VAN HALEN – MONTEVIDEO 1983 SOUNDBOARD (2 CD)

Description

Cilindro Municipal, Montevideo, Uruguay 5 February 1983

　This is the latest installment in engineer “Roy’s” newly unearthed soundboard series, which imprints live performances like no one has ever heard before onto your brain. The Uruguay performance, the latest in the South American tour series, is now being released on 2CD!

　This release permanently preserves the “Montevideo, February 5, 1983” concert, in superb stereo soundboard recording. This was the only South American tour in Van Halen’s history, the “No Problem Tour.” It was a full-scale tour that visited four countries and included 14 performances, but the Uruguay performance was only played once. While a recording from a local FM broadcast was known before, this release is from a completely different source. It is a newly discovered master with significantly improved sound quality.

　For those who have been following the series and are looking to organize their collections, let’s start with an overview of their activities, as usual.

●1982
“HIDE YOUR SHEEP Tour”
– July 14th – August 21st: North America #1 (26 shows) ← *8 works
– September 1st – 25th: North America #2 (17 shows) ← *4 works
– October 7th – December 11th: North America #3 (38 shows) ← *3 works
●1983
“NO PROBLEM Tour”
– Date unknown “REHEARSALS 1983 SOUNDBOARD”
– January 14th – February 12th: South America (15 shows) ← ★HERE★
– May 21st “US FESTIVAL REHEARSAL 1983 SOUNDBOARD”
– May 29th: Appearance at a US festival

　This is an overview of their activities during the “DIVER DOWN” era. The usual “HIDE YOUR SHEEP Tour” accompanying the album concluded in 1982, and in 1983, the band embarked on their only ever South American tour, the “NO PROBLEM Tour.” Let’s take a closer look at the dates and confirm the position of this album within that context.

■ Details of “South America (“NO PROBLEM Tour”)”
– January 14: Caracas (First day)
* January 15: “CARACAS 1983 SOUNDBOARD”
* January 16: “CARACAS 1983 SOUNDBOARD (partial)”
* January 21: “SAO PAULO 1983 1ST NIGHT SOUNDBOARD”
– January 22: São Paulo (Second day)
– January 23: São Paulo (Third day)
– January 26: Rio de Janeiro (First day)
* January 27: “RIO DE JANEIRO 1983 2ND NIGHT SOUNDBOARD”
? January 29: Belo Horizonte performance?
* February 1st ‘PORTO ALEGRE 1983 1ST NIGHT SOUNDBOARD’
? February 2nd: Porto Alegre (2nd day)?
* February 5th: Uruguay performance ←★This work★
February 11th + 12th: Argentina (2 performances)

[Leaked soundboard that makes the standard FM sound sources a thing of the past]
…and so on. Along with this new discovery, the tour dates have also been updated, and the above is the latest theory at the moment. The Montevideo performance in this work was the 12th performance of the South American tour. Compared to 3 performances in Venezuela, 8 in Brazil, and 2 in Argentina, Uruguay was only for one night. It was truly a “once-in-a-lifetime” stage.

　As mentioned earlier, the standard recording of this Montevideo concert is the FM broadcast. Anyone who has taken the time to read this article has probably heard it at least once in some previously released version. However, this recording is completely different from that standard FM broadcast. It’s not even a broadcast; it was recorded directly from the mixing console at the venue by a man named “Roy,” who was the band’s engineer.

　Moreover, it’s not just a different source; the sound has also been significantly upgraded. The older FM sound sources (typical of South America?) were full of dubbing marks, resulting in a multitude of problems such as dropouts, stereo imbalances, and unstable tape speeds. However, this new master is on a completely different level. As it’s the original master, there are naturally no dubbing marks, and the directness, freshness, and vibrancy are incomparable.

　The sound is the familiar direct-to-board style from the series, with the live performance flowing into your brain unprocessed. If I had to pick one thing, Michael Anthony’s bass is particularly thick this time around. It’s so powerful that every single note has a heavy bass that shakes your insides and kicks you in the gut.

[Full set from the end of the South American tour, including the premiere of “Dancing In The Street”]
　The sheer power of the sound alone is enough to fill you up, but this album also boasts an incredible amount of content that will leave you completely satisfied. The running time is approximately 114 minutes, making it the second longest recording in the series, after the previous album, “PORTO ALEGRE 1983 1ST NIGHT SOUNDBOARD (Zodiac 845),” which was approximately 117 minutes. It was also recorded on “two 90-minute tapes,” and there are very few gaps due to tape changes. It’s almost the full length, and you can enjoy songs that weren’t available on FM broadcast. Let’s take a look at the contents of the recording here.

●The Fuse of Fire (6 songs)
– Runnin’ With the Devil / Jamie’s Cryin’ / Little Dreamer / Ice Cream Man / Ain’t Talkin’ Bout Love / You Really Got Me (Happy Trails) (*)
●Diver Down (7 songs)
– The Full Bug / Little Guitars / Where Have All the Good Times Gone! / Dancing In The Street (★) / Cathedral / Intruder / (Oh) Pretty Woman
●Others (10 songs + α)
– The Legendary Bomber: Dance the Night Away / Somebody Get Me a Doctor / Bottoms Up! (*)
– Others: Romeo Delight / Unchained / So This Is Love? (★) / God Bless The Child / Everybody Wants Some!! / Summertime Blues (★) / Heartbreak Hotel
*Note: “★” indicates songs from the previous album ‘PORTO ALEGRE 1983 1ST NIGHT’ This is a tour debut of songs that weren’t included on the FM broadcast version of “SOUNDBOARD”. The “*” mark indicates songs that were cut from the FM broadcast version.

…and so on. The encore songs “Bottoms Up!”, “You Really Got Me”, and “Happy Trails”, which weren’t on the FM broadcast, make their first appearance. In the main set, three songs stand out: “Dancing In The Street”, “So This Is Love?”, and “Summertime Blues”. All three are making their tour debut on this day, and the Eddie Cochran cover “Summertime Blues” wasn’t even on the recently hit and talked-about album “US FESTIVAL REHEARSAL 1983 SOUNDBOARD (Zodiac 850)”. And the ultimate highlight is “Dancing In The Street”. It’s an extremely rare song that has only been performed four times in the entire history of Van Halen, but this Montevideo performance is actually its world premiere.

　It’s even more interesting to look at the details. As mentioned earlier, “Summertime Blues” features a reference to BLACK SABBATH’s “Symptom of the Universe” in the outro, and the ending of “Dance the Night Away” includes a riff reminiscent of GENESIS’s “Keep It Dark.” You can really feel the excitement and enjoyment they’re having.

　This newly discovered soundboard recording is completely different from the long-standing standard FM broadcast recording, and completely surpasses it. It’s one of the longest recordings in the series, offering a special experience with rare tracks and even the world premiere of “Dancing In The Street.” Enjoy it to the fullest on this pressed 2CD set that will never lose its brilliance.

★ A superb stereo soundboard recording of the “Montevideo, February 5, 1983” concert. This is the latest in engineer “Roy’s” newly discovered series, with a running time of approximately 114 minutes, the second longest in the series. The sound is so powerful that it renders the long-standing standard FM broadcast recording obsolete, and it even includes encores not found in the broadcast version. The world premiere of “Dancing In The Street” makes this a truly valuable new masterpiece.

Disc:1 (47:10)
1. Romeo Delight
2. Unchained
3. Drum Solo
4. The Full Bug
5. Runnin’ With The Devil
6. Jamie’s Cryin’
7. Little Guitars
8. Bass Solo
9. Where Have All The Good Times Gone!
10. Dancing In The Street
11. Little Dreamer
12. So This Is Love?
13. God Bless The Child
14. Cathedral

Disc:2 (66:52)
1. Everybody Wants Some!!
2. Dance The Night Away
3. Somebody Get Me A Doctor / I’m So Glad
4. Summertime Blues
5. Montevideo Jam
6. Ice Cream Man
7. Heartbreak Hotel
8. Intruder
9. Pretty Woman
10. Guitar Solo
11. Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love
12. Bottoms Up! ★First appearance!
13. You Really Got Me ★First Appearance!
14. Happy Trails ★First Appearance!
15. You Really Got Me (Reprise) ★First Appearance!

STEREO SOUNDBOARD RECORDING