Queen / Definitive Long Beach Arena 1977 1st Night : Mike Millard Master Tapes / 2CD

Queen / Definitive Long Beach Arena 1977 1st Night : Mike Millard Master Tapes / 2CD / Wardour

Long Beach Arena, Long Beach, CA, USA 20th December 1977

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A brush-up of the legendary recording that received great acclaim as “a miraculous excavation” and “the best masterpiece of QUEEN guest records”! Introducing a press 2CD that permanently preserves the highest peak updated sound refined through detailed mastering of “GRAF ZEPPELIN”.

[A miraculous recording created by the combination of MILLARD x QUEEN] The best masterpiece was recorded at “Long Beach performance on December 20, 1977.” Yes, it is a super superb audience recording left by the absolute master Mike Millard. This recording was discovered in 2020 by the prestigious “JEMS”. It was one of the works of the Millard excavation project. However, the sound was so wonderful that its impact spread beyond the scope of mirrored collectors. There was a storm of praise from the QUEEN collector community, with comments such as “I’ve never heard such amazing sound” and “This is the pinnacle of all QUEEN audiences!” Our last album “Wardour-455” was also a big hit. This work is an upgraded version that dramatically updates the height of such top-notch recording.
First of all, the show’s position due to the quality of the rain. Speaking of “1977 QUEEN/Millard recording”, there is also the senior record “L.A. FORUM 1977 2ND NIGHT (Wardour-407)” that was discovered earlier, but the significance of the sound source is actually completely different. First, let’s take a look at the overview of the activities at the time and confirm the positional relationship between them.

●1977
“A DAY AT THE RACES TOUR”
・January 13th – March 18th: North America #1 (40 performances) ← *L.A. FORUM 1977
・May 8th – June 7th: Europe #1 (19 performances)
《“Dedicated to the World” released on October 28th》
“NEWS OF THE WORLD TOUR”
・November 11th – December 22nd: North America #2 (26 performances) ←★Here★
●1978
・April 12th – May 13th: Europe #2 (20 performances)
《July-October “JAZZ” production》

This is the overall picture of “A DAY AT THE RACES Tour” and “NEWS OF THE WORLD Tour”. While “L.A. FORUM 1977 2ND NIGHT” is a masterpiece of the former “A DAY AT THE RACES Tour”, this work was recorded as “North America #2” of the latter “NEWS OF THE WORLD Tour”. This “North America #2” also left behind the iconic super masterpiece “ULTIMATE HOUSTON 1977 (Wardour-246)”, but this work was also released nine days later.

[Upgrade with extraordinary precision mastering] Now, onto the main topic. What kind of sound does this work have?
It was too perfect from the first release “Wardour-455”, but this work has been remastered by “GRAF ZEPPELIN” once back to the original. He honed it with his usual obsessive precision. Pitch/phase does not allow deviations of even 1/1000 seconds, and the balance is adjusted after band analysis. We find out even the minute details of whether or not you can hear various noises such as hiss, hum, and gaps, and treat them according to their characteristics. As a result, when dust accumulates, it becomes a mountain. Thanks to each small improvement in accuracy, this work has certainly updated its all-time high. Of course, the previous album “Wardour-455” still sounds perfect on its own, but when I listen to it compared to this work, I feel that there is something different.
“Something different” sounds too weird, so I’ll give you an easy-to-understand point: the sound of the piano. Actually, the pitch of this recording was slightly different at the beginning, middle, and end of the show. I don’t know whether it was during recording or at the transfer stage, but it probably shifted slightly each time the recording tape changed sides. Of course, the discrepancy is so small that you wouldn’t notice it just by listening to it, and the prestigious company “JEMS” who was actually in charge of the excavation didn’t notice it either, and only made consistent pitch adjustments throughout the album.
This minute pitch difference is easy to understand in the piano sound. For example, “Somebody To Love”. Subtle discrepancies resulted in slight irregularities, vibrations, and distortions. If you have the previous edition, you will probably feel that it is a natural sound for AUD without thinking it is strange. However, when you listen to this well-organized album, you realize, “Ah, this is the right one.” And that “certain piano sound” remains the same in “Somebody To Love” at the beginning and “Bohemian Rhapsody” at the end. Mastering with extraordinary precision and a mirrored sound so delicate that that precision is clearly reflected… it is an upgrade that requires both together.

“NEWS OF THE WORLD Tour” is full of absolute masterpieces, including “We Will Rock You” and “We Are The Champions.” This is a miraculous live album where you can experience “North America #2” at its peak performance. Recording by the absolute master Millard, the tremendous excavation power of the prestigious JEMS, the meticulous mastering of the paranoid GRAF ZEPPELIN, and the live performance of QUEEN, which has been described as the “first climax.” Each element is the pinnacle, and everything interacts to create a new masterpiece that opens up new horizons. Please enjoy it anytime and forever with the permanent preservation press 2CD.

★Excellent audience recording of “December 20, 1977 Long Beach Performance”. GRAF ZEPPELIN has refinished Millard’s masterpiece, which was once highly acclaimed as the “best of QUEEN’s guest records,” and has updated it to its highest peak. This is the birth of the greatest masterpiece of all time, which has reached the ultimate level of perfection as a musical work, without overlooking the (minor) pitch deviations on each side of the tape, which had been overlooked until now.

「奇跡の発掘」「QUEEN客録の最高傑作」と大絶賛を巻き起こした伝説録音がブラッシュアップ！　「GRAF ZEPPELIN」の細密マスタリングで磨き込まれた最高峰更新サウンドを永久保存するプレス２CDで登場です。

【ミラード×QUEENの組み合わせが生んだ奇跡の名録音】
その最高傑作が記録されたのは「1977年12月20日ロングビーチ公演」。そう、絶対名手マイク・ミラードが遺した超極上オーディエンス録音です。この録音が名門「JEMS」の手によって発掘されたのは2020年。ミラード発掘事業の一作でした。しかし、そのサウンドはあまりにも素晴らしく、その衝撃はミラード・コレクターの枠を超えて拡散。QUEENコレクター界からも「こんな凄い音は聴いたことがない」「全QUEENオーディエンスの最高峰だ！」と大絶賛の嵐。当店の前回盤『Wardour-455』も大ヒットとなりました。本作は、そんな最高峰録音の高みをグイッと更新したアップグレード盤なのです。
その気になるクオリティの雨に、まずはショウのポジション。「1977年・QUEEN・ミラード録音」というと先に発掘された先輩盤『L.A. FORUM 1977 2ND NIGHT（Wardour-407）』もありますが、実は音源の意義がまったく違う。まずは当時の活動概要を俯瞰し、それぞれの位置関係を確認しておきましょう。

●1977年
“A DAY AT THE RACES TOUR”
・１月13日-３月18日：北米#1（40公演）←※L.A. FORUM 1977
・５月８日-６月７日：欧州#1（19公演）
《10月28日『世界に捧ぐ』発売》
“NEWS OF THE WORLD TOUR”
・11月11日-12月22日：北米#2（26公演）←★ココ★
●1978年
・４月12日-５月13日：欧州#2（20公演）
《７月-10月『JAZZ』制作》

これが“A DAY AT THE RACES Tour”・“NEWS OF THE WORLD Tour”の全体像。『L.A. FORUM 1977 2ND NIGHT』が前者“A DAY AT THE RACES Tour”の代表作なのに対し、本作が記録されたのは後者“NEWS OF THE WORLD Tour”の「北米#2」なのです。この「北米#2」は、これまた象徴的な超名盤『ULTIMATE HOUSTON 1977（Wardour-246）』も残されたわけですが、本作はその９日後でもありました。

【異常精度のマスタリングでアップグレード】
さて、本題。本作のサウンドはいかなるものか。
初登場盤『Wardour-455』からしてあまりにも完璧だったわけですが、本作は一度大元に遡って「GRAF ZEPPELIN」が再マスタリング。いつものように執念めいた精度で磨き込んだのです。ピッチ／位相は1/1000秒のズレも許さず、帯域分析を施した上でバランスを調整。ヒス・ハム・ギャップ等の各種ノイズも聞こえるかどうかの微細なものまで見つけ出し、それぞれの特性に沿ってトリートメントしていく。その結果、塵も積もれば山となる。１つひとつの細かな精度向上により、本作は確かに過去最高を更新している。もちろん、前回盤『Wardour-455』も単体では今なお完璧に聞こえるものの、本作と聴き比べると「何か違う」と感じるのです。
「何か違う」ではあまりにもうさん臭いので分かりやすい点を挙げますと、ピアノの鳴りでしょうか。実はこの録音、ショウの序盤・中盤・終盤で微妙にピッチが異なっていました。録音時か、トランスファー段階かは分かりませんが、恐らく録音テープの面代わり毎に微妙にズレたのでしょう。もちろん、パッと聴いただけではズレに気付かないほどささやかですし、実際に発掘を担った名門「JEMS」も気づかず、全編一貫のピッチ調整しかしていませんでした。
そして、この微細なピッチのズレが分かりやすいのがピアノの音。例えば、「Somebody To Love」。微妙なズレがわずかな違和県や鳴りの揺れ、歪みになっていたのです。恐らく前回盤をお持ちの方なら違和感とも思わず「AUDなら当然の音」と感じられるでしょう。しかし、ビシッと整った本作を聴くと「あ、こっちが正しい」と分かる。そして、その「確かなピアノの音」が序盤の「Somebody To Love」と終盤の「Bohemian Rhapsody」で変わらない。尋常ならざる精度のマスタリングと、その精度がキチンと反映されるほど繊細なミラード・サウンド……両者が揃ってこそのアップグレードなのです。

「We Will Rock You」「We Are The Champions」を筆頭に、絶対の名曲が揃った“NEWS OF THE WORLD Tour”。その演奏力がピークを迎えた「北米#2」を現場体験できる奇跡のライヴアルバムです。絶対名手ミラードによる録音、名門「JEMS」の絶大な発掘力、偏執的な「GRAF ZEPPELIN」の細密マスタリング、そして「最初の絶頂」とも評されるQUEENの生演奏。１つひとつの要素が最高峰であり、すべてが相互作用して未到の地平を切り拓いた新たなる最高傑作です。どうぞ、永久保存プレス２CDでいつでも、いつまでもご堪能ください。

★「1977年12月20日ロングビーチ公演」の超絶級オーディエンス録音。かつて「QUEEN客録の最高峰」を大絶賛されたミラードの超名作を「GRAF ZEPPELIN」が磨き直した最高峰更新盤です。これまで見過ごされてきたテープ片面ごとのピッチの（微細な）ズレも見逃さず、音楽作品としての完成度が究極の域に達した歴代最高傑作の誕生です。

Disc 1 (57:30)
01. Intro.
02. We Will Rock You (slow)
03. We Will Rock You (fast)
04. Brighton Rock
05. Somebody To Love
06. Death On Two Legs
07. Killer Queen
08. Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy
09. I’m In Love With My Car
10. Get Down Make Love
11. The Millionaire Waltz
12. You’re My Best Friend
13. Liar
14. Love Of My Life
15. ’39
16. My Melancholy Blues

Disc 2 (54:47)
01. White Man
02. The Prophet’s Song
03. Guitar Solo
04. The Prophet’s Song (reprise)
05. Now I’m Here
06. Stone Cold Crazy
07. Bohemian Rhapsody
08. Keep Yourself Alive
09. Tie Your Mother Down
10. We Will Rock You
11. We Are The Champions
12. Sheer Heart Attack
13. Jailhouse Rock
14. God Save The Queen

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