Yngwie J Malmsteen's Rising Force
Marquee, Wardour Street, London, UK 3.6.85
"Rape and Pillage Tour"
Disc 1:
1 - Intro
2 - I'll See The Light Tonight
3 - As Above, So Below
4 - Far Beyond The Sun
5 - Icarus'Dream Suite
6 - I Am A Viking
7 - On The Run Again
8 - Little Savage
Disc 2:
1 - Keyboard Solo
2 - Kree Nakoorie
3 - Guitar Solo
4 - Anguish And Fear
5 - Disciples Of Hell
6 - Black Star
7 - Hiroshima Mon Amour
Guitar - Yngwie J Malmsteen
Vocals - Jeff Scott Soto
Bass - Marcel Jacob
Keyboards - Jens Johansson
Drums - Anders Johansson
Lineage Unknown
? > TDK AD90 > Philips CD Audio Recorder > TDK CD-R (For Audio) > PC > Wavelab > CD-R > EAC > Flac level 8
No Artwork - Sorry!
At last! Some time ago I promised to up this gig when I actually managed to find my finished masters of Yngwie's one and only appearance at the Marquee.
Just a few words firstly about the recording itself. I don't know the lineage of this one before I got my hands on the tape (Thanks go to Rock Dog for finding me this at a record fair a few months after the gig). Once my delirium had subsided it was apparent to me however during subsequent listens that in parts, particularly during the first half of the tape, someone had spliced and edited (poorly and for reasons best known to themselves) parts of the recording. Most notable was the begining of Icarus'Dream Suite which resulted in a five second repeat of the audience cheering (as if on a loop! (You can also hear evidence of this "editing" at about 5.12 mins into Kree Nakoorie on the flip side of the tape?)).
I edited out the Icarus' repeat, using Wavelab, as it was the most noticeable one but you may still hear a slight "jump" due to a minute section missing from the original recording. I left Kree Nakoorie alone as it isn't as apparent (but I guess it will annoy you now you know it's there!). The only other major editing work I carried out was to fade out the intro to Jens keyboard solo at the end of Little Savage (and the end of Side A of the tape). I then spliced the intro section of the Keyboard solo (faded in incorrectly on the beginning of Side B of the tape) to the main body of the solo to make it a complete track as an opener to Disc 2. Fades were then introduced to the beginning and ends of each side. Bar for that and a few minor glitches between tracks it is now a pretty seamless recording that remains largely untouched apart from 0db'ing and High Cut(ting) (The original tape was a bit too "Toppy") the whole recording, again through Wavelab.
One final note is that Jens appears to have had some problems with the pitch and tuning of his Hammond Organ and Lesley Cabs that night (I thought something sounded odd at the time but this sounds more noticeable on the recording which I thought at first was wow and flutter (Does anyone remember the terminology of taping?) The sound wavers notably during I Am A Viking (between 0.58 to 1.25 secs and 1.50 and 2.21 secs for example (Verse/ Chorus)) and during On The Run Again (between 03.19 and 3.41 secs) - Unless I'm mistaken it is Jens keyboards causing the songs to sound as if they're slowing down and speeding up during these sections - Use Jeff's vocals and Yngwie's guitar as a reference and you'll see what I mean. As a result I have not attempted to speed correct the recording which was my first thoughts on hearing this effect for the first time. What do you think?
The Marquee gig was memorable for me (for many reasons - I still have the tour t-shirt!) as I was actually there. It was Yngwie's first British gig and it was also at the original Marquee Club - The venue was shut down not long after and eventually resited. At the time I remember turning up to find the queue outside snaking all down the length of Wardour Street. Shocked at not only how popular he appeared to be for a relative unknown guitarist at the time but also that it dawned on me that I may not get in after travelling 120 miles without a ticket!
The taper must have been stood very close by me as I remember clearly swinging round to look at the blasphemer who shouted "Fretboard M**********n!" during Yngwie's warm-up! I was stood centre stage towards the rear of the venue and slightly to the left and in front of the mixing desk. For the record the sinner who uttered these words was sat on the edge of the podium where the mixing desk stood.
It turned out that a good two thirds of those present thought that Bruce Springsteen was playing a secret warm up gig under a pseudonym as he was playing Wembley the following day. They were soon to recieve the shock of their lives! You'll hear Jeff Scott Soto dedicate a song to the more hardier of Bruce fans who managed to stick it out (just before On The Run Again) - I think I can also hear Bruce's name uttered by someone near to the recorder at the beginning of the tape. By about the third or fourth song the venue was nearly empty bar for about several dozen die-hard Yngwie fans.
In hindsight not the best of gigs. Yngwie's playing is as good as always but the overall sound and the fact that other members appeared to have a bad night, particularly Jens and Jeff (IMO), detract a little from this historical gig. I remember it was very loud, hot, stuffy and it looked as cramped on stage as it was where I was stood! The original Marquee was suprisingly a very small venue to say how popular it was! Above all I didn't care! I was awestruck and blown away that Yngwie could deliver the goods live - Needless to say it was my first of many. It can't have been all that bad, can it?
Best Wishes,
Kevinw
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