Sunday
10-Cry-The Electric Co.
11-["Ever Peaceful"]
12-A Sort Of Homecoming
13-Bad
14-October/New Year's Day
15-Pride (In The Name Of Love)
[fades]
16-Party Girl
17-I Will Follow
[fades]
18-"40"^

^taken from "Ever Peaceful" bootleg (UAG > CD-R + pitch corr. & eq).

*ORIGINAL notes:
"Source: Analog Cassette (2nd Generation)>CDR>CDR(1)>EAC>FLAC (Level 8)
Flac Transfer: RossMan (imabitter1@yahoo.com) [...]
- Missing "40"."

#REMASTER notes (extensive):

I always loved this show. It has the unusual set list with the three October
tracks in the first part of the show. The beautiful "Dear Prudence" snippet
in "A Day Without Me" and, of course, the introduction of the young boy named
Ever Peaceful ("Ever, is his name," his father shouts!).
In fact the whole show is strong with an exceptional good singing Bono and a
very energetic Larry Mullen Jr. You can hear Edge and Adam working really hard
to keep up with them, but I believe it only serves the concert as a whole.

But in my memory the show sounded much better than when I recently revisited the
recordings. There are three known digital sources for this show. In no particular
order there is the cd-r "bootleg" Ever Peaceful, there is the Heath St. tape, and
there is the RossMan "2nd Gen."
The latter is the one with the most dynamics left, but it has a very uneven
balance, a severe bunch of tape noise and an electric hum somewhere between the
20-90 Hz, and the 140-210 Hz range. And apart from all those issues, some pretty
loud and intrusive screams combined with near-by clapping makes it a somewhat all
too compromised listening experience.
On top of that it occurred to me that the transfer runs a little too fast
(something that is a bit hard to check with no comparison like a taped PA intro,
but Adobe Audition is able to show a "Spectral Pitch Display" and it confirmed my
suspicion). I thus corrected the pitch with NeroWaveEditor by -0.25 semi tone as
to match distinct tonal frequencies (e.g. A, G, E) – not sure if I express myself
correctly here, but I hope one gets the picture!

With the iZotope RX05, I “de-clapped” the RossMan transfer using the "De-click"
with custom settings and removed and/or softened most, if not all intrusive screams
with the "Spectral Repair" tool (all manual approach; 20 hours+ of sweet TLC).
Sharebear aka Hoserama was kind enough to build me a "De-hum" filter to remove
the electric hum. It worked like a charm and it enabled me to bring up the hitherto
buried bass with some simple equalizer settings.
I also let iZotope suggest a "De-noise" (by using the "learn" function), but I soon
enough found out that what used to be the A-side of the 2nd gen cassette had a
different noise signature than what used to be the B-side. So I treated both sides
separately.
Last but not least I had to take care of the odd balance and level fluctuations
during the recording. Some parts were distinctively louder than other parts.
And after trying to several tricks, I decided that the best way was, again, to treat
everything manually with my good old PristineSounds – another dinosaur that
still wanders around! It's s a very simple, but still effective program for editing
that I know like the back of my hand after more than 15 years of experience.
I guess it has become my signature program in the lineage,
but it is safe to say that I wouldn't be here with this result if it wasn't for the
iZotope RX05. Some final equalization was applied for a smooth and fresh
sounding result.
And to make it an all complete package, I have included the missing "40"
from the Ever Peaceful CD-R bootleg (pitch adjusted and equalized).

A fair criticism would be that all my work had better been applied to a transfer
straight from the master tape. And there is not much to argue about that if that
master would be available. But, alas, this is not the case and I don't have the
slightest idea if that master ever surfaces. So I took my chances and used
whatever was at hand.

Concluding my notes by expressing my gratitude to Sharebear (aka Hoserama).
Not only for kindly supplying a "de-hum" filter (and showing me the basics of
such a thing), but also for introducing me to RX05 some 2 years ago already.
It took me a while to feel comfortable with it, but this program has given me
much joy over the past years. I much appreciate your ongoing support &
encouragement along the way.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank RossMan for transferring
this 2nd gen copy. The final result of this project wouldn't be the same with
out this copy in the first place!
And while at it, I must mention the work of the magnificent JEMS. Their
dedication to audience recordings of all sorts of artists is beyond comparison
and a true inspiration for me. JEMS is the measure of all audience recording
mastering and their work is a blessing for live music lovers all over the world.
And very I'm glad that U2 is included in their broad field of interest.

Without much further ado, I simply hope this "remastered, repaired & pitch
corrected" U2 1985-04-18 Worcester MA "Ever Peaceful" show will be
appreciated by the U2 audience recording connoisseurs.

BigGiRL
Dec. 2017 – Jan. 2018
v.5

Audio / MP3

Bit rate: 224, bit depth: 16, sample rate: 44100, channels: 2

Download via Mega.nz

Download this recording

Audio / FLAC

Bit depth: 16, sample rate: 44100, channels: 2

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Audio samples

Covers

"2ndGen - RossMan transfer"

Origins: Audience microphone
Credits: RossMan (Recording transferer)
Lineage: Analog Cassette (2nd Generation ) > CDR > CDR(1) > EAC > FLAC (Level 8) > mp3@192 (VBR)
Quality based on reviews:
Downloads: 130

View info file

Audio / MP3

Bit rate: 192, bit depth: 16, sample rate: 44100, channels: 2

Download via Mega.co.nz

Audio samples

"Ever Peaceful"

Origins: Audience microphone
Lineage: Unknown Analogue Generation (UAG) > CD-R > EAC > FLAC Frontend > .flac . > fre:ac > mp3
Quality based on reviews:
Downloads: 338

View info file

Audio / MP3

Bit rate: 224, bit depth: 16, sample rate: 44100, channels: 2

Download via Mega.nz

Download this recording

Audio samples

"Heath St. tapes #1 (UAG)"

Origins: Audience microphone
Credits: brewdog (Recording transferer)
Lineage: Maxell XLII-90 (UAG) > JVC TD-W205 > PowerBook > Audio HiJack > .aiff (16/44.1) > QTPro > .wav > xACT > .shn

View info file

aud > vinyl? > Maxell XLII-90 (unk gen )> PowerBook line in> AIFF(AudioHiJack) > split into WAV (QTPro )> SHN (xACT)
complete details below

[...]

in labeling the tracks I followed the A/B tape sides:
Side A
d1t1 Gloria
d1t2 I Threw A Brick
d1t3 A Day Without Me
d1t4 I Fall Down
d1t5 MLK
d1t6 The Unforgettable Fire
d1t7 Two Hearts Beat As One
d1t8 Seconds
d1t9 Sunday Bloody Sunday
d1t10 Electric Co. (cut at very end)
Side B
d2t1 A Sort Of Homecoming
d2t2 Ever Peaceful Banter
d2t3 Bad
d2t4 October
d2t5 New Year's Day
d2t6 Pride
d2t7 Party Girl
d2t8 I Will Follow
(40 is missing)

***brewdog's notes***
This is the first of a series of shows I'll be torrenting from what I'll call the Heath Street tapes. My buddy Tim has always been a huge tape trader, dating back to the early 1980's. I lived for a year in a house on Heath Street he used to live in, and before I moved, I rescued 60 shows he had left in the attic.

The tapes are all original copies from about 1983-1987. They cover 27 U2 shows from 1980-1987, 23 REM shows from the same dates and 10 The Alarm 1983-85. The newest show is from 1987, which means all the tapes are at least 17 years old. I am playing them on a JVC TD-W205 cassette player through line-out straight line-in into my PowerBook. I am capturing the line-in audio using Audio HiJack set for 44.1 stereo AIFF. I'm using QTPro to edit into tracks and convert to WAV, with xACT handling the WAV>SHN duties. This may not be audiophile, but it produces a nice, listenable set.

----------------------
This tape has hiss present, and I would bet that it was copied originally with Dolby. I heard a little dropout as I listened, mostly during audience noise, but overall, I've downloaded many worse-sounding shows from EZT. Given that it is an aud tape this about 20 yrs old, of several generations, I'd give the sound a solid B (through headphones, very enjoyable). It might be sourced from vinyl because about a minute repeated at the end of "A Sort of Homecoming." I edited the repeat out (which means the audience noise doesn't flow together between d2t2&d2t3), as well as the cut/fade in at "Electric Co." This was at about the 40-41 min mark, so probably was a tape flip at the show. Listening closely to the side beginnings and ends with headphones confirms my vinyl suspicions.

I chose this show to torrent first because it is one of my alltime fave U2 shows.

In "A Day Without Me" Bono breaks into "Dear Prudence." Although the blistering version of "Electric Co." is cut just before the end, On side 2, Bono picks a little boy out of the audience, his dad explains on mic that his name is "Ever Peaceful," to which the crowd cheers mightily. Bono must have tried to give him a red balloon, but it popped, so Bono declares he wants an "Ever Peaceful Award" procured. After "A Sort of Homecoming," someone hands something to Bono that is not appropriate for a 7 yr old, maybe alcohol? At the end of "Bad," (runs over 13 mins!) Bono tags "Norwegian Wood," "Come On Down," "Ruby Tuesday" and "Sympathy for the Devil." You can hear Bono toss the mic down during NYD, and the crowd is cheering, so I'd bet he's off to one of his patented climbs. "Party Girl" is rough and ragged, with good audience participation and a guitar solo by "The Egg." Some girl Bono calls Maid Marion is introduced to Ever Peaceful. Bono, as all the joking continues, says something like "We're a really serious political band, remember?" He then serenades Ever with a nice little tune and the boy grabs Bono's hat. A round of "Auld Lang Syne" is sung, apparently for the boy and his family. At this point, "I Will Follow" just rocks the house. Although I am a bit tired of it, there are times when this song just perfectly captures the mood of the band, and here it fits nicely. Unfortunately, the 90-min tape runs out, so "40" is missing.

All that said, I know there are other versions of this out in the trading pool (for example- http://u2lynne.sandsmuseum.com/trading/u21985-04-18.txt), so this may be better or worse than those (U2Lynne's runs 94 mins, with "40" present, so is definitely a different source or version of this). All I can do is guarantee that this is not lossy-sourced!

Please enjoy this relic from days gone by...

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Audio samples

Here you can find and post reviews of this show. We encourage everyone that either attended or listened to this show to write a review. Currently we have 4 reviews for you to read.

review by CMIPalaeo

1 year ago

Performance

The run of old songs at the opening is powerful. A Day Without Me (last known performance!) has a good snippet of Dear Prudence and an extended outro. Bono also extends the ending of I Fall Down as he occasionally did, leading the crowd in a singalong of “I... fall down.” Bono sings the “stay til your heart beats through” variation in The Unforgettable Fire that also appears (somewhat more powerfully) in the later Jacksonville show. Edge adds a lot of shine to Two Hearts and Bono freewheels on the ending. Bono says “you may ask yourself, how did I get here?” prior to Seconds - a snippet of Talking Heads’ Once In a Lifetime, surely. The performance of Electric Co. here is famous for Bono bringing a boy named Ever Peaceful on stage. Bad is epic and beautiful as it should be. Bono fumbles during Party Girl, and introduces The Edge as The Egg. He gives Ever’s family a bottle of champagne and jokes about U2’s perceived serious nature before singing the extended lyrics to Party Girl and a snippet of Auld Lang Syne. I Will Follow is moved to the encore, to great effect. “40” is excellent, it’s a shame the sound on it isn’t so good.

Sound

It’s pretty good but not excellent. A bit muddled in places but you can hear everything. Varies between 3.5 and 4 stars. The sound on “40” is way worse than the rest.
Recording: "Ever Peaceful - remastered, repaired & pitch corrected" - 4 stars

Audience

Bono talks about how the Boston and Worcester area have always embraced U2 and how they want to give their audience a special show because of that. They’re a very good crowd here. Always a treat to hear people going crazy for October.

Overall

Excellent show with some by-then rare early songs, impassioned, fun performances, and a lot of little extras added on. Bono is very enthused about Massachusetts’s role in launching U2 in America. Sound quality is pretty good so it’s a rewarding listen.

Highlights:
- the opening four older songs, especially A Day Without Me
- Two Hearts Bear As One
- The Electric Co.
- Bad
- Party Girl

all reviews

show	performance	audience	sound	overall
patou2
cesar_garza01
Bullet_Blue
CMIPalaeo

1985-04-18 - Worcester, Massachusetts - The Centrum

setlist

songs per album

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show attendees: 4

review by CMIPalaeo

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"Ever Peaceful - remastered, repaired & pitch corrected"

Audio / MP3

Download via Mega.nz

Audio / FLAC

Download via Mega.nz

Audio samples

"2ndGen - RossMan transfer"

Audio / MP3

Download via Mega.co.nz

Audio samples

"Ever Peaceful"

Audio / MP3

Download via Mega.nz

Audio samples

"Heath St. tapes #1 (UAG)"

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what they said

did you know

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U2start

1985-04-18 - Worcester, Massachusetts - The Centrum

setlist

songs per album

best song performances

show attendees: 4

review by CMIPalaeo

all reviews

useful links

contribute

U2start calendar

"Ever Peaceful - remastered, repaired & pitch corrected"

Info file

Covers

Audio / MP3

Download via Mega.nz

Audio / FLAC

Download via Mega.nz

Audio samples

"2ndGen - RossMan transfer"

Info file

Audio / MP3

Download via Mega.co.nz

Audio samples

"Ever Peaceful"

Info file

Audio / MP3

Download via Mega.nz

Audio samples

"Heath St. tapes #1 (UAG)"

Info file

Audio samples

what they said

did you know

you

U2start