This is one of the very first concert recordings that I ever made, and the first one that ever came out well enough to share. My equipment was a Craig mono portable cassette recorder, purchased at a garage sale, with a fresh set of batteries in it and a separate dynamic microphone which I'd bought from a local electronic components emporium. Not exactly high-fidelity I'll admit, but the end result is definitely listenable. I'd give it a B. MP3 samples are available below.

The show took place in the social room (now the Nelson Mandela Room) of the University Union at SUNY-Binghamton (now Binghamton University). As I recall, I was sitting in the front row, directly in front of the Mr. Sykes, about 15 feet or so away from him and his piano. My recorder was secreted in a plaid carry-all bag with the microphone balanced on the top of it, pointed directly at the performer.

This was also one of my very first audio restoration projects. We're talking the mid-1990's here. My original tape, a Scotch Highlander C-60, had deteriorated to the point where the signal on one channel would show serious deterioration but the identical signal on other channel would be intact. Being a mono recording, played back on a stereo machine, I could carefully choose those passages which were still intact, and restore my recordings from them. I don't recall applying EQ (I wasn't very diligent about keeping notes in those days), though the boominess frequently associated with recordings made from those old portable tape decks isn't an issue here.

Mr. Sykes performed two sets that evening. This is a compilation of every song from both sets that came out well enough to share.

This torrent is made from the finished CD-R that I made from this recording. I understand that DIME doesn't prefer this method of creating torrents, but when you were working with a computer that only had a four gigabyte hard drive in it, storing audio projects on it indefinitely wasn't really an option. I've ripped the CD using EAC as others have done with programs delivered to them on liberated bootlegs and CD-Rs. I've included he EAC log file.

LINEAGE � Craig mono portable cassette recorder with external dynamic microphone, Scotch Highlander C-60 > Nakamichi CR-1A tape deck (120 usec EQ, no Dolby, of course) > Sound Blaster AWE 64 Gold sound card > Cool Edit Pro (remastering and tracking) > CD-R > EAC (see log) > Adobe Audition (conversion of dual-track CD rip files back to original mono) > FLAC Level 8 > YOU, the listener!

If you wish to convert this program to MP3 for use in an older smartphone or music player, that's fine. PLEASE DO NOT DISTRIBUTE IT IN THAT FORM.

Making and selling bootleg recordings of material posted on DIME is not only a VIOLATION OF OUR TRUST, it's pointless. Who's going to buy from you when they can download from here for free?

In any case, enjoy this rare piece of musical history!