New Cars – Road Rage Tour, June 6 2006 – Wolf Trap, Vienna VA
In 2006, everything seems to get recorded. From every single date of David Gilmour's solo tour, to a Peter Tork set with his blues group in a Dallas bar, tapers are there, and generally with ace equipment to capture the night for posterity.
So it was that an intrepid taper captured this set, days before the temporary suspension of the tour (due to guitarist Elliot Easton's broken clavicle). And while some true believers take issue with the Todd-Rundgren-fronted version of the New Cars (founder Ric Ocasek is not involved in the project) viewed on their own merits, the New Cars can deliver the goods, and help listeners relive the 80s for an hour or two.
The set list offers up most of the expected vintage material, along with a few surprises from Todd that work well recast in a Cars mold (especially Todd's “Black Maria”). The new New Cars track “Not Tonight” blends in seamlessly, and is among Rundgren's more memorable compositions of late.
Easton and keyboardist Greg Hawkes (the man arguably most responsible for the distinctive Cars sound) are joined by Rundgren and two of his pals, bassist/vocalist Kasim Sulton (Utopia) and drummer Prairie Prince (Tubes, several Todd projects). The players get their parts right, and seem to be having a great time to boot. Other shows on the tour -- at least two others have been booted -- sometimes included Nazz's minor hit “Open My Eyes,” but the Wolf Trap curfew kept the band from playing that encore number.
The audience recording is of average overall quality. The sound is clear, but guitars are bit distant, keyboards sometimes disappear in the mix, and vocals are a bit on the boomy side. Word has it that the tour will resume in the fall, so those wily tapers will have a chance to top this recording.
Difficulty to Locate: 3 out of 10
 
General Listenability: 7 out of 10
The Bootleg Bin - Bill Kopp reviews the greatest music you've never heard in your life.
Television - Town and Country, London 11/19/92
Few expected it when in 1991, one of rock's most legendary and influential bands suddenly (and briefly) reappeared on the scene. Television had released two landmark albums in the 1970s, both revolutionary in bridging the chasm between 70s guitar-god rock and the minimalist aesthetic of punk/new wave. With a style best described as the audio equivalent of film noir, Television stood rock convention on its head, melding an angular, bracing method that appealed to the hipsters, while forging a twin-guitar attack that warmed the hearts of fist-pumping rockers everywhere.
It's a familiar story: Television's influence far outstripped the group's commercial impact. Like so many other groups of that era (New York Dolls, Rocket From the Tombs) their genius was recognized -- and even then only belatedly -- primarily by the cognoscenti.
So it was a surprise when the classic lineup quartet (ace guitarists Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd plus Fred Smith and Billy Ficca) reformed. Their eponymous 1992 release picked right up where Adventure had left off some fourteen years earlier. Yet Television sounds today even less dated than the earlier efforts.
The reformed group played dates in the USA and England; several shows were captured by audience tapers. A two-disc recording from the Town & Country Club in London finds Television doing precisely what one might expect. Never ones to look backward, they played the new songs while expanding arrangements in a considered, logical way without ever descending into noodlesome jamwankery.
This set presents most of the '92 album, but the group inexplicably passed over one of the most accessible tracks, "Shane, She Wrote This." The sole nod to the past is the encore, "Little Johnny Jewel." This set is a must for aficionados of '77 punk and, for that matter, damn near everything that came in its wake.
Difficulty to Locate: 8 out of 10
General Listenability: 9 out of 10
The Remains - Garock Festival, April 14 2006
When music historians wax historic about lost groups of the 1960s, The Remains are invariably mentioned. Led by guitarist Barry Tashian, this Boston-based quartet seemed in 1965 poised to be the Next Big Thing, but as was so often the case, events conspired against them.
The Remains' tight sound was influenced by R&B and blue-eyed soul, yet they could rave-up like The Yardbirds. One would have expected bigger things from a group that earned the right to tour as an opening act with The Beatles, and appeared on Hullabaloo and the Ed Sullivan Show. But the band grew restless, and Tashian folded the group on the eve of the album's release.
Sadly, no bootleg recordings exist documenting the group in its heyday. An official, posthumously-issued live-in-the-studio session hints at the group's live power. In the early 1970s rock archivist Lenny Kaye compiled the now-legendary Nuggets set, and turned on a new generation to the wild genius of The Remains' over-the-top "Don't Look Back."
In 2005 the original group reappeared with a new album and tour. Like so many lost musical treasures, they are more appreciated in Europe than in the USA. So in April 2006 The Remains appeared onstage at the Garorock Festival in Marmande France. Fortunately a taper was present.
The one-hour recording is a bit distant, especially for the in-between song banter, but the clean recording captures a dynamic set from the group. As with their '66 sets, the show is comprised largely of covers (including an ace rendition of Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone"), but two of the greatest songs of the sixties appear in all their glory: the driving "Why Do I Cry?" and the aforementioned "Don't Look Back" (in a cleverly extended arrangement). Though no plans have been announced, here's hoping for a Stateside tour.
Difficulty to Locate: 6 out of 10
General Listenability: 6 out of 10
Various Artists - Festival Actuel
In October 1969 -- two and a half months after Woodstock -- the rock festival was at its peak. Eclectic festivals were the norm. So it was then that the French indie/jazz music mag Actuel planned to sponsor a five-day show in Paris. Oddly, they chose Frank Zappa to serve as emcee. Speaking no French, Zappa chose to communicate through music, and jammed onstage with a few of the groups.
Last-minute permit difficulties forced the relocation of the festival to Mont de l'Enclus in Amougies Belgium. A film was made of concert highlights, but owing to performance-rights issues, the film, Music Power, was never released.
So ended the story…almost. In 2005 a figure known only as "JJB" released his audience tapes of the show to interested parties at no charge. While the tapes are not release quality -- distortion and tape speed problems are evident, and the taper simply switched off his recorder mid-song if he didn't care for an act -- the music serves as an important historical document.
The tapes include complete sets by several major acts. Ten Years After built upon their newfound fame. The original Yes lineup played a rousing set of mostly covers. The Nice (featuring Keith Emerson) did a set, one of their last before folding. Canterbury favorites Caravan played a full set, as did Captain Beefheart. Pink Floyd jammed with Zappa, as did overlooked psychedelic group Blossom Toes. In most cases, Zappa would just surprise the musicians mid-set and walk on. Interviewed in March 2006, Blossom Toes guitarist Brian Godding told me, "Frank [came] on, tuned up and [tried] to teach us one of his tunes...in front of the crowd!"
Ten discs in all, the Festival Actuel set provides a time-capsule alternative to Woodstock. Highly recommended to anyone interested in the progressive end of late 60s rock.
Difficulty to Locate: 9 out of 10
General Listenability: 7 out of 10
published in Skope Magazine, May 2006
John Lennon – Free As a Bird: The Dakota Beatle Demos
As the liner notes to the 1996 collection, Free As a Bird: The Dakota Beatle Demos put it, "In 1980, John Lennon wanted his public to believe that his music had deserted him for five long years before miraculously returning with a fury. While the story makes for good PR, this collection of home demos from the 'Dakota Years' evidences exactly the opposite."
Instrumentation on these cassette-based demos was limited to piano, acoustic guitar, occasional electric guitar, a rudimentary beatbox keeping time, and John's untreated voice. To overdub, John would play along with the recording from one deck while the second recorded. Needless to say, Free As a Bird is not studio fidelity.
Yet the music remains. Unreleased takes of the title track and "Real Love" offer additional insight into John's compositional process. Unique, embryonic versions of released songs "(Just Like) Starting Over" and "I'm Stepping Out" are here too.
The most revelatory tracks are the ones that Yoko hasn't seen fit to release. During his exile, Lennon composed songs for a musical titled "The Ballad of John and Yoko." "India" tells a story set against the backdrop of The Beatles' 1968 visit with the Maharishi. The song ranks among the most "finished" of his unreleased projects.
"She is a Friend of Dorothy's" is a lyrical departure for Lennon, a poppy piano number about a lesbian friend. "Whatever Happened To..." is a rocking number written for the musical. It features some of John's most melodic guitar work, and could have worked well in his 1980 sessions with Cheap Trick. "Now and Then" was considered and rejected for Beatles Anthology-era overdubbing. The brief, electric confessional "You Saved My Soul" is in the vein of the songs on Double Fantasy.
Hardcore Beatles/Lennon fans count this collection among the "core collection" of unreleased material.
Difficulty to Locate: 5 out of 10
General Listenability: 9 out of 10
published in Skope Magazine, January 2006
The Long Ryders / "State of our Union" Outtakes
The Long Ryders were twenty years ahead of their time. With their defiantly countrified rock and roll, they embodied the alt-country ethos long before that term would be coined. At the peak of their powers, they released their 1985 LP The State of Our Union.
That album's populist political messages were in sharp contrast to the prevailing winds. The Long Ryders' songs dealt with themes at once personal and universal. The lyrics could look back one moment ("WDIA,") and offer a glimmer of hope the next (Good Times Tomorrow, Hard Times Today"). Yet most of the songs dealt with the here-and-now. There was melodrama, wistfulness and optimism within the album's forty-odd minutes.
In advance of the album sessions, demos were cut in June 1985. Those demos comprise the bulk of the "'State of Our Union' Demos" bootleg disc. These versions offer valuable insight into the development of the songs' arrangements. Of even greater interest are the two songs left in the can, "Southside of the Story" and "Child Bride."
Bonus materials flesh out the disc's running time. Two demos for the group's "10-5-60" LP are included, as is an ultra-rare cut by The Unclaimed, Sid Griffin's pre-Long Ryders group. In addition, two excellent demos are lifted from bassist Tom Stevens' legit solo demo compilation, "Points Revisited."
For country aficionados, both the legit b-side and a hissy demo of "If I Was a Bramble And You Were a Rose" are included. The demo version features scenesters Debbie Peterson and Will Glenn.
Sound quality is good-not-great, suggesting that this collection made its way through the hardcore collector circuit of tape traders in the pre-CDR days, finding new life -- as are the populist messages of "State of Our Union" -- in the 21st century. It's not a moment too soon for either.
Difficulty to Locate: 7 out of 10
General Listenability: 8 out of 10
published in Skope Magazine, November 2005
Fabulous Poodles - My Father's Place, Roslyn NY Feb. 13, 1979
Fabulous Poodles - The Bottom Line, New York NY Feb. 14, 1979
"Well, fame at last! Shave my beard and call me normal!" exclaimed Tony de Meur, in 2005 upon learning of the existence of these two radio broadcast recordings of The Fabulous Poodles.
The Fabulous Poodles were never what one would classify as "normal." Coming on full-throttle in those heady days of new wave, they combined the best elements of pub rock, cleverness and a Kinks fixation. The British foursome sounded a good bit like the Kinks, in fact, but only if you could re-imagine Dave Davies playing violin and mandolin instead of guitar. Leader Tony de Meur was in fact a vocal doppelganger for Ray Davies, and the lyrical witticisms seemed to further the connection. Had they held on into 1980, MTV could have broken them into the majors.
Obsessive rock archivists have preserved these two shows, from consecutive nights in 1979. Both nights found the band facing pressures that would have made lesser musicians fold: a few nights earlier in Boston, the group's equipment and clothing was stolen. These nights they performed on borrowed, unfamiliar equipment.
It may have frustrated the band (as between-song comments by de Meur indicate) but it didn't affect the music. If anything the band charged forth with a renewed ferocity as they tore through "Suicide Bridge," "Tit Photographer Blues" and the hit "Mirror Star." For added value, the group acceded to requests for the Kinks' "You Really Got Me," and even an a cappella rendition of Vera Lynn's 1942 hit "Well Meet Again".
By the early 80s the legit Fabulous Poodles albums were out of print, and a spotty 1995 CD compilation of selected tracks remains difficult to locate. But the two New York shows from the group's brief heyday remain, a testament to the power and wittiness of cult sensation The Fabulous Poodles.
Difficulty to Locate: 8 out of 10
General Listenability: 9 out of 10
published in Skope Magazine, September 2005
Priory of Brion - September 25, 1999 - The Boardwalk, Sheffield UK
In the mid- to late-1960s Robert Plant did a stint as lead singer for Band of Joy. That group covered cutting edge US west-coast groups Love, Buffalo Springfield and Moby Grape. Plant then spent the better part of his time since '69 in Led Zeppelin; then as a solo artist mining territory a bit to the pop side of the Zep style; then in collaboration with his partner Jimmy Page.
In 1999 Plant surprised many by going on tour with Band of Joy guitarist Kevyn Gammond and a band calling itself Priory of Brion, doing the same sort of music. This set finds the group covering much of the best of the 60s, yet eschewing overplayed "oldies radio" type tracks. The set opens with Donovan's "Season of the Witch." Over the course of sixteen well-chosen numbers, the band touches on Tim Hardin ("Morning Dew"), James Brown (a fiery "Think"), Dylan, the Youngbloods and many others. To some extent, the group makes each song its own; the tunes are presented in a manner that is neither slavish nor needlessly "updated." By far the set's highlight is a menacing rendition of Love's "A House is Not a Motel."
Technically, the sound is excellent but not quite perfect. Some static and distortion is present on the third track, and the audience is nearly inaudible throughout (suggesting that this may in fact be a monitor mix). Other illicit recordings exist from the Priory of Brion's tour, but this is the only known soundboard. Zep fans looking for extended guitar solos are advised to look elsewhere; the emphasis here is on the songs. As Plant says when opening the show, "Our intention is permanently to enjoy ourselves, and sometimes to do it in a most peculiar fashion." Then, in an aside, "Should sound good on bootleg." He's right, of course.
Difficulty to Locate: 3 out of 10
General Listenability: 9 out of 10
published in Skope Magazine, July 2005
Love - 10-24-93 North Hampton MA
Having paid his debt to society, convicted felon Arthur Lee surprised all interested parties by returning to the music scene in the 90s more musically focused than he'd ever been. Having led the critical darlings Love in mid 60s Los Angeles, Lee had established a mystique around the band. Their music ran the gamut form punky anthems to airy psychedelia. "7 and 7 Is" was an assault on the senses, yet the tracks on the legendary Forever Changes LP evoked the sound of Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass tour bus colliding with a Buffalo Springfield. Yet the mercurial Lee refused to tour, even to play outside of LA in the group's heyday. His erratic personality, coupled with the unbending "three-strikes and you're out" laws meant a prison sentence for him, and most onlookers figured that would be that. But Lee discovered LA popsters Baby Lemonade, a group with two parallels to Love: the group was multiracial, and they played muscular hooky pop with an arty bent. The BL duo signed on as, essentially, the new Love, thus assuming a role quite similar to another 90s LA pop group backing another troubled 60s legend from LA (Wondermints, Brian Wilson respectively). This collaboration has endured into the 21st century: the reinvigorated Love has toured Europe and the USA, performing Forever Changes in its entirety (the parallels continue: Brian Wilson has wheeled out the complete Pet Sounds LP, and more recently the great lost 60s masterwork, SMiLE). But this set, a good-to-very-good audience recording from 1993, shows what can only be called an embryonic version of the new Love, running through their material. There's a good selection from the first four Love albums (the ones that matter) plus a bit of new material that fits in well. The band is in top form, albeit without the later embellishments of strings and horns; this North Hampton show is more of a "club date" sort of gig. Well worth checking out.
Difficulty to Locate: 7 out of 10
General Listenability: 8 out of 10
published in Skope Online 2005
Spirit - Texas International Pop Festival Volume 7
People just didn't know what do with Spirit. Their jazz aspirations made them less accessible that they would have otherwise been, yet Randy California (his surname bestowed upon him by no less a figure than Jimi Hendrix) played hard-driving rock leads. They could -- and did -- write succinct radio-ready pop songs ("I Got a Line On You," "1984" and the 70s FM staple "Nature's Way"), but live, there tendency to indulge in jamspectaculars was unleashed. So it was in September 1969 that the group found themselves onstage at the massive Texas International Pop Festival, playing a typical set of the era. The hits were there, including the tricky time signatures of "Fresh Garbage," but there was plenty of jamming going on as well. California's stepdad Ed Cassidy never fails to impress, even on the obligatory drum solo. The group's heyday would only last a few more years; after that time, California and Cassidy would hold together lesser lineups of the group while Jay Ferguson went on to much more mainstream solo success (remember "Thunder Island?") while John Locke and Mark Andes eventually ended up in, of all places, Heart. But on this day in '69, the stage belonged to Spirit. While a soundboard recording, this disc -- as all of the volumes in the 13-disc set -- is a bit on the shrill and tinny side. But the performances captured therein (including sets by Grand Funk, Incredible String Band, Sam & Dave, Herbie Mann, Canned Heat, Delaney & Bonnie, Tony Joe White, Sweetwater, Santana, Sly & the Family Stone, Ten Years After, Edgar and Johnny Winter, Janis Joplin, B.B. King, Led Zeppelin, Rotary Connection, Chicago and James Cotton) make it well worthwhile. File this under the "why hasn't this been released officially?" category.
Difficulty to Locate: 5 out of 10
General Listenability: 7 out of 10
published in Skope Online 2005
The Tubes - 04-17-77 Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco (2cd)
The criminally underrated Tubes could really never catch a break until they gave up on a large chunk of what made them special. Their live concerts of the 1970s were legendary. But nobody knew how to classify them. "Comedy groups" just didn't sell in great numbers, and the Tubes' irreverent, borderline-softcore-porn schtick kept them from being taken seriously. Yet they were a tight, inventive unit, and even without all the props and choreography they were a thing to behold. Always sensational (in every sense of the word), though sometimes even the crowd didn't know what to do with them. This 2CD soundboard recording (mostly likely a monitor mix; the audience is barely in evidence) features the group playing to a hometown crowd. A rarity, the set list is comprised mostly of songs from their Now album. As with all things Tubular, lotsa fun.
Difficulty to Locate: 3 out of 10
General Listenability: 9 out of 10
published in Skope Online 2005
Jazz Butcher - 09-19-97 Seattle WA "Bob and Anne's Wedding Reception" (2cd)
Simply unbelievable. Pat Fish (aka the Jazz Butcher) and his partner in musical crime Max Eider were somehow convinced to play a wedding reception. They did so with aplomb (any dues-paying musician can testify that wedding reception crowds aren't the most, um, "receptive") and put on a superb show full of wit, humor and wonderful playing. And someone (of course) made a fine recording of the show. This is a full band (complete with bass and drums), and kazoos fill in for trombones and such as needed. If you're at all a fan of the Jazz Butcher, this recording is Not To Be Missed. If you're not among the converted, become so and check back. Enough said. By the way, they're not jazz, and they don't butcher the music. They're clever English poppers, sort of a Robyn Hitchcock with a sense of humor instead of just plain weirdness.
Difficulty to Locate: 9 out of 10
General Listenability: 7 out of 10
published in Skope Online 2005
Kirsty MacColl - 06-28-92 Glastonbury
Kirsty MacColl was famous for a few things. One, her dad was famed folksinger Ewan MacColl. Two, she wrote and recorded the original version of the girl-group pastiche "They Don't Know, later covered by Tracey Ullman. Three, she was a writer and vocalist of some stylistic range, having worked with Johnny Marr, Shane McGowan, Evan Dando and many others. Four, she died tragically in the Gulf of Mexico a few years back. But despite her fame (especially in the UK) there aren't a lot of Kirsty MacColl bootlegs out there to begin with, so finding this one is a real prize. It's a soundboard from the Glastonbury Festival. The band is tight and Kirsty sings the hits (some of 'em, anyway), plus some unexpected covers. A short disc (under 40 min.) but worth it no matter what if you're a fan.
Difficulty to Locate: 8 out of 10
General Listenability: 10 out of 10
published in Skope Online 2005
Graham Parker - 04-24-76 Marble Arch, London
Wow. I mean, WOW. Best as can be gleaned, this must have been one of those music-execs-and-journalists-only sort of showcase gigs. With very few in attendance, from the sounds of applause. But this flawless soundboard captures GP and the Rumour in an incendiary performance. In fact there was a brief promo-only release of this show many years ago, but from the sound of it, the disc is sourced from the original tapes (no apparent vinyl noise). Lots of the best from Howlin' Wind, and some inspired R&B/soul covers that put the music on The Commitments soundtrack to shame. Produced by the inimitable Nick Lowe, perhaps the best "unofficial" disc find of 2004. And as PJ Proby once sang, that means a lot.
NOTE: Turns out this excellent recording has found official release, so buy it!
Difficulty to Locate: 6 out of 10 0 out of 10
General Listenability: 10 out of 10
published in Skope Online 2005
Rolling Stones - Record Mirror, Vols. 1 and 2 (8cd)
Arguably all the unreleased Stones you'd ever need. Nearly all studio material, spanning the era from the beginning through "It's Only Rock and Roll." For my money they totally sucked after that. Sloppy? Of course; this is the Rolling Stones we're talking about here. But there's a lot of great material, providing insight into the genesis of some great music. If the Rolling Stones ever issued their own counterpart to the Beatles Anthology, well, this is pretty much what you'd get. And you'd likely be satisfied.
Difficulty to Locate: 4 out of 10
General Listenability: 8 out of 10
published in Skope Online 2005
Zero 7 - 04-21-2004 Debaser Club, Stockholm Sweden
The electronica subgenres of trip-hop and downbeat are often pegged as cold, distant. Any hint of an organic vibe is labeled artificial. The good licks are lifted from great songs of old. And without a doubt, the stuff is made for listening at home, on one's hi-fi. Or so goes the conventional wisdom.
Zero 7 puts the lie to all of it. A few weeks after releasing their 2004 sophomore release, When It Falls, the group -- yes, you read that right: group -- performed a Stockholm show broadcast on Swedish radio. Surprisingly, their slinky vibe comes across well in a live setting. Their sound is something of a laid-back throwback; in fact they could lay claim as the Alan Parsons Project for the 21st century. The songs float by, with enough hooks to stick in one's mind for days afterwards. Yet the assured vocal work (supplied by a roster of three or more singers), coupled with the relative musical anonymity of Zero 7's prime movers -- makes comparisons to the APP inevitable. Or to Steely Dan, though the Zero 7 crew are nowhere near as sterile as that faceless-duo-plus-sidemen operation.
In a live setting, Zero 7's trademark gurgling synths, loopy bass lines, tinkling acoustic guitars and moaning vocals all come through clearly in the mix. Yet there's enough variation from the studio arrangements -- plus actual interaction with the audience -- to make this Swedish FM broadcast worth medium rotation on one's (well, okay) home hi-fi system.
Difficulty to Locate: 8 out of 10
General Listenability: 9 out of 10
published in Skope Online 2005
Jason Falkner - "Can You Still Feel" Demos (circa 1997)
Powerpop wunderkind Jason Falkner, fresh from stints with Jellyfish and The Grays, recorded his peerless sophomore solo disc Can You Still Feel in 1997 with Nigel Godich (producer for Radiohead, and the next McCartney album) behind the boards. The album was polished to a sonic sheen that presented Falkner's carefully-crafted pop meisterworks to their best advantage. With that in mind, why would one wish to hear the demos for those sessions? The answer lies in the fact that these particular demos represent something of an alternate realization of the finished product. Quite accomplished on a wide array of instruments, and no slouch at the recording console himself, Falkner's demos for Can You Still Feel reveal different -- yet not at all unfinished -- arrangements for a number of the songs. The difference is most apparent on "The Invitation." In its place as the legit album's leadoff track, "The Invitation" is a brief intro styled after the first thirty seconds of The Beatles' "Honey Pie." But on the demo disc, it's a full-length pop song in a more traditional arrangement. Contrasts between the demos and the released album continue throughout the disc. Even the track sequencing makes for a different, well, "feel." A handful of these demo tracks may have subsequently appeared on either of Falkner's two legitimate demo collections, but there's still plenty here for the committed fan (or the willing-to-be-converted).
Difficulty to Locate: 8 out of 10
General Listenability: 7 out of 10
published in Skope Online 2004
Guided by Voices - 09-03-02 Case Western Reserve University
Here's a thick slab of irony. These kings of the lo-fi aesthetic have released a myriad collection of studio and live discs, and their general approach to recording betrays an interest in getting it down on tape and moving on. Oft-compared to The Who, GbV is one of those groups about whom it is said that it's tough to pin down their sound on record; you gotta see them live (better hurry: the Voices go silent with the dissolution of the band in December 2004). So how odd to spin a CDR of a bootleg soundboard from the group's show at CWSU in 2002 and find excellent fidelity and thoughtful mixing! Lead singer/guitarist Bob Pollard rattles off the songs with the same on-to-the-next-one approach he's brought to his whole career, but the songs hold up even under that assault. The set list is jam-packed full of songs from throughout the GbV canon. A few covers are even thrown in, including one from the aforementioned Who. Every song is played as if it were a hit. Which, in some fair and just alternate universe, it would be.
Difficulty to Locate: 6 out of 10
General Listenability: 9 out of 10
published in Skope Online 2004
Procol Harum - April 1969: Los Angeles and San Francisco CA
The most soulful of the so-called "progressive" groups, Procol Harum is best known for the mega-hit "A Whiter Shade of Pale." Yet fans know that the group produced many songs that equaled (or arguably surpassed) the quality of that song. Most of the few live Procol Harum bootlegs are either of abysmal audio quality, or FM broadcasts (great quality) of their later years, which aren't as compelling as the early stuff. Now comes this disc, a compendium of two shows from their Spring 1969 USA tour. Five tracks from LA's Troubadour plus eight tracks from the Fillmore West (San Francisco) that same month. Soundboards both. Now one can hear "Conquistador" in its original form, and the majestic instrumental "Repent Walpurgis" in all its glory. This lineup of the group featured the contrasting keyboard sounds of leader Gary Brooker (piano) with the classical touches of Matthew Fisher (gospel-inflected organ), topped off with the fretwork of Robin Trower (heard here in his pre-Hendrix-fixation stage). Sources report that this disc is NOT a copy of the relatively well-traveled Easter Island bootleg disc, but rather sourced from the master tapes. Apparently somebody knows somebody.
Difficulty to Locate: 8 out of 10
General Listenability: 9 out of 10
published in Skope Online 2004
Teenage Fanclub - Live at the 13th Note with Alex Chilton (04-08-93)
Here's a recipe for success. Take an American 70s cult icon, one notorious for erratic performances, and add a healthy dose of one Scottish revivalist pop band that mixes equal parts noise, distortion and ethereal harmonies. What do you get? Well, you could get a trainwreck. But in this case you get Alex Chilton, former frontman of 60s poppers The Box Tops, and (more importantly) leader of mega-influential-but-didn't sell 70s legends Big Star, onstage this night with Teenage Fanclub. Recorded and broadcast for the BBC, this set is really a Chilton showcase. The Fannies know their Big Star, and run through great tracks like "September Gurls" and Chilton's "Free Again" with relish. In doing so they make a good case for serving as the new Big Star (hey! a recurring theme! see Love above), but in the end Chilton chose another group of 60s pop fanatics (The Posies) for that role. The set is all over the map stylewise – covering everything from the Joe Meek production "Telstar" to early Frank Zappa -- and that's a good thing. Meanwhile, as a neat bonus, "The Alex Chilton Trio" comes back onstage and plays a half-dozen cocktail-jazz an retropop numbers in the style of Chilton's then-current release, Clichés. An eclectic set from an artist known far and wide for his eclecticism. All in all, a transcendent set. Note: there circulates a wonderful set of unreleased studio sessions with Alex and TFC that is well worthwhile, but it's impossibly rare. This live set, however, can be found fairly easily if one knows where to look.
Difficulty to Locate: 5 out of 10
General Listenability: 9 out of 10
published in Skope Online 2004
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