Well, I think I'd have to agree with everything you said!
I have a copy of the mp3's which I'm playing here now (Scarred stole them so I can too right?
)....
Everything I've listened to so far sounds consistent with a member of the audience holding a microphone i.e. the crowd noises have a stronger presence than the music, it sounds very mono and I have yet to witness any real stereo separation (The start of The Camera Eye is my
usual test for stereo). There's also (what sounds to me like) a fair degree of clipping. [Pre-post edit]: Just heard some guy cheering on the RH speaker only so at least it was recorded using a stereo mic!
All that said, I'm definately going to keep this recording and put it onto the empeg. While the quality is poor compared with official live recordings it's certainly enjoyable to listen to.
OT, but given that they haven't (AFAIK) set any UK tour dates it'll have to suffice for the time being