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JOE COCKER - COSTA MESA 1991 [MILLARD TAPE]

May 18, 2022 – 6:49 am

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JOE COCKER
Costa Mesa 1991 [Mike Millard Master Tapes via JEMS, 2CD]
The Lost and Found Mike the MICrophone Tapes Volume 130. Live at the Pacific Amphitheatre, Costa Mesa, CA; July 23, 1991. 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:
- High Time We Went: seamless tape flip

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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Joe Cocker - Pacific Amphitheatre, Costa Mesa, CA; July 23, 1991

Volume 130 (!) of the Lost and Found series shifts ahead to 1991 and Joe Cocker headlining the Pacific Amphtitheatre in Costa Mesa. The Pac Amp was one stop on a short summer tour still fueled by the momentum of Cocker’s ’80s resurgence that began with “Up Where We Belong” and continued through albums like Cocker (1986) and Unchain My Heart (1987). Combine those ’80s hits with classic Cocker covers like “With A Little Help From My Friends” and “You Are So Beautiful” and you have the makings of a satisfying performance.

Joe is certainly in good voice here, but he seems to have dragged the ’80s with him into 1991 given the heavy reliance on (dated sounding) synthesizers. Puzzlingly, there’s also a strong whiff of ’70s concert vibes as well, given the generous time allotted to bass, drums and other soloing. The result for me is a bit of a strange show, though if you are a big Cocker fan you’ll likely enjoy it.

Mike’s recording is somewhere just below his usual outstanding level but plenty listenable.

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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.

As always, Professor Goody made sure we had the pitch properly adjusted and mjk5510 didn’t skip a beat when we made a last minute change in the queue to release this one. Thanks to both of 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 Cassette > Nakamichi Cassette Deck 1 azimuth-adjusted playback > Sound Devices USBPre2 > Sound Forge Audio Studio 13.0 capture > Adobe Audition > iZotope RX8 > iZotope Ozone 8 > MBIT+ resample to 16/44.1 > 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.

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Disc 1
Track 101. Cry Me A River 4:35
Track 102. Feelin’ Alright 4:48
Track 103. Hitchcock Railway 4:25
Track 104. Can’t Find My Way Home 3:39
Track 105. Up Where We Belong 4:41
Track 106. Shelter Me 4:46
Track 107. Just To Keep From Drowning 4:36
Track 108. Guilty 3:28
Track 109. Lonely Avenue 6:19
Track 110. You Can Leave Your Hat On 4:37
46 mins

Disc 2
Track 201. Band Introductions 0:55
Track 202. When The Night Comes 5:27
Track 203. Love Is Alive 4:12
Track 204. Unchain My Heart 6:11
Track 205. With A Little Help From My Friends 8:50
Track 206. You Are So Beautiful 2:59
Track 207. The Letter 4:40
Track 208. High Time We Went 13:48
47 mins

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