Live at QPR 1975

[chrismonk]

I've been thinking about buying the two "Live at QPR 1975" DVDs for some time but because I live in the UK they are pretty expensive (£30 each). Can anyone tell me how good they are and whether or not they are worth purchasing? Also why, if they are any good, they've never been released on anything other than region 1?

Thanks in advance.

-Chris

[Vic Anderson]

thy are amazing i don't care what anybody else says

[Judge Judy]

The sound on the first one is a little wacky, but it's amazing on the second one. Even though the sound isn't so great on volume one the performances are uniformly amazing throughout. Worth every penny.

[Symbol]

I think the biggest problem most folks have with this is the sound quality.

I do not have the DVDs... but I do have the Japanese laser discs. The sound is kind of painful in places... but I do agree that they are certainly worth having! The video part is stellar.

[henny]

Got mine imported from Singapore, Parts I & II, brand new, sealed, - Entirely region-free, (1,2,3,4,5,6).

I paid 18 quid for the pair, 2 weeks for delivery.

[Vic Anderson]

the sound its not perfect but the experience is amazing it won't get better than this as capturing yes in the 70s on video

[Scooty]

Its a killer performance marred by bad sound for a little more than the first half of the show. Once everything is fixed its a brilliant set of DVD's...

Someone should shoot the guy who was in charge of the sound...
and I dont mean for the show, cause apparently the actual gig sounded great, just the audio for the recording.

[Frumious B]

Bad sound or no, QPR is the single best Yes performance commercially available. The Holy friggin' Grail of Yes concert films would be a remixed version. It's just amazing to watch those guys near the peak of their musical powers playing one of the most ambitious set lists of their career.

[Awakened]

I had to have them and paid a pretty penny too.

Not the best quality but since it was my first Yes gig these discs were a 'must-have'

I was so much 'in awe ' on the day and the atmosphere so special that I didn't really notice how bad the sound was on the Soundchaser opener.

Ahhhhhh nostalgia!

[henny]

Makes me laugh when Moraz is a bar behind everybody else on Y.I.N.D, Chris turns round and looks at him with a clear "Huh??" on his face!

[stevie]

They are well worth having.
Like others have said the sound isn't the best. In fact on Sound Chaser it's terrible but it does improve. The second disc the sound isn't bad at all apart from the fact you can hear Jon playing guitar above Steve on Yours Is No Disgrace. The highlight for me though is Gates on the first disc. If the sound isn't great, the filming is excellent and during Gates it captures Alan and Jon drumming away like two maniacs. Great shots! Great shots also of the crowd before darkness descends.

[PO]

I would really like to hear an audience recording of this show.

If it's a good recording, I'd sync it up to the video. Then, we would definately have the best DVD of Yes possible.

Another fun flub is when Jon comes in a beat too early just after the pedal steel solo in To Be Over. Jon shouldn't have been playing there, anyway.

[orsonwellz]

Reading over all the QPR-related messages posted hereabouts, it's clear that many of us are very unsure about laying out any significant cash for the darn things. That notoriously bad sound mix that evidently mangles the earlier numbers gives one pause, at the very least.

The collective wisdom of all you out there who have either seen or own the DVDs seems to run like this: Very illuminating and satisfying visuals (especially considering the vintage involved); it's MORAZ, for goodness sake!; it's the best documentation available of the band at one of its inarguably highwater marks; where else you going to see "Sound Chaser?"; but, my oh my, that damn mix is maddening until the 1/3 mark or so.

Is that about right, all you experienced QPR'ers?

Well anyway, here's another angle I'm wondering about: What do y'all know about this "Singapore" version of the two QPR volumes that's so highly praised? Do they really sound noticeably better? Are they legal releases? If so, where can hands be laid upon them?

And finally, does anyone have any feedback on that wierd "Close To The Edge" entitled version of the QPR shows that's currently being offered on Ebay? It's from something called "Arvada's" video out of London, according to the guy selling them.

Thanks to any and every one of you for your continuing help on this most confusing release.

- Orson

[PO]

Yea, that's about right, Orson. I know the material well enough that the audio doesn't bother me.

I think I have the Singapore versions, but I'm not sure. I bought them locally at Silver Platters.

As for the ebay thing, provide a link so people can see it.

[Yescelt]

I don't know anything about Singapore releases. Henny mentioned that he imported his from Singapore, but I suspect they are the Panorama label products, which were released in Hong Kong.
Can you confirm, Henny?

Regards, Brian


Well anyway, here's another angle I'm wondering about: What do y'all know about this "Singapore" version of the two QPR volumes that's so highly praised? Do they really sound noticeably better? Are they legal releases? If so, where can hands be laid upon them?

- Orson

[orsonwellz]

Thanks for the feedback, Yescelt. I, too, would like to hear Henry tell more about these supposed Singapore editions of which he speaks so highly. You out there, Hank?

[relayer_1]

I also feel that $40 or so is too steep for a single DVD (multiply that by two); although it is YES of course but for that price I honestly feel it does not top Live in Amsterdam. I've read a lot of excellent reviews and don't doubt them but somehow feel we are being ripped off by the merchants. I sense this has to do with a copyright issue, about a year ago Paul McCartney's "Get Back" dvd was about $38 in most stores but now, you can find it at any place for under $16 (?) And honestly, if it were from the '76 solos US tour, I would buy it in a heartbeat!

relayer

[Hill St.]

If you are a big Patrick Moraz fan you'll love QPR1.The mix on the first 3-4 songs is all keys.QPR2 is alot better.

[Steve St Thomas]

RITUAL is truly amazing. It made me realise what's missing from the Topographic version of it, and having a listen to live versions of Topographic songs showed how much those songs improved with 'hindsight' and time.

QPR is a great DVD. The sound problems are true in the first half -- Howe and Moraz particularly, but to my mind, this is the best document of YES in the 1970's out there. Should be ''official'' offical.

[raz]

I think that they are a MUST buy just for their historical value.
Yeah, I know the sound can smell of poo in places, BUT it has the whole of RELAYER on it, and that alone is enough to shell out 30 squids....

[Hill St.]

Agree with historical value and all but,this was not the only opportunity to catch the "Relayer" era Yes live.They could've done better.Pretty much for die-hards unless, you can tolerate the first few songs.

[ACK!]

What's really baffling is that they didn't put both discs onto one dual-layered DVD. There are no extras on the discs, so this could have been done easily.

[Sonny G]

I bought a copy of the QPR Vol.2 DVD from someone at Amazon.com , It is a very cool DVD, I have heard that Vol.1 has some bad sound issues but the Vol.2 that I got sounds good and the picture quality is real good. If your a YES fan this should be a must. Patrick Moraz does some different interpretations on some of Wakeman's solo's but over-all this is a great moment of the band captured live.

YES / Live 1975 At Q.P.R. vol.2
1. And You & I
2. Ritual
3. Roundabout
4. Sweet Dreams
5. Yours Is No Disgrace

[Meng]

What I really like about the stage set is that you got a genuine sense of climax because the giant bugs - which must have cost them a fortune and were just sitting there for the best part of two hours - weren't activated until the last section of Ritual, by which time it had got dark.

Worth the wait!

[relayeire]

sadly, the entire Relayer album is performed in Vol. 1, where the most sound problems are...

[Meng]

sadly, the entire Relayer album is performed in Vol. 1, where the most sound problems are...
Yes that's a pity.

What's also a pity is that the smart money says that there are no multi-tracks of the audio so a remastering seems unlikely, at least with present-day technology.

[YESfan2007]

I have these on VHS and DVD. The dvds are a little better.
If you don't care about the legal issues you can DL these for free. Why pay ebay prices? the band doesn't get a dime from ebay.
Well worth the effort to have this YEShistory!

[cappadizzy]

I dl'd the japanese 2disc set and it was small enough for one regular DVD-R- me thinks someone might have used DVDShrink or some such program to fit it on one disc but the quality wasn't effected in any appreciable way.

[Doctor Flang]

Yes that's a pity.

What's also a pity is that the smart money says that there are no multi-tracks of the audio so a remastering seems unlikely, at least with present-day technology.

What i've heard is that there are multi-tracks but they hiding misplaced somewhere in the BBC vaults.

[robusan]

What i've heard is that there are multi-tracks but they hiding misplaced somewhere in the BBC vaults.

Exactly. I can't believe that for all the trouble that they (or the BBC) went to to have all those cameras that they wouldn't have multi-tracked this! I'd love to ask Mr. Offord about this!

[jaynote1]

if the cd or dvd audio is no better than the vhs, then this is valuable only for the novelty.....I have it on vhs......

[Doctor Flang]

Exactly. I can't believe that for all the trouble that they (or the BBC) went to to have all those cameras that they wouldn't have multi-tracked this! I'd love to ask Mr. Offord about this!

I also wonder if any serious effort has been made by the band to find the tapes. Yes hadn't been excatly busy releasing high quality archive material on DVD.

Altough BBC is notorious for wiping tapes it's not always the case. Peter Banks wrote in his autobiography that when he was compiling Yes' BBC tapes for "Something's Coming" that BBC had lost everything, so he had to use his own inferior cassette/tape copies. But on the "Yesyears" box set that was released a few years before the BBC material comes from a good quality tape. So, i guess there must be something left.

[Doctor Flang]

Exactly. I can't believe that for all the trouble that they (or the BBC) went to to have all those cameras that they wouldn't have multi-tracked this! I'd love to ask Mr. Offord about this!

It is known that the audio on the QPR VHS/DVD is a rough sync track for the camera crew. It was simultanously recorded on multitracks. What i've heard is that when BBC broadcasted the second part of the concert during the seventies they remixed the songs (in mono) for broadcasting and left the rest of the show unmixed and put the tapes in the vaults. That's why the second part of the concert sounds better than the first one.

[Closetotheedge1972]

Here's a taste: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLJNtZ65UaU

Well worth having. Should be in the Smithsonian by now...I saw this tour in 76 in Philly at JFK. 130,000 strong for a show I'll never forget.

[erik_1099]

AFAIK Yes doesn't see a dime from any of the releases of this, legal or not. My understanding is the rights belong to some other entity. I don't know if Yes sold them or just never had them.

[Jonk]

AFAIK Yes doesn't see a dime from any of the releases of this, legal or not. My understanding is the rights belong to some other entity. I don't know if Yes sold them or just never had them.

Yes never had the rghts, the rights are owned by the BBC who also lost the master recording of this gig sadly so only the footage and basic mix which sounds like the monitor mix remain unless someone can turn up with the audio somewhere.:headset:

[90125yes]

good dvd's - pity i have to buy 2 of them

[Bluegrunt]

These dvds are worth having, despite the sound issues with the first part of the first one. Testament to a great day in Yes history! :D

[Groovinpict]

Bottom line I would want to know is: Is this an "official" release or considered a boot? The price seems a bit steep if it's a boot.