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ELTON JOHN - ANAHEIM 1980 [MILLARD TAPE]

May 7, 2022 – 6:29 am

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ELTON JOHN
Anaheim 1980 [Mike Millard Master Tapes via JEMS, 2CD]
The Lost and Found Mike the MICrophone Tapes Volume 119. Live at the Convention Center, Anaheim, CA; November 2, 1980. Very good audience recording.

Thanks to Mike Millard; Rob, Jim R; Barry G; JEMS; BK; Goody; and mjk5510 for sharing the show at Dime.

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Known Faults: Possibly missing “Your Song” played at most other shows on this tour; Bite Your Lip (Get Up and Dance) is cut

Welcome to JEMS’ Lost and Found Mike the MICrophone series presenting recordings made by legendary taper Mike Millard, AKA Mike the MICrophone, best known for his masters of Led Zeppelin done in and around Los Angeles circa 1975-77.

Until 2020, the Lost and Found series presented fresh transfers of previously unavailable first-generation copies made by Mike himself for friends like Stan Gutoski of JEMS, Jim R, Bill C. and Barry G. These sources were upgrades to circulating copies and in most instances marked the only time verified first generation Millard sources had been directly digitized in the torrent era.

That all changed with the discovery of many of Mike Millard’s original master tapes.

Yes, you read that correctly, Mike Millard’s master cassettes, long rumored to be destroyed or lost, have been found. Not all of them but many, and with them a much more complete picture has emerged of what Millard recorded between his first show in late 1973 and his last in early 1992.

The reason the rediscovery of his master tapes is such a revelation is that we’ve been told for decades they were gone. Internet myths suggest Millard destroyed his master tapes before taking his own life, an imprudent detail likely concocted based on the assumption that because his master tapes never surfaced and Mike’s mental state was troubled he would do something rash WITH HIS LIFE’S WORK. There’s also a version of the story where Mike’s family dumps the tapes after he dies. Why would they do that?

The truth is Mike’s masters remained in his bedroom for many years after his death in 1994. We know at least a few of Millard’s friends and acquaintances contacted his mother Lia inquiring about the tapes at the time to no avail. But in the early 2000s, longtime Millard friend Rob S was the one she knew and trusted enough to preserve Mike’s work.

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Elton John - Convention Center, Anaheim, CA; November 2, 1980

The Lost and Found series rolls into 2022 with another one of Mike “The Mic” Millard’s outstanding recordings of Elton John, this time from the lesser known 1980 tour in support of his album 21 At 33.

This was something of a ‘tweener tour so to speak, between John’s ’70s heyday and his future MTV-fueled resurgence in terms of hits. But make no mistake, Elton was still immensely popular. After two nights at the Anaheim Convention Center, he played another four So Cal shows at the Forum, one of which Mike recorded.

The 1980 tour was also rare in that Elton’s longtime guitar player Davey Johnstone was not part of the band. More curious still, Drummer Nigel Olsson returned for the first time in six years and was given the unusual privilege of performing two of his own songs in the middle of the set.

The sound of Elton’s 1980 band is more synth heavy, as played by James Newton Howard. While ’80s synths can sound dated, there are moments in this set where it really works here like the start of “Funeral For a Friend” and the awesome low notes in “All The Girls Love Alice.”

That those low synth hits sound so good is a testament to Mike’s recording which is unquestionably excellent on all counts.

As Jim notes below, it is remarkable to think he and Mike recorded the show just one night after another marathon concert in downtown LA. That’s what it takes to be the legend that is Mike the Mic.

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Here’s what Jim recalled about Elton John in Anaheim, November 2, 1980

I went with Mike Millard to the Nov 2, 1980 Elton John concert at the Anaheim Convention Center.
It was a very busy week–the night before we recorded Bruce Springsteen at the LA Sports Arena, a three and a half hour show, then several days later we again recorded Elton, this time at The Forum.

For this Elton show, we sat in the 10th row on the floor on one of the two center aisles. A good, direct angle to the PA. Being slightly back from the stage gave us a bit of camouflage for Mike’s recording gear. I left my camera bag at home, too risky nonetheless. By 1980, word had spread of Mike’s recordings, so we had to stay as low profile as possible. Holding a 35mm camera with a foot long zoom lens up to your eye is NOT low profile.

Fortunately, getting equipment into the Anaheim Convention Center was still relatively easy when compared to other venues. The main security “force” (I use that term loosely) was made up of retirees the age of my grandparents. They were quite gullible and would believe just about any story you threw at them. Once inside, it was the bouncer-type security guys we had to avoid at all costs, as they were the ones growing wise to what Mike was doing.

The Convention Center has the potential for excellent sound. It is about half the size of The Forum. with a tapered roof, similar to the shape of a Pringles potato chip. All of which contributes to Mike’s superb recording. I hope you enjoy this one as much as Mike and I did.

Cheers to my buddy Mike. RIP.

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JEMS is proud to partner with Rob, Jim R, Ed F, Barry G and many others to release Millard’s historic recordings and to help set the record straight about the man himself.

We can’t thank Rob enough for reconnecting with Jim and putting his trust in our Millard reissue campaign. He kept Mike’s precious tapes under wraps for two decades, but once Rob learned of our methods and stewardship, he agreed to contribute the Millard DATs and cassettes to the program. Our releases would not be nearly as compelling without Jim’s memories, photos and other background contributions. As many of you have noted, the stories offer an entertaining complement to Mike’s incredible audio documents.

Keeping up our weekly pace of releases is no small feat, so let’s give a warm round of applause to mjk5510 for his command of JEMS’ post-production, artwork and workflow, as well as Professor Goody who is always available for pitch consultancy even on short notice. We couldn’t do it without them.

Finally, here’s to the late, great Mike the MICrophone. His work never ceases to impress. May he rest in peace.

BK for JEMS

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Lineage:
AKG 451E Microphones (CK-1 cardioid capsules) > Nakamichi 550 Cassette Recorder
Transfer: Mike Millard Master Cassettes > Nakamichi RX-505 (azimuth adjustment) > Sound Devices USBPre 2 > Audacity 2.0 capture 2496 > MBIT+ resample to 1644 > iZotope RX8 > iZotope Ozone 8 > Audacity > TLH > FLAC

Click on the highlighted tracks to download the MP3s (320 kbps). As far as we can ascertain, these tracks have never been officially released on CD.

Please Do Not Hammer The Links. 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. The tracks should still be around. Please try again later.

Kindly email us if you encounter persistent problems downloading the files. Also email us if you have any rarities you’d like to share with our readers.

Disc 1
Track 101. Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding 12:49
Track 102. Tiny Dancer 6:21
Track 103. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road 3:25
Track 104. All The Young Girls Love Alice 4:32
Track 105. Rocket Man 12:21
Track 106. Philadelphia Freedom 5:50
Track 107. Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word 6:00
Track 108. Saturday Night 3:33
Track 109. All I Want Is You 5:05
Track 110. Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting 9:39
70 mins

Disc 2
Track 201. Harmony 2:38
Track 202. LIttle Jeannie 5:37
Track 203. Bennie And The Jets 15:27
Track 204. Imagine 5:50
Track 205. Ego 3:50
Track 206. Have Mercy On The Criminal 5:39
Track 207. Someone Saved My Life Tonight 8:33
Track 208. Bite Your Lip (Get Up And Dance) - cut 2:30
Track 209. Great Balls Of Fire 1:35
Track 210. Good Golly Miss Molly 0:33
Track 211. I Saw Her Standing There 2:49
55 mins

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