New DS Live Box Set, 3rd November 2023!

[milicz]

What a night listening to this on my Marantz!

[Brunno Nunes]

Heavy Fuel, Romeo and Juliet, The Bug and Private Investigations, are without a doubt from 20/05/92, Nimes, equal solos, vocal interpretation equal to what is contained in OTN.

Your Latest Trick on the recording of 05/20/92 Nimes
It has different details from the OTN version right in the introduction of Danny's percussion, at 00:11 seconds of this track, the way the drums appear in the middle of the percussion is different from the OTN.
  Another point, the way Mark sings "yeah my heart that got broken", is different from the OTN version, also in the phrase "standing outside of this wonderland" or the way he sings "is hand it to you" for the last time is different from the OTN version. Ultimately, there are subtleties and details that help to make things identical.

[Brunno Nunes]

I just discovered that YLT from OTN used it on 19/05/92, Nimes, it has the same percussion and drum part in the introduction, the sung part is also the same as the OTN version, the interpretation is the same, but the guitar is a little different, which reinforces the thesis that the guitar for this song was re-recorded in the studio, I don't know if with an overdub technique, but something happens, the vocals are the same as OTN, the guitar has a difference in the licks. I recommend checking it out, anyway, I'm "mapping" here.

Very Hard nerd level, yes, I know, but I always liked diving that way too, that's me!

[jbaent]

I just discovered that YLT from OTN used it on 19/05/92, Nimes, it has the same percussion and drum part in the introduction, the sung part is also the same as the OTN version, the interpretation is the same, but the guitar is a little different, which reinforces the thesis that the guitar for this song was re-recorded in the studio, I don't know if with an overdub technique, but something happens, the vocals are the same as OTN, the guitar has a difference in the licks. I recommend checking it out, anyway, I'm "mapping" here.

Very Hard nerd level, yes, I know, but I always liked diving that way too, that's me!

Maybe they didn't re-record it but took that tracks from another date of Nimes and Rotterdam, as long as Guy says that in his diary, regarding the track sheet page:

"The tracks in red were either overdubs or tracks moved from the slave reel"

That tracks moved from the slave reel, I don't get the exact meaning but I understood it like those tracks can be from other dates...

[Chris W]

1- For the video they used scenes from Nimes and Rotterdam, it is a montage, despite them wearing the same clothes, the secret is in the microphones on Mark's pedestal, as there are two microphones, the filming is in Rotterdam, when the scene shows the stand with a microphone, filming is in Nimes. I believe that a second microphone was placed on Mark's stand to better capture the instrument, perhaps through the PA return to the band, as this show was being recorded in a football stadium, (some sound engineer must have given this tip at the time)

2- As for the audio, what is noticeable is that the track in its entirety, just like the video, is a lot of editing work, excerpts from different shows, between Nimes and Rotterdam and excerpts of guitar licks that are not in any of the bootleg recordings we have. Until that moment when Mark does the first guitar link in the intro, he greets the audience with something like, "alright", it never happened like that, in no show I know does he do it like that, it's an overdub, that is, the package is very Frankenstein.

The mic on the stand is for any acoustic guitar. I have no idea if it was only used at some shows. It is 100% likely that it was employed by the recording team and had nothing to do with the band or the audience PA.
There is absolutely no way they studio overdubbed Mark shouting 'alright'. From my memory he shouted from time to time at the beginning of Elvis.

[Chris W]

I believe they 'fixed' quite a few things for the OTN original album.
Obviously the drums weren't fixed. Chris White told me that he was never asked to re-record anything. I doubt Paul Franklin was either.

[Love Expresso]

Just reporting, I just realized that MFN present in On The Night was always the version on 05/31/92 Rotterdam,and Wild Theme on OTN is precisely in Feyenoord, Rotterdam HOL 30.05.92. I just compared it, I will do this little by little with the other songs!

Ok. Do you find time to just listen and enjoy it occasionally?

LE

[jbaent]

I believe they 'fixed' quite a few things for the OTN original album.
Obviously the drums weren't fixed. Chris White told me that he was never asked to re-record anything. I doubt Paul Franklin was either.

Actually Guy said this in his diary:

"There were also instances where some mics weren’t even recorded, as in the case of ‘Sultans Of Swing’ 1992, where one of the drum overheads was mysteriously absent on every night. Obviously, an unnoticed error in the digital patching as the routing was clearly linked to our monitor system, which switched programs (and subsequent channel routing) for each song. In the case of ‘Fade To Black,’ the entire drum kit was muted; this must have been noticed on the night by the engineer, as they came back halfway through the song. I could imagine the frantic radio calls from the mobile truck to the stage crew to “unmute the bloody drums!” Sadly, this was the only night we played that song, so I needed to rebuild the drums from a few samples. Luckily, it wasn’t a complicated part, just a hi-hat and cross-stick. This is something that we would have done back in ’92 (using the Synclavier system), but the technology today makes it a whole lot easier."

The full diary can be read here:

https://www.guyfletcher.co.uk/dire-straits-live-box-set-2023/

Probably if anything from Chris White or Paul Franklin needed fix, they could had take pieces from other nights they recorded, easiest than bring back Paul from Nashville!

[Chris W]

Well no....
Firstly on the new box set version of Fade To Black I can't hear any drums. I know I played brushes. I don't remember playing hi-hat and crosstick in the show. So it's all a mystery to me. On first listening I didn't hear any hi-hat or crosstick in Guy's mix, I didn't actually hear any drums.

It is very hard, often impossible to slide an instrument from one performance of a song to another. Firstly, things like sax audio (from a mic) also has elements of the onstage sound in the audio. Secondly, every night the song would be played at a slightly different tempo. You could copy a small phrase and slide it over, overdubbing it, but it can be a hassle and easier to just re-record it.
Lastly, it's funny that when I suggest nothing by Chris and Paul was fixed it is suggested they may have had their performances edited (copied from another show). Maybe just maybe what they played didn't ever NEED to be fixed.

[jbaent]

Well no....
Firstly on the new box set version of Fade To Black I can't hear any drums. I know I played brushes. I don't remember playing hi-hat and crosstick in the show. So it's all a mystery to me. On first listening I didn't hear any hi-hat or crosstick in Guy's mix, I didn't actually hear any drums.

It is very hard, often impossible to slide an instrument from one performance of a song to another. Firstly, things like sax audio (from a mic) also has elements of the onstage sound in the audio. Secondly, every night the song would be played at a slightly different tempo. You could copy a small phrase and slide it over, overdubbing it, but it can be a hassle and easier to just re-record it.
Lastly, it's funny that when I suggest nothing by Chris and Paul was fixed it is suggested they may have had their performances edited (copied from another show). Maybe just maybe what they played didn't ever NEED to be fixed.

I didn't suggested that, just said "if needed fix". I'm sure nothing from his performances was wrong, but technical problems with the recordings could had happened. Problaby they didn't!

[Chris W]

There was probably a technical issue with the Sultans kit because it was a movable set up that was only ever used for one song in the show.
I'm still unsure about Guy's diary entry about Fade To Black. It could have been that the kit was actually being recorded but because my brushes were very much quieter than the regular playing that it just didn't register on the tape machine. I can't think if any reason to mute the drums in the middle of a show, unless we played Fade To Black immediately after Sultans (which is a possibility, I can't remember).
Again, from MY memory, I played brushes (like the album) on Fade To Black, not crosstick and hi-hat. Only IIRC.
I can't imagine many 'technical issues' occurring with Paul Franklin. Chris White? Maybe, but as I say, with sax mics picking up the monitors and amps on stage, it would be hard to slide audio from one show to another, but not impossible.

[jbaent]

There was probably a technical issue with the Sultans kit because it was a movable set up that was only ever used for one song in the show.
I'm still unsure about Guy's diary entry about Fade To Black. It could have been that the kit was actually being recorded but because my brushes were very much quieter than the regular playing that it just didn't register on the tape machine. I can't think if any reason to mute the drums in the middle of a show, unless we played Fade To Black immediately after Sultans (which is a possibility, I can't remember).
Again, from MY memory, I played brushes (like the album) on Fade To Black, not crosstick and hi-hat. Only IIRC.
I can't imagine many 'technical issues' occurring with Paul Franklin. Chris White? Maybe, but as I say, with sax mics picking up the monitors and amps on stage, it would be hard to slide audio from one show to another, but not impossible.

Yes, "Fade to black" was played just next to "Sultans".

In Fade to black I listen to very low in volume brushes and there is a sound I first though it was hihat but it's actually the brushing hiting the snare softly.

[Brunno Nunes]

Just reporting, I just realized that MFN present in On The Night was always the version on 05/31/92 Rotterdam,and Wild Theme on OTN is precisely in Feyenoord, Rotterdam HOL 30.05.92. I just compared it, I will do this little by little with the other songs!

Ok. Do you find time to just listen and enjoy it occasionally?

LE

Let's say that the curiosity to understand what is happening moves me!

[Robson]

I also like to know the exact dates of songs from concerts and On The Night is a real maze Thank you Brunno Nunes

[Brunno Nunes]

I also like to know the exact dates of songs from concerts and On The Night is a real maze Thank you Brunno Nunes

This was to be delivered with strict dates and locations, this is how official material should be released, but, we know the historical neglect with official releases, a lot of inaccuracy in information is regrettable. I'm trying to help do what they should have done, I'm happy to do that, but... that homework would have to be from production, as we know.