Air Age, It's arrived, a weighty package, looks great, but where do I start ? 😃😃

Agreed 100% TC- great ensemble playing really giving the live versions some extra kick. Be nice if the two Simons got copies of the boxset gratis..they earned it!

Just received my copy. I don't usually buy these sort of box sets with all the posters etc, but I made an exception in this case. As a student of Bill's playing style, this is a gift. Also, being too young to have ever seen BBD live, I now feel as though I've seem them 14 times!

I haven't listened to all of it yet but a couple of things I like is how much improvisation there is, songs permitting, and how Bill really tries to play something different very time. I could go on but I've run out of superlatives. The vocal performances, both Bill and Charlie are great too.

And how good is Andy Clarkes keyboard playing? Absolutely fantastic. What a great band they were. Thanks to Cherry Red for this release, there never was enough BBD material around so better late than never.

TC

Arrived in USofA 9/7/21 - Very nice indeed!

What a revelation this expansive box set truly is! This morning I'll begin with CD 5. Love the feel that the first four CD's bring to each show. The first CD, of course, is the familiar one, and it sounds fantastic. Each subsequent CD brings forth a different vibe in of itself - love some of the different arrangements of songs including the singalong on Terminal Street. Anyway, to all those involved in the production of this box set, and, the whole parade of Be Bop Deluxe reissues, a big hearty thank you! Thank you Mr. Bill Nelson! I know you hate treading on old ground, however, your old ground holds value like gold - because it is gold! Carry on!

Mine finally arrived yesterday. Im off work this week. Thats me sorted. But the boss has other ideas

At the beginning.😉

That may well be the case...Sometimes one can find internet posts rather ambiguous in nature, sometimes one has to clarify matters...Either way, it's nothing personal.

That's how I read a couple of parts of your post, that's why I responded, just for the sake of clarity i.e. where I actually stand on such matters, trivial as they are in the whole scheme of things.

All the best.

I'm sorry that you've felt obliged to respond in this way but I believe that you have read far, far more into my post than was actually there.

I'm not sure what Tourist is remembering as my recall is opposite to his. Thin Lizzy's Live and Dangerous album was issued in 1978 and was widely panned for allegedly using so much overdub that it was more studio than live. That triggered a debate about the validity of live albums. I can recall Live! In The Air Age being used in at least one review of it as a contrasting example of what bands could achieve by not using overdubs.

The box set engineer notes mention that some material could not be used in the original release due to electrical interference noise but modern tech can now filter it out. I think it is still audible in a few places but not at a high level. Also that Blazing Apostles was edited to get it down to a useable length.

Anyway, if you listen to the recordings, it's fairly obvious that any perceived need for overdubbing faltering musicianship didn't exist. My only gripe with the original release is that the mix was far less dynamic and engaging than the recordings as they are now revealed. All the visceral quality is back.

Well if my memory serves correct, surely the original release of Live! In The Air Age, received a few little studio tweaks in the shape of guitar solo overdubs etc, just to put a little extra spit & polish on the released product..a little 'tidy-up', if you will..Bill should be able to confirm that, but I think that's the case...If that is true, then the other live version/versions in this box-set will sound somewhat different, at least in parts, to the original album pressing, even if it's the exact same track/show.

Based on the solos.....

Life In The Air-Age (Leeds 13th February 1977)

Ships In The Night (London 25th March 1977))

Piece Of Mine (Bristol 27th March 1977)

Fair Exchange (Leeds 13th February 1977)

Shine (Leeds 13th February 1977)

Sister Seagull (Bristol 27th March 1977)

Maid In Heaven (Leicester 12th February 1977)

Mill Street Junction (London 25th March 1977)

Adventures In A Yorkshire Landscape (Leeds 14th February 1977)

Blazing Apostles (London 26th March 1977)

Always puzzled by the fact that it was the Modern Music tour with nothing from Modern Music on it, first 3 albums only.

I suppose if it had been a double album then MM suite would have been there, What else ?

So any of you chaps with the deluxe package figured out which show the album version of AIAYL came from ?. Maybe it was a mix of more than one show?. Does the solo vary a lot from show to show ?

Axe Victim - steady lad, the FedEx man will be with you in his own time ... mine finally arrived yesterday!

Anybody else still waiting for their box set to arrive. Had e mail last Thursday saying its been shipped. Anyone know of any issues?

Well, I'm just blown away by this boxset. The sound quality is amazing and as for the musicianship, I'm near speechless.

I went to the second Leeds concert. At the time, I'd just started going to gigs and I had been hugely disappointed by just how poor some of my favourite bands were live compared to their studio output. Be Bop Deluxe, though - well, just the opposite. Live, they went way beyond their studio material and it was the first time I had experienced that (The next time would be Graham Parker and the Rumour).

I can recall being both ecstatic about the performance but also a bit upset leaving the Grand that I would be unlikely to be able to hear Bill's music played that way again. The original album release went some way to compensate. It was good but something seemed lacking, a bit too smooth, perhaps, and I questioned my memory. Well, 44 years later, I can say my memory was fine. The concert material is every bit as good as I remember it.

Just saw this review

https://echoesanddust.com/2021/08/be-bop-deluxe-live-in-the-air-age/

I was at the Leicester show.

Slightly fuzzy memory, but I remember John Peel playing the whole of Live! In The Air Age, right through, (just prior to the official release?..I think)

I was super-excited..at the time, it was an event..I was not disappointed.

Can't remember too much about the broadcast details though, i.e. which particular night Peel played it..was it a Saturday night?..I've forgotten exactly what nights the John Peel Show was broadcast and what time it was on..and I listened all the time!...was it 10 till midnight?, that seems about right.

Anybody had a chance to view Star Rider yet ?

Leicester is amazing. Can't wait to get onto the rest. Marvellous to hear the shows complete, in order and with Bill's chat. A shame the record company wouldn't run to a triple live set back in the day!!! The full show seems a little rawer than the original album, a genuinely great feel.

You guys are lucky. Mine seems to be held up in transit by FedEx... maybe tomorrow? I live in hope. Then it looks like I'm going to have to block out some time from my busy (!) retirement schedule to give this massive work the attention it deserves.

I haven’t got past the Leicester cds yet. The sound is amazing, so much more atmospheric than the original vinyl and cd. I saw the tour in Wolverhampton and Birmingham and bought the original album in July ‘77. Words can’t describe how good this album has made me feel for 44 years. Thank you, Bill.

Yes and still an extraordinary accomplishment for it's time. A fond memory of time and music. Always, still fresh when I hear it. Gave me much motivation to learn what you were doing 😊💕👍

Glad you're enjoying the reissue!

For me, however, there's no 'trip down memory lane,' as I'm not in the habit of going over old ground. The music was very much of its time. I'm pleased that it exists as an 'artefact', but that's all it is. A fading photograph of an era that has long departed, and my creative life has moved on so much further since.

Fond memories perhaps, but not so fond that I feel compelled to live them all over again. The past is a foreign country, the future is a yet undiscovered land, but here and now is where the action is. All hail the present moment!😉

One of the things that I was curious about isn't included - which gig each track on the original album comes from.

No prizes for being the first to work it out 😄

I was at the Hammy Odeon on 26th march, so I can now listen to myself singing......Oooooh Down on Terminal Street all over again.

I rip all my CDs to a server, but decided not to do all 15 CDs. Ripped original version remastered and Hammersmith Odeon 26 March.

Just a brief listen and the remastered version seems clearer than my old CD version. The Hammersmith one seems very different. You do pick up the different environment and there are clear differences.

Sad as it may seem, I may well rip all versions just for the hell of it.

Very happy with this set....so early on.

I just broke down and settled for teh 3CD job. Live in the Air Age LITE...HA!

😎👍

Yes, I’m “jealous” but not so much that I don’t want to hear all about the packaging and your listening experience. I’m guessing you might be in the UK. I’m in the US and the release date on ImportCDs (where I ordered my copy as soon as it was available to order) is listed as Sept. 24.

The PO says mine is due very soon......looking forward to this, one of the best live albums ever. I remember being in Filey on holiday when it was released on vinyl all those years ago.....