What better day for this to drop than on the gig's 45th anniversary 😀 A beloved show for so many reasons! I could seriously go on all day (it's one of my all-time favourite Queen shows)! Will refrain from blabbering about the actual show. Got lots to talk about regarding the remastering process, which was rather complex compared to most...   
  
What can I say about this recording? Taped very well and graciously shared 4 years ago by Mr. John Purlia. The quality is tremendous! The only glaring drawback was completely out of his control. I'm referring to the notoriously boomy acoustics of the San Diego Sports Arena.   
  
Now, not to burst anyone's bubble, but a remaster can't magically get rid of the boominess. All we can really do is navigate around it the best we can, which is what I've attempted to do here. Conventional tactics didn't necessarily apply here. Extra care was required. Too bright, and the cymbals become overbearing. So it was about finding that happy medium.   
  
I do think the result offers a very immersive experience! Obviously, if I could strip away the amount of reverb, I would. But with the sub-bass frequencies freed-up, it plays a little more nicely. With headphones on and your eyes closed, it feels as though you're inside the arena 🤯   
  
Another characteristic with this tape, it gets gradually brighter as it goes on. Applying one level of EQ across the whole lot wasn't working. If I adjusted something to suit the beginning of the show, the cymbals were way too overbearing by the end. And vice versa. Shifting the EQ it to suit the end of the show made the beginning really muddy.   
  
I combated this by basically EQing this show two different times (to suit each end of the tape) and making one big crossfade between the two (if that makes sense). This allows for a nice flow and balance which maintains itself throughout the whole show 👍 

Queen - Live in San Diego (July 5th, 1980) [2025 REMASTER]