portrait of this blog's author - by Stephen Blackman 2008

Sunday, April 26, 2020

Well the boys over at Floppy Boot Stomp and Voodoo Wagon (well let's be fair it's Jobe!) are on fire and posted this yesterday . . . . . . .. if you download one thing today make it this! 
Four (count 'em!) FOUR albums worth of alternate takes from the most classic Who albums ever, heck the most classic ROCK ALBUM EVER! If you don't have this in your Top Ten Albums of all time, see a doctor and ask him to check your pulse and book a brain scan! Oh and TURN IT UP!
It's window rattling time . . . . . . . . . !!

THE WHO

The Who 

The Real Alternate Who's Next







THE WHO
The Real Alternate Who's Next Album

Disc 1 - Pete's Demos
1. Pure And Easy
2. Teenage Wasteland
3. Going Mobile
4. Baba O'Riley
5. Time Is Passing
6. Love Ain't For Keeping
7. Bargain
8. Too Much Of Anything
9. Greyhound Girl
10. Mary
11. Behind Blue Eyes
12. I Don't Even Know Myself
13. Getting In Tune
14. Won't Get Fooled Again
15. The Song Is Over
 . . . . . . frankly I have just listened to this all the way through and Pete Townshend is a freakin' genius! Staggering Demo and could have been rleleased like this!


Disc 2 - Alternate & Extended Album

1. Baba O'Riley
2. Going Mobile
3. Time Is Passing
4. Love Ain't For Keeping
5. My Wife
6. Bargain
7. Too Much Of Anything
8. Behind Blue Eyes
9. I Don't Even Know Myself
10. Put The Money Down
11. Pure And Easy
12. Getting In Tune
13. Let's See Action
14. Relay
15. Join Together
16. Won't Get Fooled Again
17. The Song Is Over

Disc 3 - The Recording Sessions
1. Pure And Easy - alternate version
2. Getting In Tune - alternate version
3. Baby Don't You Do It - rough mix
4. Won't Get Fooled Again - alternate version
5. Love Ain't For Keeping - alternate version
6. Getting In Tune - alternate mix
7. Too Much Of Anything - alternate mix
8. Pure And easy (Pete solo piano)*
9. Baba O'Riley - synth intro with comments
10. Going Mobile - with comments
11. My Wife - with comments
12. Behind Blue Eyes - with comments

Disc 4 - Rehearsals At The Old Vic Theatre, London 1971
1. Baby Don't You Do It
2. Bargain
3. Bony Moronie
4. Unknown Jam
5. My Generation
6. Naked Eye
7. Naked Eye
8. Bonie Moronie
9. Roadrunner
10. Walking The Dog
11. Pinball Wizard
12. See Me Feel Me
13. Baby Don't You Do It
14. Won't Get Fooled Again - false start
15. Won't Get Fooled Again

RICHARD THOMPSON 1985

An absolute cracker of a set from Floppy Boot Stomp this morning of the Richard Thompson Band from '85 which is about when I cam across him again after Fairport Convention.  I was introduced to Across a Crowded Room of that year by artist and fantastic British painter, Graham Dean. I have followed him again (Richard not Graham well actually both!) ever since and so this has loads of happy memories and as FBS it is perhaps one of the best audience recordings I have heard in a while, slightly warm (not hot) if anything but needs turning up a tad and we can do that can't we? It is a scorching angry set and stems from the time of his most productive vitriolic songs (Fire In The Engine Room, She Twists The Knife Again, When The Spell Is Broken, Little Blue Number, Did She Jump or Was She Pushed, You Don't Say etc so Thomson's at his very best IMHO)




Saturday, April 25, 2020

PETER BEARD




After reports of his disappearing, Peter Beard (82) was found dead in the grounds of his property some three weeks later. Muse for artist Francis Bacon, artist, diarist, socialite, wildlife photographer and advocate, larger than life bon viveur and unique man of the world we will not see his like again.


Leopards from Beard's book on Africa

Beard Triptych by Francis Bacon - Francis went on to paint him over 9 times

Beard portrait by Francis Bacon

Beard trampled by a rogue elephant being taken to hospital in the back of a car, his internal injuries so bad he wasn't expected to survive.


Bacon by Beard

Beard by Bacon


portrait of Peter Beard by F Bacon on his studio floor

Rhino by P Beard
Peter Beard in the Eighties with his wife supermodel Cheryl Tiegs


                          “Life is just a flick of the fingers. Let’s face it.”  Peter Beard



Beard in 2008 Photograph: Sipa/Rex/Shutterstock

Friday, April 24, 2020

JOHN PRINE

(1946-2020)



Absolute corker of a ROIO from BBChronicles yesterday and have been listening to little else for the past 24 hours. An absolute scorcher of a double set from Dallas Texas in 1995. In either FLAC or MP3! Superb stuff . . . . . . . . over two hours with his full band in first rate quality


John Prine 1995 Majestic Theatre - BBChronicles Blogspot 


Tracklist:
Disc 1:
01. Spanish Pipedream
02. Six O'clock News 
03. Fish And Whistle 
04. Picture Show
05. You Got Gold 
06. All The Best 
07. New Train
08. Ain't Hurtin' Nobody 
09. This Love is Real
10. Angel From Montgomery 
11. Donald And Lydia
12. Souvenirs
13. That's The Way That The World Goes 'Round 
14. Speed of the Sound of Loneliness
15. Space Monkey
16. Sam Stone

Disc 2:
01. Everything Is Cool 
02. Leave the Lights On 
03. Quit Hollerin' At Me 
04. band intro
05. The Sins of Memphisto 
06. Humidity Built the Snowman 
07. Lake Marie
08. Hello In There 
19. Sabu Visits the Twin Cities Alone 
10. Please Don't Bury Me
11. Illegal Smile
12. Daddy's Little Pumpkin 
13. We Are the Lonely
14. Storm Windows
15. Paradise (with The Subdudes)  

Band (Lost Dogs/Subdudes):
Larry Crane - guitar, vocals
Phil Parlapiano - keyboards, accordion, vocals
David Steele - guitars, mandolin, vocals
David Jacques - bass 
Ed Gass - drums, percussion



Enjoy! This is the first Prine set I have been able to listen to since his untimely cruel death from Covid-19 after an incredible struggle and surviving two bouts of throat cancer.
Thanks BB!

TURN IT UP! 

Wednesday, April 22, 2020

NEWSFLASH

Marianne Faithfull Released From Hospital After Three-Week Coronavirus Stay



Some good news (for once!) “We are really happy to say that Marianne has been discharged from hospital today, 22 days after being admitted suffering from the symptoms of Covid-19. She will continue to recuperate in London,” a rep for the singer said in a statement. “Marianne thanks you all for your kind messages of concern which have meant a great deal through what is a such a difficult time for so many. She is also very grateful to all the NHS staff who cared for her at the hospital and, without doubt, saved her life.”

Rolling Stone magazine - Marianne Faithfull released from hospital

Dr John 

and The Neville Brothers

LIVE IN JAPAN 1987


Treat yourself and in these weird times what better to get off your your couch and dance the Swannee River Blues from the good Doctor!  
John that is . . . . . . . . . . 

Straight to your eardrobes from Floppy Boot Stomp! Stomp those floppies! We miss the master Dr John that is for sure but this is uniformly excellent and despite a curious package including a totally different cover artwork it is worth having for track one alone IMHO! 

Dr John & The Neville Bros Live in Japan 1987 - Floppy Boot Stomp


Dr. John Solo

01. Swanee River Boogie
02. Stack-A-Lee
03. Tipitina
04. Junko Partner
05. Blues Interlude---Such A Night
06. Huey Smith Medley: Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu---High Blood Pressure---Don't You Just Know It
07. Sick And Tired

The Neville Brothers with Dr. John

08. Band Intros
09. Iko Iko
10. Let The Good Times Roll---Oo Poo Pa Doo
11. Big Chief
12. I Walk On Gilded Splinters
13. Wang Dang Doodle
14. Rock 'N' Roll Medley: Johnny B Goode---Boney Maronie---Dizzy Miss Lizzie---Jenny Take A Ride


Aaron Neville - Vocals, Percussion
Cyril Neville - Guitar, Percussion, Vocals
Brian Stoltz - Guitar
Art Neville - Keyboards
Dr. John - Keyboards, Vocals
Daryl Johnson - Bass
Willie Greene - Drums
Charles Neville - Percussion, Sax, Vocals

JOHN PRINE


Big O have published a really interesting article this morning about the review and reactions to the release of John's fourth album, 'Common Sense' and a bit of  backlash it turned out to be. Worth a read for sure for all you Prine Shriners and they also have published a ROIO from 1975 too that I had a bit of bandwidth trouble with but as per usual they sorted me out straight way! Top fellas! It does seem to not entirely be me but there are guys visiting Big O saying similarly that the files are still corrupted so until the tech wizards at Big O sort it out there's an alternative source courtesy of the Internet Archive UPDATE! All files sorted now and the direct version is preferable as it separates all the track listings

When John Prine passed away on April 7, 2020 (he was 73) of complications from the Covid-19 virus, musicians and critics alike responded with laudatory articles en masse. Prine was remembered as one of America’s greatest songwriters and deservedly so. There really was nothing I could add to the chorus. But there was one itch I felt a need to scratch - what I felt was the unjust criticisms of his 4th album, Common Sense (1975). They were reviews and opinions that continue to be recycled to this very day. It was with that in mind that I proceeded to write the look-back review that follows.
 
By Bill Glahn. Here’s the back story, exclusive to BigO.












Tuesday, April 21, 2020

JOHN PRINE

BB Chronicles



BB over at BB Chronicles posted an interesting set from John Prine from 1990 the other day and whilst he was among those ROIO sources still using Zippyshare (not user friendly to the UK anymore) he kindly posted links using the seemingly excellent Solid Files which worked okay and in rapid time (curiously I did have a bit of a problem opening the archive files and couldn't open them with my usual Stuffit Expander and despite it not needing updating as far as I can tell I had to use another file unpacker and used the ever reliable Keka as recommended via AppleToolBox) I would be interested to hear if anyone else using Stuffit and/or Keka had similar problems or whether it is yet another MacOs issue since they have gone 64 bit)
Anyway the concert itself says its a soundboard but it starts of real rough and the vocals mixed way down in the mix for this listener but stick with it as it improves immeasurably as John goes on and is not worth dumping for the sake of the opening tracks

Any comments and feedback would be of interest (Who ARE you talking too? You know full well nobody is listening! ED


Have at it!


John Prine - The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Fesitival 1990


Tracklist:01. Spanish Pipedream 
02. Donald and Lydia 
03. Blue Umbrella 
04. Angel From Montgomery 
05. Bottomless Lake 
06. All the Best 
07. Grandpa Was a Carpenter 
08. Illegal Smile 
09. Dear Abby 
10. Souvenirs 
11. Sam Stone 
12. That's The Way The World Goes 'Round 
13. Please Don't Bury Me 
14. Paradise 
15. Hello in There

Monday, April 20, 2020

RICHARD THOMPSON 

LIVE LOCK DOWN HOME GIG No.2

with Zara Phillips


Again over an hour of free performance from Richard's home in the USA with a lovely shout out to John Prine and acknowledging the death of  a fellow songwriter who Richard claimed was on his top five. Again accompanied by his lovely partner Zara Phillips a singer songwriter in her own write!
Richard is accepting donations on this link, with a portion of the proceeds going to the NJ Food Bank: https://www.paypal.me/richardthompson...
  1. Bathsheba Smiles
  2. Angel From Montgomery
  3. Walking On A Wire
  4. Beeswing
  5. Sloth
  6. Turning Of The Tide
  7. Persuasion
  8. The Storm Won’t Come
  9. Dry My Tears And Move On
  10. Wall Of Death
  11. My Enemy
  12. When The Saints Rise Out Of Their Graves

Recorded on Sunday 19th April 2020. 
We do not claim copyright of this material, just uploading here to give broader access in the spirit that the original concert was intended. Originally streamed on Richard Thompson's Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/RichardThomp...  



Saturday, April 18, 2020

RICHARD THOMPSON 


LIVE at Home during Lock Down (AGAIN!)

With donations through Richard's Paypal partially going to the NJ Food Bank near his home . . . . . . 


Friday, April 17, 2020

JOHN PRINE

more John from Voodoo Wagon . . . . . . thanks guys


a fine full set from 1986 with guitarist Phil Donnelly





John Prine - Asheville, NC 
October 1986
with Phillip Donnelly
 Soundboard @320

Setlist:
01 Lulu Walls
02 Torch Singer
03 Aw Heck
04 Six O'Clock News
05 Out of Love intro
06 Out of Love
07 Donald & Lydia
08 Blue Umbrella
09 Souveniers
10 Grandpa Was a Carpenter
11 Fish & Whistle
12 Storm Windows
13 Illegal Smile
14 Dear Abby
15 Far From Me
16 Sabu Visits the Twin Cities Alone
17 Linda Goes to Mars
18 Let's Talk Dirty intro
19 Let's Talk Dirty in Hawaiian
20 The Great Compromise
21 Sam Stone
22 Sailing Around
23 My Own Best Friend
24 Spanish Pipedream

A version of Sam Stone from Farm Aid that same year again with Donnelly and others

"La la la la lah la Lovely Linda . . . . . . . . "

LINDA McCARTNEY

I have said before here somewhere we were fans of Linda's, from their marriage to her dreadful untimely death. If Paul married this fine photographer she was good enough for us card carrying members of the Wings Fan Club!  I found this quote below this morning and it reminded me quite how special Paul was/is and what a love he had for this gorgeous woman! 



“She was always very beautiful. That picture of Linda on the Tube shows her perfectly: beautiful hands, absolutely no make-up, just the structure of the face. The argyle socks that everyone used to make fun of. She had two pairs and used to wear a red one with a green one. She was a very natural girl, naturally blonde. It was a very casual look.” 

- Sir Paul McCartney, April 6, 2008,The Sunday Times

Wednesday, April 15, 2020

Also lately the guys over at Floppy Boot Stomp have posted a great late set from the Man In Black hisself! Playing several of my very favourite Cash numbers from the haunting Big River, to the uplifting Get Rhythm and Sunday Morning Coming Down to his classic Ghost Riders, Walk The Line, Man In Black, Ring of Fire and a Boy Named Sue

JOHNNY CASH


Johnny Cash 
Frank Erwin Center 
University Of Texas
Austin Texas
1994-12-08 
Soundboard @320



01. Folsom Prison Blues
02. Get Rhythm
03. Sunday Morning Comin’ Down
04. Ghost Riders In The Sky
05. Cowboy’s Prayer
06. O’ Bury Me Not
07. Big River
08. I Walk The Line
09. I Still Miss Someone
10. Man In Black
11. The Alamo
12. Orange Blossom Special
13. Death And Hell
14. Delia
15. A Bird On A Wire
16. The Beast In Me
17. Tennessee Stud
18. Down There By The Train
19. Drive On
20. Ring Of Fire
21. Jackson
22. If I Were A Carpenter
23. It Ain’t Me, Babe
24. Live Forever
25. Will The Circle Be Unbroken
26. The Next Time I'm In Town---Outro Music---Encore Break
27. Guess Things Happen that Way
28. The Ballad Of Ira Hayes
29. Home Of The Blues
30. Long Black Veil
31. A Boy Named Sue---Encore Break
32. Outro Music
33. Peace In The Valley
34. Outro Music


Johnny Cash - Guitar, Vocals
Dave Rowe - Guitar
Bob Wooten - Bass
W.S. Holland - Drums

with

June Carter Cash - Vocals (Tracks 21-25)

Superb stuff!