Counting Crows 1997-08-01 Columbia MD by jeknickfan

Counting Crows "August the first"
Adam Duritz's Birthday Show
Merriweather Post Pavillion
Columbia, MD, USA
1997.08.01

Quote: "I'm covered with cake all across America right now."

Quality: A (LOSSLESS)

Source 1 - Live broadcast of full show on 99.1 WHFS Radio Annapolis.
Lineage: SBD > FM Broadcast > CDR(n) > EAC(secure with offsets) > WAV > FLAC(L8)

Source 2 - SBD - from Silver CD "Here Comes the Rain King", Tendolar bootleg label.
Lineage: SBD > ? > Silver CD > EAC > WAV > TLC to FLAC(L6)

Note: This copy is a matrix of both sources, as detailed in the comments down below. Both sources had some major issues, and I used them to create one, improved copy of this amazing concert. Only part of Round Here is matrixed, as the SBD version stops after the first chorus. The remaining tracks on disc 2 are only from the FM broadcast, however I did try to improve them with speed correction and adjusting their levels to blend with the rest of the show. This show is completely lossless.

TRACK LIST (1:34:42)
----------
Disc 1 - (73:01)
01) Angels Of The Silences
02) Have You Seen Me Lately?
03) Rain King
04) Goodnight Elisabeth
05) Children In Bloom
06) Anna Begins
07) Mercury
08) Mr. Jones
09) Omaha
10) Raining In Baltimore
11) Recovering The Satellites
12) Happy Birthday To Adam (2 girls bring him a cake on-stage)
13) Daylight Fading
14) I'm Not Sleeping
15) A Murder Of One
16) Encore Break/99.1 HFS Backstage

Disc 2 - (21:41)
01) Round Here
02) A Long December
03) Walkaways
04) Aftershow/99.1 HFS Backstage

COMMENTS:
Given that Adam's birthday is the origin of all his music (August, and everything after) I feel like this show is quintessential for any Crows collection. It's in his hometown. It's on his birthday. And it highlights the music that served as the foundation for their success. It just seems
to sum up the heart of all I love about the band. Two recordings exist of it (one complete, one not). However, to my sheer frustration both versions were severely speed-altered... rendering them unlistenable. The FM broadcast I discovered was sped up 5% from normal. The soundboard copy was slowed down at various speeds throughout the show. In both instances, the band - and especially Adam - sounded ridiculous. I couldn't take it seriously. So I decided I would experiment with the two recordings... ultimately paving the way for this remaster.

Clarity and strong bass was present in the SBD version, although dry with a less "live" feel to it. The FM version was brighter tonally, with far more audience noise and detail. I thought they would compliment each other well if I could speed-correct them both and carefully line them up. I'm not a professional; all my work was done with free applications. And additionally, I applied very little EQ and used no compression tools at all. All I did was (painstakingly) speed correct, synchronize (which I had to continually adjust to avoid phase issues), and then blend using panning and level adjustments. My goal was for it to sound as close to the actual concert did as possible. Both tapes came lightly panned to the left, which I more-or-less left as such to preserve the coloring of the original recording. But I did adjust the mix when needed to ensure that they compliment each other. It isn't perfect, as both versions had various flaws which I couldn't avoid. But I tried to iron out
all that I could. And to my ears, it sounds astonishing. It's now one of my favorite shows; there's an energy and character to it that very few bootlegs possess, and I'm proud of that result. I hope you feel the same way. Trade it freely. It's a show that's meant to be cranked!!! Enjoy!!

Editing, Matrix, & Artwork by CMStewart

Contains tracks

• CC1997.08.01 16 D1t01 Angels Of The Silences by jeknickfan
• Have You Seen Me Lately? by jeknickfan
• Rain King by jeknickfan
• Goodnight Elisabeth by jeknickfan
• CC1997.08.01 16 D1t05 Children In Bloom by jeknickfan