Telegraph Road - Madrid 2005

[dustyvalentino]

Hard to see past an early line up with Pick on drums for Sultans IMO.

Heard the studio recording on the radio yesterday and it still sounds amazing. Pick's drums have a lot to do with that IMO.

[superval99]

Pick is 63 today.  Happy Birthday Pick!   

[Jackal]

Pick was absolutely fantastic at least on those more intimate songs. Haven't really considered how he was live on the "bigger" songs, but I really love those early numbers. The Rockpalast show is a really great showcase of his abilities.

[dmg]

The new Pensa was offered to Mark not sooner than during the italian part of the 2005 european leg, thus replacing the use of the Strat on TR from that point only.

Thanks ! well, this strat sounds to me much more like a pensa a much less like the one used in Alchemy. But again, I know next to nothing about guitars... can only talk about my listener experience.

I know MK said in 2005 that "his current line-up played DS songs better than DS did", but to me this is only true of TR (and maybe RAJ if you don't like sax - but I do); for SoS, SFA and BiA I prefer Wembley'85; for MFN I prefer Montserrat'97 and for WOL... well, I don't care about WOL !

MK was never going to say his current band can't play as well as his old band could;  there's a kick in the teeth for you!

The Pensa used for TR on the 2005 tour was used from Milan onwards and is a different one from which he uses now.  He subsequently used it for the outro solo on R&J on the 2006 tour and is identifiable by an ivory border that is absent on the one he usus now.

Personally I much prefer the Pensa sound but at least there was energy.

The 2008 - 10 versions with cittern are terrible and with Richard just strumming his part after "rolling river" and the rest of the band in cruise control, the song really drags at this part.  Then when John stars picking the same couple of notes on his cittern over and over again it just seems to go on for ever.  They gotta change it for the next tour.

[jbaent]

I dont like TR versions with cittern either 

[Jackal]

I dont like TR versions with cittern either 

+1

I mean, it's OK as a little ornamentation, but it just goes on and on, the same repetetive pattern. And you can't really neglect it either.

I really like the Basel version. Possibly a bit smooth, especially with Chris stepping into Kenny G territory, but the guitar is lovely jovely. So punchy, and Mark probably at his peak as a guitar player.

[superval99]

The Basel 92 version was almost spoiled by the saxophone for me - too 80's!   There wasn't a lot of it though and it is a great version of TR!      

[ds1984]

I do prefer the sax on the 92 TR than the one on R&J.

I listened to TR Basel 92 and although a great version, Hamburg 96 remain my personnal fave recording of that one
 

[Jackal]

Listened to Hamburg 96 for the first time now. Not bad, but a bit too slow and unfocused compared with Basel. But to each his own Guitar sound is great though.

[Love Expresso]

Yeah, Sultans is phantastic from that  Hamburg 96 concert - really breathtaking and nearly "violent" - but I do not want to get off topic... 
I remember exactly the moment when he started TR; I thought: WOW, now I will get too much, or "overkill" - I had no clue about the setlist before and was already out of breath after the Romeo & Sultans connection, I was not sure if I could really take in anymore "sensation" - and then TR started - and WAS great. Blimey, I think I will listen to that concert tonight... 

LE

[dustyvalentino]

hamburg 96 probably my all time favourite boot.

[herlock]

The Basel 92 version was almost spoiled by the saxophone for me - too 80's!   There wasn't a lot of it though and it is a great version of TR!      

Actually it is more spoiled by Paul Franklin than by Chris. This pedal steel is everywhere and completely out of place...
And why the censored intro ??
And yes it is powerful, but almost too much. As if Mark was rushing it to show off; 1996, 2001 and 2005 are almost as powerful but with more soul and more respect to the studio version, yet less abrupt than Alchemy version (the only one we have on official video !! a legendary one, though).

My heart hesitates between Vaison 96 (with the very good use of the synth and the mini-orchestra) et Lyon 2005 (superb purity) for all-time-favorite. But 92 ? definitely not, even with the out-of-space solo...

[superval99]

herlock, I agree about Paul Franklin in Basel '92. His pedal steel is very out of place and irritating.  I like Basel TR, but it comes nowhere near being my favourite and it does seem that it is played fast, at the expense of feeling.  Vaison is certainly one of my favourites and I know I am in the minority here, but I really do love some of the 2010 versions a lot - including the cittern!   

[dmg]

Val,Val, Val 

Are you McCusker in disguise?

[Tally]

I woudl say that TR in 1992 was flawed for several reasons: weak Pensa sound on that one (better on the Fender), annoying Paul Franklin, felt a bit rushed.

As for the playing, of course MK was faster in those days but in my view he has developed his double-stops more and more, which are so integral to the Madrid playout. (For non-guitarists: double-stops are several notes played at once, think of the MFN riff...)