Friday, 29 December 2017

BOOTLEG PROMO 2017


What have we got here for you? A reggae version of a classic song by a rock artist, a legendary reggae artist playing acoustic, a tribute to Tom Petty, a rare Banshees session track, two killer sounding instrumentals and as they say much, much, more. Available for all, the link is at the bottom of this post.

I'm really pleased with the way this has turned out, especially the sequencing and sound levels which are quite balanced. As a diverse compilation of unreleased music it really flows well together. I hope you think so and enjoy it over the holidays. Festive greetings to everyone and have a great new year in 2018.

The 2017 Bootleg promo was compiled from stand-out tracks from bootlegs that were excluded from the document 'Best Bootlegs 2015-17' (the annual update will be available in January). Some of the tracks included were from sessions or live show broadcasts of only two or three tracks and it didn't seem feasible to include such short part sets. These tracks were saved in a folder throughout the year before finalising the selections for this compilation. Those selected for the best bootlegs document are the best, but this promo download will give you an idea of the quality that was necessary to have been included in the forthcoming document.

A previous promo disc from 2015 was mentioned in a Hi-Fi forum, a member was using it to test their audio equipment. Now I know that these tracks are high quality but that was a bit too much, certainly a compliment to the selections and the tapers that recorded them but I would suggest using official studio releases for that purpose.

As for the best boots document itself, work is ongoing. I've dropped the 'Best of the Rest' section (five of those titles have been added to the main body of the document), it was essentially a stop gap to deal with the avalanche of new and upgraded music that invariably appears each Christmas holidays. The season of goodwill certainly extends to the amazing efforts of collectors and uploaders responsible for this deluge.



BOOTLEG PROMO 2017

01. BECK - Black Tambourine (KCRW session, Santa Monica, CA. November 7, 2017) FM
Recorded live in front of a small audience, this is a standout not just from this session but of the album it appeared on. A rhythmic masterpiece from Beck

02. STEVE MILLER BAND - The Joker (live Beacon Theatre, New York. April 12, 1975) FM
An absolute classic and what a performance this is, Steve gets his reggae vibe on during this live extended version.

03. PETER TOSH - Creation (acoustic solo) (WHFS, Bethesda, MD. March 14, 1979) FM
A difficult to find CD 'I Am That I Am' was released with Peter's appearances on US radio, this track is still unreleased.

04. ANTHONY D'AMATO - I Won't Back Down (BBC RS session, Glasgow. November 28, 2017) FM
A poignant tribute for the sad loss of Tom Petty, a true American great.

05. LEONARD COHEN - First We Take Manhattan (live Kongresshaus, Zurich. May 21, 1993) FM
Sadly missed, Leonard is at his humourous best on this track. Taken from the upgraded FM source and not the bootleg included in the 100 greatest bootlegs listing.

06. SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES - The Double Life (BBC R1 session 1994) FM
An electronic dance rhythm collides with the Banshees 80's style on a rare session track, their last ever for the BBC?

07. SLY & ROBBIE - Taxi (BBC R1Xtra session, Jamaica 2017)
One of the most famous Jamaican dancehall riddims ever. The only lossy track here, from a digital BBC radio station session.

08. AUTOMATIC DLAMINI - Johnny Pineapple (Unreleased album 1990) SBD
From an unreleased album, ex-members Polly Jean Harvey and John Parrish went on to greater things but this is an impressive early song.

09. THE FALL - Dramatic (unreleased studio outtake, 2002 or '03) SBD
This instrumental has a real Joy Division feel to it and would have made an epic album track. An outtake from The Country On The Click album aka The Real New Fall Album.

10. SAVAGES - Adore (live Kagelbanan, Stockholm. March 6, 2016) FM
A standout track on this all-girl band's second album 'Adore Life'. This brilliant version is from a live show in Sweden.

11. WILCO - Cry All Day (live Chicago Theatre, Chicago, IL. February 25, 2017) FM
A live performance of one of the better songs from their latest album. This show warrants further investigation.

12. LUCINDA WILLIAMS - Car Wheels On A Gravel Road (acoustic solo) (WFMU session, East Orange, NJ. September 15, 1998) FM
An acoustic version of the title track from Lucinda's best known album.       

13. MARTIN SIMPSON - Blues Run The Game (BBC R3 session, London. September 8, 2017) FM
A heartfelt cover of the Jackson C. Frank 60's classic.                

14. NIRVANA - Marigold (studio outtake with cello)
Appeared during the Elmo leaks as an mp3, here it is in lossless.

15. RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS - Californication (live Whiskey-A-Go-Go, Hollywood, CA. August 31 2000) FM
A rare intimate! show in front of an extremely animated crowd at this small venue. A showcase for the talents of guitar player John Frusciante.

16. STATUS QUO - Roadhouse Blues (live Radiohuset, Stockholm. November 24, 1971) FM
While not reaching the heights of the 1976 version on the 'Live!' album, this is nevertheless a prime example of early Quo.

Dedicated to all those we have lost during 2017...............and for the Hi-Fi guys in France! Try this one on your sound system.

Compiled by the basement67 for the 100 greatest bootlegs blog (December 2017)

PROMO 2017 is here

Tuesday, 5 December 2017

#110 JOHNNY CASH - Radio Broadcasts (1956-59)


Johnny Cash & The Tennessee Two - Radio Broadcasts 1956-59

 Country Style USA Radio - 12 November 1956
Country Style USA Radio - May or June 1956
Guest Star Radio - 28 June 1959

Johnny Cash - Vocals & Guitar
Luther Perkins - Lead Guitar
Marshall Grant - Upright Bass

There's an amazing twang and reverb on these 1956 sessions. They should have just let the band run through their entire repertoire. The Sun singles don't sound like this. The freshness and vitality of the new blasts through these recordings. They are quite awesome (despite the crackles) and I say that as someone who only owns a single Cash cd. If you know anyone who is a big Johnny Cash fan get this for them, you will make their day.

You can hear Sun recording artiste Johnny Cash perform all six sides of his first three singles, released on the label. Cry! Cry! Cry! b/w Hey Porter! released on June 21, 1955,  So Doggone Lonesome b/w Folsom Prison Blues released on December 15, 1955 and I Walk The Line b/w Get Rhythm released on May 1, 1956. Johnny attempts his version of Rock Island Line, then follows it appropriately with an old time gospel cover. The third show on this set is from 1959, a year after Johnny had left the Sun label because of money issues and Sam Phillips refusal to allow him to record gospel music.
 
Country Style USA was a radio program syndicated by the US Army Band and Recruiting Services and broadcast as a recruiting tool for them. The series consisted of 15-minute radio and film programs produced from 1957 to 1960. To encourage people to listen to them they included sessions by the top country stars of the day. Each year 13 episodes were produced in Nashville, Tennessee, and distributed to local radio and TV stations.

Guest Star was produced by the U.S. Treasury Department in the 1940s and 1950s as a public service program. It featured a different often top-name "guest star" (singer, actor, comedian) each week to promote the sales of savings bonds.

These are from vintage radio broadcast transcription discs (at times you can hear the original vinyl source which adds a certain resonance). The lineage is unknown but the original seeder says 
"I received these many years ago in a trade and transferred them from cassette." There is no information on the transfer process. 

The three shows compromise eleven performances and were originally seeded by ‘brownstien’ on the Dime tracker, 1 July 2006. Then by YardGnome’on the Traders Den, 21 August, 2006. They were then reseeded by Aikowolf (on the Traders Den) in 2015 who discovered the correct show dates. The microgaps between tracks exist on all three of those seeds. 

I have run it through Wavlab and removed a few pops and clicks and repaired the microgaps via Traders Little Helper. The exact date of the second set from 1956 is unknown, it’s thought likely to be around May or June of that year. 

12 November 1956 - Country Style USA Radio 
01. Country Style USA Intro 
02. Hey Porter 
03. I Walk The Line 
04. Join The Reserve For Youth Training Program advertising spot 
05. Rock Island Line 
06. So Doggone Lonesome 
07. Country Style USA Outro

May or June 1956 - Country Style USA Radio 
08. Country Style USA Intro 
09. Folsom Prison Blues 
10. Cry Cry Cry 
11. Reserve For Youth Training Program advertising spot 
12. I Was There When It Happened 
13. Get Rhythm 
14. Country Style USA Outro

28 June 1959 - Guest Star 
15. Guest Star Intro 
16. Country Boy 
17. Chat w/ Johnny 
18. Don’t Take Your Guns To Town 
19. Johnny Cash “Buy Savings Bonds” advertising spot 
20. Buzz Adlam & His Orchestra - When It's Twilight On The Trail 
21. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot 
22. Guest Star Outro

  
These programmes were originally produced by the US Government and are now in the public domain. HERE

If you have enjoyed these live 50's performances, you may want to hear more and that's where you'll have to go down the official route.

Johnny's first live radio recording is included on Colombia's official bootleg series 'Bootleg Vol II - From Memphis To Hollywood'. He performs four tracks: Wide Open Road, One More Ride, Luther's Boogie and Belshazzar (Dylan fans will recognize this one). Columbia have wisely included the complete KWEM in Memphis show (broadcast on August 4, 1955) with the radio announcements and adverts, giving it a sense of time and place. It's a more primitive recording than the unreleased bootleg.

Johnny Cash & the Tennessee Two returned to Country Style USA Radio in 1957 and that performance including: Stay All Night Stay A Little Longer, There You Go, Give My Love To Rose and Home Of The Blues is available on the DVD: 'Various - Country Style USA: Season 2'    

Finally Columbia's bootleg series 'Vol. 3: Live Around The World' has three tracks live at the Big D Jamboree in Dallas, Texas from 1956: So Doggone Lonesome, I Walk The Line and Get Rhythm.

Saturday, 28 October 2017

#108 TOM PETTY & the Heartbreakers - Capitol Records Tower 1977 & #109 STEELY DAN - The 'Lost' Gaucho


October began with a storm of bad news and the musical world was heavily involved. No music fan can fail to have been affected by the events of the last month and beyond.

There have been numerous heartfelt and well-deserved eulogies penned about the loss of so many legendary figures. This month both posts are a small tribute to two of the greatest musicians to have come out of the 70's, Tom Petty and Walter Becker of Steely Dan.

#108 TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS - Capitol Records Tower, Hollywood 1977

Tom & the Heartbreakers first found fame in the UK and Europe before being recognised in their homeland during the latter half of 1978. Amongst the punk, roots reggae and new wave explosion of '77, they found immediate acceptance by UK and European audiences.

Pre-dating the 60's classicism that became popular in the 80's, via the Smiths and REM, to name a few examples. The Heartbreakers combined Byrds style riffs via Rickenbacker guitars with a strong rhythmic beat that influenced many bands of the era. Even the Clash were sufficiently impressed to rehearse an instrumental version of 'Anything That's Rock 'n' Roll' on the Vanilla tapes (see the 'London Calling' deluxe edition).

This show is a perfect reminder and celebration, of how brilliant those early songs and live shows were. Anything new by the JEMS team is usually the highest quality circulating version of the show available. The sound on this is excellent as always. If you need to hear more of the best '77 shows, the Record Plant and Roslyn FM broadcasts are commonly circulating.


Studio A, Capitol Records Tower,
Hollywood CA.

Broadcast by KWST 106 FM
Los Angeles CA
November 11th 1977

1st Generation FM Broadcast from The JEMS Archive  
Transferred and Presented By Krw_co

Set List:
01. Intro
02. American Girl
03. Fooled Again
04. Breakdown
05. Listen To Her Heart
06. Don't Bring Me Down
07. Strangered In The Night
08. Anything That's Rock & Roll
09. Shout

Lineage: FM broadcast master > First generation copy > Nakamichi DR-1 (w/manual azimuth adjustment) > Creative Soundblaster X-FI HD Model #SB1240Wav (24/96kHz) > Magix Audio Cleaning Lab for track marks and edits > Wav 16/44.1 > TLH Flac (Level 8) No EQ or other tampering

The Band:
Tom Petty  lead vocals guitar harmonica
Mike Campbell  lead guitar
Benmont Tench  keyboards backing vocals
Ron Blair  bass backing vocals
Stan Lynch  drums backing vocals


Notes: Capitol Studios, a recording facility which includes eight echo chambers engineered by guitarist Les Paul and three main studios, A, B, and C. 

Thank you to JEMS for allowing us to transfer and present these shows to you.
Special thanks to Jared for his many years of taping & archiving.
Many Thanks to Butterking for making these shows available to everybody.
Finally a big thanks to ouster for such a superb site

LINK

  --------------------------------------

#109 STEELY DAN - THE 'LOST' GAUCHO

original blogger's notes:

For many years, this was considered the holy grail of Steely Dan bootlegs, as it features a complete alternative Gaucho album including several unreleased songs from the Gaucho sessions that were not included on the eventual album.

As is known by most SD fans, Becker and Fagen had to endure various misfortunes during the long and grueling process of the making of Gaucho, which caused numerous delays in its release. Becker was hit by a car, one of their favorite new tracks "The Second Arrangement" was accidentally erased by an assistant recording engineer, and there was a dispute over which record company had the rights to their forthcoming album. MCA won the contract dispute (although Fagen and Becker had already signed to a new label, WB) but then decided to increase the album's list price to one dollar more than all other albums at that time. Donald and Walter tried unsuccessfully to fight the price increase.

Through all this, Fagen and Becker grew more and more disenchanted, and eventually scrapped much of what had been recorded previously, including several entire songs. Gaucho was eventually released in November, 1980. But the ordeal, politics, and aftermath of the making and remaking of Gaucho may have lead to Donald & Walter's decision to call it quits after this album.

The 'Lost' Gaucho is a complete album vastly different to what was released. Of the 8 songs included on the 'lost' edition, only three of these were tracks that appeared on the official album, in somewhat different form. 'Were You Blind That Day' was an early rendition of a song with different lyrics that finally appeared as 'Third World Man' on the released Gaucho. 'Time Out Of Mind' on the lost version is simpler, missing the embellishments added on the Gaucho version. And the title track here is just an instrumental. The rest of the tracks are original unreleased Steely Dan songs prepared for Gaucho, but not used. These include 'Kind Spirit', 'The Bear', 'The Second Arrangement', 'Talkin’ About My Home' and 'Kulee Baba', and have never been released in any form.

As to why so many songs were dropped from the final lineup of Gaucho, a case can be made that this early version was too close in style to 1977’s Aja - shorter songs, sweeter melodies and more accessible lyrics. The finally released Gaucho seemed purposely obscure, deep and complex. Was it to spite their record company MCA? Is it possible that The Second Arrangement was never erased but that Becker and Fagen concocted the story to avoid releasing what they thought was the better version of Gaucho? Listen and decide for yourself.

An alert blog reader who had recently downloaded these files, and who happened to be an audio engineer, noticed that the left and right channels were completely (180 degree) out of phase with each other, which resulted in cancellation and loss of sound from some frequencies (particularly low end), and an overall loss of fidelity in the recordings. I found that all the available sources also had the same out-of-phase problem, so it appeared that these were the versions that have been around the trading circles for years. Fortunately, correcting this type of phase issue is quite simple to do, and it is surprising that it has not been fixed before now.

Anyway, my new audio engineer blog friend, Anthony Ochoa, was interested in not only fixing the phase problem, but also going through the recordings and doing some EQ and clean-up work on them to bring them up to a higher sound quality. So, that is what he did, and his resulting work on The Lost Gaucho has restored these files to a much fuller, richer sound, almost to a commercial quality level with greatly enhanced sound quality



Steely Dan - The 'Lost' Gaucho
(Excellent studio flac)

01 Kind Spirit*
02 Were You Blind That Day       
03 The Bear*
04 The 2nd Arrangement*       
05 Talkin' About My Home*
06 Time Out Of Mind       
07 Kulee Baba*
08 Gaucho (instrumental)       
* unreleased in any form
                                                                -----------------------------

The released Gaucho (November 21, 1980) tracklist is as follows:

Side 1:
Babylon Sisters (5:49)
Hey Nineteen  (5:06)
Glamour Profession (7:29)

Side 2:
Gaucho (5:32)
Time Out of Mind (4:13)
My Rival (4:34)
Third World Man (5:15)

Wiki notes the following:

"In addition to "The Second Arrangement", a number of songs were written for the album, but ultimately left off Gaucho. A number of these songs were included on a bootleg titled The Lost Gaucho, which represents recordings from early in the album's sessions. Song titles include "Kind Spirit", "Kulee Baba", "The Bear", "Talkin' About My Home", as well as "The Second Arrangement". An early version of "Third World Man" with alternate lyrics is included under the title "Were You Blind That Day". This recording dates from the Aja sessions."

LINK

Tuesday, 26 September 2017

#107 THE VERVE - Unreleased Urban Hymns (Flac)



Now the holiday season has passed, the music scene picks up with a deluge of new releases scheduled for release. A deluxe re-issue marking the 20 year anniversary of the release of 'Urban Hymns' by The Verve caught my eye, it's a box set consisting of five audio discs and one DVD.

Those that have only heard the album 'Urban Hymns' and none of the numerous cd single only tracks, released on the three (double pack) Hut singles in 1997, will be in for a bit of an ear opener. There was enough quality music available for the release of a quick, less comercial follow up to 'Urban Hymns' but a history of internal strife within the band put paid to any further releases, as they again split. They reformed for one further album 'Forth' a decade later. Tensions still exist between band members, recently Nick McCabe wrote on Facebook about the penultimate track on this set: "Richard doesn't want it releasing, because he knows how good it is"

This bootleg has therefore appeared in timely fashion. These eleven tracks were supposed to have been released on the recent 'Urban Hymns' reissue but unfortunately after the band approved them for release, Richard Ashcroft then vetoed them all. Nick McCabe showed a picture of the cd-r online. They were then leaked by an unknown source in the first week of September. Co-incidentally a YouTube uploader claims that they came from someone who works in the distribution department of the record company UMC. Whatever the exact story behind this, many fans have complained that these unreleased tracks should have been included on the box and it is undeniable that it would have made the set more complete.

The only non essential track is Original Insanity with its static noise, tinkling bell and crying baby. It was finished with guitar replacing the static noises and re-titled Deep Freeze for release as a bonus track on the Japanese edition of  'Urban Hymns'. The opener here, Sweet And Sour may sound familiar as it employs a drum track similar to that of Bittersweet Symphony. The Beat Nick mix of This Time is more stripped back and excludes the synth and guitar overdubs of the album track. The previously unreleased songs: Sweet And Sour, Wednesday Madness, Jalfrezi, Tina Turner, All Ways Are Maybes and King Riff 2 are all excellent



Original notes:

2017 Deluxe Edition Box Set Outtakes of fully mastered tracks approved by all band members
except Richard Ashcroft and subsequently leaked allegedly by guitarist Nick McCabe.
These tracks are flawless quality, professionally mastered by the same remastering team
and should have been included in the deluxe edition box.


The Verve - Urban Hymns Unreleased Studio Tracks

1. Sweet And Sour (5:22)
2. Wednesday Madness (4:49)
3. Neon Wilderness (Idea) (1:38)
4. Jalfrezi (4:40)
5. This Time (Beat Nick Mix) (3:49)
6. Tina Turner (6:49)
7. Oh Sister (3:31)
8. Sonnet (Acoustic demo) (3:40)
9. Original Insanity (1:36)
10. All Ways Are Maybes (4:46)
11. King Riff 2 (7:54)

LINK

Wednesday, 21 June 2017

#106 PRIMAL SCREAM - XTRMNTR LIVE 2000 (Flac)




BBC Radio 1 FM broadcast
'Lamacq Live' / 'Evening Session' programme.BBC Maida Vale Studios, London.
Broadcast on 20 March 2000


Only 'Blood Money' and Mani's track, 'Keep Your Dreams' are missing from this explosive live set. A promotional appearance for the forthcoming Xtrmntr tour, it was recorded in front of a small audience at the BBC's renowned Maida Vale studios in London.

I heard this when it was initially broadcast in March 2000 and bought a ticket for the tour, the following month. My lasting memories of the show were of the green lights that swathed the stage and the hammering thundering drums of 'Kowalski' as Bobby Gillespie leaned on his vocal stand, John Lydon style and screamed "Kowalski in Vanishing Point, Vanishing Point, Vanishing Point". (pardon the pun and don't forget to see the movie)

The album and single 'Accelerator' were Creation Records final releases, Xtrmntr the first classic album of the new millenium. Once you've heard 'Kowalski' and 'Burning Wheel', you will also be looking for the 'Vanishing Point' album released in 1997.

This BBC Radio 1 FM broadcast is as fine an example existing of how they sounded live. You really do need to 'Turn It Up' when listening to this one. It could not be more different than my last two posts. A real raging, controlled blast of aggression, year 2K style and entirely relevant in 2017.

Xtrmntr drew strong reviews, like the following:


"XTRMNTR is a biting condemnation of government, capitalism, and complacency filled with both damning lyrics and beautiful noise. "Insecticide shots for criminal cops/All jails are concentration camps, all judges are bought," rails Gillespie on the fiercely funk title track. 
Such diatribes are expressed over throbbing electro-funk rhythms, computerized firestorms, and impulsive stabs of free jazz -- imagine Rage Against the Machine as a techno band. 

In contrast to Primal Scream's best-loved album, the definitive Madchester rave-rock platter 'Scramadelica' the angry XTRMNTR builds upon the urgency and claustrophobia of the band's 1997 album, 'Vanishing Point'. 

"Blood Money" is a stealthy, horn-embellished instrumental that would have made the perfect soundtrack to a William Burroughs spy film. 
"Swastika Eyes" is a pulsing, industrial-disco barrage, and "Accelerator" sounds like the Stooges crossed with My Bloody Valentine -- in fact, MBV front man Kevin Shields provides production assistance on several tracks (as do the Chemical Brothers and the Automator), including the droning, mesmeric "Shoot Speed/Kill Light. Rarely have political albums sounded this disorientingly wonderful."

Setlist:
01. Swastika Eyes
02. Shoot Speed, Kill Light
03. Pills
04. Burning Wheel
05. If They Move Kill 'Em
06. Insect Royalty
07. Kill All Hippies
08. Exterminator
09. Kowalski
10. Accelerator

Time: 45 minute 16s

Lineage: BBC Radio 1 FM > ?? > Traded CD-R > EAC > WAV > CoolEdit (manual removal of gaps) > WAV > TLH (SBE fix) > WAV > TLH > FLAC 8 & .ffp

LINK


 

Monday, 1 May 2017

#105 TINARIWEN - The Invisible Wind Factory, Liverpool - 2017 (Flac)


Lopa Kothari presents a concert from Liverpool by Tuareg desert rock band Tinariwen. The band formed in the mountains of the Sahara over 30 years ago, and their distinctive guitar grooves have spawned a whole genre of "desert blues". This concert was recorded last month in front of a packed house at the Invisible Wind Factory, a converted warehouse in the North Docks area. Lopa also talks to vocalist and guitarist Abdallah Ag Alhassane about how the band fuse traditional Toureg music with rock and blues, to express powerful lyrics about the problems of their home land in the Sahara since new borders were established in the 1960s. Lopa is also joined by Andy Morgan, who is writing a book about the band, and who provides an overview of their development and their significance in the wider context of Malian music.

This was recorded from the BBC Lossless stream currently being tested on Radio 3 - the sound quality is stunning.


Tinariwen - In Concert
The Invisible Wind Factory,
Liverpool, England
March 7, 2017

BBC Radio 3 Lossless FLAC broadcast

* Includes 9 tracks from their current studio album 'Elwan' performed live.

Disc One:
01. intro               
02. Tinde        
03. Nizzagh Ijbal*             
04. talk               
05. Issekad
06. Tifawt
07. Tamiditin Tan Ufrawan        
08. Kel Tinawen
09. Ténéré Tàqqàl*
10. talk with Andy Morgan       

Disc Two:
11. intro               
12. Chabiba            
13. Ittus*                
14. Tamatent
15. Talyat*            
16. Assawt*            
17. Lucy Kothari introduces Ibrahim Ag Ajhabib
18. Sastanàqqàm*            
19. Nannuflay* / Tiwayyen*       
20. Imidiwan N-àkall-In*        
21. Lucy talks           
22. Cler Achel / Ourshan         
23. Chaghaybou            
24. outro               

Lineage: BBC lossless flac stream 723kbps - 48k /16bit flac / i-sound win7 / 10) / adobe audition cc > Tracks > export as 48k/16bit Flac / dbPoweramp > Wav > 16bit 44kHz flac

FLAC 1

FLAC 2


Musical veterans of the Sahara Desert, Tinariwen came to Liverpool to mark the start of the 25th anniversary of the African Oye festival and to promote their new album, Elwan. Set up by the team of people behind the legendary Kazimer music venue and club, and situated on the north docks on Regent Road, The Invisible Wind Factory is an interesting and vibrant gig space. It has an audience capacity of 1200 with high ceilings due to it being two old warehouses connected together, a unique lighting rig and a customized P.A. system. In the venue, there are areas separated by blackout fabric, and not only is it a music venue; it is a creative hub with a studio for artists, music production facilities, quirky avant-garde mobile art structures and an outside seating area.

Originally known by their fans as Kel Tinariwen (in the Tamasek language, this means “The People of The Deserts” or “The Desert Boys”), the formation of the group took place in Algeria in 1979, led by Ibrahim Ag Alhabib, a Tuareg musician of north Malian descent. By 1985 they had moved to Libya and had participated in military training both under the Libyan government and later by leaders of the Tuareg rebel movement. They then formed a musical collective (with lyrics which focused on issues affecting the Tuareg people) becoming known just as Tinariwen. During this period of time they made the D.I.Y. recordings that were circulated across the Sahara Desert Area.

In 1989, they had moved to Mali and, by 1990, had taken part in a revolt against the Malian government. After peace was agreed in 1991, the group became full-time musicians and a decade later gained attention from Western audiences. They ditched their camels for a tour bus and began playing at a wide range of festivals, such as Glastonbury in the UK, Roskilde in Denmark and Womad Festival, also in the UK. In 2005, they received a World Music Award from the BBC, and, in 2012, they won a Grammy Award for Best World Music Album. Over the years, Tinariwen have continued to evolve, creating an everlasting lifespan by introducing younger members to the band.

Tinariwen’s music is powerful and passionate, reflecting many moods, both acoustic and electric, ancient as well as being contemporary and modern. They have a ton of influences, from African and Arabian to fusions of western rock and pop.

Tonight’s set was varied, full of light and shade that gradually built up and down throughout the late evening, switching from a crescendo to a mellow serene swirl and back again. Nomad music, infectious, hypnotic timbres and summery harmonies filled the old converted mill.

Overall, it was a fantastic performance and, although an acquired taste (having routes outside of western culture), Tinariwen are one of the most successful and original world music acts, and one of the most recognised rebel bands in the world.
Tinariwen at Invisible Wind Factory, Liverpool reviewed by Adam Hassan


 released 10 February, 2017 (Wedge‎ CD00117)



Friday, 31 March 2017

#103 FELT - BBC Sessions & #104 NEW ORDER - Central London Polytechnic 1985 (Flac)


I had mentioned the New Order stash tapes in the bootlegs of the year pdf document. Thanks to the cyclical nature of available downloads, a further four New Order titles were gratefully added to my collection, including the previously deleted 'Perth' tape - surprisingly hearing it again, it did not sound such a train-wreck performance as I had recalled.
Of the four, 'Live at Central London Polytechnic,' 6th December 1985, is undoubtedly the best. It consists of both the soundcheck - note those Joy Division classics - followed by the complete gig.

Earlier in the month I had acquired a few more BBC radio sessions. Of those, the band I am including here, Felt, surprisingly never recorded a session for the famous late BBC Radio DJ John Peel. He did play them albeit infrequently but the band strangely never captured his imagination. If you enjoy the crystaline guitar sound of 80's indie, then I guarantee these three BBC radio sessions will be on repeat play.

#103 FELT - BBC sessions (1984-86)

01. Dismantled King Is Off The Throne
02. Roman Litter
03. Vasco Da Gama
04. Crystal Ball
Janice Long BBC Radio One session #1 - 30th September 1984

05. Caspian Sea
06. The Day The Rain Came Down
07. I Didn't Mean To Hurt You
08. Ballad Of The Band
Janice Long BBC Radio One session #2 - 12th February 1986

09. When The Dawn Starts Creeping In
10. Rain Of Crystal Spires
11. All The People I Like Are Those That Are Dead
12. Sapphire Mansions
Andy Kershaw BBC Radio One session - 11th September 1986

No lineage was supplied but these are from the FM master recordings

LINK.

 



#104 NEW ORDER
Central London Polytechnic, London
December 6, 1985

soundcheck
01 Atmosphere (instrumental)
02 Atmosphere
03 She's Lost Control (breakdown)
04 She's Lost Control
05 As It Is When It Was (breakdown)
06 As It Is When It Was
07 Bizarre Love Triangle (breakdown)
08 Bizarre Love Triangle
09 Love Will Tear Us Apart (instrumental)

gig
10 Atmosphere
11 Dreams Never End
12 Procession
13 Sunrise
14 Lonesome Tonight
15 Weirdo
16 586
17 The Perfect Kiss
18 Face Up
19 Age Of Consent

The soundcheck tracks are from a different source than the gig tracks (EQ and tonal qualities differ)

This gig is ranked by many New Order fans to be in their top ten gigs of all time, and in fact many consider this to be by far the best of the 1985 soundboards.
There are three sources: This (the best), the second is heavily noise reduced and encoded and finally a portion of the show was made available in the mid-to-late 1980's on a vinyl LP titled "More Than Despair".

Source: ATR-STASH mixer (?)
Lineage: SBD (ATR-STASH tape) > ??? > FLAC via Sam (lammah) > SoundForge (pitch correction, glitch removal, missing bits patching, levels, remove old SBEs) > > CD Wave (re-tracksplitting) > FLAC > you

Tuesday, 28 February 2017

#102 BROADCAST - BBC Radio & TV Sessions (1996-2000) (Flac)




BROADCAST - BBC Radio & TV Sessions

01 The Note
02 Untitled
03 Forget Every Time
04 The World Backwards

05 Come On Let's Go
06 Look Outside
07 The Book Lovers
08 Lights Out

09 Long Was The Year
10 Echo's Answer
11 Where Youth & Laughter Go I Am Not Welcome

12 Until Then (cuts in)
13 Come On Let's Go
14 Look Outside
15 Papercuts

16 Come On Let's Go
17 Unchanging Window

tracks 1-4 John Peel session #1 BBC FM Radio 1 broadcast - 6 October 1996
               (recorded at Maida Vale 4 studio in London on 15 September 1996)
tracks 5-8 Steve Lamacq session BBC FM Radio 1 - March 1997
tracks 9-11 John Peel session #2 BBC FM Radio 1 - 9 February 2000
               (recorded at Maida Vale 3 studio in London on 23 January 2000)
tracks 12-15 The Queen Elizabeth Hall, London BBC FM Radio 1 - 20 June 1998
tracks 16-17 Later with Jools Holland, BBC2 TV broadcast - 20 May 2000

Lineage: CDR received in trade > Soundforge WAV > dBpoweramp Music Converter FLAC

 Around the year 2000, several albums showcased electronic music, the most well known and controversial of these was Radiohead's album 'Kid A'. It continuously cropped up on critics lists because it defined the dread, alienation, anxiety, and malaise of the digital era in the new millenium. Another album also spoke of these same themes, the band was called Broadcast and their debut album was titled ‘The Noise Made By People’. Unlike Radiohead, Broadcast were subtler, more rhythmic, and worked in a less obscure medium. Coming some four years after the group's initial single release, the debut has attained a striking classical timelessness. It has a delicate balance between the electronic experimentation and the crystalline elegance of film scores (especially the swinging basslines and jazzy percussion of the '60s). Floating above this is the ethereal vocals of siren Trish Keenan.

This set is an excellent introduction with six radio session performances from their debut. Influences from Portishead are apparent but this music has a softer and warmer edge to it.

These three BBC Radio One sessions were culled from broadcasts between 1996 and 2000. The bonus tracks were taken from a live appearance for the John Peel curated Meltdown Festival at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London 1998. Four of the eight tracks performed live are included here. The two final tracks were taken from a BBC2 television appearance, Later with Jools... these are in slightly inferior audio. The inclusion of the third John Peel session from 2003 would have made this set more comprehensive. At present a lossless version does not circulate. Despite that, this is still one of the best Broadcast bootlegs available. I also rate highly their Black session and the VPRO performance in Amsterdam, both from the year 2000.

LINK 1

 
John Peel session #3
(mp3 320kbps)

01. Pendulum
02. Colour Me In
03. Minim
04. Sixty Forty

Recorded 24 July 2003 - Maida Vale Studio 4, London, England
Broadcast 19 August 2003 - John Peel show, BBC Radio 1 FM

LINK 2

Thursday, 2 February 2017

#101 JOE STRUMMER & the Mescaleros - Seattle 2001

From this show onwards I have decided to add a further 50 bootlegs.


Prior to downloading this show, the best sounding complete live Mescaleros set I had heard was the famous Benefit Concert (Firefighters) at Acton Town Hall in London, from November 2002. In fact it originally featured as the second post on the blog in 2011. It was then removed with some others, during a restructuring of those that had been officially released during the blog's lifetime. It's now available as a digital download from Hellcat Records and also on a limited Record Day vinyl release.

Joe Strummer, former frontman of the Clash, took to the road with his band the Mescaleros, for promotional work and live dates to publicise the release of their second album 'Global A Go-Go'. The album was released by Hellcat Records/Epitaph on July 24, 2001.

After a set of in-store appearances and a one-off show in Los Angeles on August 4, the Mescaleros returned to North America in October 2001 for a limited set of shows. The North American tour was followed quickly by a short five-date UK tour, during November 2001. I was fortunate to be present for one of those shows. It was the second time I had seen the Mescaleros and when Joe took to the stage, he strode on wearing a suit, earning immense cheers and surprise at his attire. The set list was similar to this earlier show from the Key Arena in Seattle, Washington on October 17, 2001.

Where this live recording has been previously posted, the lack of source details must surely have caused many to overlook it, believing it to be an audience recording. It is either a soundboard or FM recording and has an excellent mix. I have seen it noted as an FM broadcast on old trader's lists and some compression is noticeable on the louder uptempo numbers. Limited quality recordings are available from this tour and for those reasons I recommend it to any Clash fan.

The radio interview is a bonus track and was broadcast by the BBC earlier in the year on May 24, 2001. Joe can be heard discussing Bob Dylan's 60th birthday, along with Stevie Wonder and a rather snobbish BBC presenter, who allows Joe to sing brief snatches of 'Blowin' In The Wind' and 'Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues'

Interviews with ex members of the band mention they had misgivings over the quantity of Clash songs included in the set lists of this tour. Here there are only three Strummer/Jones compositions. The new Mescaleros album has eight of its eleven songs performed live. Most of the 'Clash' songs were actually covers of some of Joe's favourite reggae tunes.


JOE STRUMMER & THE MESCALEROS   
Key Arena, Seattle, WA.
October 17, 2001

Soundboard / FM
Lineage:  Trade > CDR > EAC > WAV > Traders Little Helper > FLAC

CD1:
01. Cool 'N' Out 
02. Global-a-Go-Go 
03. Rudy Can't Fail 
04. Bhindi Bhagee 
05. Armagideon Time (Willi Williams) 
06. Shaktar Donetsk 
07. Mega Bottle Ride 
08. Tony Adams 
09. Police And Thieves (Junior Murvin/Lee Perry)
10. Mondo Bongo 
11. Johnny Appleseed 
12. Bummed Out City

CD2:
01. Police On My Back (Eddy Grant) 
02. The Harder They Come (Jimmy Cliff) 
03. Pressure Drop (Toots Hibberts) 
04. I Fought The Law (Sonny Curtis)
05. Bankrobber 
06. Yalla Yalla
07. A Message To You Rudy (Dandy Livingstone)
08. London's Burning 
09. Blitzkrieg Bop (Ramones) 
10. Radio Interview

                                  released by Hellcat Records/Epitaph on July 24, 2001

LINK