VARIOUS ARTISTS Fillmore: The Last Days VG++ '72 1ST PRESS GRATEFUL DEAD SANTANA

$

50

Vinyl:  VG++ Play Graded. Sounds Great!  5/6 of the sides play EX+.  Side 2 has some occasional soft crackle in the background.   Fillmore Labels are Clean except sides 4 and 6 have a name written lightly on them that doesn't obscure any of the printing on the labels.  This is the 1972 Fillmore 1ST PRESSING!  Z3X 31390.  This is the version Mastered at the audiophile acclaimed Artisan Sound Recorders of Pasadena, CA! A Deluxe 3 LP Boxset documenting the end of the first era of Bill Graham's Fabulous Fillmore Auditorium before it reopened in the '90s... Like a High School Reunion of sorts, as all the bands who performed in these LIVE final concerts in 1971, were part of the First Psychedelic Era of San Francisco.  There is high, celebratory energy in these sides and you can tell it was a joy to be there, not a downer!  Also contains a bonus 45 vinyl disc with an insightful interview with Bill Graham.  This disc play grades VG+.
See Review Below!
In the Dead wax:   Side 1:  PAL 31391-1B Side 2:  PAL 31392-1F Side 3:  PAL 31393-1B Side 4:  BL-31393-1F  and the glyph for Artisan Sound Recorders, Pasadena, CA Side 5:  PBL 31392-1A Side 6:  PBL 31391-1D
Cover: VG++ (see photos) Boxset.  Includes the beautifully illustrated 32 page booklet in excellent condition, as is the poster, which has no wrinkles nor holes.
Goldmine Standards.    I play test every album that I sell on eBay as I have found you can't rate an LP accurately by just visually inspecting an album.  I wipe the dust off of every cover with clean, unscented baby wipes.  I professionally clean the vinyl.
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Why buy a first or early pressing and not a re-issue or a ‘re-mastered’ vinyl album? 
First and early pressings are pressed from the first generation lacquers and stampers. They usually sound vastly superior to later issues/re-issues (which, in recent times, are often pressed from whatever 'best' tapes or digital sources are currently available) - many so-called 'audiophile' new 180g pressings are cut from hi-res digital sources…essentially an expensive CD pressed on vinyl.  Why  experience the worse elements of both formats?  These are just High Maintenance CDs, with mid-ranges so cloaked with a veil as to sound smeared.  They are nearly always compressed with murky transients and a general lifelessness in the overall sound.  There are exceptions where re-masters/re-presses outshine the original issues, but they are exceptions and not the norm. 

First or early pressings nearly always have more immediacy, presence and dynamics. The sound staging is wider.  Subtle instrument nuances are better placed with more spacious textures. Balances are firmer in the bottom end with a far-tighter bass. Upper-mid ranges shine without harshness, and the overall depth is more immersive.  Inner details are  clearer.  

 On first and early pressings, the music tends to sound more ‘alive’ and vibrant.  The physics of sound energy is hard to clarify and write about from a listening perspective, but the best we can describe it is to say that you can 'hear' what the mixing and mastering engineers wanted you to hear when they first recorded the music.  

AllMusic Review by Lindsay Planer  [-]

When the venerable San Francisco rock & roll mecca the Fillmore West packed it in on the Fourth of July 1971 an era in pop music history had also passed. Dancehall keeper Bill "Uncle Bobo" Graham -- under whose meticulous supervision the venue flourished -- held a wake and hand-picked a select few locals to give the Fillmore its last musical rights. Fillmore: The Last Days -- containing highlights recorded during the final week of performances -- was issued as the soundtrack to a likewise-titled feature-length 1972 documentary. The original three-LP box set also included a bonus 7" record containing over a quarter-hour's worth of "Words With Bill Graham." The deluxe packaging was endowed with an original "closing week" poster.  Plus, as if that weren't enough, there was a commemorative liner notes booklet, which among with other things included a complete list of every show held at the venue. The discs feature a who's who of rock music circa 1971, most -- if not all -- of whom began their collective journey's in the Bay Area music scene at the time. The Grateful Dead ("Casey Jones" and "Johnny B. Goode"), Quicksilver Messenger Service("Fresh Air" and " "Mojo"), as well as Santana ("Incident at Neshabur" and "In a Silent Way") all make strong showings as do some of the lesser-known artists such as Malo ("Pana") or Lamb ("Hello Friends"). Fillmore: The Last Days includes some amazing performances from It's a Beautiful Day("White Bird") as well as the stunningly powerful "Baby's Calling Me Home" by Boz Scaggs -- no doubt an homage to his stint with the Steve Miller Blues Band -- plus a definitive version of "Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burnin'" from Hot Tuna -- who are the only representatives from the Jefferson Airplane, perhaps the one San Francisco band who is most conspicuously absent from the proceedings. The "Words With Bill Graham" interview allows Graham to personally express his thanks to the people who made the Fillmore such a success and to give some insight into the changing dynamics (read: money and drugs) that so radically altered his ability to adequately provide both artist and attendee with the same high-quality performance and venue for a reasonable price