THE BEATLES - Unreleased (Flac) *Special Post #5*

BEATLES - UNRELEASED

01. Love of the Loved - Decca Records audition January 1, 1962.
Unreleased Beatles song, Cilla Black used it for her debut single release in 1963  (Decca Audition)

02. I Saw Her Standing There - Private rehearsal,  Cavern Club, Liverpool, late 1962.
No harmonica on the final recorded version (For No One)

03. Bad to Me - Demo acetate, mid-1963.
Another unreleased Beatles song that was given away, this time to Billy J. Kramer. (For No One)

04. Roll Over Beethoven - BBC session, June 24, 1963.
A superior version than the one released on "Live at the BBC" with a longer guitar solo and better bass sound  (BBC-UB V3t53)

05. Sure to Fall (In Love With You) - BBC session, March 31, 1964.
Another superior take  to the one released. This Carl Perkins cover has a different bridge than the official selection from September 1963 (BBC-UB V8t48)

06. A Hard Day's Night - Take 4  April 16, 1964 EMI session
The reverbed guitar chord is attempted three times before a satisfactory beginning is taped. The track has some of the worst guitar playing recorded by George Harrison. (The Red Light’s On)

 07. I'm Happy Just to Dance with You - BBC session, July 17, 1964.
More mistakes by George Harrison, this time with the lyrics (BBC-UB V9t33)

08. What You're Doing - Take 11, September 30, 1964.
An alternate take that has noticeably more 12-string guitar (The Red Light’s On)

09. I'm a Loser - BBC session, May 26, 1965, Taken from the last session that the Beatles recorded for the BBC (BBC-UB V10t26)

10. That Means a Lot - Take 24 and "test" take, March 30, 1965.
Different than the Anthology take, a much faster arrangement that breaks down (The Red Light’s On)

11. Norwegian Wood - Take 2, October 21, 1965.
Again different than the Anthology 2 take; nearer the released version but the sitar is different and the track has a heavier beat (The Red Light’s On)

12. We Can Work It Out - Paul McCartney composing tape, autumn 1965
On this short extract Paul performs solo on vocal and acoustic guitar. (For No One)

13. She Said, She Said - John Lennon composing tape, early 1966
John performs solo on vocal and acoustic guitar. Early lyrics differ from the final version (For No One)

14. Strawberry Fields Forever - Home demo, Autumn 1966. John again performing solo accompanied by acoustic guitar. (The Red Light’s On)

15. Flying - September 8, 1967 - A Magical Mystery Tour instrumental, an alternate mix with a cabaret style ending (The Red Light’s On)

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16. Back in the U.S.S.R. - George's house, late May 1968 from the Esher demos recorded shortly before The White Album sessions (White Album deluxe Purple Chick)

17. I'm Just a Child of Nature - George's house, late May 1968 from the Esher demos recorded shortly before The White Album sessions.  An unreleased Beatles song that John reworked as Jealous Guy for his 1971 Imagine album. (White Album deluxe Purple Chick)

18. Revolution - Late May 1968 at George's house, from the Esher demos recorded shortly before The White Album sessions.  (For No One)

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

19. I'm So Tired - January 3, 1969 from the Get Back/Let It Be sessions. Paul on lead vocals. 01/03/69 Disc 1: t39. 3.38 (2:32)  (A/B Sessions (Purple Chick)

20. Get Back - January 10, 1969 from the Get Back/Let It Be sessions. John on lead vocals. 01/10/69 (A/B Sessions (Purple Chick))

21. Besame Mucho - January 29, 1969 from the Get Back/Let It Be sessions. Fooling around on a song they used at auditions in 1962. 01/29/69 Disc 4: t03. 29.40 (2:27)  A/B Sessions (Purple Chick)

 22. Let It Be - January 26, 1969 from the Get Back/Let It Be sessions. This is an alternate version with Billy Preston's gospel sounding organ more prominent in the mix. It appeared on the first Get Back acetate which was the basis for one of the first and most popular Beatles bootlegs (Get Back ‘Elektra’ acetate)

 23. Something - Take 37, July 11, 1969. The violins are absent from this and it has a long instrumental coda cut from the final arrangement on Abbey Road. (Abbey Road deluxe v2 sessions (Purple Chick))

 24. Oh Yoko - May 26 to June 2, 1969, John & Yoko's hotel room, the Bed-In for Peace, Montreal
Acoustic guitar and lead vocals by John with Yoko contributing backing harmonies. An early version of the song that appeared on the 1971 Imagine album. (Complete Lost Lennon V12t23)

 25. Nowhere to Go - Circa late May 1970 George Harrison demo for All Things Must Pass
George solo on vocals and electric guitar on an unreleased song (The Art of Dying (All Things Must Pass Outtakes))

26. Long Tall Sally - August 29, 1966, Candlestick Park, San Francisco.
Less than a minute of the Beatles last live song from their final show, until the rooftop appearance in 1969. (Candlestick Park (Masterdisc))

Bonus hidden track
If I Fell - Convention Hall, Philadelphia, September 2, 1964. (CDR trade)

A listing of 30 of the most interesting unreleased Beatles tracks from the book "The Unreleased Beatles: Music and Film" was used as the basis for the compilation. It was compiled by me for the 100 greatest bootlegs blog (March 2016). The sources I have used are in brackets after the notes on each track.

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Note that two tracks from Richie Unterberger's list are missing from this post. These have now been officially released on the BBC sessions 'BBC Vol.2'

Beautiful Dreamer - January 22, 1963 BBC session. Saturday Club, broadcast 26 January 1963
Lucille - September 3, 1963 BBC session.  Pop Go The Beatles, broadcast 17 September 1963

The following track was not used:

If I Fell - Early 1964 John Lennon demo vocal and acoustic guitar
This is a very lo-fi recording with extremely low sound levels (Complete Lost Lennon V15t19)

Since I first posted this, the Esher demos have been officially released on the expanded edition of the 'White Album'. Three tracks originally included have therefore been omitted, the remainder of the tracks are as far as I know still unreleased.

 

Dedicated to the two John's, the other being my father who passed on the 9th December.

DOWNLOAD

More information on the book that inspired this post can be found at this site:

http://www.richieunterberger.com/ubeatles.html
The Unreleased Beatles: Music and Film by Richie Unterberger

BBC Radio 2 FM Sessions 2017 - Fleet Foxes / Beck (Flac) *Special Post* #4

Two exclusives unavailable elsewhere for you, on this special post #4. Both artists presented here have released new albums since I recorded these sessions. The promotional radio performances were for their previous albums released in 2017, 'Crack Up' the third album by Fleet Foxes and 'Colors' by Beck.

Fleet Foxes BBC Radio 2 FM Session 2017

Jo Whiley show - Fleet Foxes session
BBC Radio 2 FM
Maida Vale, London.
Wednesday  12 July, 2017
8pm - 10pm

Jo has Fleet Foxes in session in the run up to their headline slot at Latitude Festival in Suffolk this Sunday. They bring us three live tracks from the legendary Maida Vale studios. 

01. Intro (2:23)
02. Fools Errand (3:19)
03. Interview pt. 1 (1:24)
04. Helplessness Blues (4:55)
05. Interview pt. 2 (4:20)
06. Your Protector (3:55)

Running time: 20:21

Master recording by thebasement67 on Wednesday 12 July, 2017
Lineage: Denon FM tuner > Audacity > WAV 16bit 44kHz > TLH > FLAC 8

This is the third recording I've made in the last two weeks. The first recordings in over 12 years - Minidiscs and CD recorders no more! The first two were made with an indoor FM aerial and after hearing them I decided I needed to upgrade to an outdoor FM aerial. The cable was run but unfortunately the aerial never arrived in time. There is a minor amount of hiss, only really noticeable between songs.

LINK 1
-----------------------------------------

Beck BBC Radio 2 FM Session 2017

Jo Whiley show - Beck session
BBC Radio 2 FM
Maida Vale, London
Broadcast: Wednesday 11 October 2017
8pm -10pm

Jo has Beck in session from the legendary BBC Maida Vale studios. He'll be performing songs off his new album 'Colours' his first since Grammy 'Album of the Year' winning 'Morning Phase' in 2014. The American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer has twelve albums under his belt and Jo will be talking to him as he prepares to release his thirteenth into the world.

01. Interview pt. 1 (4:45)
02. Up All Night (session) (2:58)
03. Interview pt. 2 (5:43)
04. Dreams (session) (4:42)
05. Interview pt. 3 (7:33)
06. Lost Cause (session) (3:15)
07. Interview pt. 4 (2:57)

Master recording by thebasement67 on Wednesday 11 October, 2017
Lineage: Denon FM tuner > Audacity > WAV 16bit 44kHz > TLH > FLAC 8

Outside FM Aerial this time!!!

These recordings were previously unavailable until this post - November 2020 (thebasement67)

LINK 2

THE WAR ON DRUGS - In Session (2014) (Flac)

*SPECIAL POST* #3

This one is a re-post, and will be of interest to those with the new War On Drugs live album, 'Live Drugs'. It features two sessions from 2014, promotional radio work for the now acclaimed 'Lost In The Dream' album.

 

The initial post was inspired by the 11-minute War On Drugs single 'Thinking Of A Place' (included on the live album) which led me to spend sometime re-listening to these radio sessions.

In 2003 vocalist, songwriter and guitarist, Adam Granduciel moved from Oakland to Philadelphia and met Kurt Vile - also a fellow multi-instrumentalist. Sharing the same musical interests particularly Bob Dylan they became firm friends and began working together as Kurt Vile and the Violators.

Adam's own project The War On Drugs officially began in 2005 but it would be sometime later, that the duo released their debut EP titled 'Barrel Of Batteries' in 2008. Later that year a full-length album 'Wagonwheel Blues' was released.Kurt Vile followed this up shortly after with his own debut, titled 'Constant Hitmaker' before focusing on his own solo work. He signed to Matador Records and over the following two year period released two albums and some EP's, all featuring his friend Adam Granduciel, who had continued to perform live as part of the Violators.

In 2011 the War On Drugs second album 'Slave Ambient’ was released to critical acclaim, appearing on the best albums of the year lists, side by side with Kurt Vile's own album 'Smoke Ring For Halo, on which Adam also appeared. 'Slave Ambient' broke the War On Drugs to a wider audience. Vile contributed guitar on two of the album's tracks. Much like the Hold Steady before them, they have assimilated these influences and synthesized their own fresh identifiable sound and perspective.

The third album 'Lost In The Dream' was released in March 2014 and built further on that success with positive and enthusiastic reviews. To promote the album, the group set out on a national US tour. Before playing at their next scheduled stop at the Neptune Theatre in Seattle, earlier that day, they dropped in to KEXP and recorded the session and interview included here. It was broadcast in 16 bit lossless.

The group are:

Adam Granduciel: guitar, vocals
Dave Hartley: bass
Charlie Hall: drums
Robbie Bennett: keyboards
Anthony LaMarca: acoustic guitar (also keyboards, not this KEXP session)

The interview by DJ Cheryl Waters was particularly illuminating, and the most salient questions and answers with bandleader Adam Granduciel follow below.

Adam, I know that the new album was born out of a difficult period in your life and maybe you've put all of that emotion in the record, but do you feel that there is a difference between this and 'Slave Ambient'?

"Definitely I guess I just wanted to be more disciplined with writing and recording. I wanted to showcase what the live band had become over the years. 'Slave Ambient' made us, like it forced us to tour for a year and a half and become a band. We were learning how to play together but also re-interpreting these songs. They weren't solo recordings but they also weren't band recordings. I really liked the way that the band changed the way that those songs happened live. 

So for the record I wanted something that could do that again, and really play to everyone's strengths in the studio. Without really, maybe making a band record the same way, that you'd think, you want to make one. So it's still the same kind of recording approach but just with the idea in mind, that I wanted Robbie to play beautiful piano and Dave to play all the sweet bass. To bring Charlie in on songs that I thought were right up his alley, anytime that happened it always transformed the recording."

I heard that you had a long time, like a year, to make this record, writing and recording it. Is that true?

"Yeah, all the songs I started in my home studio between June and December of 2012. They were all kind of sketches or just sparse, pretty loose structures and then I spent for the most part of 2013, overdubbing and stripping away and re-doing stuff."

Was that a luxury? Did you ever have that much time to work on music?

"Well 'Slave Ambient' took a long time too but it wasn't the only thing I had to do. This time around, this was the only thing. It was a luxury, it was different, with 'Slave Ambient too I realized that I couldn't make a record the way I had made that one again and I don't think I could make one, like the way I made this one. I think personally the goal is to just try to get to a point, where you can sit in a room with your band and make a record in maybe a few months. Live as a band, like all the records we love so much but I think it's a process trying to get there."

I get the idea that song writing is maybe more of an intensive process for you?

"Sometimes it's just a matter of exhausting all the possibilities. I mean pretty much all of the songs on this record were built up from all the stuff I started at home. We'd build them up and take them to the studio, just kind of build them up as we go. There wasn't really a moment when we were all together in a room playing a song. Some of the songs were written fairly quickly, 'Eyes To The Wind' I wrote that in my kitchen in like a few minutes strangely enough, but the finished recording of that took about a year. When I first had the idea I knew what the song meant to me. I knew it had a feeling, like a magic about it. I guess the recording process is about trying to unlock that feeling and also make it sound huge but also try to hold on to whatever like little naiveties, when you first had that little idea."

Do you know when you hear that magic? That seems to be what's going on with people with this album; you've just really hit it on every song. Do you find yourself questioning over and over or changing things all the time?

"Yeah, I usually know when I start the song in my house and I listen to it for days and days in a row, it's like the only thing I can think of, it might be really sparse but I can hear what the mood is. Like in that first song we played 'An Ocean In Between The Waves' that was like, it started off super raw in my house, just an organ, some guitar, a drum machine but I just knew it had something important. We were trying to chase that for a long time. How do you keep this beautiful little sound but also make it full band arrangements, because that's what I want. I want songs that sound like what this band sounds like."

You've got a lot of shows and quite a tour ahead of you?

"We do actually, we just drove from Denver to Seattle (1,333 miles / 2,145 km), we did that yesterday, pretty much. We have all the West Coast; Portland, San Francisco, LA, San Diego and over to Europe in May."

Later in the year, the band toured Europe for a second time, before flying off on their debut tour of Australia. The Studio 105 session in Paris was recorded in front of a small invited audience, as part of the promotional commitments on that second European tour. The live sound on this is different from the KEXP session, more like that of the tour where the keyboards have greater prominence.

The War On Drugs
Studio 105, Maison de la Radio, Paris, France
1st November 2014
Excellent FM

Broadcast by France Inter radio: November 1, 2014 on the "Coming up sessions" show.

01. Eyes To The Wind
02. Burning
03. An Ocean In Between The Waves
04. Under The Pressure
05. In Reverse
06. DJ and band introduction
07. Red Eyes
08. Suffering
09. Coming Through
10. I Hear You Calling (cover  Bill Fay 1971)

Lineage: Marantz tuner with a Zoom H4 > Sd card to PC, wav to Audacity (volume and tracks), FLAC (TLH)Original upload by letsgo - November 2014

LINK 1

 

The War On Drugs
In Studio Performance
KEXP-FM
Seattle, WA
March 28, 2014

01. intro
02. An Ocean In Between The Waves
03. chat
04. Eyes To The Wind
05. interview & band intros
06. Red Eyes
07. chat
08. Suffering
09. outro

Source:  KEXP-FM Windows Media stream @ 1.4Mbps > Sound Forge Pro 10.0a @ 24 bit/48 kHz
Recorded and transferred By:  Dennis Orr

Transfer: WAV > Sound Forge Pro 10.0a (fades & normalize) > CDWav (tracking) > iZotope MBIT+ (dithered and downsampled to 16 bit/44.1 kHz) > Trader's Little Helper (level 5) > FLAC > TagScanner 5.1 (tagging)

LINK 2

THE BLUE NILE - In Search Of The Blue Nile (Documentary) *Special Post* #2

The second in a short series of special posts is unusually for the blog a radio documentary. This has been posted elsewhere but with the ongoing interest in the Blue Nile, it seems an ideal opportunity to post it here, especially as it's one I recorded myself some three years ago.

In Search Of The Blue Nile' Documentary
BBC Radio Scotland FM
Friday 18 August 2017
9pm

01. 'In Search Of The Blue Nile' Documentary

Much is made of the fact that the Blue Nile have only released four albums in their lifetime. A career that is a prime example of quality over quantity with two outright classics in “A Walk Across the Rooftops” and “Hats”. The final release 'High' sounds better as the years pass, although as you will hear, Paul Buchanan says the band should have finished years before its release.

Peter Gabriel, Elbow and Ryan Adams are among high profile fans of The Blue Nile and this labour of love documentary 'In Search of the Blue Nile' was made by journalist, documentary-maker and musician, Ken Sweeney. He travelled to Glasgow in 2016 to interview Paul Buchanan and PJ Moore and see the sights and sounds of Glasgow's landscape that are inextricably linked with their music. As the documentary progresses Sweeney discusses the decisions, good and bad that the group made during their long career.

The documentary was first aired on RTÉ Radio One (10pm on Wednesday, December 28, 2016) and received its first broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland at 4pm on Easter Monday 17 April, 2017 with Donal Dineen, Tom Dunne and Mark Cagney among the contributors. The documentary received a repeat broadcast by the same station on Friday 18 August, 2017 at 9pm.

This is my FM recording of that repeated show. There is some sibilance on the recording, a result of me being on the outer limits of the FM reception area. It shouldn't spoil your enjoyment too much. This is a superb documentary about a most unique group.

One final comment, on playing 'Tinseltown' recently my wife said, "Kate Bush" as the track began, and it does indeed sound like the rhythm Kate used on her single a year later, 'Running Up That Hill'.

Lineage: Denon Tuner TU-260L > Audacity 2.1.3 > 16bit 44kHz > WavLab 6 > (edit and fades) > TLH > Flac 8

thebasement (November 2017)

+ 3 demos

02. Young Club (demo recorded between 1985-86)
03. Broadway In The Snow (demo recorded between 1985-88)
04. Tinseltown In The Rain (demo recorded between 1985-88)

These were obtained in mp4a some years ago and are passed on the way I received them.

 LINK

 

       Further Listening: The four albums the band have released since 1983, all essential purchases.

                             A Walk Across The Rooftops (Linn Records) 1983

 

                                         The Blue Nile ‎– Hats (Linn Records) 1989

 

                              The Blue Nile - Peace At Last (Warner Bros) 1996

 

                                                The Blue Nile - High (Sanctuary) 2004

BOB DYLAN - Theme Time Radio with your host... *Special Post* #1

Originally I began this blog with a famous Dylan bootleg 'A Tree With Roots' and an associated email. Over the last 11 years some of those posts have been officially released. The additional fifty posts allow some leeway and ensure that the listing will be relevant for some time to come. 

Keep an eye out for a few special posts between now and the New Year, plus #150 and information on the new 6th edition of Bootlegs of the Year.

For this special post we return to Dylan but with a difference, Dylan is the disc jockey, this promo item was compiled by me some years ago. A celebration of Bob Dylan's DJ career on Theme Time Radio. It selects some of the best stories, guest spots, email replies and of course music that Bob played on his first series of the show.

THEME TIME RADIO WITH YOUR HOST BOB DYLAN

Best of Volume 1

The Theme Time Radio shows have all been made available on the Internet.

This post is a promotional compilation of shows that I recorded from the BBC 6 music digital channel using a Sony minidisk separates deck. That means like the other circulating shows these are also lossy but at present this is the only audio format these shows are available on.

It gives you an idea of why these programmes were so well received and unlike the official compilation releases that spectacularly seem to have missed the point of the original shows; this compilation includes ALL of Bob’s comments and links between songs, including the show’s introduction by Ellen Barkin.

If you want to hear what is so special about these shows, download and listen to the in-between song links for Frank Sinatra’s “Summer Wind” and the Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem’s “Whiskey You’re The Devil”

Best Of Volume 1 is compiled from some of the early shows from series one:

#1 Weather

#2 Mother

#3 Drinking

#5 Coffee

 

VOLUME ONE

 1.  MUDDY WATERS - Blow Wind Blow 

 2.  JOE JONES - California Sun

 3.  JIMI HENDRIX - The Wind Cries Mary

 4.  IRMA THOMAS - It’s Raining

 5.  SLIM HARPO - Rainin’ In My Heart

 6.  FATS DOMINO - Let The Four Winds Blow

 7.  STEVIE WONDER - A Place In The Sun

 8.  FRANK SINATRA - Summer Wind 

 9.  JAN BRADLEY - Mama Didn’t Lie

 10. MEMPHIS SLIM - Mother Earth

 11. LL COOL J - Mama Said Knock You Out

 12. ROLLING STONES - Have You Seen Your Mother Baby, Standing In The   

      Shadows?

 13. MARY GAUTHIER - I Drink

 14. JIMMY ROGERS - Sloppy Drunk

 15. JOHN LEE HOOKER - One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer

 16. CLANCY BROS. & TOMMY MAKEM - Whiskey You’re The Devil

 17. SQUEEZE - Black Coffee In Bed

 18. OTIS REDDING - Cigarettes And Coffee

 19. LIGHTNIN’ HOPKINS - Coffee Blues

 20. BOBBY DARIN - Black Coffee

 21. ELLA MAE MORSE - Forty Cups Of Coffee

The first episode of Theme Time Radio hour was broadcast May 3, 2006 on of XM Satellite Radio, a subscription-based satellite radio service. From 2006 to 2008 AOL Radio offered the show on broadband Internet connection.

Season 3 finished with the 100th show appropriately “Goodbye”, on April 15, 2009.

There were 101 shows, but 'Kiss' was an unbroadcast programme.

The original versions circulating on the Internet are from these satellite or streaming web broadcasts. Series one of the programmes aired in the UK from Christmas 2006 on through 2007. The first three series are still available on the Pirate Bay.

The shows are streamed frequently on the net see:

http://www.themetimeradio.com/cat/themetime/season1/

or hear the first five episodes of series one here via a stream or download link:

https://archive.org/details/bdthemetime1

If you just want to get a taste of what all the fuss was about, try my promo compilation here:

LINK

Below is a review of the first programme:

DJ Bob Dylan Plays Sinatra, Garland, Hendrix on XM Radio Show

By Rick Warner May 4, 2006

May 4 -- Growing up in the remote Iron Range of northern Minnesota, Bob Dylan was an avid radio listener. The songs, stories and news he heard from faraway places gave him a vital connection to the outside world.

"I was always fishing for something on the radio,'' he recalled in "Chronicles: Volume One,'' a memoir published in 2004. "Just like trains and bells, it was part of the soundtrack of my life.''

Dylan is now contributing to that soundtrack with his own weekly show on XM Satellite Radio. Called "Theme Time Radio Hour,'' it features an eclectic mix of music from Dylan's personal collection that revolves around a theme like cars, mothers or whiskey.

Yesterday's promising premiere focused on songs about weather, from Muddy Water’s "Blow Wind Blow'' and Jimi Hendrix's "The Wind Cries Mary'' to Judy Garland's "Come Rain or Come Shine'' and Frank Sinatra's "Summer Wind.'' The 18-song play list also included lesser-known performers like the Consolers ("After the Clouds Roll Away''), Sister Rosetta Tharpe ("Didn't It Rain''), Lord Beginner ("Jamaica Hurricane'') and Slim Harpo ("Rainin' in My Heart'').

Dylan must be the only disc jockey in the universe to play Dean Martin, the Prisonaires, Irma Thomas, Stevie Wonder (singing in Italian) and the Carter Family on the same show. Cousin Brucie, he's not. The show reflects Dylan's heterogeneous tastes; blues and jazz, country and gospel, folk and soul -- Dylan has assimilated almost every type of music and fused them into one of the most distinct and influential sounds of the rock era.

I'm sure lots of folks laughed when they heard Dylan was going to do a radio show. But this is no David Lee Roth gimmick, no washed-up rocker desperately trying to revive his career by becoming a DJ. (Roth was a flop as Howard Stern's replacement on CBS Radio, lasting only three months before getting fired.)

Dylan's passion for old-time radio, combined with his reverence toward American musical traditions, make this just the kind of niche program that fee-based satellite radio is made for. Sirius has Stern, Martha Stewart and Jimmy Buffett; XM's got Dylan, Oprah (coming in September) and Tom Petty.

The debut show opens with the sound of pouring rain, followed by a woman's film-noirish narration: "It's nighttime in the big city. Rain is falling. Fog rolls in from the waterfront. A night-shift nurse smokes the last cigarette in her pack.''

Dylan, in his gravelly, three-pack-a-day voice, describes the program as a conglomeration of "dreams, schemes and themes'' before introducing the first song by "the great Muddy Waters -- one of the ancients by now, whom all moderns prize.''

Before and after each song, Dylan offers tidbits and trivia that put the tunes in historical perspective. We're told that "You Are My Sunshine'' was written by former Louisiana Governor Jimmie Davis, that Elvis really wanted to be Dean Martin, that Judy Garland was from Minnesota, that Hendrix was "trying to write a Curtis Mayfield song'' when he composed "The Wind Cries Mary,'' and "Just Walkin' in the Rain'' was written by a Tennessee prisoner serving a 99-year sentence for rape.

"But, you know, for a black man in Tennessee in the '40s, rape could have meant just looking at a wrong white woman in a wrong way,'' Dylan reminds us.

Adding to the old-fashioned flavor are vintage radio jingles and sound effects. In future shows, Dylan will answer e-mails from fans and get contributions from guests like Elvis Costello, Charlie Sheen and Penn Jillette. I can't wait to hear what Sheen thinks of "Subterranean Homesick Blues.''

While the music alone is enough reason to listen, I'd like to hear more personal anecdotes and commentary from Dylan. Though he's notoriously inarticulate in interviews, Dylan can be a wonderful storyteller when he wants to be, as he proved in his memoir and the recent Martin Scorsese documentary "No Direction Home.''

How many DJs, after all, can pull off an introduction like one Dylan gives to Sinatra's "Summer Wind'' ? Backed by the sound of a whipping wind, Dylan paints a graphic picture of those "hot, dry Santa Anas'' that fuel raging wildfires in Southern California.

"It's hard for people who've not lived on the West Coast to realize how radical the Santa Ana figures in the local imagination,'' he growls. "West Coast weather is the weather of catastrophe. The Santa Ana winds are like the winds of the apocalypse. But the summer wind that Frank is singing about may be a little lighter. Come on in, Frank.''

And welcome, Bob, to the magical world of radio.

#149 Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Chicago 1976 (Flac)

Neil Young and Crazy Horse
Chicago Auditorium, Chicago, IL.
November 15, 1976
Late Show

Soundboard Upgrade via JEMS

Lineage: 

Lowest-generation origin cassette > Nakamichi CR-7A azimuth-adjusted playback > Sound Devices USBPre2 > Audacity 2.0 (24/96 capture to .wav) > iZotope RX6 and Ozone 6 mastering > iZotope MBIT+ resample and dither to 16/44.1 > Audacity > TLH > FLAC

01. Heart of Gold
02. The Old Laughing Lady
03. Journey Through the Past
04. Too Far Gone
05. Give Me Strength
06. The Needle and the Damage Done
07. A Man Needs a Maid
08. Tell Me Why
09. Sugar Mountain
10. Country Home
11. Don't Cry No Tears
12. Peace of Mind
13. Lotta Love
14. Like a Hurricane
15. After the Gold Rush
16. Are You Ready for the Country?

Band:

Neil Young - vocals, guitar, keyboards, banjo, harmonica
Frank Sampedro - guitar, keyboards, vocals
Billy Talbot - bass, vocals
Ralph Molina - drums, vocals

Original notes below:

About this recording. I’m sure this is one of those Neil Young recordings that all of you are familiar with, but this marks the first time this specific source has been shared. During all those years there has always been the same underlying version of this concert, but always from a bootleg release, never a version with known generation, let alone a source with known lineage to the master.

But that changes now. BK of JEMS explains:

“This cassette comes from the collection of our longtime friend and ally SS, and given everything we know about the provenance of this famous and fabulous recording and the person from which SS received it, we strongly believe this cassette is the point of origin for every known version of the show. Meaning, all copies in circulation go back to this tape. It is ground zero. What we do not know for sure is if it is THE actual soundboard master. My assumption is that this is a first-generation tape made off either a cassette or reel master. Regardless, I believe it to be the best known version of the recording and the first with a lineage back to analog source with no digital tape or CD generation in-between.”

Firstly, this version, although it had several of the noises and minor sonic defects also present in the bootleg releases, unlike those, in this version they are barely perceptible, able to be heard only if you pay full attention or if you are fully interested in those details, either because you are someone interested in those type of issues or because you're planning to fix them yourself.

In my opinion, sonically this transfer sounds much warmer, with more clarity both in the vocals as much as in the sound of the guitar. It feels more natural, unlike the bootleg releases that surely, at some point, had some kind of noise reduction. Here the mastering has no residue of such a process.

I am very happy to know that this recording is finally getting a release worthy of its quality. As always, I thank the JEMS team for their eternal confidence in me (and those who support me) in releasing recordings to the public. Huge thanks as well to SS for loaning BK his cassette source and blessing its dissemination.

If you, like me, are grateful to this, do not hesitate to show your gratitude in the comments, I know that this recording will be appreciated by all of you. (frogster)

LINK

                                               Above cover is of the now obsolete silver bootleg

 

#148 UNDERWORLD - Bootleg Babies (Flac)

A Live Compilation (1996-99)

The selections for this 16-track, 2-disc set were chosen from 8 different shows, mostly festivals.

I'd been running an Underworld site called "Ride The Sainted Rhythms" for about a year, at that stage with lists of all the material I'd collected via trades. The site was designed to help anyone else out there who might also be collecting. It generated a lot of emails from around the world; people who wanted to trade, people who just found it very hard to find any live recordings of the group.

So it seemed like a logical progression to gather all these people together, have everyone in contact. So i started a little mailing list as part of "Ride The Sainted Rhythms". RTSR-trade was born.

We've collected over sixty seperate live gigs, hundreds of rare and promo tracks, strange recordings and material nobody ever knew existed (besides Underworld of course). - Graham Cooke

"Bootleg Babies" was a project the fans of Underworld on the RTSR-trade mailing list did last year (2000). We wanted to make a mix with the best tracks from Underworld bootlegs we had gathered over the years, a bit like Underworld did with Everything, Everything. 

It kept the list busy for a while since all the tracks where chosen with extensive polls on the list. The members chose the tracks that would be included, from which source, the name of the CD and the artwork. 

Geoff mixed the whole thing so well, it's hard to believe this is coming from 7-8 different bootlegs, ranging in various quality. We distributed the CD from fan to fan around the world. I think a good 150 copies were made of it, so for all you who couldn't get it last year you can now enjoy it. I hope you will enjoy these files -Yannick Joubert

Disc-1
01. Juanita/Kiteless/To Dream of Love, 1996-07-19 Cologne, Germany (21:41)     
02. Rowla, 1999-05-13 Koln, Germany (6:16)     
03. Bruce Lee, 1999-03-20, Tilburg, Holland (5:19)     
04. Kittens, 1999-06-26 Glastonbury, UK. (6:26)    
05. Dark Train, 1999-01-01 London, UK. (11:10)     
06. Born Slippy, 1996-07-19 Move Club, Cologne, Germany. (13:50)     
07. Born Slippy Nuxx, 1999-01-01 London, UK. (9:49)     
08. outro, 1999-05-13 Koln, Germany. (0:38)

LINK 1     

Disc-2
01. intro, 1998-11-14 Gent, Belgium. (1:25)     
02. Mmm... Skyscraper, I Love You, 1999-01-01 London, UK. (8:25)     
03. Push Upstairs, 1999-01-01 London, UK. (11:15)     
04. Confusion the Waitress, 1996-05-27 Pinkpop Festival, Holland     (8:32)     
05. King of Snake, 1999-05-13 Koln, Germany (9:54)     
06. Jumbo, 1999-03-20 Tilburg, Holland (10:14)     
07. Moaner, 1999-03-20 Tilburg, Holland (10:39)     
08. Rez/Cowgirl, 1996-08-25 Reading Festival, UK. (17:12)

LINK 2

Lineage is not specifically known, except that these are all the best available versions. This is from the CDR tree issue, which has significantly better sound.

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

Alexandra Palace, London, England - 31 Dec, 1998    New Order, Underworld
Written by Mark Reed   

(Hi Mark. I did credit you and hope you downloaded and listened to this bootleg. Sorry I can't reply via the comment box below, gremlins! If you prefer to have your excellent review removed, please contact me and I will do so. I thought it went together with this boot just like hand & glove).

After queuing for ages at the bar I run off to catch Underworld amidst their opening number, a sleek graceful and mental "Mmm Skyscraper." Tonight they are on top form - offering a totally different set and feel to the previous Manchester show - which reveals just how tight they have become. "Skyscraper" is stunning - the band are surrounded by Tomato projections and the trio seems in unnaturally close telepathic contact throughout the whole set - and as it melds into a snippet of "Thing In A Book" before turning again into the astonishing "CowGirl" - I know I'm not just having the best New Year's Eve of my life but also watching two of the best bands in the world.

Karl is on immaculate form, improvising and altering lyrics as they tumble from his mouth and wearing a big fat grin. Darren and Rick welded to their consoles are also dancing their tits off. As 'Beaucoup Fish' and the "Push Upstairs/Downstairs" medley take off, I am further convinced of Underworld power.

Even though at least half the set is all new, you wouldn't have a clue from the estatic reaction. Inevitably, about 50 minutes in, it's the astonishing 10 minute "King of Snake" (this will be Born Slippy II) that stuns me. The bassline is unrepentantly huge, and the songs dips, twist and turns in the uncompromisingly pounding manner that made "Born Slippy" so huge. Song of the year already. Karl is dancing and giving it some, wandering behind the back projections as he emotes the relentless "Moaner" to present an enormous shadow that towers over the arena. "Moaner," which tonight sounds phenomenal (yet being barely known amongst the crowd) is eagerly lapped up and effortlessly turns into "Relentless Legs." Into the silence, "Dark+Long" melds into the ace "Dark Train" which gathers a wonderful reception for a song that originally tucked away on the b side of a non charting 12". Must be something to do with that film. 'Trainspotting'... Karl loses himself in the song, endlessly yelling "likeatrainlikeatrainlikeatrain" as Darren and Karl dance like fools.

As the crowd yells, a brief snippet of Jumbo - all vocoded and funky - is overtaken by the original "Born Slippy." Unfortunately, this is the one bit of any Underworld gig I hate the most. Their melancholy classic "Born Slippy" - about the worlds worst hangover - has been hijacked by barechested E tripping cockney largeboys who like fighting and past it fat housewives who pretend they've still got it and look at me funny when I know all the words of this ace no.52 hit from 95. Anyway, "Nuxx" is a masterpiece, Karl covers Darrens eyes whilst he's mixing and then steals Darrens headphones to laughter from everyone close enough to see. As "Nuxx" pounds to the end, the crowd think it's all over. Slowly a plinky plonkly noise steams out of the speakers as the immaculate "Rez" lifts the roof off. Again, this is wonderfully recieved for a 12" from 1993 that hasn't made any UW album. As "Rez" comes to a crashing close, everyone exchanges big hugs and kisses on stage

UNDERWORLD LIVE 1996-99

1996
----
Lakota, Bristol - Feb 28, 1996
Portsmouth Pyramids Centre, Portsmouth - Feb 29, 1996
Newcastle University, Newcastle - Mar 14, 1996
Barrowland, Glasgow - Mar 15, 1996
The Refectory, University of Leeds, Leeds - Mar 16, 1996
Manchester Academy 1, University of Manchester, Manchester - Mar 23, 1996
Tribal Gathering 1996 - May 4, 1996
Essential Festival 1996 - May 25, 1996
Pinkpop 1996 - May 27, 1996
Organic 1996 - Jun 22, 1996
Roskilde Festival 1996 - Jun 28, 1996
Roskilde Festival 1996 - Jun 29, 1996
Roskilde Festival 1996 - Jun 30, 1996
Teltet i Tresse, Kristiansand - Jul 3, 1996
Rock Werchter 1996 - Jul 6, 1996
Doctor Music Festival 1996 - Jul 13, 1996
Move Club, Cologne - Jul 19, 1996
Markthalle, Hamburg - Jul 20, 1996
Lollipop 1996 - Jul 26, 1996
Unknown Venue, Leysin - Aug 24, 1996
Reading Festival 1996 - Aug 25, 1996
Point Theatre, Dublin - Aug 30, 1996
Irvine Beach Festival 1996 - Sep 1, 1996
Otmoor Park, Beckley - Sep 28, 1996
---
1997
10 Days Off, Star Building, Ghent, Belgium. - Jul 24, 1997
Man With No Name, De Groene Ster, Leeuwarden, Netherlands - Aug 20, 2017
----
1998
Red Box, Dublin - Jun 5, 1998
Glastonbury Festival 1998 - Jun 27, 1998
Rock Torhout 1998 - Jul 3, 1998
Rock Werchter 1998 - Jul 4, 1998
Eurockéennes de Belfort 1998 - Jul 5, 1998
V Festival 1998 - Aug 22, 1998
V Festival 1998 - Aug 23, 1998
Ahoy, Rotterdam - Oct 31, 1998
Mojo Club, Hamburg - Nov 2, 1998
Le Bataclan, Paris - Nov 9, 1998
I LOVE TECHNO 1998 - Nov 14, 1998
Metropolis, Montreal, QC - Nov 20, 1998
House of Blues, Chicago, IL - Nov 21, 1998
Mayan Theatre, Los Angeles, CA - Nov 23, 1998
Hammerstein Ballroom, New York, NY - Nov 25, 1998
Manchester Evening News Arena, Manchester - Dec 29, 1998
Alexandra Palace, London - Dec 31, 1998
----
1999
Big Day Out Sydney 1999 - Jan 23, 1999
Big Day Out Melbourne 1999 - Jan 26, 1999
Civic Hall, Wolverhampton - Mar 2, 1999
Northumbria University, Newcastle - Mar 3, 1999
Barrowland, Glasgow - Mar 4, 1999
Manchester Apollo, Manchester - Mar 5, 1999
Newport Centre, Newport - Mar 6, 1999
Astoria Theatre, London - Mar 9, 1999
London Astoria, 157 Charing Cross Road, London, London - Mar 10, 1999
Portsmouth Guildhall, Portsmouth - Mar 11, 1999
The LCR, UEA, Norwich - Mar 12, 1999
Brixton Academy, London - Mar 13, 1999
Arenan/Fryshuset, Stockholm - Mar 16, 1999
Ancienne Belgique, Brussels - Mar 19, 1999
Poppodium 013, Tilburg - Mar 20, 1999
Akasaka BLITZ, Tokyo - Apr 4, 1999
9:30 Club, Washington, DC - Apr 20, 1999
Hammerstein Ballroom, New York, NY - Apr 21, 1999
Electric Factory, Philadelphia, PA - Apr 22, 1999
Saint Andrew's Hall, Detroit, MI - Apr 24, 1999
The Guvernment, Toronto, ON - Apr 25, 1999
Riviera Theatre, Chicago, IL - Apr 26, 1999
Showbox Comedy and Supper Club, Seattle, WA - Apr 28, 1999
The Warfield, San Francisco, CA - Apr 29, 1999
House of Blues, Las Vegas, NV - Apr 30, 1999
Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica, CA - May 1, 1999
Electronic Beats Festival Cologne 1999 - May 13, 1999
Babylon, Munich - May 14, 1999
Megaland, Landgraaf - May 18, 1999
Vorst Nationaal / Forest National, Vorst / Forest - May 22, 1999
Pinkpop 1999 - May 23, 1999
Homelands 1999 - May 29, 1999
Glastonbury Festival 1999 - Jun 26, 1999
Axion Beach Festival 1999 - Jul 17, 1999
Week-End à Saint-Nolff 1999 - Jul 24, 1999
Fuji Rock Festival 1999 - Jul 30, 1999
Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, CA - Oct 8, 1999
Coachella Festival 1999 - Oct 9, 1999
MTV Europe Music Awards 1999 - Nov 11, 1999
Tyne Tees Television Studios, Newcastle - Nov 20, 1999

 

#147 ASWAD - Live at the BBC 1984-88 (Flac)

THE DISTANT THUNDER OF CONQUERING LIONS

Few reggae bands or artists can truly claim to have released a classic live reggae album. Bob Marley & The Wailers, Peter Tosh and Misty In Roots spring to mind. Aswad, with their live recording from the Notting Hill Carnival in 1983, ‘Live And Direct’ are also members of that select body. 

For those that want more than an official release, these three recordings, dating from 1984 to 1988 have been exquisitely recorded. This is high-class roots reggae, inna inglan stylee! If you are a reggae fan, any recording that crops up with notes by ‘alimac’ is an essential download. His FM recordings from the BBC broadcasts are terrific. This post includes a 1984 live performance, a 1988 radio session (unreleased) and a rowdy 1988 live performance.

With the current rise of the reggae roots revival in Jamaica and around the world, it’s a great pity that BBC Radio 1 FM no longer show any interest in this music. David Rodigan’s reggae show every Sunday on the digital station BBC 1Xtra was for a time (November 2017 to August 2019) re-broadcast over the BBC Radio 1 FM airwaves, albeit at the ridiculous time of 4 to 6am.

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

In 1988 Aswad had departed for a 6-date mini tour to the USA in support of their new album ‘Distant Thunder’. The trio, Brinsley Forde (lead vocals, rhythm and lead guitar), Angus ‘Drummie Zeb’ Gaye (lead vocals and drums) and Tony ‘Gad’ Robinson (vocals, bass guitar) were interviewed by Amy Wachtel for ‘Reggae & African Beat magazine and the band talked extensively of the resurgence in the reggae scene.

‘Drummie’ explains, “In London & Europe the reggae scene’s exploding again like us with a #1 single in England. With the emergence of Ziggy Marley, and also people like Freddie McGregor, Maxi Priest – they’re in the charts regular – it’s like reggae’s here again. I mean since the death of Bob Marley, there was a big lull; there was a calm, and now there’s a storm, a distant thunder on the forefront.”

Tony follows on the subject by saying, “ Fourteen years after the beginning of Aswad we’ve had a national hit in the British charts, which for us is very nice because we’ve just finished touring England, Europe, many places, and people have said to us, “It’s nice to see that reggae’s starting to lift up again.” After Bob Marley many people especially in Europe, they’ve taken that reggae has died just because they haven’t had, the media hasn’t been able to pick up the reggae like how when Bob Marley was around; when Bob was around you had that face to be able to see, you had that image to be able to get to know. He was marketed in a way where the whole world could see Bob Marley and he would speak about reggae. After that happened, after Bob went away, it was like reggae wasn’t there

But reggae’s always been there. We’ve gone on to see reggae influence actually most of pop music. When we say influence we mean in the attitude of how the actual music is made, how it’s mixed by engineers, how it sounds. I mean echoes, dubwise….When we say dubwise, we mean drum and bass. You don’t have the whole flavour, a whole heap of instruments or anything, the main influence is the dance which has to be taken from reggae. Even hip-hop right now – it is the next stage of what reggae has taken, what the actual music, song music, has taken from reggae and went to hip-hop.”

Drummie also mentioned that lead singer, Brinsley was actually the first ever black child actor in Britain. “Brinsley was in James Bond, which was major and he did two series called ‘Double Deckers’ and ‘Georgian House.’ I mean before I knew Brinsley I had to run home from school to watch him on television.”

Tracklist:

01. Introduction (0:32)
02. Not Satisfied (5:11)
03. Love Fire (3:21)
04. Not Guilty (4:51)
05. Ina Your Rights (4:37)
06. Your Recipe (4:10)
07. Roots Rockin' (4:27)
08. Chasing For The Breeze (5:02)
09. Drum & Bass Line (3:17)
10. African Children (2:54)

11. Your Recipe (ft. Trevor Walters) (3:13)
12. Bubbling (ft. Janet Kay) (2:38)
13. Breezin' (ft. Ciyo) (3:18)
14. Roots Rockin' (ft. Adrian De'Allie) (2:25)

15. Roots Rockin' (4:18)
16. Warrior Charge (3:57)
17. Unknown (3:46)
18. Set Them Free (7:23)
19. Can't Afford To Lose That Feeling (3:05)
20. My Baby Just Cares For Me (1:53)
21. Don't Turn Around (4:53)
[79:10]

t1-10: Marcus Garvey Centre, Nottingham, England (BBC R1 FM broadcast 25 February, 1984 - Sight And Sound) 38:22
 

t11-14: Ranking Miss P Session - 2 January, 1988 (BBC R1 FM re-broadcast 19 June, 1988 - The Ranking Miss P) 11:34
 

t15-21: International Two, Manchester, England - 23 March, 1988 (BBC R1 FM broadcast 23 April, 1988 - The Stereo Sequence, presented by Johnny Walker) 29:14

Link 1

Link 2

 

 

 

#146 THE POLICE - Hatfield Polytechnic 1979 (Flac)

From the presentation notes of BBC Transcription Services

No. 196 In Concert featuring Police

"The Police once described as a 'potent force', are now among the best of the newer bands to hit the headlines in Britain in 1979. They have already made a big impact in America with their first album, 'Outlandos d'Amour', and a top forty single entitled 'Roxanne'.

The trio formed in London during 1977, by expatriate American drummer Stewart Copeland, who had already played with one successful band, Curved Air. Front-man and fretless bassist Sting was playing part-time in a jazz combo in Newcastle in the north of England, while working full-time as a teacher, and guitarist Andy Summers was persuaded to leave the lunatic world of Kevin Coyne and Kevin Ayers to 'go straight' and bring his ex-music college background and rock guitar experience to the band.

The Police first went on the road, around the club circuit at the height of the Punk rock movement in Britain, so it was inevitable that they were labelled 'New Wave'. In fact, they play main-stream rock with an occasional touch of reggae - "because Sting likes it".

Sting is the centre-piece of a Police set; aside from writing all the songs, he performs them with a stage presence of a seasoned campaigner, dominating the stage in a manner reminiscent of Daltry or Plant.

This is In Concert recorded before a student audience at Hatfield Polytechnic and includes songs from their debut album, their debut single and forthcoming single release 'Message in a Bottle' being performed for the first time."
 
The Police
Hatfield Polytechnic, Hertfordshire, England.
21 February 1979

BBC Rock Hour
Pre- FM source

01. Can't Stand Losing You (5:23)
02. So Lonely (6:07)
03. Fall Out (2:45)
04. Hole In My Life (4:13)
05. Truth Hits Everybody (2:34)
06. Message In A Bottle (4:28)
07. Peanuts (3:49)
08. Roxanne (7:05)
09. Next To You (3:19)
10. Can't Stand Losing You (reprise) (6:46)

Lineage: Original mint- Radio Station BBC Vinyl > REGA Planar2 turntable, SME series III arm, Grado m-2 stylus > StAudio 24/96 card >Wavelab (No processing) >.shn

Live radio broadcast in audiophile quality. This is a really tight and focused performance. The Hatfield Polytechnic show has been booted often and appeared as an early vinyl boot titled 'Vinyl Villians' by the bootleggers, who I assume meant the title to be 'Vinyl Villains'

Rock Goes to College (RGTC) was a BBC series that ran between 1978 and 1981 on British television. A variety of up-coming rock oriented bands were showcased live from small venues and broadcast simultaneously on television and radio during a 40-50 minute live performance.

The original broadcasts were transmitted on television as well as Sight and Sound in Concert; a BBC initiative to provide simultaneous pictures on BBC2 and stereo radio broadcasts on BBC Radio 1, as stereo television broadcasts and receivers did not exist at the time. It allowed rock enthusiasts to enjoy the event with an improved sound quality.

This Hatfield, Polytechnic show on February 21st 1979, was first broadcast on BBC2's "Rock Goes to College" on April 6, 1979 (11.40pm). There was no simultaneous FM broadcast for this show.

 LINK