This live recording by Pink Floyd, Live From the Los Angeles Sports Arena, was released on vinyl on April 18 for Record Store Day. It is also available on CD and on the Wish You Were Here 50th anniversary Blu-ray.
This release stands as a true recognition of the work of Mike Millard, who made numerous concert recordings at the time, including this one in 1975.
This recording is a bootleg, meaning an unofficial recording made from within the audience. Its value therefore lies not in its technical quality, but in its historical significance, especially considering that not all concerts were recorded at the time.
For this recording, Mike Millard used a Nakamichi 550, with the following characteristics:
- Power Supply
DC 12 V (D Size Dry Battery x 8, Car Battery, AC with AC pack) - Tape Speed
1-7/8 ips ± 1.5 % - Wow Flutter
0.13 % WTD Peak - Frequency Response
40-17,000 Hz ± 3 dB
(SX or EXII Tape) - Signal to Noise Ratio
Better than 65 dB
(Dolby NR In Wrms CCITT 400 Hz 3% Distortion) - Total Harmonic Distortion
Less than 1.5 %
(1 KHz 0 dB) - Channel Separation
Better than 35 dB
(1 KHz 0 dB) - Cross Talk
Better than 60 dB
(1 KHz 0 dB) - Battery Life
15 Hrs (Continuous use) - Size
12-1/4″(W) x 3-1/2″(H) x 13-3/4″(D)
311 mm(W) x 89 mm(H) x 350 mm(D) - Weight
11-1/4 lbs (5.1 Kg)
(Without Batteries)
Three key aspects stand out:
- a limited frequency response, reaching about 17 kHz at -3 dB;
- a signal-to-noise ratio of around 60 dB, visible in the spectral analyses below;
- and a relatively high level of distortion, though quite respectable for a cassette recorder.
This recorder was paired with two AKG C451E microphones for the recording.
The real question is how it sounds in practice, and whether Steven Wilson managed to work any miracles through his restoration and mastering efforts which is what we will now examine.
For this review, you will find 3 versions tested:
Below you will find the description of the different editions, as well as the measurements of each edition in the following chapters.
The synthesis of the review are available here
The album is composed of 16 tracks:
- Raving And Drooling
- You’ve Got To Be Crazy
- Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Pts.1-5)
- Have A Cigar
- Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Pts.6-9)
- Speak To Me
- Breathe (In The Air)
- On The Run
- Time
- The Great Gig In The Sky
- Money
- Us And Them
- Any Colour You Like
- Brain Damage
- Eclipse
- Echoes
Summary, scoring and Samples
Ed 1: CD – 2026
Presentation
This is the double CD edition presented in 16-bit / 44.1 kHz (ref : 198029936520)
Waveform and Spectrum: DR12
The waveform of the CD – 2026 version shows a very good dynamic range confirmed with DR12.
The spectrogram shows that the signal rises to 22 kHz (with musical signal limited at 15 kHz) with no signal above this frequency due to the 44.1 kHz sampling frequency.
The graph below compares the spectrum of the CD – 2026 (white curve) with the spectrum of the Vinyl record – 2026 (blue curve).The curves of the two spectra almost perfectly overlap between 200 Hz and 5 kHz. Below 200 Hz, the CD curve is slightly higher than the vinyl version (by about 2 to 3 dB). Above 5 kHz and especially beyond 10 kHz the vinyl curve exceeds that of the CD, reaching up to 5 dB more at 20 kHz. There is also a noticeable attenuation of high frequencies between 5 kHz and 12 kHz, with very little signal above 12 kHz.
Synthesis and listening
For this bootleg, we get a true concert sound, more specifically a recording captured from within the audience. The recording work, along with the restoration and remastering carried out by Steven Wilson, places us right in the middle of the crowd while still preserving the limitations inherent to such recording conditions. This is far from the studio-quality recordings of Pink Floyd, but that is not the goal here: these concerts were not officially recorded by the band. It is therefore more of a historical document than a high-end technical production. Thanks to Mike Millard for this recording.
Rating:
- Dynamic: ●●●oo (3.5)
- Bandwidth: ●●●●o (4)
- Restitution: ●●ooo (2.5)
Ed 2: Bluray – 2025
Presentation
This album is included as a bonus on the Wish You Were Here 50th anniversary Blu-ray (Ref:).
Waveform and Spectrum: DR12
The waveform of the Bluray – 2025 version shows a very good dynamic range confirmed with DR12.
The spectrogram shows that the signal rises to 24 kHz (with musical signal limited at 15 kHz) with no signal above this frequency due to the 48 kHz sampling frequency.
The graph below compares the spectrum of the Bluray – 2025 (white curve) with the spectrum of the CD – 2026 (blue curve).The curves are perfectly identical up to 22 kHz, which corresponds to the CD limit (sampled at 44.1 kHz). In contrast, the Blu-ray version extends up to 24 kHz, matching the limit associated with a 48 kHz sampling rate used for the disc.
Synthesis and listening
The same sound rendering as the double CD version is observed.
Rating:
- Dynamic: ●●●oo (3.5)
- Bandwidth: ●●●●● (5)
- Restitution: ●●ooo (2.5)
Ed 3: Vinyl record – 2026
Presentation
This is the vinyl version released for Record Store Day, as a box set containing 4 clear LPs at 33 1/3 rpm (ref: 098029909072)
Waveform and Spectrum: DR12
The waveform of the Vinyl record – 2026 version shows a very good dynamic range confirmed with DR12.
The spectrogram shows that the signal rises above 15 kHz with signal above this frequency containing musical information and distortion due to the vinyl record s operating principle.
Synthesis and listening
The vinyl edition of this legendary bootleg shares the same characteristics as the CD version, but delivers a more natural sound, likely due to a slightly different tonal balance. It s not an actual improvement in sound quality, but rather a more pleasant listening experience for this album.
Rating:
- Dynamic: ●●●oo (3.5)
- Bandwidth: ●●●●● (5)
- Surface noise: ●●●●o (4)
- Restitution: ●●ooo (2.5)
Maximum sound quality is not the focus here: the result is very decent for a bootleg recording, but still far from the standards of other albums. However, that’s not what matters most, what truly stands out is the exceptional nature of this live capture, which would not exist without this recording. Thanks to Mike Millard for this recording.
Dynamic Range measurements and spectra are shown below.
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Measurements
Dynamic Range comparaisons
Dynamic represents the ability to reproduce a wide range of sounds from the softest to the loudest. The target is to compare the dynamics of the music and not of the media (CD, digital files or vinyl).
For our 3 editions reviewed have obtained the following Dynamic Range (DR) :
| CD – 2026 | Bluray – 2025 | Vinyl record – 2026 | |
| Global | DR12 | DR12 | DR12 |
| Min | DR10 | DR10 | DR10 |
| Max | DR13 | DR13 | DR13 |
| Raving And Drooling | DR12 | DR12 | DR13 |
| You’ve Got To Be Crazy | DR13 | DR13 | DR13 |
| Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Pts.1-5) | DR13 | DR13 | DR13 |
| Have A Cigar | DR13 | DR13 | DR13 |
| Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Pts.6-9) | DR12 | DR12 | DR13 |
| Speak To Me | DR11 | DR11 | DR12 |
| Breathe (In The Air) | DR12 | DR12 | DR12 |
| On The Run | DR13 | DR12 | DR13 |
| Time | DR13 | DR13 | DR12 |
| The Great Gig In The Sky | DR13 | DR13 | DR13 |
| Money | DR12 | DR12 | DR13 |
| Us And Them | DR11 | DR11 | DR11 |
| Any Colour You Like | DR12 | DR12 | DR12 |
| Brain Damage | DR11 | DR11 | DR11 |
| Eclipse | DR10 | DR10 | DR10 |
| Echoes | DR12 | DR12 | DR13 |
As a reminder, the scale goes from 0 to more 20, but the dynamics are considered good from 12, quite good between 10 and 11, and deteriorate below 10.
Detail of the ratings :
- Dynamic :
- Significant dynamic compression, DR less than 7
- Compression of the present dynamics, DR between 7 and 9.
- Correct piece DR >=10
- No dynamic compression (DR >12), dynamic rendering
- No dynamic compression, high DR and very dynamic sound rendering
- Spectrum :
- Spectrum cut and less than 15 khz
- Spectrum cut at 15 khz
- Spectrum not conforming to the original and cut (not HD) or original but limited bandwidth (but less than 20 kHz)
- Spectrum conforming to the original (but not HD)
- Spectrum conforming to the original with HD resolution (higher than 24kHz)
- Surface noise (only for vinyl):
- Continuous audible noise
- Audible surface noise except on passages with a high level of noise
- Reduced surface noise, barely audible on low level crossings
- Low surface noise, very good quality
- Very low surface noise, no defects, almost inaudible on the quiet passages (exceptional disc)
- Spatialization :
- Between 0 and 5 for 5.1 or 7.1 channels configuration
- Between 0 and 10 for Atmos configuration (7.1.4)
- For more information on spatialization, you can read the article describing this parameter here.
- Restitution :
- Low quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments.
- Average quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments.
- Quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments. Good record.
- High quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments. Very high level disc.
- Maximum quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments. Exceptional disc.