The New Barbarians & The Rolling Stones / BLIND DATE (2CD) DAC-197

Keith Richards was arrested for drug possession in Toronto, Canada in March 1977 and released after paying a large bail. However, the trial dragged on, and the band's survival was at risk. Thanks to the efforts of a female Stones fan living in Canada, he was eventually acquitted on the condition that he hold a charity concert in Oshawa, Toronto, on April 22, 1979. This album captures the entire benefit concert from stereo soundboard recordings. Two performances were held on the day, one in the afternoon and one in the evening.

This title covers the evening performance. The artwork reproduces the deluxe jacket version of the 2LP album released in 1980 by a TMOQ-affiliated label during the vinyl era. The source material for this LP was an excellent audience recording, but in 1995, a soundboard recording was unearthed and released on CD by TSP, becoming a beloved staple of the concert. The recording source for this album is the same soundboard source as the TSP album, but it was released on CD by the much younger New Transfer.

Comparing this album with the TSP album, the TSP album has a completely different feel, with the TSP album featuring powerful equalization and a richer echo, resulting in a more refined sound quality. While the TSP album featured many wow-and-flutter-related pitch fluctuations, this album maintains a consistent tape speed from beginning to end, ensuring a clean, even pitch. While the soundboard album features three tape change cuts, this album meticulously fills in the missing sections from the LP source, recreating the actual show in real time without any cuts.

First appearing on the album are Keith and Ronnie's band, the New Barbarians, playing with a consistent sound reminiscent of a rehearsal for their US tour, which took place from the end of April through May. The Stones, on the other hand, had a few mishaps along the way, perhaps due to their first stage appearance since their June-July 1978 US tour. The highlight was "Prodigal Son," their first performance since their 1969-70 tour. The rest of the repertoire is essentially an excerpt from the 1978 US tour setlist. The band's slapstick movements, which weren't particularly noticeable on the audience recordings, are clearly audible in the clear soundboard recording. The final tracks, "Miss You" and "Jumpin' Jack," are a complete melee, with members of the New Barbarians also joining in. Stanley Clarke's explosive bass solo on "Miss You" is particularly noteworthy.

As mentioned above, the sound is completely different from the previously released TSP recordings, so if you own a TSP version, it might be interesting to compare the two. The cheers before and after the show are also longer than on the previously released titles. Incidentally, it's said that a line recording of the first show also exists via PA. Audience recordings exist, and a recording was sent at the time from the Rockin' Rot label, which provided many recordings during the VGP era, but the sound quality was poor and the recording was ultimately never released. Rockin' Rot is now deceased, but a covert recording of the first show has now been released from this recording, which was traded without his consent. This work, carefully remastered from a new low-generation source, is the definitive soundboard recording of the second show of the 1979 benefit concert.