Aretha Franklin - Live in Jamaica - 1982

OK lets get the all important 'Queen Of Soul' reference stated, and out of the way!

From the mid 1970's Aretha Franklin's musical career was struggling, not surprisingly as her personal life was troubled by family tragedy and a big problem with tax debt issues.

In 1980, Aretha Franklin's career was given a much-needed boost thanks to a cameo appearance on The Blues Brothers, singing 'Think' as Mrs. Matt Murphy. That same year, Clive Davis signed Aretha, to his Arista Records.

'United Together' and 'Love All The Hurt Away', a duet with George Benson, returned her to the Top 10 on the Billboard R&B charts.

Her 1982 release, 'Jump To It', produced by longtime admirer Luther Vandross, gave the singer her first R&B chart-topper and pop success since '(Giving Him) Something He Can Feel'.

The Jump To It album enjoyed a long run at Number One on Billboard's R&B Albums chart.

Aretha was back on form, as this live recording demonstrates. Recorded at the Jamaica World Music Festival in 1982, as part of a live FM broadcast, this is Aretha Franklin, doing her stuff.

This performance was recorded on November 26, 1982 at the Bob Marley Performing Arts Center, Freeport Zone, Montego Bay, Jamaica.

Unedited it includes introductory announcements and so forth - the concert comprises of the following:

01 - Announcer Talk
02 - Instrumental Intro & Announcer
03 - Hold On I'm Coming
04 - Love Me Forever
05 - It's Your Thing
06 - Make It Up To You
07 - Talk By Aretha Over Intro To Golden Moments Medley
08 - Daydreaming
09 - Rock Steady
10 - Say A Little Prayer
11 - Respect
12 - I Hurt Myself (I'm Guilty)
13 - Ain't No Way
14 - Instrumental Outro To Set & Announcer
15 - Band Intro
16 - Because Of You
17 - Jump To It
18 - Announcer & Jump To It Finale
19 - Announcer & Crowd Noise

Put some soul, some energy, and some Aretha on your hard drive!

Sound quality: Original FM stereo source - very good.

Reloaded August 2015 see comments.

Bootleg Originals Part Two - Santana - USA 1976

Carlos Santana is sixty years young this year, yep once again another one of those now familiar milestones for music fans.

Was it really 35 years ago that I bought Caravanserai, an album of timeless qualities, which I think pretty much sums up so much of the music of Santana.

This concert was recorded in 1976. Lets get the period in context.

Carlos Santana along with Tom Coster, producer David Rubinson, and drummer Ndugu Leon Chancler had formed yet another version of Santana, adding vocalist Greg Walker.

The album "Amigos" was released in 1976 which featured the songs "Dance, Sister, Dance" and "Let It Shine" and had a strong funk and Latin sound.

The album also received considerable airplay on FM (USA) album oriented rock stations with the instrumental "Europa (Earths Cry Heavens Smile)" and re-introduced Santana back into the charts. Rolling Stone magazine ran a second cover story on Santana entitled; "Santana Comes Home" there was a lot of interest in the band that year.

This concert captures so well one of Santana's most special aspects, namely playing live.

Recorded at The Beacon Theatre, New York City, USA on the 7th May 1976, the band were in sparkling form, the venue seems ideal for their kind of skilled musicianship.

This was a professionally recorded and mixed show, that does such a well crafted and vibrant band justice. It was recently given a digital clean up by the BBC for rebroadcast. This is the nice new 'cleaned up' copy!

Set list is:

1. Gitano
2. Black Magic Woman / Gypsy Queen
3. Dance Sister Dance (Baila Mi Hermana)
4. Europa (Earth's Cry Heaven's Smile)
5. Samba Pa Ti
6. Let Me
7. Incident At Neshabur
8. Evil Ways

Replacement download link in comments below (8th February 2012).

Some Santana Cd's from their seventies era HERE .

Marillion - Live In London - 1984

Guess which one went on to a solo career and acting? Hmmm....

OK so Fish was a bit of an extrovert, that said Marillion have done very well since he left, way back when.

This is interesting, the band on tour prior to 'Misplaced Childhood' being released, and the very successful hit single 'Kayleigh'.

They played some of the 'forthcoming material', which for Marillion fans, is fascinating to hear.

The comments from Fish, introducing the 'new material', also demonstrates that the final album structure was not quite as planned.

Also the lyrics on 'Kayleigh' are different from the final album/single version.

This was recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon on December 14th 1984.

The original source was stereo soundboard, and considering that the likely path was vinyl, then CD, and finally digital, the sound quality remains excellent.

Setlist is:

01. Garden Party
02. Cinderella Search
03. Jigsaw
04. Chelsea Monday
05. Pseudo Silk Kimono / Kayleigh
06. Bitter Suite
07. Heart of Lothian
08. Incubus

NEW DOWNLOAD LINK IN COMMENTS BELOW OR CLICK ON THE PICTURE ABOVE.

Some Marillion material from the era available HERE.

... and I did not mention Genesis or prog rock once ! ...

Bootleg Originals Part One - The Rolling Stones - USA 1969

Welcome to Bootleg Originals number one, an occasional look back to some of the defining moments in rock bootleg history.

Bootlegs have been around for a long time, way before rock'n'roll, however this series will focus on the rock/pop era.

1969 tends to have tacit agreement, as the year rock bootlegs began to surface for sale, particularly in the USA. Bob Dylan is often regarded as an early 'target'.

Other obvious candidates were The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones. It was made easier when the Rolling Stones undertook a 17 date US tour, in November 1969, culminating at the notorious Altamont concert on December 6th.

The third date (two shows) on November 9th 1969, at The Oakland Coliseum in California, has been widely circulated as a boot.

It was the US 1969 tour, and the subsequent bootlegs, that lead to the official release of the 1970 Rolling Stones album 'Get Your Ya Ya's Out!' (predominately recorded from the Madison Square Garden concerts element of the tour).

This first bootleg in the series has been circulated under a few different names, the copy I received aptly named 'Liver Than You'll Ever Be'.

For a more detailed history of The Rolling Stones 1969, USA tour click HERE.

The Rolling Stones - November 9th 1969 - Oakland Coliseum, California USA.

1 Jumpin' Jack Flash
2 Carol
3 Sympathy For The Devil
4 Stray Cat
5 Prodigal Son
6 You've Gotta Move
7 Love In Vain
8 I'm Free
9 Under My Thumb
10 Midnight Rambler
11 Live With Me
12 Gimme Shelter
13 Little Queenie
14 Satisfaction
15 Honky Tonk Women
16 Street Fighting Man

The sound quality is good - highly listenable - the rest is history!

REPLACEMENT LINK IN COMMENTS BELOW OR CLICK ON THE PICTURE (1st AUGUST 2009).

You can grab a little official Stones merchandise HERE.

Among some of the artists to follow in 'Bootleg Originals' you can look forward to Led Zeppelin, The Waterboys, Pink Floyd, The Grateful Dead, Santana, Bob Dylan, The Who and more, so if you have not done so, bookmark or even better, RSS feed this page!

(Many thanks to Chris for this recording...)

Steve Forbert - Live New Jersey & New York - 1979/80

Steve Forbert is still touring, and also released a new album back in June. In some ways you have got to hand it to the guy.

Back in the late 1970's he was hailed as the 'new Bob Dylan' by some prominent music journalists.

Down the years comparisons have been made with Bob Seger, Bruce Springsteen, and anyone else whose name begins with B!

Along with this he has carried the long term 'underrated artist' label with dignity and endurance.

In a recent review of his current album he was described as the 'veteran Mississippi troubadour who mixes gentle folk/pop with the occasional piquant rocker'.

Anyway you draw your own conclusions.

My thanks to Chris for sharing this recording with me (along with some other rarities to follow soon), it is a fine example of Steve Forbert back towards the start of his musical career.

From two concerts:

Capitol Theatre, Passaic, New Jersey, 1979.

1 Song For The Sun
2 What Kinda Guy (acoustic version)
3 Thinkin'
4 Goin' Down To Laurel

The Bottom Line, New York, NY, 1980.

5 If You Gotta Ask You'll Never Know
6 Laughter Lou
7 Cellophane City
8 Song For Katrina
9 What Kinda Guy (electric version)
10 School Girl
11 I'm An Automobile
12 Lets Get Well Soon

All very good quality, sound and performance, an upbeat boot that leaves me in a positive mood.

Reloaded - 20/May/2015 - download link in comments.

Steve Forbert site HERE with merchandise HERE.

The Cranberries - Live Wire - 1995

This is a Cranberries boot known as 'Live Wire' from 1995.

I have only seen them in concert once, a few years after these performances, I was not disappointed.

Having been a fan of their music since the first album, I was mightily impressed with them live, so coming across a number of live concert boots, was a pleasure.

The good news is they have been a consistent class act, so if you want more from them let me know!

Live Wire is a compilation of three different concerts, from their 2005 world tour.

This is Live Wire:

Tracks One to Nine at The Milton Keynes Bowl, Milton Keynes, England - 30th July 1995.

1. Sunday
2. Linger
3. Pretty
4. Wanted
5. Daffodil Lament
6. I Can't Be With You
7. Zombie
8. Not Hollywood
9. Dreams

Tracks Ten to Fifteen at The Point Theatre, Dublin, Ireland - 2nd June 1995.

10. Sunday
11. Dreaming My Dreams
12. I Can't Be With You
13. I Just Shot John Lennon
14. Twenty One
15. Ridiculous Thoughts

Tracks Sixteen to Seventeen at Cadena 40 Principale, Madrid, Spain - 31st January 1995.

16. Dreaming My Dreams
17. Zombie

Very Good Soundboard quality throughout.

Replacement download link in comments below (02 March 2012).

Usual selection of official stuff to browse, and maybe, ever so maybe, consider buying HERE.

Fleetwood Mac - Nashville USA - 1977

In 1977 Punk was happening, I was listening to lot's of young (similar age), high energy bands, raw and fresh, even if the musicianship was pretty low tech.

For me Fleetwood Mac were really special in the day's of Peter Green, in the late 1960's, they had then morphed into adult orientated rock, and I stopped taking notice of them.

With hindsight of course, things are different. Rumours was a solid album, and maybe some of Fleetwood Mac's songs, have and will continue to stand the test of time, more so than a lot of the 70's punk scene.

Anyway to the point. This is Fleetwood Mac live in Nashville on May 21st 1977, at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium.

This is during the 'Rumours' tour, and the band are playing really well, with excellent vocals.


Set List:

Cd1
01 Welcome
02 Say You Love Me
03 Monday Morning
04 Dreams
05 Oh Well
06 Rhiannon
07 Oh Daddy
08 Never Going Back Again
09 Landslide
10 Over My Head
11 Gold Dust Woman

Cd2
01 You Make Loving Fun
02 I'm So Afraid
03 Go Your Own Way
04 World Turning
05 Blue Letter
06 Second Hand News
07 The Chain
08 Songbird

Sound Quality: This is a stereo soundboard recording that has been professionally mixed.

Reloaded 11/June/2015 - link in comments.

Mink DeVille - New York - 1980

Mink DeVille formed in San Francisco having performed initially as Billy DeSade & the Marquis and also The Lazy Eights before settling on the name Mink DeVille. They relocated to New York in the late 1970's, and were quickly associated with the local burgeoning punk scene.

The reality was that at heart Mink DeVille was a soul orientated band with roots in R&B, the blues and even Cajun music.

This year their founder Willy DeVille, celebrates thirty years as a recording artist, 'oh how time flies' when you are having fun.

This is Mink DeVille Live from The Bottom Line, New York, USA, back on September 12th 1980.

If you are not familiar with the band, I strongly urge you to give them a listen. Many may recognise their hit single 'Spanish Stroll', there is however far more to this band.

They are one of those bands that simply light up a venue when they perform. This is a 'stonking' performance!

The set list is as follows:

1. Harlem Nocturne
2. Slow Drain
3. Savoir Faire
4. She's So Tough
5. Cadillac Walk
6. Mixed Up Shook Up Girl
7. Just Your Friends
8. Desperate Days
9. Steady Drivin' Man
10. That World Outside
11. One Way Street
12. Just To Walk That Little Girl Home
13. Spanish Stroll
14. This Must Be The Night
15. Lipstick Traces
16. Easy Slider
17. Bad Boy
18. Soul Twist

The sound quality is excellent (FM Radio broadcast of the show).

Replacement file link - October 2011 in comments below.

Some Mink Deville Cd's to browse HERE.

REM - Live In London - 2005

This is the 'broadcast' part of REM live in Hyde Park, London, on the 16th July 2005.

It was the final date of their 2004/05 world tour, and had been put back one week due to the terrorist attack on London's tube system, just days earlier.

I have seen a number of bands and artists myself in Hyde Park. I recognise it has been used considerably as a venue in recent years.

A good number of charitable events have been televised in the UK. It is easy to get the impression that this is a fine venue to play.

Hyde Park is a very big place, a very large park.

For around ten years now, the gigs are performed with the stage at the Marble Arch end. The audience are placed parallel with Park Lane going south, between the internal roads.

If nothing else, I hope I have confused some New Yorkers at there own game now, regarding concerts in Central Park (this time last year I was in Manhattan so understand this is said with kind affection).

Put simply this part of Hyde Park is flat, easy to fit in 80,000 people, not so easy to ensure they all hear, or even see the event.

In all seriousness unless you are an absolute fan, you are better off listening to the radio broadcast of the event if available, rather than risking, not being a part of the audience, close to the stage. Like I said, I have seen a number of acts there, it is a challenging venue for crowd and artist. REM did quite well!

This is REM as broadcast on BBC Radio Two live. It is not the full concert, rather the final hour. The sound quality is FM stereo, at it's best. I think it fair to say despite the challenges of the venue REM had their hearts in this gig, what do you think?

Tracks are:

01 - Kenneth
02 - One I Love
03 - Drive
04 - The Outsiders
05 - Leaving New York
06 - Everybody Hurts
07 - Electron Blue
08 - Final Straw
09 - Orange Crush
10 - Walk Unafraid
11 - Losing My Religion
12 - Man On The Moon

Replacement download link in comments below (2nd April 2010).

REM merchandise HERE.

Genesis - Live In London - 1980

There was a time when Genesis would have automatically been included in my top favorite five bands.

When Peter Gabriel left, like many I thought it was the end, however although the sound and style gradually developed, it was still Genesis, and some good music was produced.

In 1980 the album Duke was released, and I was really impressed ! With hindsight this was the beginning of the end of my Genesis 'must buy - must have' era. After that for whatever reason only the odd song here and there appealed to me.

As regards Phil Collins solo material, sorry I have tried, but it ain't for me. I think early on, he made to much of an effort not to sound like Genesis, but with respect was never going to be a crooner.

To the point - This is Genesis towards the end of my 'Top Five Favorite' era.

The details - Genesis live at The Lyceum London (second night) on the 7th May 1980. The Lyceum was one of the smaller venues they played on this tour.

Set List:

CD 1:
01 - Deep In The Motherlode
02 - Dancing With The Moonlit Knight (Intro)
03 - Carpet Crawlers
04 - Squonk
05 - One For The Vine
06 - Behind The Lines
07 - Duchess
08 - Guide Vocal
09 - Turn It On Again
10 - Duke's Travels
11 - Duke's End
12 - Say It's Alright Joe

CD 2:
01 - The Lady Lies
02 - Ripples
03 - In The Cage And Slippermen
04 - Afterglow
05 - Follow You Follow Me
06 - Dance On Volcano
07 - Drum Duet
08 - Los Endos
09 - I Know What I Like
10 - The Knife

Sound Quality: From the BBC master recording of the show (pre FM, no static at all - if you excuse the pun). Put simply it is a professional recording, that merits superlatives such as awesome. It also helps that Genesis were really playing well that night!

Reloaded - 11/June/2015 - link in comments.