For those who do not know, the idea of a "matrix" is to mix down more than one different recording (in varying levels) so that they play simultaneously (when both sources have preserved the same material -- mixing together more than one version of the same recording usually doesn't make sense... but see further below).
This can have benefits if neither recording is sufficiently good by itself -- say both might be mono recordings captured in the audience at different positions, and combining them could result in approximation of the stereo ambience of the venue or fixing the instrument balance -- or the primary recording might have an issue which can be helped by augmenting it with an alternate source. The process is of course not too easy as non-pro analogue recordings don't run nowhere near the same constant tape speed to begin with. So they need to be synchronized (manually, using visual cues in spectral domain in addition to "what you hear" -- digital tools now make that feasible) as accurately as possible, and even after that analogue tape flutter (fast tape speed variations causing micro-tone pitch warble, which cannot be so corrected) might be too bad, rendering the results unsuitable for mixing together since it would only exaggerate the problems. And provided that is not an insurmountable problem, then the whole process of mixing and mastering remains and could present any number of difficulties. Or the sources might need some audio restoration work aside from the synchronization business.
(A "matrix" is then not to be mistaken with a "merge" where multiple sources/recordings are "simply" edited together to provide a show as uncut as possible but without the recordings running simultaneously except perhaps at cross-fade points. Confusingly, though, some use the two terms in just the opposite fashion.)
So unless one has digitally recorded sources (e.g. DAT tape in the olden days) to work with where tape speed is not a issue (I'll pass over the fact that even those won't run at exactly the same speed over the length of a concert) a matrix of multiple sources may or may not work out in a given case, and even when it argubly does, there may be some downsides -- win some / lose some. Here I think the result may be worth the while.
As far as matrixes (matrices?) go, this has bit of everything: There is an excellent and well-known FM recording but it is incomplete, what is available needs to be pieced together from more than one variant, and has other issues as well. The audience recording is very good and nearly complete (but not so good as to render the FM recording secondary) but unfortunately is not without certain issues that pose problems for matrixing (and where necessary, complementing or merging) it with the FM recording.
But without further ado, here it is in FLAC (640 MB zip archive); the actual notes included in the archive are given below:
EDIT: more permanent link courtesy of XRCF: https://mega.nz/folder/mEpXFTgR#tbiexW_OvcCI0oAIclLHsw
THE CLASH: I Caught VD off the Atom Bomb
Live at Jaap Edenhal, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Recorded Sunday 10th May 1981 on the Impossible Mission Tour
Matrix of FM and audience recordings:
#1: FM source, here remixed from a 2008 re-broadcast except:
- § (tracks 12, 14, 15, 20, 23) taken from original broadcasts
- # (tracks 02, 06, 08) partially from original broadcast (patch for upper drum stem frequencies)
- the 2008 version is only available with lossy lineage but it is the only source for some of the pro-recorded tracks
#2: audience recording (almost complete):
- * (10 out of 26 tracks) only available on this source (missing on all circulating versions of the FM source)
- 'The Magnificent Seven' cut at tape flip, and tape stopped before 'London's Burning' (which ran too fast on the source)
- "Sony D-5 & Sennheiser MKH404 mics" (?) > master cassette > reel @ 3.75 ips > reel @ 3.75 ips > HD > wav [Pantagruel]
- "The taper, who I only knew vaguely, was a Deadhead who flew from LA over to England for the Dead's mini-tour of Europe in March of '81. He stayed on in Europe for a couple of months and recorded some other shows, including this one."
SONGS ("a 3-LP set") [92:00]
--- side A
01. intro [2:10] *
02. London Calling [3:13] #
03. Safe European Home [3:04] *
04. The Leader [1:41]
05. Somebody Got Murdered [3:56]
--- side B
06. (White Man) In Hammersmith Palais [3:56] #
07. The Guns of Brixton [3:03]
08. Lightning Strikes (Not Once But Twice) [4:08] #
--- side C
09. Complete Control [3:56] *
10. Corner Soul [2:58] *
11. Ivan Meets G.I. Joe [3:28]
12. This is Radio Clash [5:35] §
--- side D
13. Charlie Don't Surf [3:43]
14. The Magnificent Seven [5:36] §
15. Bankrobber [3:41] §
16. Wrong 'Em Boyo [2:57] *
17. Train in Vain [3:51]
--- side E
18. Career Opportunities [2:06]
19. Clampdown [4:37]
20. One More Time [4:51] §
21. Brand New Cadillac [2:07] *
22. Street Parade [4:41] *
--- side F
23. I Fought the Law [2:56] §
24. Washington Bullets [3:23] *
25. Armagideon Time [4:02] *
26. London's Burning [2:19] *
---
All tracks matrix of remixed 2008 re-broadcast + audience recording except:
# = 2008 + old FM broadcast (upper frequencies patch) + audience
§ = old FM broadcast sources (bootlegs) + audience
* = audience source only
All songs written by Joe Strummer and Mick Jones except:
07: Paul Simonon
12: The Clash
14: Mick Jones, Joe Strummer, Topper Headon, Norman Watt-Roy, Mickey Gallagher
16: Clive Alphonso [Rulers cover]
20: The Clash & Mikey Dread
21: Vince Taylor [Vince Taylor and his Playboys cover]
23: Sonny Curtis [The Crickets cover]
25: Willie Williams
The Clash 1977-1982:
Joe Strummer – lead and backing vocals, rhythm guitar; bass ('The Guns of Brixton')
Mick Jones – lead guitar, backing and lead vocals ('Somebody Got Murdered', 'Train in Vain', 'Career Opportunities')
Paul Simonon – bass guitar, backing vocals; lead vocals and rhythm guitar ('The Guns of Brixton')
Nicky "Topper" Headon – drums, percussion; lead vocals ('Ivan Meets G.I. Joe')
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
- xtopher: idea and copies of the sources, cover art, suggestions and feedback
- Pantagruel & the anonymous taper: the audience source
- Black Market Clash website: background information and advert poster
* * *
NOTES
"We've changed drastically... we're not interested in trying to stay the same, we don't want that kind of security. Everything we used to play was done at 100mph. We've learnt that contrast can give our songs much more impact. Some of our fans say we've lost our rawness... well that rawness was just an excuse for the fact that we couldn't play! We can now." - Joe Strummer [in Amsterdam for the Daily Mirror, 20th May 1981]
This is a tight concert that took place at the Jaap Edenhal ice rink in Amsterdam, by the classic Clash lineup with drummer Topper Headon before his drug addiction took its toll (leading to a decline and erratic performances), and although it may not be the absolute best Clash show for which a document survives, the quality of the combined recordings elevates it to a high position. It's definitely an "on" night for everybody, and the mix and setlist are quite nice, too, with many tracks from Sandinista! and London Calling (along with assorted singles), the peak period of the band, given top tier live outings. If the Clash knew it was being recorded, it wasn't spooked. And if Joe is getting a little hoarse on the vocal department, it only serves to add more urgency to the proceedings.
Both the raw FM/SBD and audience recording of the gig each have their own set of problems, though: For one the thing, the former is not available in complete form. The concert was almost certainly fully recorded, however, as a teaser of 'London's Burning' from the very end can be heard (on the source, not here) as the part of an edited musical bed under a radio announcer's voice-over. (An appeal: if you have the full pre-FM source, please share it! The whole show and matrix could then be upgraded to the same, or actually slightly better, quality.)
The only available version of the 2008 broadcast of the FM source is also compromised by lossy compression (in rather low bitrate, it seems), especially in the upper frequencies affecting the drums. A recording which apparently derives from a shorter original broadcast consequently has better content in that frequency range, but also more hiss and sounds a little bit duller generally (and during 'London Calling' in particlar), and furthermore does not contain all of the songs broadcast in 2008. The SBD mix of 'One More Time' is only available (from an old FM source) in an even hissier and duller recording than that, with less top end. 'This is Radio Clash' was also not aired in 2008, but is of better quality on the older sources than 'One More Time'.
There is additionally slightly more material after 'I Fought the Law' on that older FM version than on the 2008 broadcast. It and 'The Magnificent Seven' as well as 'Bankrobber' perhaps sound slightly better, when volume matched and EQ'd, than the later broadcast, as they do not have the compression artifacts. In the case of 'London Calling', 'In Hammersmith Palais', and 'Lighting Strikes', on the other hand, the increased clarity of the versions from 2008 would be more clearly preferable were the compression not audible. In the case of 'The Leader', 'Somebody Got Murdered', 'The Guns of Brixton', 'Ivan Meets G.I. Joe', 'Charlie Don't Surf', 'Train in Vain', 'Career Opportunities', and 'Clampdown' the lossy versions are all that is currently available for the pro-recorded version.
Even so, all broadcasts or FM/SBD versions seem to derive from (more or less) the same mix, with hard panned guitars -- Mick's lead left and Joe's rhythm right -- although the 2008 version appears to have had the stereo image fiddled with: the guitars at least are cross-mixed a bit (out of phase); it was also mastered too loud with heavy clipping. The vocal and at times the bass are slightly buried, while the drums come through well. The FM mix also exhibits a fair number of noticeable low frequency pops, apparently coming from Paul Simonon's bass feed.
The audience recording -- see further above for its lineage -- is, however, nearly complete and also includes the pre-show intro played over the PA. A short section in 'The Magnificent Seven' is missing because of a tape flip, and the last encore, 'London's Burning', cuts in after a pause. It also ran at the wrong speed on the transfer, and probably on the source tape, too. It is possible that the song has been patched from an alternate recording that does not otherwise circulate, which could explain the speed difference.
The whole is a rather good recording as audience tapes go, again with the drums nicely present (contrary to many vintage stealth live recordings), but has a recurring problem with cyclic flutter. It is particularly nasty during the intro of 'Complete Control', which warbles badly (and is not available in an FM version), but more or less disappears for the second half or tape side; perhaps the flutter originated at the reel-to-reel stage, either when the master cassette was originally copied or when the reel was more recently transferred.
The mix is of course basically mono but the tape was recorded and captured the hall and audience ambience in stereo, with slight channel imbalance. More minor issues include a handful of tape dropouts and bits of vocal distortion, as well as some volume fluctuations, and at times excessive audience hand clapping (close to the taper) relative to the recorded level of the performance and compared to the FM mix.
But we are very grateful for both the audience and the FM recording and their transfers, and the foregoing is noted merely to explain the restoration that was performed on them to make this version work: The matrix attempts to address all of the above problems and mixes together both recordings (after synchronization) where the FM/SBD sources are available, naturally favouring the radio one in stereo.
In some of the cases both the old and new FM broadcast versions of the songs have been combined using demixing (stem/source separation "AI") and frequency extraction in an attempt to further defeat the lossy compression (which all the same is well-masked by the addition of the audience recording, as is the different kind FM source quality drop in 'One More Time'). In other cases, when multiple versions were available but such trickery didn't seem feasible or worth the while, the one that appeared to sound the better, when matrixed with the audience recording, was picked; see the tracklist annotations for details.
And the tape warble? Without Plangent Processing, it is not possible to get completely rid of it, but it should be here less apparent than on the original copy. For illustrative purposes and conveying much more than mere words, a before/after sample of the aforementioned intro to 'Complete Control' has been included, first with the flutter present and then the same section repaired. The result is not digital perfection, but hopefully an improvement, even a drastic one for what was pretty much the worst section affected.
Although the guitar mix especially changes when an FM source is not available at all, the difference is not too distracting -- the audience recording has in those sections been subjected to a moderate stereo remix using stem separation software to make the difference slightly less jarring -- and the (near) complete unedited concert is worth hearing in this fashion, if one accepts the premise of combining the recordings. Just pretend that Joe set aside his guitar for those songs.
Until the full pre-FM recording -- the master reportedly still resides in the archive of Dutch public radio, and Sony is rumoured to have a copy of it but the band declined to use it for a Sandinista! deluxe edition that was prosed by the record company -- this will have to do. (It would probably have been edited to fit on a single disc anyway.) The whole show could have been put out as an excellent live album -- spread over 3 LPs -- back in the day, as suggested by the pretense of the tracklisting. One can always hope that it will be officially released or broadcast without cuts eventually, making this effort happily redundant.
But if you'd just prefer to listen to the best bits (16/25 songs) in consistent sound instead, the matrixed tracks can also be played by themselves for a solid one hour edit. Move over, Shea Stadium -- and to quote Bob Dylan, "play it fucking loud!"
A Nite Owl production (NO-2023-27). Artwork included.
