Yes
1973-11-23
Rainbow Theatre
London, England, United Kingdom

John Baxter master [24-96]

Lineage: Philips N3304 portable reel to reel recorder with external microphone > BASF 5 inch reel, 4-track at 3¾ ips > Revox A77 MKIV > Chord Company C-line RCA interconnect > Tascam SD-20M > WAV (24bit/96kHz) > Reaper v6.49 (trim dead air, removed several loud stop button noises, added 6.33dB and export) > WAV (24bit/96kHz) > Adobe Audition (+0.43 speed correcting, trimming, tracking) > FLAC (24bit/96kHz)

Setlist:
00 Firebird Suite 2:16
01 Siberian Khatru 9:53
02 And You And I 10:21
03 Close To The Edge 22:05
04 The Revealing Science of God 21:50
05 The Remembering 20:37
06 The Ancient 21:22
07 Ritual 24:25
08 Roundabout 9:46
09 Starship Trooper 10:50

Total Time: 2:33:30

Notes:
Previously uncirculated, this is the second earliest recording to surface from the Tales from Topographic Oceans tour. Especially notable is the presence of Starship Trooper, a song not previously known to have been played on the UK leg of this tour. Thanks to J from Pink Floyd Bootlegs on YouTube for arranging the release, to neonknight for transferring the reel, and most of all, to John Baxter for having taped this show and for generously sharing it 52 years later!

Additional notes from neonknight:

This mono recording appears on track 1 and track 4 of channel 1. The transfer was completed using a matched pair of empty 7-inch Maxell reels. There was a fairly heavy oxide deposit on the tape after each side, although none was left on the heads.

The tape was transferred in stereo using the Tascam, with the slightly weaker channel subsequently removed to retain the stronger signal.

The original recording was made on a Philips N3304, which John had borrowed from a college friend.

Yes played five nights at the Rainbow Theatre: Tuesday 20 November 1973, Wednesday 21 November 1973, Thursday 22 November 1973, Friday 23 November 1973, and Saturday 24 November 1973.

John went on the Friday with a group of friends who then spent the weekend with a friend in Maidenhead.

In between pieces of Topographic Oceans the ambient sound you can hear is from Seasons by Wendy Carlos.

notes and editing by beyondthemoon
2026-03-18