Invented to capture live sound from remote locations during filming, the portable tape recorder could also double as a device to record a live concert. But how would it compare with a professional recording? The father of the modern bootleg, "Dub", answered any doubts on quality when he and his partner Ken issued Live’R Than You’ll Ever Be, on their TMoQ label [Trademark of Quality]. On Live’R was the second set The Rolling Stones played at the Oakland Coliseum in November, 1969, on the US tour that made their fame.
The quality made Rolling Stone magazine endorse the bootleg as a legitimate recording with a proper album review. Did the bootleggers have access to the soundboard and were the tapes bought from an insider?
"Dub acquired a Sennheiser 805 shotgun microphone and a UHER 4000 5-inch reel-to-reel recorder." This was state-of-the-art recording equipment at the time. Dub placed the equipment on stage in front of the onstage monitor speakers to capture the show as the Stones themselves heard it. Listening to it today, you can guess it was not too close to Charlie Watts’ drum kit, sparing us an ear-splitting headache. The guitars and Mick Jagger’s vocals carry the show from strength to strength. Mick Taylor’s fluid solos are a delight to hear.
The speed with which Dub issued his vinyl bootleg in December 1969, about a month after the show, and the enthusiastic reception it received among fans and music critics shocked the Stones’ record company. Decca had also recorded the Nov 27 and 28 shows at Madison Square Gardens in 1969 but had no plans for a release date. But with demand for live shows on the Stones US tour, Decca finally released their own Rolling Stones live album, Get Your Ya Ya’s Out on Sept 29, the following year, 1970. It was rumored to have been heavily doctored in the studio by The Stones for sonic perfection. It would have been an embarrassment to publicly acknowledge the bootleg’s quality. It had 10 tracks compared to the bootleg’s 16 which was the complete show from start to finish.
THE ROLLING STONES –
FROM SAN FRANCISCO TO PARIS
2001 Vinyl Gang Product
live at Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, California November 9, 1969 (2nd show)
1. Jumpin' Jack Flash 4:25
2. Carol 3:41
3. Sympathy For The Devil 6:23
4. Stray Cat Blues 4:15
5. Prodigal Son 3:52
6. You Gotta Move 3:14
7. Love In Vain 5:22
8. I'm Free 5:06
9. Under My Thumb 2:45
10. Midnight Rambler 7:41
11. Live With Me 3:30
12. Gimme Shelter 4:16
13. Little Queenie 4:20
14. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction 5:58
15. Honky Tonk Women 4:02
16. Street Fighting Man 4:35
Comments: Contains original Oakland '69 2nd show versions of Jumpin' Jack Flash with sound drops and a partial version of Under My Thumb. Cover is a copy of the original Toasted (TMoQ) 2LP.
See here for more information on this most famous of recordings
