Nicolette Larson - Strawberry Music Festival 1986.

This is a recording of Nicolette Larson performing at the Strawberry Music Festival, Camp Mather, Yosemite, CA, USA back on August 29th, 1986.

Nicolette Larson is perhaps best known for her work in the late 1970s with Neil Young, as well as her 1978 cover of Young's "Lotta Love". The song, her debut single, was a Number One Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks hit and number 8 pop hit that year. It was followed by four more Adult Contemporary hits, two of which were also minor pop hits. Nicolette's work with Emmylou Harris on the album Luxury Liner (1977) prominently showcased her on the cut "Hello Stranger" and led to her meeting Harris' associate and friend Linda Ronstadt who became friends with Nicolette. In the spring of 1977 Nicolette was at Ronstadt's Malibu home when neighbor Neil Young phoned to ask Ronstadt if she could recommend a female vocal accompanist, and Ronstadt suggested Larson, becoming the fifth person that day to put Larson's name forward to Young. Young came over to meet Larson who recalled: "Neil ran down all the songs he had just written, about twenty of them. We sang harmonies with him and he was jazzed."

The following week Ronstadt and Larson cut their vocals for Young's American Stars 'n Bars album at Young's La Honda ranch — the two women were billed on the album as the Saddlebags. In November 1977 Young invited Nicolette to Nashville to sing on the sessions for his Comes a Time album, an assignment which led to Nicolette's being signed to Warner Brothers, an affiliate of Young's home label Reprise. Nicolette continued her session singing career into 1978 accruing credit on recordings by Marcia Ball, Rodney Crowell, Emmylou Harris' (Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town) and Norton Buffalo. Nicolette also contributed vocals to the Doobie Brothers' Minute by Minute whose producer Ted Templeman would be responsible for Larson's debut album Nicolette. 

By 1985, she shifted her focus to country music, charting six times on the Hot Country Singles (now Hot Country Songs) charts. Her only Top 40 country hit was "That's How You Know When Love's Right", a duet with Steve Wariner. She sadly died in 1997 at just 45 years of age.

Source: FM Broadcast.

Sound Quality: Very good stereo mp3@192kbps.

Genre: Rock, Country, Pop, Lullaby.

Set: Full set.

Set List:

01. The Angels Rejoiced
02. Comes A Time
03. Only Love Can Make It Right
04. Mexican Divorce
05. Sometimes You Just Can’t Win
06. That’s How You Know Love’s Right
07. Blow On Chilly Wind
08. If I Didn’t Love You
09. Untitled
10. Keep Us Apart
11. When You Get A Little Lonely
12. Ain’t Livin’ Long Like This
13. MC banter & crowd
14. Pink Cadillac
15. MC banter

 

Website: Tribute HERE.

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Richard Thompson - Fetzer Vineyards, USA, 1997

This is Richard Thompson live in concert at Fetzer Vineyards, Hopland, CA, USA, back on June 22nd, 1997.

During the previous year (1996), Richard released the album 'You? Me? Us?' however only two tracks from that album were included in this concert, which in part demonstrates the powerful back catalogue he had built up over the years. 

That album showcased his versatile abilities in both acoustic and electric formats, Thompson devoted one disc to each. The 'Nude' disc features pared down, poetically emotive arrangements, and the second disc, 'Voltage Enhanced', demonstrates his blistering electric guitar work with a full band.

Also in 1997 he worked with long-time friend and band member Danny Thompson (not related) and recorded a concept album 'Industry' that dealt with the decline of British industry. Featuring a variety of musical and vocal styles, Industry was the basis for a BBC documentary, which aired in UK in May of that year. Featuring compositions based on themes from the industrial revolution to Britain's faltering mining industry, the album was performed live, in its entirety, at only five locations in Britain. Despite the amount of time involved in that venture this concert does not include any material from that album. 

However when we consider the many different ventures Richard has been involved with along with his solo career, it is not surprising that the two were separated, indeed check his set lists from tour to tour and the variety of material covered is quite astonishing.   

Source: Soundboard (Sony PCM-F1 - record).

Sound Quality: Very good stereo mp3@192kbps.

Genre: Folk rock, electric folk, acoustic, alternative rock, folk.

Set: Full set.

Set List:

01 intro by Emcee, Doug Green)
02 Turning Of The Tide
03 Bathsheba Smiles
04 From Galway To Graceland
05 I Feel So Good
06 The Ghost Of You Walks
07 Hamlet (Dog Eat Dog In Denmark)
08 Drifting Through The Days
09 1952 Vincent Black Lightning
10 Pharaoh

11 Don't Sit On My Jimmy Shands
12 Hide It Away
13 Wall Of Death
14 Razor Dance
15 Beeswing
16 I Misunderstood
17 Walking On A Wire
18 Two Left Feet
19 Waltzing's For Dreamers
20 Don't Roll Those Bloodshot Eyes At Me

Website: Official HERE.

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Elvis Costello and the Rude Five - Tour Rehearsals USA 1991

This is Elvis Costello and the Rude Five during their tour rehearsals at the Arlington Theatre, Santa Barbara, California, USA back in May, 1991.

The notes that accompanied this recording state, 'this is said to be the last night of a week of tour rehearsals at the Arlington Theatre in Santa Barbara, recorded just before the start of the "Mighty Like A Rose" tour in 1991 (which began May 25th in Santa Barbara)'.

If 1990 proved to be a fairly low key year for Elvis Costello, he definately made up for it in 1991 by recording two albums: "Mighty Like A Rose" and "Kojak Variety", although the tapes for the latter were put away for a rainy day (and didn’t see the light of that rainy day until 1995).

He then spent much of the rest of the year touring around the world with a combo dubbed "The Rude Five", even though only four of them (Marc Ribot, Jerry Scheff, Larry Knechtel and Pete Thomas) usually played live with Costello (the fifth member was Steven Soles). Marc Ribot was unable to make the dates for the Japanese and Australian shows at the end of the tour in September, and The Rude Five became The Rude Four, with Elvis Costello handling all the lead and rhythm guitar duties. 

Source: Soundboard (DAT clone).

Sound Quality: Very good stereo mp3@192kbps.

Genre: Punk rock, Pub rock, New Wave.

Set: Rehearsal.

Set List:

01 (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes
02 Invasion Hit Parade
03 Watch Your Step
04 Georgie And Her Rival
05 Home Is Anywhere You Hang Your Head
06 Suit Of Lights
07 So Like Candy
08 Accidents Will Happen
09 You Bowed Down
10 Hidden Charms
11 All Grown Up
12 Couldn't Call It Unexpected No 4
13 The Other Side Of Summer
14 Strange
15 How To Be Dumb
16 Alison
17 Sweet Pear
18 Bama Lama Bama Loo
19 Playboy To A Man
20 Everybody's Crying Mercy

Line-Up:

Marc Ribot - guitar

Pete Thomas - drums

Jerry Scheff - bass

Larry Knechtel - keyboards

Website: Official HERE.

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Blind Boys Of Alabama - Austria 2009

This is the Blind Boys of Alabama recorded live at Congress, Salzburg, Austria back on October 30th, 2009. The source was Austrian Radio OE1 who subsequently broadcast the concert on December 21st, 2009.

The Blind Boys of Alabama are a gospel and blues group from Alabama that first formed at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind at Talladega, Alabama in 1939. The three main vocalists of the group and their drummer and percussionist are all blind.

As of 2011 (and checking their current schedule into 2012), The Blind Boys of Alabama continue to tour nationally and internationally, with Jimmy Carter singing lead vocals. In 2006, Clarence Fountain, the group's former long-time lead vocalist and founding member limited his touring for health reasons. Founding member George Scott died on March 9th, 2005 at the age of 75. Another founding member, Johnny Fields, died on November 12th, 2009.

Releases by the group in recent years have been favorites at the Grammy Awards—they won the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album four straight years between 2002 and 2005. The Blind Boys of Alabama were inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2007. In 2009, they were awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In April 2011, the band released Take The High Road in Australia and followed it with a headlining tour that included the East and West Coast Bluesfest and the Sydney Opera House. The CD, which was also released in the U.S. on May 3rd, features guest artists Willie Nelson, Vince Gill, Lee Ann Womack, Hank Williams, Jr., The Oak Ridge Boys, and Nashville heavyweight Jamey Johnson, who also co-produced the record.

Source: FM (cable radio).

Sound Quality: Very good stereo mp3@320kbps.

Genre: Gospel, Blues.

Set: Broadcast set.

Set List:

01. Down By the Riverside
02. God Said It (That's Good Enough For Me)
03. People get ready
04. Spirit in the sky
05. Way Down In The Hole
06. Uncloudy day
07. There will be a light
08. Let's Make a Better World
09. Free at last
10. Amazing Grace
11. Look Where He Brought Me from
12. Higher Ground

Line-Up:

Jimmy Lee Carter: vocals
Bishop Billy Bowers: vocals
Ben Moore: vocals
Joey Williams: g, vocals
Tracy Pierce: bass
Peter Levin: organ
Eric 'Ricky' McKinnie: drums, vocals

Website: Official HERE.

Download link in comments below (23/02/2016).