When I first started collecting bootlegs, the quality on most of the cassettes and LPs I purchased was downright awful. Many were sourced from audience recordings that sounded like they were taped under Rerun’s trench coat. In the early ’90s a few bootleggers from Italy began focusing on releasing high-quality recordings that came from the soundboard. Now that the Interweb has made sharing shows so easily, you can find the crispiest of recordings everywhere. This week’s GTA presents four A+ quality soundboard-sourced boots for your pleasure.

Marvin Gaye ??-??-1983 SBD [FLAC, MP3 ] (date unknown, from Atlanta)

It’s just not right that Marvin Gaye was stolen from us in 1984. Just check out this bootleg from 1983 for an example of how The King of R&B was just hitting his stride. Gaye shows throughout the evening that it just doesn’t get better than his mix of well-written songs performed with the passion that was a trademark of his sound. Check out the moans from the ladies in the audience when Marvin starts Distant Lover. Even though this recording is a soundboard, you can hear the mostly female crowd voice their approval throughout.

Gaye’s voice sounds great from the opening notes of Let’s Get It On through the scintillating Sexual Healing closer. The backing band performs its job admirably, especially during a wild romp through Rockin’ After Midnight. Marvin Gaye is well-regarded as an artist, but he’s underrated as a live performer. Hopefully terrific sounding bootlegs like this one will help show that you Gotta Give It Up to him live. Read on after the jump for three more GTA SBDs from the Flaming Lips, Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, and The Band…

Flaming Lips 09/19/2007 SBD Matrix [FLAC, Megaupload FLAC link: Pt. 1 Pt. 2]

Last week we gave Ryan Adams props for allowing soundboard patches, so it’s only fair that we applaud the Flaming Lips for doing the exact same thing. We’ve found a well-produced matrix recording of the band from a recent show in Portland. A group of tapers known as thir13en (sounds like a terrorist organization to me) lovingly spliced a well-recorded audience feed with the soundboard feed. The result is a bootleg that shows there is more to the Lips music than just Wayne Coyne bouncing on top of his audience in a giant globe.

The Lips have mixed up their setlist this fall, after what seems like years and years of playing the same set. How many times can you see them play Bohemian Rhapsody? They did a nice job of playing songs from throughout their career, and even threw in a haunting cover of the Rolling Stones’ Moonlight Mile. Highlights included newer tunes Free Radicals and Vein of Stars, as well as the older Race For The Prize and Waiting For Superman. Also, She Don’t Use Jelly sounds just as good as when they played it at the Peach Pit: After Dark on 90210.

Kudos to the band for allowing the boards to circulate, and kudos to the taper who put it together. We aren’t posting a link to the MP3s of this boot, as per the taper’s request. Just make ‘em yourself, if you are so inclined.

Bob Dylan and Paul Simon 07/30/1999 SBD [FLAC, MP3 Disc 1 Discs 2 and 3]

Every summer Bob Dylan invites another Rock and Roll Hall of Famer to join him for a lucrative summer tour. Dylan recruited Paul Simon to share the bill at sheds across the country during the summer of ‘99. What happens when you put two of the greatest songwriters in history on tour together? A collection of tunes rivals any Time/Life collection you can buy.

This week a purported soundboard recording of the pair’s gig at Jones Beach has surfaced. The tracklisting for this three-CD set reads like a list of the greatest songs ever. Of course it’s all about the execution, and both Bob and Paul called upon their longtime backing bands to make sure the tunes were played well. Larry Campbell, who should have never left Dylan’s band, accents Dylan better than any guitar player since Robbie Robertson. Paul Simon’s band were no slouches, especially drummer Steve Gadd. Gadd sounds great throughout Simon’s set and seems to get better with age.

Paul Simon kicks off the show with a stellar set before Dylan came out to join him for the Sounds of Silence, I Walk The Line/The Wanderer and Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door. I held my breath before checking out the Simon/Dylan duets, but they sound fan-fucking-tastic. I don’t know if I’ve ever heard Dylan’s voice sound so clear. This show is a must-own, so don’t pass go and download it immediately.

The Band 11-xx-1983 SBD [FLAC, MP3]

Robbie Robertson surprised his bandmates in 1976 by announcing their Thanksgiving gig would be The Band’s Last Waltz. Levon and the boys didn’t share Robertson’s desire to get off the road. After six years, all of Robertson’s former bandmates were like “Fuck this shit” and reformed without him.

If you aren’t sure what Robertson added to The Band’s sound live, check out this bootleg. I can’t actually figure out who the lead guitar player is during this tour [ed. note: both Jim Weider and Earl Cate played guitar for The Band in 1983], but his tone sounds so cheesy as compared to Robertson’s natural majestic tone. Luckily Levon, Richard and Rick’s voices are all in fine form throughout this show, which basically featured all of their greatest hits.

Danko’s hauntingly beautiful voice sounds divine on It Makes No Difference, while Manuel recovers nicely from cracking in his voice during I Shall Be Released. The quality of this version ranks as one of the best post-Robertson Band recordings going, making it well worth checking out. Did we mention we miss Rick Danko?

What have you been listening to lately? We are always open to suggestions of new bands, so leave us a comment telling us of the “next big thing.”