Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band - 1978-12-15 - San Francisco, CA

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
December 15, 1978
Winterland, San Francisco, CA
'Winterland Night' (Crystal Cat) 3 CD
FM Broadcast (KSAN-FM) recording, very good quality
Available in both Lossless (FLAC) and mp3 (320 kbps) versions
Artwork included

Here's another all-time classic live bootleg from Springsteen and The E Street Band, this one considered one of the best overall quality performances and recordings from the legendary 1978 Darkness on the Edge of Town Tour. Whereas the previous Born to Run Tour established Springsteen as one of the top live acts, the Darkness tour blew everything else away, delivering some of his best performances and most legendary full-length concerts, and making him the 'must-see' live act of his generation. This is the highly regarded '1978 Winterland' show, a monster, killer, 3-1/2 hour show and performance. Here's the notes that were included with the download:
" “Tonight you’re gonna hear the concert of your life”, the guy of KSAN states to his listeners at the beginning of disc 1. That says it all! This boot offers great, fantastic, energetic rock ‘n roll. Sound is excellent, performance is excellent and the overall quality is very good." So, once again, here's the Boss, cranking it up to 11, in what many consider his very best tour.

Tracklist
Disc 1: (76:50)
1. "Intro" (0:59)
2. Badlands (4:35)
3. Streets Of Fire (4:59)
4. Spirit In The Night (6:25)
5. Darkness On The Edge Of Town (4:19)
6. Factory (3:27)
7. The Promised Land (5:11)
8. Prove It All Night (11:15)
9. Racing In The Street (8:44)
10. Thunder Road (5:21)
11. Jungleland (9:21)
12. The Ties That Bind (3:18)

Disc 2: (77:01)
1. "Intro" (4:20)
2. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town (3:42)
3. The Fever (7:35)
4. Fire (2:59)
5. Candy's Room (3:02)
6. Because The Night (7:06)
7. Point Blank (8:06)
8. Mona / Preacher's Daughter (3:39)
9. She's The One (8:35)
10. Backstreets (11:40)
11. Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) (10:18)

Disc 3: (77:39)
1. "Intro" (0:31)
2. Born To Run (4:20)
3. Devil With The Blue Dress On (1:19)
4. Good Golly Miss Molly (0:41)
5. C.C. Rider (1:13)
6. Jenny Take A Ride (2:51)
7. Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out (3:53)
8. Raise Your Hand (4:24)
9. Quarter To Three (8:50)
Bonus tracks
10. Growin' Up* (8:42)
11. The Promise* (6:12)
12. I Fought The Law* (2:11)
13. Heartbreak Hotel** (2:08)
14. Lost In The Flood** (5:58)
15. Adam Raised A Cain** (5:04)
16. Chimes Of Freedom** (5:21)
* Tracks 10-12 Paramount Theater, Seattle, WA 06/25/78
** Tracks 13-16 Masonic Temple Auditorium, Detroit, MI 09/01/78

FLAC:
CD1 - Bruce Springsteen - 1978-12-15 - Winterland_SF_CD1
CD2 - Bruce Springsteen - 1978-12-15 - Winterland_SF_CD2
CD3 - Bruce Springsteen - 1978-12-15 - Winterland_SF_CD3

mp3 - Bruce Springsteen - 1978-12-15 - Winterland_SF_mp3

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band - 1975-10-17 - Roxy Theatre, Hollywood, CA

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
1975-10-17
The Roxy Theatre, West Hollywood, CA
'Roxy Theatre Night' (Crystal Cat - 851-852)
FM Broadcast Recording, very good quality
mp3 @ 320 kbps

So far, in this brief look at all-time classic bootleg albums, we've focused more on unreleased albums, but of course live recordings are a major part of all bootlegs, and when it comes to classic live concert recordings, Springsteen is near the top of the list. So, here is a classic show from fairly early in Bruce's career, from the Born to Run Tour, as Bruce was on the verge of going from a local NJ-NY favorite to a national (and international) superstar. This show has been rated as one of the very best quality recordings from this period, and is certainly a classic, as audiences were getting to hear most of the Born to Run songs for the very first time. So, here is Bruce and the E Street Band, in fine early form, in October 1975, shortly after Born to Run was finally released, at the Roxy Theatre in LA, establishing himself as 'the next big thing' in rock (It was just one week later when he appeared on the cover of both Time and Newsweek simultaneously, and he was the artist everyone was talking about).  Anyway, here is Bruce, back in the Born to Run days, before all the 3-hour plus concerts, big stadium shows, and superstardom; they were just a hard-working Rock band, but in every way showing why they became as big as they did, starting with this album and tour. So, gfor all who doesn't already have this, here's the Boss in '75. 

Tracklist
Disc 1
01. Intro
02. Thunder Road
03. Tenth Avenue Freeze Out
04. Spirit In The Night
05. Story Intro
06. Pretty Flamingo
07. She's The One
08. Born To Run
09. 4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
10. Backstreets
11. Kitty's Back

Disc 2
01. Jungleland
02. Rosalita
03. Goin' Back
04. Detroit Medley
Bonus tracks
05. Jungleland (1974-07-14 - Bottom Line, NYC)
06. Kitty's Back (1974-07-14 - Bottom Line, NYC)
07. The E Street Shuffle (1975-08-15 - Bottom Line, NYC)

 Bruce_Springsteen_1975-10-17_-_Roxy_Night_(CC)_-_LA.rar

Dave Matthews Band - The Lillywhite Sessions (unreleased album) - 2000

Dave Matthews Band
The Lillywhite Sessions (Unreleased album)
Recorded Winter 1999 - Summer 2000, leaked on internet March 2001
Raw (unmastered) session recordings, very good quality
Available in Lossless (FLAC) and mp3 (320 kbps) versions

Here's another classic unreleased album, this one from much more recently and from a more recent band, but one that nonetheless still has some historical significance, and played a key role in the development of the internet for distribution of unreleased and bootleg recordings. And personally, it was this album that first got me started in finding and downloading bootlegs, unofficial releases, and ROIOs via the internet. For some background, it was late 1999, and use of the internet to find, share, and deliver music was just getting established. Two relatively new upstart online music companies, mp3.com and Napster, would change the way music is distributed, shared, and listened to in the emerging online marketplace.  Mp3.com, which started in 1998, featured music from mostly independent, unknown acts, and allowed users to download and listen to new music from these emerging artists for free. It was a great opportunity for new and unknown acts to get their music heard, and gain exposure in the marketplace. Napster, which was just started in early 1999, of course, was the first of the online music sharing sites that offered free peer-to-peer sharing of music files among fans, and quickly became primarily used to share copyrighted music. The music industry's response (RIAA and some band's legal representation) to both of these perceived attacks on the music industry status quo was swift and powerful, inundating them with litigation intended to eventually shut them down (which they did by 2001). But in 1999-2000, they were growing and going strong.

At the same time, the Dave Matthews Band had emerged as one of the top rock bands of the nineties, with each of their albums becoming bigger hits than the previous one (Under The Table and Dreaming, 1994, Crash, 1996), culminating with Before these Crowded Streets (1998) reaching Number 1 on the charts, their live shows selling-out stadiums, and their fans becoming rabid for more DMB music. But when DMB head back to the studios in fall 1999 to work on their next album, again with producer Steve Lillywhite, despite finishing many new songs over the next couple months, Dave and the Band were just 'not feeling it'. Most of the songs were much darker in tone and they were just not happy with the overall sound and style of the sessions. By Spring 2000, they announced that they were abandoning the sessions (and their ties to Lillywhite), that they would still tour that summer, but without a new album to release. In the meantime, however, a few of the songs were leaked to various DMB fanbases to overall positive responses, and during the summer tour, they featured some of the 'abandoned' songs, to much acclaim from fans. After their tour, in Fall 2000, a re-energized Matthews met up with producer Glenn Ballard, hit it off big-time, and the two of them proceeded to write a whole new album of songs in a very short time (and generally without any input from the rest of the band). So, the band then went back to the studio with Dave and Glenn's new batch of songs and proceeded to record what would be released as Everyday (2001). But when Everyday was released, although the album was a hit, long-time fans were not pleased with the overly slick, pop style of the new album. Fans started clamoring for the release of the lost Lillywhite sessions and the songs from them that were featured on their last tour. Then in March 2001, a full album of completed, but unmastered songs, that came to be known as The Lillywhite Sessions, was leaked onto the internet from one of the DMB fanbases and distributed via Napster (ironically, the person leaking them thought he had full permission from Lillywhite to release them, but was the victim of a phony email trick). Once they became available (initially only as 96 and 128 kbs mp3 files), there was a frenzy to get and listen to these 'lost' tracks, and the loyal fan base almost unanimously preferred these dark DMB tracks to the slick pop of Everyday. And although the album was still not officially released, it was beginning to achieve the popularity and mainstream support of a commercial release (to the extent that this unreleased album was reviewed by Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, and other mainstream media, and received generally better ratings and reviews than the offically released Everyday. To compound this, during the following summer tour, DMB played songs from both Everyday and the unofficial Lillywhite sessions. More than ever, fans were screaming for the official release of the sessions, to no avail.

And this, basically, is where I came in. Like many others, DMB was one of my favorite bands at that time (unfortunately, that changed drastically over the next decade as DMB began a downward spiral of poor decisions, creative lapses, uninspired musical directions, and lack of quality musical output), and I was outraged that there was this whole new album out there that was being talked about, but was not commercially available anywhere. So, that was my incentive to go and get this music online, as I believe it was for many others that had never downloaded music from the internet before. Although I never hooked up to Napster (due to all the controversy surrounding it at the time), I did get hooked up with LimeWire, which used the new Gnutella network (one of many updated offshoots of the Napster concept, but with improvements making them less susceptible to legal shutdown) for P2P sharing. Although it was slow and a bit of a mess (songs in low grades, mislabelled tracks, many interruptions, failures, etc.), I was able to eventually get (song-by-song) the full Lillywhite sessions album, and it was well-worth the trouble, a real gem of an album, even though it was 'scrapped' and deemed not worthy of releasing. Anyway, once I was online in this way, I, of course found much more music of interest that was available, including unreleased demos, outtakes, and albums, and live concert recordings. But I was never interested in getting official commercially-available music for free online, and would not have gotten into online sharing at all for that purpose, but it was the ability of getting music that I could not get anywhere commercially that was most compelling, and it was here, and specifically because of this album, that I first started downloading music. Sure, I had acquired many vinyl bootleg albums in the 70's and 80's, but they were generally expensive and not very good quality, and usually not worth the trouble. But now, with the discovery of so much new music that was not available commercially, it opened a whole new world. So, this album has many fond memories for me, and started me on the path that eventually lead to this blog. I didn't stay on Limewire for very long (don't like the idea and vulnerabilities of P2P), but it got me started, and lead to the other music blogs featuring live, unreleased, and bootleg albums, and eventually the filesharing services, and everything else.

 Now, to continue the story of the album, although The Lillywhite Sessions never were officially released and remained a cherished unreleased album, insistence by fans for these songs eventually lead DMB to go back to the studio and re-record most of the Lillywhite songs (9 of the 12 songs were used, along with 2 new songs - songs not included were 'Sweet Up and Down', 'JTR', and 'Monkey Man') for the album that was released as Busted Stuff (2002). Although the sound and recording of the songs is definitely higher quality than the raw recordings on Lillywhite, and Busted Stuff is a fine album itself, most fans still prefer the original recorded versions found on the Lillywhite Sessions, and it remains a must-have album in the DMB collection. Anyway, so here it is, if you don't already have it, The Lillywhite Sessions. And here it is presented in much better quality (lossless and 320 mp3) than those original download versions (later lossless versions became available). So, decide for yourself. Which is better, Lillywhite or Everyday, then Lillywhite or Busted Stuff? Also included here is an additional track (Build You a House') from the Lillywhite sessions (not included on the album), that came from earlier in the sessions, a song that was dropped before further recording for the proposed album was done.


Tracklist
1. Busted Stuff
2. Grey Street
3. Diggin' a Ditch
4. Sweet Up and Down
5. JTR
6. Big Eyed Fish
7. Grace is Gone
8. Captain (Crazy)
9. Bartender
10. Monkey Man
11. Kit Kat Jam
12. Raven
Bonus track
13. Build You a House
(Additional track from earlier during Lillywhite recording sessions that was not included on the Lillywhite sessions album)
Note: 'Build You a House' only available as mp3 (192 kbps)

FLAC - DMB_Lillywhite sessions_FLAC

mp3 - DMB_Lillywhite_sessions_mp3.rar

The Beatles - Get Back-The Glyn Johns Mixes - 1969

THE BEATLES
Get Back - The Glyn Johns Mixes (Clarified)
'Rough Mix' Acetate and original (1st) version of the unreleased Get Back Album
January-May 1969

Best available sources, excellent quality
Available in both Lossless (FLAC) and mp3 (320 kbps) versions

OK, I had only planned on a single Beatles post as part of this feature of classic bootlegs, but there are so many great Beatles boots, that it is hard to stop at just one. So, I thought I would put up something representing the original Get Back album concept, but which version? As I went back through all my Get Back sessions-related recordings, with all the different versions and recordings, I realized that it had became very confusing sorting out just what was what. So, what I am presenting here hopefully will help clarify a little just what the deal is with all the various (released and inreleased) versions of Get Back, and it's subsequent counterpart, the Let It Be albums.
       First of all, we all know the general story of the Get Back project, right? Since giving up touring and performing live years ago, and after they had become known for their elaborate studio effects and recording gimmickry and trickery, and particularly after the very isolated individual recording sessions used for the White album, The Beatles (driven primarily by Paul) thought it would be a great idea and help to restore cohesiveness among the fractured group to be more involved in playing and recording live, and create their next album that way. So, The Beatles would 'get back to their roots' and develop and record their next album live, as a full group, with no overdubs or recording gimmicks, and the songs would grow directly out of the rehearsal sessions, and be presented 'warts and all', and this process would be documented as both a film and album, and hopefully (for Paul, at least), an actual live show or tour, and would be called 'Get Back'. Great, right? Well, as we all know, things didn't go so well right from the start, with rehearsals beginning on January 2, 1969. Since the rehearsals were to be filmed, it was decided to conduct the initial sessions in the Twickenham film studios, which, as it turned out, no one liked, as the large soundstage was cold and cavernous. The bickering and acrimony among the group returned as soon as rehearsals started, and the rehearsals were rough and ragged. After several days and tempers flaring, George walked out, leaving the group for a week before being talked into coming back. On his return it was agreed that they would move back to their Abbey Road studios for the remainder of the sessions. As for the live shows, the rest of the Beatles (particularly George) were not at all keen on performing live, so that aspect was dropped, but at the end of the sessions, it was eventually decided to do an impromptu filmed concert on the Apple rooftop (which, as we know, was halted partway through by police for noise and disruption complaints).
       After the Get Back sessions and concert were concluded on January 31, The Beatles themselves were fed-up and not happy with the whole thing, and just lost interest in the project, and moved on to other things (actually started working on songs for Abbey Road almost right away). Producer Glyn Johns was brought in to work on the recordings, but was not really given any direction or cooperation from The Beatles. After working through some early rough mixes of several songs, Johns had an acetate made (March 10, 1969) of his mixes to distribute to and get feedback from The Beatles. This acetate version was never intended for release, but was a 'work in progress' of what he had done so far. A few days later he pressed another acetate of primarily Rock 'n Roll oldies from the sessions, as well as different takes of 'Let it Be' and 'I've Got a Feeling'. He continued working on the tapes, including leaving or editing in rehearsal background noise, song fragments, and studio chatter to enhance the 'rehearsal' atmosphere of the recordings, and on May 28 produced what he considered to be the finished version of the Get Back album (known as the 'original' or '1st version'). Incidentally, overall, this album did stick to the original 'live' concept with no overdubs; however, there was one one notable exception, in that a new guitar solo (recorded 4-30-69) was overdubbed into 'Let It Be' and used on the album (but this was the only overdub).
      The album was scheduled for release in early July. A cover shoot was done, recreating the photo from their first album (Please Please Me), but then the album release was delayed and put on hold (reasons cited included delays with the Film version, but the real reason was probably that The Beatles were just not that happy with the album). By late August, The Beatles were putting the finishing touches on Abbey Road and were eager to release that instead, so Get Back was shelved indefinitely. By the end of the year, as plans for release of the film were firming up, they went back to Johns to revive the project again, but this time with the added instruction that the songs on the album needed to correspond with what was shown in the film. So, 'Teddy Boy' was dropped (not in film, and Paul had already re-recorded the song for his upcoming solo album), and 'I Me Mine' and 'Across the Universe' were added to the album. Unfortunately, they had no complete multi-track recordings of either of these songs from the January sessions. So, in early January, a new recording of 'I Me Mine' was made specifically for the album (the earlier, original 1968 recording of 'Across the Universe' was used). In addition, new overdubs for 'Let It Be' (another new guitar solo, background vocals, drums, and brass added) were also recorded at that time (1/4/70 - which was the last ever Beatles recording session, with only Paul, George, and Ringo present - John was away on vacation in Denmark, and had little interest at this point), but this new overdubbed version was not used by Glyn Johns for Get Back (but was used by Phil Spector for the Let It Be album). Thus, in January, 1970, Johns completed his final version (sometimes referred to as '2nd' version) of the Get Back Album (which was very similar to the 1st version - same overall order and mixes), with changes being the 2 added and 1 dropped songs, and 'Let it Be' moved from the 13th track to the 8th track (2 new songs added as tracks 14 and 15). However, that 'final' version of the album was also ultimately rejected for release. Then, a bit later (March 1970), John, without consent from Paul, brought in Phil Spector to 'make something out of this mess', which eventually resulted in the released Let It Be album, complete with different takes used, extensive editing and remixing, and orchestral overdub overhauls of 'The Long and Winding Road' and 'I Me Mine', and 'Across the Universe'. Thus, Get Back became Let It Be and was finally released on May 8, 1970 (which was after The Beatles had already officially announced their break-up). Then, years later, the final chapter in this saga was in 2003, when Let It Be...Naked was released, which consisted of further editing and remixing of the original tapes (but this time overseen and approved by McCartney himself), removing Spector's string overdubs, and producing what many feel are the best versions of these songs (however, many overdubs and edits were still used used, contrary to the original concept).

So, what I am presenting today, is what seems to me to be the best available version of Glyn Johns original rough mix acetate (3-10-69), taken from an only recently made available upgraded source, known as  'Untouched: Revision A'  (Pet Sounds version - de-clicked, phase-corrected, and speed-corrected). Highlights of these early mixes are that several different takes of the songs are used than in any subsequent releases, including a less formal take of 'Let It Be'. In addition, I have added in as bonus tracks, some tracks from Johns 'oldies' acetate (3-13-69), which includes the full-length 'Dig It', an alternate 'I've Got a Feeling', and the unadorned 1-31 take of 'Let it Be' (Before the 4-30 and subsequent overdubs added). Part 2 of the post presents the complete original (1st) version of Glyn Johns Get Back album (I have used the Dr.Ebbetts version for improved sound quality). Then, in addition, I have also included the 2 tracks ('I Me Mine' and 'Across the Universe') that were added for the '2nd' or 'final' version of the Get Back album (as previously stated, the rest of the album was essentially the same between 1st and 2nd versions, with only minor mixing ir edit differences, so I have not included the full 2nd version - besides, the 1st version really better represents what the Get Back album was supposed to be). Now, much has been said over the years criticizing and complaining about the various versions of this album, these sessions, etc. But in reality, regardless of all that went right or wrong here, these sessions contained some of the Beatles greatest songs ever - 'Let It Be', 'Get Back', 'The Long and Winding Road', 'Don't Let Me Down', 'Two of Us', etc., and I love being able to hear all these different versions. I was always fascinated by the original Get Back concept and tried to find as much information as was available on it. Now, we have it all laid out for us, to make our own decisions as to what are the best (or worst) versions (In fact, virtually everything from these sessions has been available on bootlegs, including the entire recordings from all the filmed sessions - available as Purple Chicks 83 CD set 'The Complete A/B Road Sessions', which is, even for me, serious overkill). So, anyaway, there you have it, all you really need to have and know about the Get Back album and project (although there is so much more out there), in the best forms available. And another all-time classic bootleg.       

Part 1
Untouched: Revision A
Upgraded source of Glyn Johns' early mix acetate (March 10, 1969) containing the 'rough mix' work-in-progress of the Get Back Album. The Pet Sounds Production - de-clicked, phase-corrected and speed-corrected.
Plus Bonus tracks from Johns' 'Rock n Roll Oldies' mixes (March 13 Acetate) - Taken from the boot 'Get Back, Glynis: The Complete Glyn Johns remixes' 
Tracklist:
1. Get Back - false start
2. Get Back
3. I've Got A Feeling - fragment
4. Help! - fragment
5. Teddy Boy
6. Two Of Us - fragment
7. Two Of Us - false start
8. Dig A Pony
9. I've Got A Feeling (1-23 take)
10. The Long And Winding Road
11. Let It Be
12. Don't Let Me Down
13. For You Blue - with two false starts
14. Get Back
15. The Walk
Bonus tracks: From Glyn Johns' March 13 'Oldies' Acetate
16. Rip it Up/Shake Rattle & Roll
17. Blue Suede Shoes
18. Dig It (full length 8:25)
19. You Really Got a Hold on Me
20. I've Got a Feeling (different take, 1-27)
21. Miss Ann/Kansas City/Lawdy Miss Clawdy
22. Let It Be (1-31-69 take, no overdubs)

FLAC - Beatles - Glyn Johns Early Mix Acetate

mp3 - Beatles - Glyn Johns_Early Mix acetate_mp3

Part 2
Get Back Album - Glyn Johns 1st (original) version
(Dr. Ebbetts release)
tracklist
1. One After 909
2. Rocker
3. Save The Last Dance For Me
4. Don't Let Me Down
5. Dig A Pony
6. I've Got A Feeling
7. Get Back
8. For You Blue
9. Teddy Boy   
10. Two Of Us
11. Maggie Mae
12. Dig It
13. Let It Be
14. The Long And Winding Road
15. Get Back (Reprise)
Bonus tracks: From Glyn Johns 2nd (final) version of Get Back Album (Taken from Dr.Ebbetts release)
16. I Me Mine
17. Across The Universe

FLAC - Beatles - Get Back - 1st vers (5-28-69)

mp3 - Beatles_Get Back_Johns_1st_vers_(5-28-69)_mp3

The Beatles - The Esher Demos - Late May 1968, Esher, UK

The Beatles
The Esher Demos
Late May, 1968
Kinfauns (George Harrison's House), Esher, Surrey, UK
Home demo recordings, good quality
Available in both Lossless (FLAC) and mp3 (320 kbps) versions

Continuing with my posts of all-time classic bootleg albums, it would be criminal not to include something by The BeatIes here. After all, they are probably the most bootlegged act of all-time. And although I am as big a Beatles fan as anyone out there (and have several hundred Beatles bootleg titles), I have never even considered posting any Beatles here, just because Beatles stuff can be found so many other places, there was no need to post them here. But now, this special 5th Anniverasry classics posting provides the perfect excuse to feature some Beatles. There are literally thousands of Beatles-related bootlegs out there, ranging from utterly fantastic to complete rubbish, with most somewhere in the middle, and many constituting endless resortings and re-compilations of the same batches of outtakes and 'rarities' as so many others, in varying levels of sound quality. So, out of all the Beatles-related bootlegs, from live recordings to all the rarities, outtakes, compliations, remixes, and remasters collections out there, what would be the single greatest Beatles boot? Given that many of the historical outtakes-rarities and remasters bootlegs have been rendered, maybe not obsolete, but certainly less essential, with the official releases of the Anthology series, Let It Be Naked, and the 2009 Remastered albums, probably the one bootleg release that most stands out to me as the best are The Esher Demos. This refers to the collection of acoustic demo recordings made by John, Paul, and George (there is no indication Ringo was present) at George's bungalow home (named Kinfauns) located in Esher, England. Here, in late May 1968, after returning from their trek to India and prior to going back into the recording studio to work on their next album (in June), the boys got together and presented to each other the songs they had each recently come up with. So, using George's Ampex 4-track Reel-to-Reel recorder, they laid down these mostly acoustic demos consisting primarily of early versions of songs that would later become the 'White album', as well as some that would be later released on respective solo albums ('Junk', 'Child of Nature' which was later re-worked to become 'Jealous Guy', and 'Circles'), and a few that were never officially released ('What's the New Mary Jane', 'Sour Milk Sea', 'Not Guilty'). It is a unique and wonderful opportunity and such a historical document to hear these early demo versions. One can imagine them just sitting around sharing their songs with each other, getting feedback, etc. When listening, you can get the feeling of having your own personal, casual and informal concert with them just sitting around your living room. It's quite remarkable. In some cases, the songs are still quite rough, in others, they are very similar to what the song would sounded like on the finished album. Most intriguing are the early acoustic versions of songs that became much more electric or 'rockier' (like 'Revolution', 'Everybody's Got Something...Monkey', 'Yer Blues', 'While My Guitar...Weeps', etc). It has been reported that 27-28 songs were recorded over a couple days, after which George Martin had several copies of an acetate of these sessions pressed and distributed to each Beatle for their perusal at home to work with before heading into the studio in the following weeks. There have been many bootleg variations of the Esher demos circulating (with titles such as 'From Kinfauns to Chaos', 'Acoustic Masterpieces', Unsurpassed Demos', 'The Beatles-Unplugged', 'Release from Limitation', and countless others), in varying quality, for many years, but all have consisted of the same 23 songs (it has been rumored that the bootleg releases came from copies of Lennon's own Acetate, which he traded for some other bootlegs). It wasn't until Anthology 3 was released in 1996 that we got to hear 4 additional demo songs recorded at Kinfauns, 'Happiness is a Warm Gun', 'Glass Onion', 'Mean Mr. Mustard', and 'Polythene Pam', all in excellent quality (perhaps the original acetate that was bootlegged did not include these recordings?), but yet very few of the other previously available Esher tracks were included (just 'Junk', 'Piggies', 'Honey Pie' with improved sound and stereo). Thus, even after Anthology, the bootleg Esher demo versions remain the only source for almost all these tracks (Considering the much higher quality available from the original tapes as evident on the Anthology-released tracks, we can only hope that some day all the Esher demos will be officially released, which would make a great full CD release). Until that day, however, we are very fortunate to have these bootleg versions of the Esher Demos. For me then, this is the best single Beatles bootleg. If you only had one Beatles bootleg (as ludicrous a concept as that seems), it probably should be this one (although that would certainly be debatable - any discussion is certainly encouraged). The version I have presented here comes from the excellent Purple Chick 'Deluxe Edition' series, as they have compiled the best quality recordings available from various different bootleg sources. So, if you don't have these already, by all means get them now, as these are essential, and certainly an all-time classic.

Tracklist
1. Julia
2. Blackbird
3. Rocky Raccoon
4. Back In The U.S.S.R.
5. Honey Pie
6. Mother Nature's Son
7. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
8. Junk
9. Dear Prudence
10. Sexy Sadie
11. Cry Baby Cry
12. Child Of Nature
13. The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill
14. I'm So Tired
15. Yer Blues
16. Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey
17. What's The New Mary Jane
18. Revolution
19. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
20. Circles
21. Sour Milk Sea
22. Not Guilty
23. Piggies

These are taken from the Purple Chick compilation 'The Beatles - Deluxe Edition Vol. 3' (The Demos)
From Purple Chick's notes - "For what it's worth, not only do these tracks sound better to us than on 'From Kinfauns To Chaos' but they're also in the 'correct order', at the correct speed and in true mono for the first time (as best we can tell)."
However, the Purple Chick collection also included the 4 additional Esher songs taken directly from the official Anthology 3 release. I have not included these tracks here as they are commercially available on Anthology 3. For the other songs that are also included on Anthology 3, I have used the the available bootleg versions, and not the upgraded, remixed, remstered versions available on the commercial release.

FLAC - Beatles - Esher Demos - Mega Link

mp3 - Beatles_Esher_Demos_(PC)_mp3.rar


For those just getting started in the world of Beatles bootlegs, but wanting the full range of available recordings, I would highly recommend getting hold of the complete Purple Chick 'Deluxe Edition' series, which is available for each Beatles album, and consists of the compilation of the best available outtakes, rarities, and unreleased recordings and sessions from each album period. Purple Chick also has a Live series compilation, which again compiles all the best quality live recordings over the Beatles career. Collection of these PC series (which amounts to several dozen CDs worth) contain most all of the Beatles bootleg recordings you would ever need, as they were compiled from many different bootleg sources, keeping the best stuff, and eliminating all the reundant and low quality remainders, and rendering most of the rest of the bootlegs obsolete.
But please, let me know what your favorite Beatles bootlegs are.

Neil Young & Crazy Horse - 1970-02-25 - Music Hall, Cincinnatti OH

Neil Young & Crazy Horse
February 25, 1970
Music Hall, Cincinnati, OH
Soundboard recording (Rustlist version), supposedly from master reels, excellent quality
Available in both Lossless (FLAC) and mp3 (320 kbps) versions
Artwork included

Here's another classic Neil Young concert bootleg from his early days, this one an excellent soundboard recording from the first show of his first full tour with Crazy Horse (following the release of their first album together, Everybody Knows This is Nowhere). This is one of the few high quality recordings available featuring the original Crazy Horse lineup (with Danny Whitten and Jack Nitzsche). It features many classics (and offered audiences the very first fiery live versions of 'Cinnamon Girl' and 'Down By The River'), as well as some rarely heard songs that were not played much after this. Once again, this is a classic early show that has been widely available for many years and certainly nothing new for dedicated fans, but is being offered again here now due to the demise of so many of the blogs, sites, and links where this was previously, but no longer, available (it seems most searches these days yields scores of only dead links). This is supposedly the best available source and version of these recordings, so if you don't have this one yet, you certainly owe it to yourself to pick this up and give it a listen.
 
Disc 1 (Acoustic Set)
1 On the Way Home
2 Broken Arrow
3 I Am a Child
4 Helpless
5 Dance, Dance, Dance
6 Sugar Mountain
7 Don't Let It Bring You Down
8 The Old Laughing Lady

Disc 2 (Electric Set)
1 The Loner
2 Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
3 Winterlong
4 Come on Baby, Let's Go Downtown
5 Wonderin'
6 It Might Have Been
7 Down by the River
8 Cinnamon Girl

 Neil Young - vocals, guitar
 Danny Whitten - guitar, vocals
 Billy Talbot - bass, vocals
 Ralph Molina - drums, vocals
 Jack Nitzsche - electric piano

FLAC - NY&CH - 1970-02-25 - Flac - Mega Link

mp3 - NYCH_1970-02-25_Cincinnatti_mp3.rar

Neil Young - Chrome Dreams (Unreleased album) - 1975-1976

Neil Young
Chrome Dreams (Rust Edition)
1975-1976
Unreleased album
Soundboard recordings, excellent quality
available in lossless (FLAC) and mp3 @ 320 kbps versions
Artwork by Paleojack


As mentioned in the previous (5th Anniversary) post, as part of the commemoration of our 5 years, I will be featuring some of the all-time classic bootleg albums. These previously have been available on numerous different blogs (so were not previously featured here), but due to the demise of many of those blogs and the deletion of all the old megaupload, rapidshare, medifire, etc. links, they may now be difficult to find or locate, so I will now feature some here.

As promised, first up is one of the greatest unreleased albums of all time, Neil Young's legendary album from 1977, Chrome Dreams. Of course, most serious fans already know all about this album and already have it, but for the newer fans, or those just learning to find these things on the internet, this is a must-have addition to your music collection. This would surely have been one of Neil's all-time best albums (if he would have released it at the time), but as it was, most of these songs would be slowly released in very to somewhat different forms over the next 20 years, instead of all together here in 1977. As for why it was not released at the time, well that's just Neil, he had already moved on to his next projects and just scrapped these versions. There have been several different versions of this collection over the years, but this is the definitive edition (Rust Edition). Here are a few excerpts from the liner notes of this excellent compilation to help explain better:
"Neil Young was on a creative high in 1975.  By the end of the Summer, Zuma was finished, though still not released, yet Neil carried on recording his new songs. Sometimes he recorded solo and sometimes with Crazy Horse.  Lots of these songs would remain unheard by the public until quite a while later, but by late '75 Neil had already written and recorded versions of such future classics as 'Like a Hurricane', 'Powderfinger', 'Sedan Delivery', 'Pocahontas' and 'Ride My Llama'. He carried on recording in 1976.  More great songs were put down on tape, such as 'Will To Love', 'Stringman' and 'Campaigner'. ... Potential titles of the next solo album were reported in the press: "Ride My Llama".  "In My Neighborhood".  "American Stars 'n Bars". "Chrome Dreams". But when American Stars 'n Bars was eventually released in 1977, Neil had scrapped most of the material he'd been recording since late '75, replacing much of it with a series of rough hewn cowboy songs...  Tracks 1 to 12 of this compilation are thought to be the unreleased Chrome Dreams album, readied for release weeks before Neil recorded those country hoedowns and rethought his strategy.  Some of these song titles will be more than familiar to you, but the actual performances may surprise you.  'Powderfinger' is performed as an unadorned solo acoustic song; 'Sedan Delivery', a second song destined for Rust Never Sleeps is presented in its pre-punked up arrangement and in many people's opinion sounds all the better for that; you'll also find the definitive 'Stringman', a song not given an official airing until Neil's Unplugged (1993) set, heard here in a 1976 live performance enhanced by subtle yet beautiful studio vocal and guitar overdubs; 'Hold Back the Tears' is another solo performance, longer and more ghostly than its later remake for American Stars 'n Bars; 'Pocahontas' is the same performance as the one that made Rust Never Sleeps, but in its original 'naked' mix; 'Too Far Gone' wouldn't be officially released until the Freedom album in 1989, yet here's a version from 14 years earlier with Poncho Sampedro adding a tasty mandolin part. The other six songs from the album were released more or less unchanged on the albums American Stars 'n Bars, Comes a Time and Hawks and Doves, yet you may still be able to pick out slight differences in the mixes.  'Homegrown', for one, would seem to have a little more fire in the guitars.  Have a listen and see what you think. We've chosen a select batch of bonus cuts to give you a further taste of just how creative Neil was during this fertile period."  - Jules Gray, 20 May 2004
(More info on bonus tracks also included on liner notes) 

Personally, this is one of my favorite NY albums, certainly one of his best, if not his very best, it includes such a great selection of classic songs presented in primarily simple, acoustic arrangements. Just classic stuff.  

Tracklist:
01. Pocahontas
02. Will To Love
03. Star Of Bethlehem
04. Like A Hurricane
05. Too Far Gone
06. Hold Back The Tears
07. Homegrown
08. Captain Kennedy
09. Stringman
10. Sedan Delivery
11. Powderfinger
12. Look Out For My Love
Bonus Tracks:
13. River Of Pride ('White Line', Unreleased Studio Version, 27 NOV 75)
14. Campaigner (Unedited, Unreleased Studio Version, Summer 1976)
15. No One Seems To Know (Live, Tokyo, Japan, 10 Mar 76)
16. Give Me Strength (Live, Chicago, IL, 15 Nov 76)
17. Peace Of Mind (Live, Chicago, IL, 15 Nov 76)
18. Human Highway (CSNY, Unreleased Studio Version, April 76)

Source/Lineage: Remastered from the best available sources of each track.
No other version of Chrome Dreams can compare to this.


FLAC: Neil Young - Chrome Dreams RE_FLAC - MEGA Link

mp3:  NY_Chrome_Dreams_RE_mp3.rar - Hotfile link

P.S. I'm trying out Mega (FLAC link) for file sharing here. Let me know how that works for you.

Now, of course, there is still another classic unreleased Neil Young album out there that has still not been able to be bootlegged or reproduced (because not enough is known regarding what was actually on it). I am referring, of course to Homegrown, Neil's supposed 1975 album that he rejected in favor of releasing Tonight's the Night instead. We know that it was a mainly acoustic, country-rock album supposedly near ready for release when Neil dumped it, allegedly because it was just too down and depressing (supposedly containing material that dealt with his painful breakup with Carrie Snodgrass). It contained a couple songs that became part of Chrome Dreams, 'Homegrown' and 'Star of Bethlehem', as well as some that were released on the later albums Zuma, American Stars and Bars, and Hawks and Doves. Many songs were recorded during this very prolific period for Neil (some still never released), but it is not clear exactly which songs and versions were slated for the tracklist of Homegrown. But Neil allegedly has said that "Homegrown is the missing link between Harvest, Comes a Time, Old Ways and Harvest Moon", so as fans, we definitely need to hear it at some point. There has been word that the next series of releases in Neil's Archive Series will include official releases of both Homegrown and Chrome Dreams, so hopefully we will get to hear just what was to be Homegrown eventually, but just when that will be is still uncertain (It took more than a dozen years for the Archives Volume 1 set to emerge). So, at least we have Chrome Dreams to enjoy now and forever, and Homegrown may also become available sometime soon. 

Addendum: Our music blogger friend Tyler from the fine site Doom and Gloom From the Tomb has made a noble stab at putting together a compilation that might (or might not) resemble what was intended for Homegrown. You can find it here: http://doomandgloomfromthetomb.tumblr.com/post/32393488141/homegrown-the-lost-album-neil-youngs-memoir-ist   While you're there check some of the other fine stuff he has to offer.