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NEIL YOUNG AT THE WINTER OLYMPICS 2010

March 18, 2010 – 11:23 am

Long may you run.

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HAL WILLNER’S NEIL YOUNG PROJECT
Vancouver 2010 [no label, 3CD]
Live at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad, Vancouver, BC, February 18, 2010. Very good audience recording.

To celebrate the music and legacy of a band, one finds, for instance, the ABBA or the Queen tribute bands. For his second Neil Young Project (the first was in 2004), part of this year’s Winter Olympiad, veteran producer Hal Willner said: “The way I prefer to do it is to go listen to everything the composer has written. Then I put the show together just from the material. I want something that balances the well-known and unknown, and covers all styles and approaches.”

Willner, music supervisor of Saturday Night Live, is reported to have listened to about 600 Neil Young songs for this project. “They asked me to do it two years ago… I’ve always loved his work but I wouldn’t have been able to answer a Trivial Pursuit game on him before we did this.” Willner’s works include tribute projects on Leonard Cohen and Kurt Weill.

In an interview with Alexander Varty of straight.com, Willner said: “By the time we get on the stage, there will be a script. And I always find if you know exactly what’s going to happen next, then the artists can be loose within that. A lot of magical moments come out of that.

“It’s a lot of risk. But what happens then is that you’re guaranteed some once-in-a-lifetime, magical things, and you’re guaranteed stuff that’s not going to work. So what you hope for is that 95 per cent of the show is the magical part, right? And usually it works out that way.”

Brian Pascual, reviewing the show on chartattack.com, said: “The tricky part of the night was adjusting to the constantly rotating cast for each song. It was hard to even realize there was a string section (that Wasser was a part of on violin) until Teddy Thompson’s take on Don’t Cry No Tears. It once again spoke to the difficulty in taking on such a large initiative.

“Collett and Land Of Talk’s Elizabeth Powell executed a perfectly down-home version of Down To The Wire; Metric’s Emily Haines and James Shaw ignored the catcalls and whistles for Haines to offer a pretty faithful (and slightly sinister) A Man Needs A Maid. When Haines pleaded, ‘When will I see you again?’ it was killer. Other highlights included jazz/blues vocalist/poet Eric Mingus’ very menacing and body-shaking For The Turnstiles, Sun Kill Moon’s (and former Red House Painter) Mark Kozelek singing Albuquerque and, of course, the evening’s two crown jewels.

“With a Burt Bacharach-ian horn section backing him, (Elvis) Costello crooned a lovely Love In Mind to the delight of a completely dumbstruck crowd wowed by the fact that they were watching one legend cover another legend. Speaking of legends, Reed was bathed with a chorus of ‘Louuuuuuuuuuu’ from the crowd before silently setting up and ripping into the great Helpless.

“For a show that understandably flew by the seat of its pants for most of the night, few could complain about what they had just witnessed. Sure, the musicians probably had more fun than the audience at times, but it’s hard to fault them for enjoying a night of playing with so much talent assembled on one stage.”

Even for a three-hour Neil Young show, the setlist seemed a little too esoteric and not populistic enough, bearing in mind that this is not a concert for diehard Neil Young fans. There were no Rockin’ In The Free World or Like A Hurricane.

A fitting comment for the gig might be the one at backstagerider.com: “It wasn’t a perfect night. And it was definitely a long one. But as musical director (along with Broken Social Scene’s Brendan Canning), Joan Wasser/as Policewoman should be proud that nobody really f*cked up on stage and that during the three hours there was at least 90 minutes of excellence. Step up and accept your bronze medal, Hal Willner. You can go for Gold in the next Games.”

Thanks to prof_peabody who recorded the show and shared the lossless tracks on the internet.

Click on the highlighted tracks to download the MP3s (these are high quality MP3s - sample rate of 192 kbps). As far as we can ascertain, these tracks have never been officially released on CD.

Due to the size of some of the files, please be very patient when downloading the tracks. It could be that the server was very busy. Please try again later. Kindly email us at mybigo@bigozine.com if you encounter persistent problems downloading the files.

Disc Two will be available for download on March 19, 2010.
Disc Three will be available for download on March 20, 2010.

Disc 1
Track 101. intro - Alfred Hitchcock and Olympics Anthem (2.1MB)
Track 102. A Dream That Can Last (Teddy Thompson, Jason Collett, Julie Doiron) (7.1MB)
Track 103. Everybody Knows This is Nowhere (?) (4.0MB)
Track 104. Don’t Cry No Tears (Teddy Thompson) (5.9MB)
Track 105. New Mama (Ron Sexsmith) (4.1MB)
Track 106. Down to the Wire (Elizabeth Powell - vocals, Julie Doiron, Jason Collett) (3.9MB)
Track 107. Mr. Soul (Jason Collett? - vocals, Julie Doiron? - vocals) (5.9MB)
Track 108. A Man Needs a Maid (Emily Haines - vocals, James Shaw - guitar) (7.6MB)
Track 109. Scenery (James Blood Ulmer) (11.9MB)
Track 110. For the Turnstiles (Eric Mingus - vocals & bass?, Nadine Goellner - vocals) (9.3MB)
Track 111. One More Sign (Alasdair Roberts) (5.1MB)
Track 112. After the Goldrush (Vashti Bunyan) (6.8MB)
Track 113. Love in Mind (Elvis Costello - vocals/guitar) (4.7MB)

Disc 2
Track 201. On the Beach (Joan as Police Woman - vocals/violin, Elvis Costello - guitar)
Track 202. Helpless - (Lou Reed - vocals/guitar)
Track 203. Harvest (Jenni Muldaur - vocals, Lou Reed - guitar)
Track 204. Albuquerque (Mark Kozelek)
Track 205. Bandit (Ambrosia Parsley)
Track 206. Country Girl (Bill Priddle)
Intermission
Track 207. intro jam
Track 208. Harvest Moon (Brendan Canning)
Track 209. Expecting to Fly (Janine Nichols - vocals, Kevin Hearn - vocals)
Track 210. Needle and the Damage Done (Kevin Hearn?)
Track 211. Out on the Weekend (Sam Goldberg)
Track 212. Star of Bethlehem (Jenni Muldaur, Ron Sexsmith)
Track 213. Wrecking Ball (Vashti Bunyan, Ambrosia Parsley)

Disc 3
Track 301. Powderfinger (Mark Kozelek)
Track 302. I Believe in You (Teddy Thompson)
Track 303. Don’t Let It Bring You Down (Elizabeth Powell, Joan as Police Woman)
Track 304. On the Way Home (Eric Mingus)
Track 305. Walk On (Kevin Drew - vocals/campfire host)
Track 306. Cowgirl in the Sand (Elvis Costello - vocals/guitar)
Track 307. Cinnamon Girl (Elvis Costello - vocals/guitar )
Track 308. Fuckin’ Up (many guests onstage)
Track 309. Only Love Can Break Your Heart (Julie Doiron - vocals, Kevin Drew - vocals)

Artist List:
Chris Brown *keyboards in house band
Vashti Bunyan
Robert Burger *keyboards in house band
Brendan Canning (Broken Social Scene) *bass in house band
Fred Cash *played bass in house band
Jason Collett (Broken Social Scene)
Elvis Costello
Julie Doiron
Kevin Drew (Broken Social Scene)
Michelle Fairman? *cello in house band
Nadine Goellner
Sam Goldberg (Broken Social Scene, Hawaii)
Emily Haines (Metric, Broken Social Scene)
Kevin Hearn (Bare Naked Ladies)
Shahzad Ismaily *guitar and other instruments in house band
Colin James
Mark Kozelek (Sun Kil Moon, Red House Painters)
Danial Lapp *violin and trumet in house band
Eric Mingus
Jenni Muldaur
Janine Nichols
Ambrosia Parsley (Shivaree)
Justin Peroff (Broken Social Scene) *drums in house band
Ben Perowsky *played drums in house band
Elizabeth Powell (Land of Talk)
Bill Priddle (Treble Charger, Broken Social Scene)
Lou Reed (Velvet Underground)
Alasdair Roberts
Ron Sexsmith
James Shaw (Metric, Broken Social Scene)
Teddy Thompson
James “Blood” Ulmer
Joan Wasser (Joan as Police Woman)
Andrew Whiteman (Broken Social Scene)
Doug Wielselman *clarinet, sax, guitar, ultravibes in house band

Sam Beam (Iron & Wine) was on the bill but prof_peabody noted, “I didn’t see him.”

 

Click on the link to order albums by Hal Willner.

Posted in live | No Comments »

THE PHILIP COHEN COLLECTION: SOFT MACHINE - SYRACUSE 1974

March 17, 2010 – 10:42 am

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SOFT MACHINE
Live Bundles [Banquet, 1CD]
Live at Crouse College, Syracuse, NY, March 13, 1974. Very good soundboard.

For Robert Wyatt fans, they would think of Soft Machine as the ’60s rock band that featured drummer Wyatt, bassist Kevin Ayers, guitarist Daevid Allen and organist Mike Ratledge. Over the years, Soft Machine were seen as a psychedelic band as well as a pioneering prog rock band.

By the time they recorded Bundles in 1974, they can be said to have morphed into a jazz/fusion band, or even a band that played experimental music (the sound that jumped from speaker to speaker on The Floating World being a case in point).

The wikipedia noted that on Bundles, only keyboardist and founding member Mike Ratledge is left of the early Soft Machine lineups. Guitarist Allan Holdsworth’s prominent contributions set the album apart from previous Soft Machine recordings, which had not featured a guitarist for seven years, since their debut single.

On his website, Soft Machine fan, Vernon Fitch (neptunepinkfloyd.co.uk) commented: “While I was in college at Michigan State University, I witnessed the 1974 version of the Soft Machine perform live at the Silver Dollar Saloon in East Lansing, Michigan. The band was just fantastic, especially Mike Ratledge with his fuzz organ and extended organ solos.

“The new guy (that’s how I referred to Allan Holdsworth) was a bit mysterious, as he stood at the front of the stage, waiting quietly for his section of the song to come around when he would come to life and begin playing these amazing lead solos, up and down the guitar neck at incredible speed, before stopping completely and letting the rest of the band carry on. It was almost like there was a switch that turned him on and off at precise moments. I don’t remember him playing any rhythm guitar, just lead solos. A very unusual performance, but exactly what you would expect from the Soft Machine.”

According to drfusion.blogspot.com, the source tape for this recording was unearthed from the tape archives of WAER-FM in the early 1980s. By this time, it had seeemingly been forgotten. The original reel-to-reel quarter inch tape was carefully transferred to cassette tape using Nakamichi equipment… Judicious use of noise reduction has been digitally applied to help bring out the subtleties of the performance.”

Philip Cohen notes: “The first copy of this CDR bootleg that I tried had three loud digital glitches from high-speed duplicating. The replacement was better and has only one glitch. Because the disc had professional printing onto a CD-R that was not a ‘printable’ CD-R, this was obviously a professionally made CD-R, and I assume that there was never a aluminum CD of this disc. In any event, it was the best copy that I could obtain.”

Thanks to Phil Cohen for sharing the tracks.

Note: A longtime music fan, Philip Cohen was a contributor to the now-defunct ICE Magazine and compiled the boxsets for The Yardbirds, The Small Faces, Humble Pie and Nice.

Click on the highlighted tracks to download the MP3s (these are high quality MP3s - sample rate of 192 kbps). As far as we can ascertain, these tracks have never been officially released on CD.

Due to the size of some of the files, please be very patient when downloading the tracks. It could be that the server was very busy. Please try again later. Kindly email us at mybigo@bigozine.com if you encounter persistent problems downloading the files.

Track 01. Hazard Profile Pt. 1 (14.1MB)
Click here if you reside in North America
Click here if you reside outside North America
Track 02. Hazard Profile Pt. 2 (3.3MB)
Track 03. Hazard Profile Pt. 3 (567k)
Track 04. Hazard Profile Pt. 4 (2.1MB)
Track 05. Hazard Profile Pt. 5 (8.3MB)
Track 06. The Floating World (18.0MB - visit the html page to download the track)
Track 07. The Man Who Waved at Trains (27.4MB - visit the html page to download the track)
Track 08. Bundles - Drum Solo (16.6MB)
Click here if you reside in North America
Click here if you reside outside North America

Lineup:
Allan Holdsworth - guitar
Mike Ratledge - keyboards
Roy Babbington - bass
John Marshall - drums
Karl Jenkins - saxophone

Click on the link to order Soft Machine albums.

Posted in live | 3 Comments »

EMERSON, LAKE AND PALMER - PROVIDENCE, RI 1977

March 16, 2010 – 3:57 am

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EMERSON, LAKE AND PALMER
Providence 1977 [Dan Lampinski Recording, 2CD]
Live at the Providence Civic Center, Providence, RI, July 14, 1977. Very good audience recording.

If the first half of the ’70s were good years for Emerson, Lake And Palmer (and generally to prog rock), the latter half of the decade saw a different scene. Disco was big; New Wave was making a mark and symphonic rock had to take a back seat. When ELP started their 1977 American tour, they had a full orchestra with them. But to cut expenses, they dropped the orchestra and soldiered on.

Without the orchestra, ELP had to work harder to create that full sound. The result, as heard on this Providence show, is a band giving its all. No corners were cut; instead of a full-fledged orchestral work it was a piano concerto that was equally involving; C’est La Vie easily had the audience grooving along and Carl Palmer continued to impressed with his solo performance.

Ethiessen1, who created the artwork, commented: “I still think Emerson’s Piano Concerto is brilliant - supposedly the original score to it burned up when his house did prior to finishing it and he had to rewrite it…”

Prog rock on its last legs? Not by the sound of this.

Thanks to djscomics for sharing the lossless tracks on the Dime site. Above all, thanks to Dan Lampinski, Carl Morstadt (who mastered the tracks), Kev, ethiessen1 and the rest of the Lampinski crew.

A note on Dan Lampinski: Dan recorded over 100 concerts in the Providence/Boston area, mostly between 1974 and 1978. Since Dan never traded copies of his recordings, they are all essentially uncirculated. Some copies were made for friends, but these releases are the first time most of these recordings have ever seen the light of day, and are direct from his master cassettes. No EQ’ing has been done to any of the transfers.

Click on the highlighted tracks to download the MP3s (these are high quality MP3s - sample rate of 192 kbps). As far as we can ascertain, these tracks have never been officially released on CD.

Due to the size of some of the files, please be very patient when downloading the tracks. It could be that the server was very busy. Please try again later. Kindly email us at mybigo@bigozine.com if you encounter persistent problems downloading the files.

Disc 1
Track 101. Karn Evil 9 First Impression part II (6.6MB)
Track 102. Hoedown (5.9MB)
Track 103. Tarkus (24.2MB - visit the html page to download the track)
Track 104. Take a Pebble > Piano Concerto (excerpt) (16.6MB - visit the html page to download the track)
Track 105. Still… You Turn Me On (4.5MB)
Track 106. Knife Ege (spliced) (11.2MB)
Track 107. Pictures at an Exhibition (16.1MB)
Click here if you reside in North America
Click here if you reside outside North America
Track 108. C’est La Vie (5.9MB)

Disc 2
Track 201. Lucky Man (4.5MB)
Track 202. Tank > Carl Palmer Drum Solo (14.2MB)
Click here if you reside in North America
Click here if you reside outside North America
Track 203. Nutrocker (5.5MB)
Track 204. Pirates (spliced) (18.1MB - visit the html page to download the track)
Track 205. E: Fanfare For the Common Man (18.2MB - visit the html page to download the track)

Lineup:
Keith Emerson - keyboards
Greg Lake - guitars, bass, vocals
Carl Palmer - drums, percussion

Click on the link to order Emerson, Lake And Palmer albums.

Posted in live | 6 Comments »

THE PHILIP COHEN COLLECTION: LITTLE RIVER BAND - LONDON 1982

March 15, 2010 – 3:53 am

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LITTLE RIVER BAND
London 1982 [no label, 1CD]
Live at the Dominion Theatre, London, 1982. BBC Rock Hour, broadcast February 1982. Very good radio broadcast.

One probably needs a family tree to keep track of the various lineup changes in the Little River Band. Though formed in 1975, by 1998, none of the original members were with the group and the name of the band resides with guitarist Stephen Housden who joined the group in 1981.

Though nominally a rock band, they would probably be better seen as an adult-oriented-rock band. They have the Eagles soft-rock sound but the keyboards give them a slight E-Street Band edge. Casual listeners would probably know them for the Steely Dan-sounding Reminiscing though they opened their London show with an earlier hit, It’s A Long Way There, and they do rock out on the closing The Night Owls and Just Say That You Love Me.

An Australian band with a successful run in the US (with 13 Top 40 hits), the Little River Band may not be demanding on the listener but they do offer pleasant company.

As Philip Cohen notes: “This show features a transitional lineup with Glenn Shorrock, Beeb Birtles, Graham Goble, Wayne Nelson, Stephen Housden, Mal Logan and Derek Pellicci. This particular lineup with both Shorrock and Housden in the group never made any records. This is taken from a BBC Rock Hour syndication record.”

Thanks to Phil for sharing the tracks.

Note: A longtime music fan, Philip Cohen was a contributor to the now-defunct ICE Magazine and compiled the boxsets for The Yardbirds, The Small Faces, Humble Pie and Nice.

Click on the highlighted tracks to download the MP3s (these are high quality MP3s - sample rate of 192 kbps). As far as we can ascertain, these tracks have never been officially released on CD.

Due to the size of some of the files, please be very patient when downloading the tracks. It could be that the server was very busy. Please try again later. Kindly email us at mybigo@bigozine.com if you encounter persistent problems downloading the files.

Track 01. It’s A Long Way There (10.9MB)
Track 02. Man On Your Mind (5.8MB)
Track 03. The Rumour (5.6MB)
Track 04. Mistress Of Mine (7.6MB)
Track 05. Red Shoes/Don’t Let The Needle Win (11.6MB)
Track 06. Reminiscing (6.7MB)
Track 07. Cool Change (8.5MB)
Track 08. The Night Owls (7.3MB)
Track 09. Just Say That You Love Me (7.6MB)

Click on the link to order Little River Band albums.

Posted in live | 3 Comments »

WHAT GOD WANTS

March 14, 2010 – 4:18 am

The end? The beginning? How about Liberation?

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MacMILLAN-FAURÉ
Holland 2010 [no label, 1CD]
Peter Dijkstra conductor with Nederlands Kamerkoor and Amsterdam Sinfonietta
Live at Dr. Anton Philipszaal, The Hague, The Netherlands, January 30, 2010. 192 kbps webcast in stereo.

Two notable pieces of music for contemplation and meditation for the period of Lent had an airing in January under the baton of conductor and choral master Peter Dijkstra.

The first is a contemporary composition by Scottish James MacMillan commissioned in 2004 by the BBC for Holy Week. It is a modern reading of the seven “phrases” uttered by Jesus at his crucifixion. According to the Bible, at the cross Jesus asked for forgiveness of his enemies, shared the vision of paradise in the afterlife, became agitated (”My God, why have you forsaken me?”) and then accepted his fate [”It is finished”].

MacMillan uses a mixed choir and a string section to deliver this powerful message. Generally, his Seven Last Words From The Cross is welcomed as a powerful composition for the Lent period offering a contemporary sound, almost middle-eastern, but steep in classical tradition. His use of silence has also been received favorably. Don’t adjust your volume when it gets too quiet. It is as the composer intended. “Gradually the music dies away almost into nothingness,” reports John Quinn musicweb-international.com, “We hear fragments, wisps of music, punctuated by silences that become ever more pregnant with meaning.”

The other piece featured is Gabriel Fauré’s popular Requiem, used on many film soundtracks including The Thin Red Line. Written between 1887 and 1890, this is another choral-orchestra piece sometimes used during Catholic Mass for the deceased. But far from being desolate and sad, it can be read as uplifting. Said Fauré, “It has been said that my Requiem does not express the fear of death and someone has called it a lullaby of death. But it is thus that I see death: as a happy deliverance, an aspiration towards happiness above, rather than as a painful experience.”

The pairing of both works is darkness next to light, the yin and yang of life. That may well be what the young Dutch conductor Peter Dijkstra had in mind. That there can be multiple interpretations.

We owe our thanks to Neetelbaers who recorded the webcast and shared it at the dime site.
- Professor Red

Click on the highlighted tracks to download the MP3s (these are high quality MP3s - sample rate of 192 kbps). As far as we can ascertain, these tracks have never been officially released on CD.

Due to the size of some of the files, please be very patient when downloading the tracks. It could be that the server was very busy. Please try again later. Kindly email us at mybigo@bigozine.com if you encounter persistent problems downloading the files.

Part 1
James MacMillan (1959) - Seven Last Words From The Cross (1993)

Track 01. Father, forgive them, for they know not what they doing (5:08) (7.0MB)
Track 02. Woman, Behold They son!? Behold, Thy Mother! (5:44) (7.8MB)
Track 03. Verily, I say unto, today thou shalt be with me in Paradise (8:46) (12.0MB)
Track 04. Eli, Eli, lama sabachtani? (7:01) (9.6MB)
Track 05. I thirst (5:46) (7.9MB)
Track 06. It is finished (6:42) (9.2MB)
Track 07. Father, into Thy hands I commend my Spirit (7:00) (9.6MB)

Part 2
Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924) - Requiem Op.48 (1887)

Track 08. I. Introit & Kyrie (6:06) (8.3MB)
Track 09. II. Offertory (7:34) (10.4MB)
Track 10. III. Sanctus (3:22) (4.6MB)
Track 11. IV. Pie Jesu (3:19) (4.5MB)
Click here if you reside in the United States
Click here if you reside outside the United States
Track 12. V. Agnus Dei (5:31) (7.6MB)
Track 13. VI. Libera me (4:35) (6.3MB)
Track 14. VII. In Paradisum (3:16) (4.5MB)

TT: 79:55m

The live recording of James MacMillan’s Seven Last Words from the Cross performed in 2004 live at St. Jude-on-the-Hill, Hampstead Garden and released on Hyperion. Click on the link to order the album.

Posted in live | 1 Comment »

THE PHILIP COHEN COLLECTION: LIVE SANTANA

March 13, 2010 – 4:23 am

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SANTANA
Live [no label, 1CD]
Unknown venue and date. Very good soundboard.

The artwork states: “This two-record set was professionally recorded at one of the finest concert halls in the nation. Eight microphones were utilized by the sound crew on stage to achieve the flawless quality of sound that is evident throughout the entire album. It captures the peaks of excitement and emotion that accompany a live Santana concert.”

Santana always knew how to throw a party and the Instrumental Introduction is the open invitation to have a good time. From then on, it’s guitar jams, African polyrhythms (before there was World Music) and breathless rock fusion with a solid groove.

Here is Philip Cohen with the rest of the tale:

“Let me take you back to the earliest days of vinyl bootlegs, circa 1970-71. These were the days when most bootleg LPs had blank labels. At 14 to 15 years old, I wrote the song titles onto the labels, never thinking that I was devaluing a collector’s item. At the time, many bootleg LPs were packaged in something more like a portfolio folder than a regular album cover.

“Anyhow, pressing quality in those days was often crude, and the vinyl itself was a harder species of vinyl that was probably not intended for phonograph record manufacturing. The Side One and Two record in this two-LP had dozens of small pimples on the surfaces, and if you saw what the record looks like, you’d be amazed that it plays this well, though there are occasional low-pitched thumps due to the pressing imperfections.

“Fortunately, Side Three and Four are free from this problem, and you get a scorching soundboard by the Santana lineup heard on their debut album. The group plays the entirety of their first album, plus three unreleased selections (Instrumental Introduction, Gumbo and Fried Neckbones).

“Though the recording was recorded from the soundboard to cassette, there is a minor problem that starts during the audience sounds before the final track Soul Sacrifice. Due to either imperfect tape head alignment or a used tape not being perfectly erased, you can hear some backwards leakage of a previous recording. These backwards sounds add unintended psychedelic flavor.”

Thanks to Phil for sharing the tracks.

Note: A longtime music fan, Philip Cohen was a contributor to the now-defunct ICE Magazine and compiled the boxsets for The Yardbirds, The Small Faces, Humble Pie and Nice.

Click on the highlighted tracks to download the MP3s (these are high quality MP3s - sample rate of 192 kbps). As far as we can ascertain, these tracks have never been officially released on CD.

Due to the size of some of the files, please be very patient when downloading the tracks. It could be that the server was very busy. Please try again later. Kindly email us at mybigo@bigozine.com if you encounter persistent problems downloading the files.

Track 01. Instrumental Introduction (8.1MB)
Track 02. You Just Don’t Care (7.6MB)
Track 03. Fried Neckbones (10.9MB)
Track 04. Waiting (8.8MB)
Track 05. Treat (13.1MB)
Track 06. Gumbo (6.6MB)
Track 07. Evil Ways (6.3MB)
Track 08. Medley: Shades Of Time/Savor/Jingo (19.8MB - visit the html page to download the track)
Track 09. Persuasion (4.2MB)
Track 10. Soul Sacrifice (24.2MB - visit the html page to download the track)

Lineup:
Carlos Santana - guitar, vocals
Gregg Rolie - keyboards, lead vocals
Dave Brown - bass
Jose Chepito Areas - timbales, congas, percussion
Mike Carabello - percussion, trumpet
Michael Shrieve - drums

Click on the link to order Santana albums.

Posted in live | 15 Comments »

THE ADAMS EXTENDED FAMILY

March 11, 2010 – 11:42 am

A good selection of Ryan Adams covering the Grateful Dead with a lot of help from Phil Lesh.

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RYAN ADAMS
Ryan Is Dead: Ryan Adams performs The Grateful Dead [no label, 2CD]
Selection compiled by Chris Goodwin (goodwin1970@verizon.net). More good stuff at www.ryanadamsarchive.com. Almost all soundboard.

When we first laid eyes on this set, we thought the title inappropriate - “condolences to the Adams family for their bereavement, etc”. Yet if you want a quick summary of Ryan Adams over past 10 years, it reads like a train wreck - fights with his label, numerous unreleased completed albums, critical success but commercial flop, hanging out with the stars from Elton John to Willie Nelson and perhaps the most lamentable forming a secret punk band to record two EPs repackaged as one CD called We Are Fuck You. He has released 10 albums/EPs since 2000 and that’s not counting at least four other completed and unreleased albums.

At the beginning of 2009, Ryan Adams, recording artist, was practically “dead”. He’d announced his departure from his band The Cardinals. Currently, Adams is on his own recording anything from hard rock to metal to singer-songwriter fare and releasing music through the net on his own online label, PAX AM.

Like the Grateful Dead, Adams has decided to go it alone, without a safety net. Like the Dead, Adams is close to his fans online and encouraging with the sharing of his live recordings.

So here’s when he met the Dead. Wiki:

“Adams befriended Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead, after first meeting him at the Jammys awards in New York in 2005. The two performed Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter’s Grateful Dead classic, Wharf Rat. Adams performed at subsequent outings of Phil Lesh and Friends, including a two-night stand at Red Rocks Amphitheatre outside of Denver, Colorado and on New Year’s Eve 2005 at the Bill Graham Event Center in San Francisco. Throughout 2006, Lesh’s live performances included compositions by Adams, including several from Cold Roses (Cold Roses, Let It Ride, and Magnolia Mountain).”

The admiration was mutual.

When they jam, that’s Phil Lesh’s band. The Dead’s music is akin to twin drills boring into the left and right temples of your head with the guitarist picking butterfly notes that float into space. Head music. Ryan Adam’s singing brings the warmth. That’s always been his strongest attraction, an affecting voice that allows for happy, sad, angry and hurt. Adams doesn’t sound like Jerry Garcia or Bob Weir. He sings Bertha or Friend Of The Devil meaningfully and brings the songs back into an emotional place. What moved Elton John to call him an inspiration for John’s Songs From The West Coast album.

There are three or four songs here without Phil Lesh. When Adams do these Dead tunes, his band the Cardinals’ enthusiasm make them different from the Dead’s style of controlled majesty, knowing how to build a song quietly until it reaches maximum intensity. Franklin’s Tower departs from Dead territory and sounds like an indie rock song.

This is a splendid collection with great sound. Thanks go to Chris Goodwin who made this compilation and xxxballion who shared it.
- The Little Chicken

Click on the highlighted tracks to download the MP3s (these are high quality MP3s - sample rate of 192 kbps). As far as we can ascertain, these tracks have never been officially released on CD.

Due to the size of some of the files, please be very patient when downloading the tracks. It could be that the server was very busy. Please try again later. Kindly email us at mybigo@bigozine.com if you encounter persistent problems downloading the files.

CD1

Track 101. Cold Rain & Snow (14.5MB - visit the html page to download the track)
w/Phil Lesh & Friends
Date: 7/16/2005
Location: Red Rocks Amphitheater-Morrison, CO

Track 102. Friend Of The Devil (8.9MB)
w/Phil Lesh & Friends
Date: 7/16/2005
Location: Red Rocks Amphitheater-Morrison, CO

Track 103. Bird Song (11.6MB)
Click here if you reside in the United States
Click here if you reside outside the United States
Date: 6/3/2005
Location: Northern Lights-Clifton Park, NY

Track 104. Truckin’ (17.1MB - visit the html page to download the track)

Track 105. Goin’ Down The Road Feelin’ Bad (5.7MB)

Track 106. Not Fade Away (3.1MB)
w/Phil Lesh & Friends
Date: 7/15/2005
Location: Fillmore Auditorium-Denver, CO

Track 107. He’s Gone (8.8MB)
Date: 7/22/2006
Location: Norva-Norfolk, VA

Track 108. It Must Have Been The Roses (9.3MB)
w/Phil Lesh & Friends
Date: 7/15/2005
Location: Fillmore Auditorium-Denver, CO

CD2

Track 201. Wharf Rat (11.7MB)
Date: 7/23/2006
Location: Charlottesville Pavilion-Charlottesville, VA

Track 202. St. Stephen (13.7MB)
w/Phil Lesh & Friends
Date: Track 212/29/2005
Location: Fillmore Auditoium-San Francisco, CA

Track 203. Bertha (10.4MB)
w/Phil Lesh & Friends
Date: 7/16/2005
Location: Red Rocks Amphitheater-Morrison, CO

Track 204. Franklin’s Tower (8.9MB)
Date: 7/25/2006
Location: Bijou Theatre-Knoxville, TN

Track 205. China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider (15.7MB - visit the html page to download the track)
w/Phil Lesh & Friends
Date: Track 27/16/2005
Location: Red Rocks Amphitheater-Morrison, CO

Track 206. Stella Blue (9.0MB)
Date: 10/16/2006
Location: Muffathalle-Munchen, Germany

Track 207. Ripple (8.7MB)
w/Phil Lesh & Friends
Date: 12/31/2005
Location: Bill Graham Civic Auditorium-San Francisco, CAThe band for July 15-16, 2005 are
Phil Lesh, Ryan Adams (guitar+vocals), Jimmy Herring (guitar), Jeff Sipe (drums), Rob Barraco (keys), Barry Sless (guitar+pedal steel)

The band for Dec 31, 2005 are
Phil Lesh, Joan Osborne (vocals), Ryan Adams (vocals, guitar), Larry Campbell (guitar & more), John Molo (drums), Rob Barraco (keys), Barry Sless (guitar+pedal steel)

The rest of the tracks are Ryan Adams and the Cardinals.

Never heard of Ryan Adams? A good introduction would be his debut solo album, Heartbreaker, with guests Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. Released in 2000, it remains a fan favourite. Click on the link to order Ryan Adams albums.

Cold Roses, the double CD, is said to be Ryan Adams’ Neil Young meets the Grateful Dead album. It’s also his first with the Cardinals. Click on the link to order the album.

Posted in live | 7 Comments »

THE PHILIP COHEN COLLECTION: FISH & CHIPS

March 10, 2010 – 3:59 am

For a short while Manfred Mann considered the bread and butter issues.

Click on the panels for a better view or to download artwork.

MANFRED MANN’S CHAPTER THREE
Volume Three: The Lost Album [no label, 1CD]
Unreleased album circa 1970. Ex SBD stereo.

This third album by Manfred’s progressive jazz-rock group Chapter Three was thought not to exist due to a fire at Manfred’s London recording studio in the mid-1980s. However, a copy was found in the 1990s at a record company vault in the U.S.A. This was digitally copied from that best existing master, however, it should be noted that there was a static build-up on the leader tape used to create the silent gaps between the songs, so there are some crackles in the between-song blank spaces. But this has no effect on the music itself. “Messing Up The Land”, “Fish” and “Turn You Away From My Door” were later released on Manfred’s four-CD box set “Odds & Sods: Mis-Takes & Out-Takes”. - Philip Cohen

Manfred Mann’s Chapter Three lasted all of two years from late 1969 when they made their debut album to 1970 when Volume Two was released and became their final album. But before Manfred formed the Earthband in 1971, he made one more Chapter Three album.

Volume Three is an odd mix of old-style British invasion era pop songs [It’s So Easy, Turn You Away From My Door], ballads, proto-ambient tracks [So Sorry, Please] and a cover of James Taylor’s Something (In The Way She Moves). At first listen, I thought Manfred was experimenting to see in which direction they should take. But upon reading Phil’s notes, it appears this was submitted for release(?) as a copy of the master was found in the US.

In any case, we should be thankful Manfred Mann did not succumb to pressure to conform or make formula music but reinvented themselves as the Earthband. Volume Three, which has more ballads than necessary including an even slower, more intimate version of Sometimes [first appeared on Chapter Three’s debut album] would have made it harder for Mann to retain credibility.

It would take seven more years before Manfred Mann saw chart action again. In 1977, the Manfred Mann Earthband scored their first hit with a progressive cover of Bruce Springsteen’s Blinded By The Light. By then, Volume Three had languished in record company vaults. This one’s for collectors and fans of British Invasion music. Excellent quality.
- The Little Chicken

Thanks to Phil Cohen for sharing the tracks.

Note: A longtime music fan, Philip Cohen was a contributor to the now-defunct ICE Magazine and compiled the boxsets for The Yardbirds, The Small Faces, Humble Pie and Nice.

Click on the highlighted tracks to download the MP3s (these are high quality MP3s - sample rate of 192 kbps). As far as we can ascertain, these tracks have never been officially released on CD.

Due to the size of some of the files, please be very patient when downloading the tracks. It could be that the server was very busy. Please try again later. Kindly email us at mybigo@bigozine.com if you encounter persistent problems downloading the files.

Track 01. Forgot To Remember (5.9MB)
02. Messing Up The Land*
Track 03. Train Crash (3.3MB)
Track 04. It’s So Easy (3.7MB)
05. Fish*
Track 06. Something (In The Way She Moves) [James Taylor] (5.0MB)
Track 07. So Sorry, Please (11.3MB)
Click here if you reside in the United States
Click here if you reside outside the United States
08. Turn You Away From My Door*
Track 09. Sometimes [version 2] (5.6MB)
Track 10. Chips (2.9MB)

*Omitted. Officially released tracks.

Lineup:
Manfred Mann
Mike Hugg
others, possibly same lineup as the earlier two albums.

To get the omitted tracks, click on the link to buy the 2005-released Manfred Mann’s Odds & Sods boxset.

Compare how adventurous Chapter Three really were. Click on the link to buy their 1969 debut album.

Posted in unreleased | 6 Comments »

NEIL SEDAKA - LONDON 2010

March 9, 2010 – 4:00 am

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NEIL SEDAKA
London 2010 [no label, 2CD]
With the BBC Concert Orchestra
Live at the Mermaid Theatre, London, UK, March 5, 2010. Very good BBC FM.

It’s quite impossible for anyone in the English-speaking world not to have come across Neil Sedaka’s songs, whose early hits charted in the late ’50s. As he tells the London audience, he was equally pleased and surprised that during a recent trip to China, he came across a Chinese singer who sang Oh! Carol (a song written for former girlfriend, Carole King). But when Sedaka told the singer who he was, the disbelieving singer said: “If you are Neil Sedaka, I’m Elvis!”

While songs such as Oh! Carol, Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen, Where The Boys Are (Connie Francis) and Breaking Up Is Hard To Do were radio staples in the ’60s; Sedaka took a long break when he found he couldn’t compete with the British Invasion. But he returned in the ’70s with a gorgeous slice of pop called Laughter In The Rain and other hit songs such as Solitaire, Love Will Keep Us Together and Amarillo. And Sedaka was introduced to a new generation of listeners when American Idol finalist Clay Aiken made Solitaire a hit in 2004.

In this concert, Sedaka, who will be 71 on March 13, showed he still managed to retain his voice and delivered what was a greatest hits package. Interspersed with amusing anecdotes, this is not only another trip down memory lane but the fine FM recording clearly makes this a keeper. For those who want a bit more, the 14-minute conversation between Tim Rice and radio presenter Paul Gambaccini gives a rundown of Sedaka’s career in a nutshell - on his voice (”Still got his pipes”); Sedaka’s playing (a touch of classical in the music); as a singer-songwriter - he’s “ahead of the game”; on Sedaka’s songwriting partner, lyricist Howard Greenfield; the songwriters at the Brill Building in New York; and the impact of the Beatles and Tony Christie’s Amarillo.

Thanks to leex100 for sharing the lossless tracks on the Dime site.

These tracks are no longer available for download.

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Disc 1
Track 101. Introduction
Track 102. Tin Pan Alley
Track 103. Oh! Carol
Track 104. Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen
Track 105. Where The Boys Are
Track 106. Breaking Up Is Hard To Do
Track 107. Calendar Girl
Track 108. The Hungry Years
Track 109. One More Ride On The Merry Go Round
Track 110. Love Will Keep Us Together
Track 111. Solitaire
Track 112. You
Track 113. Laughter In The Rain
Track 114. She Was The Queen Of 1964
Track 115. Turning Back The Hands Of Time
Track 116. Breaking Up Is Hard To Do
Interval

Disc 2
Track 201. Standing On The Inside
Track 202. The Other Side Of Me
Track 203. Our Last Song Together
Track 204. I Go Ape
Track 205. Betty Grable
Track 206. Super Bird
Track 207. Going Nowhere
Track 208. Amarillo
Track 209. That’s When The Music Takes Me

Plus
Track 210. Tim Rice interval talk on Sedaka

Click on the link to order Neil Sedaka albums.

Posted in live | 14 Comments »

THE PHILIP COHEN COLLECTION: HARD-TO-FIND PAUL McCARTNEYS

March 8, 2010 – 4:00 am

Click on the panels for a better view or to download artwork.

PAUL McCARTNEY
‘B’ Sides Himself [Fab 2, 1CD]
Rarities collection not officially released on CD. Very good to excellent sound.

“The title refers more to the double image of Paul in the cover photo than to the contents, which combines at least six entirely unreleased tracks with various non-LP songs and versions from long-deleted UK 12” singles. None of these specific mixes or versions has appeared on an official CD release.” - Philip Cohen

Who said life is fair? While many of these tracks won’t even make it to a Paul McCartney Greatest Hits album, there are many musicians out there who would consider it a great achievement if they had written any of these tracks.

McCartney is gifted as a tunesmith - his works may not be as weighty as John Lennon’s - but he does have a flair for melodies and rhythms. The songs may not be memorable, they won’t haunt you or bore into your consciousness but they will tickle your fancy with their cheery summery feel. And that’s not a bad way to spend an hour or so.

Thanks to Phil Cohen for sharing the tracks.

Note: A longtime music fan, Philip Cohen was a contributor to the now-defunct ICE Magazine and compiled the boxsets for The Yardbirds, The Small Faces, Humble Pie and Nice.

Click on the highlighted tracks to download the MP3s (these are high quality MP3s - sample rate of 192 kbps). As far as we can ascertain, these tracks have never been officially released on CD.

Due to the size of some of the files, please be very patient when downloading the tracks. It could be that the server was very busy. Please try again later. Kindly email us at mybigo@bigozine.com if you encounter persistent problems downloading the files.

Track 01. Simple As That (Anti Heroin Project) (6.0MB)
Track 02. Tough On A Tightrope (Extended) (9.8MB)
Track 03. Yvonne (Press To Play Sessions) (6.0MB)
Track 04. Pretty Little Head (Extended) (9.8MB)
Track 05. The First Stone (5.7MB)
Track 06. Good Sign (Groove Mix) (10.4MB)
Track 07. Waterspout (London Town Sessions) (6.8MB)
Track 08. Rainclouds (4.5MB)
Track 09. I’ll Give You A Ring (4.4MB)
Track 10. Ode To A Koala Bear (5.3MB)
Track 11. On The Wings Of A Nightingale (Demo) (3.5MB)
Track 12. Spies Like Us (6.7MB)
Track 13. No More Lonely Nights (Mole Mix) (12.3MB)
Track 14. 1882 (Live at The Hague, Rotterdam, 1972) (9.4MB)

Click on the link to order Paul McCartney albums.

Posted in rarities | 1 Comment »