Little Village (John Hiatt, Ry Cooder, Nick Lowe, Jim Keltner) 1992-04-26 - Boston

Little Village

(Ry Cooder, John Hiatt, Nick Lowe, Jim Keltner)

April 26, 1992

Orpheum Theatre, Boston, MA

FM Broadcast (WBCN), Excellent Quality recording

mp3 @ 256

In 1991, following his successful run of recent albums and tours (1987-1990), John Hiatt wanted to get back together with the band lineup that started it all, the all-star group (Ry Cooder, Nick Lowe, and Jim Keltner) that backed him on his breakthrough 1987 album, Bring The Family. But this time they would be a 'real' band, not just Hiatt's back-up group. So, in early 1992, it was announced that Hiatt, Cooder, Lowe, and Keltner were forming a band, to be known as 'Little Village' (after an earlier idea of calling the band 'Hiatus' was scrapped). This was welcome news for fans, who had high hopes for the reunion of these talented musicians. Unfortunately, when the album was released later that year, most fans were dissappointed with the result. Although a solid album, it just wasn't up to the expectations and high standards set by the talent involved. The songs, which were all listed as collaborations of all four members, were not as memorable as most from Hiatt's (or the other members) recent solo albums. As a result, the group disbanded later that year, and each went back to their own solo work. However, they did tour that year in support of their album, and the tour was much more successful than the album. It is a joy to hear these guys playing together as a band in concert. They are all consumate musicians and just seem to be having fun. For the most part, the Little Village songs also come across much better live than on record, as Ry Cooder's great guitar and slide work is much more prominent in the longer, looser, live versions. And live, the band also gets to do some of their earlier songs (from Bring the Family), as well as a song or two from each of their solo repertoires. So, although Little Village was somewhat of a failed experiment for these guys, their live show, as demonstrated here in Boston on one of their last shows from the American tour, was great, and we were fortunate to have had these guys get together for this tour and interesting musical venture. This is an excellent FM recording, probably the best of the recorded versions of Little Village live shows. So, check 'em out, the once and only Little Village.

Disc 1: 66:22

1. Introduction 1:03

2. She Runs Hot 3:57

3. Band introduction by Nick Lowe 2:53

4. The Action 3:37

5. Fool Who Knows 4:31

6. Crazy About an Automobile 6:06

7. Inside Job 5:23

8. Do You Want My Job? 6:36

9. Alone in the Dark 5:42

10. Take Another Look 4:57

11. Solar Sex Panel 4:57 (tape flip during applause)

12. Don't Think About Her When You're Trying to Drive 6:04

13. Memphis in the Meantime 5:28

14. Crying in My Sleep 5:06

Disc 2: 53:54

15: Don't Go Away Mad 5:10

16: Big Love 8:15

17: Little Sister 4:35

18: Across the Borderline 7:39

19: Carter Alan Encore Break #1 1:07

20: Don't Bug Me When I'm Workin' 5:58 [tape flip during applause]

21: Half a Boy and Half a Man 3:52

22: Announcer Encore Break #2 1:00

23: Thing Called Love 7:46

24: Lipstick Sunset 6:11

25: Carter Alan Closing Credits 2:19

Total Runtime: 120:16

New Links! (Updated 09/27/21)
Disc 1: Little_Village_-_1992-04-26_-_Boston_MA_d1.rar

Disc 2: Little_Village_-_1992-04-26_-_Boston_MA_d2.rar

John Hiatt - 1990-12-06 - Chicago FM (FLAC)

John Hiatt & The Fugitive Popes

December 6th, 1990

The Vic Theater, Chicago IL

"The Complete Wild Blue Yonder"

FM Broadcast (WXRT), Very Good Quality

Lossless Files (FLAC)

Artwork Included

Here is another excellent John Hiatt show, from about 2 years later than the last one, this one on tour in support of his Stolen Moments (1990) album. So, this show adds numerous songs from Stolen Moments, in addition to highlights from his two previous albums, Slow Turning and Bring the Family, which may well be his three best albums overall. Thus, this show comes right around the peak of his career. This is the full show from the Vic Theater, Chicago, which was a benefit for a local Children's Hospital. Apparently there was an earlier 1-CD bootleg from this show containing only a part of this show, entitled 'Wild Blue Yonder', which is why this set is called 'The Complete Wild Blue Yonder'. John Hiatt remains one of our greatest songwriters, a wonderful and unique person and performer, and just a great all-around guy.

Disc 1

01 Intro

02 Seven Little Indians

03 Stolen Moments

04 The Rest Of The Dream

05 Real Fine Love

06 Trudy & Dave

07 It'll Come To You

08 Your Dad Did

09 Paper Thin

10 Is Anybody There?

Disc 2

01 Back Of My Mind

02 Child Of The Wild Blue Yonder

03 Riding With The King

04 Memphis In The Meantime

05 Tennessee Plates06 band intros

07 Slow Turning

08 Have A Little Faith In Me

09 Thing Called Love

10 Rock Back Billy

11 Heaven Help Us All (Stevie Wonder)

John Hiatt -Guitars, Vocals

The Fugitive Popes are:

Barry Lederer - Keyboards

Pat Donaldson - Bass

Lyn Williams - Drums

Steven Paul Perry - Guitar

New Links (Updated 03/18/22)
disc 1: John Hiatt_1990-12-06_Chicago_D1

disc 2: John Hiatt_1990_12-06_Chicago_D2

John Hiatt - 1989-01-04 - Ottawa, ON

John Hiatt & The Goners

January 4, 1989

Barrymore's Music Hall, Ottawa, ON, Canada

Title: Alone In The Dark

FM Broadcast, Very Good Quality recording

mp3 @ 192 kbps

By the end of 1986, John Hiatt was ready to give up on his recording career. After a string of 7 unsuccessful albums and 3 record labels over the last 12 years, he was about at the end of his musical rope. Although he had achieved some acclaim and notoriety as a songwriter (his songs had been covered by Bob Dylan, Nick Lowe, Rick Nelson, and Rosanne Cash, among others), his own albums just didn't sell at all (none had ever even charted on the Billboard 200). After being dropped by his latest record label (Geffen) due to poor sales for Warming Up to the Ice Age (1985), he didn't have anywhere else to go. However, his friends and supporters all told him to stick with it, and those that had heard his latest songs were convinced they were his strongest yet. Then, England's Demon Records, who still admired his work, pledged to put up $30,000 to make a new album. John's musician friends also came to the rescue as he put together an all-star backing band consisting of guitarist Ry Cooder, bassist Nick Lowe, and ace session drummer Jim Keltner, all of whom had worked with John before, were friends and admirers, and came to help without receiving any payment for their services (Nick even shared a room with Hiatt at the local Holiday Inn during the recording session). The album was recorded in a quick 4 days in February 1987 with not a single song or track left behind (John had to quickly finish writing the last song on the last day of recording to have enough songs for a full album). Once the record was finished and the tapes shopped around, A&M Records picked up the album (& Hiatt) for distribution. Well, The album was titled Bring the Family and, of course, was Hiatt's breakthrough album and biggest success up to that time, and established him to the general public as not only a great songwriter, but a great performer, too. The album contained such soon-to-be-classic Hiatt songs as 'Memphis in the Meantime', 'Your Dad Did', 'Lipstick Sunset', 'Alone in the Dark', 'Thing Called Love', and his signature 'Have a Little Faith in Me'. 'Thing Called Love' became a big hit for Bonnie Raitt soon after, and 'Have a Little Faith in Me' has become Hiatt's most-covered song. Hiatt's next album, Slow Turning (1988) was an even bigger success, producing his first hit single and several more of his very best songs. This excellent show and fine recording comes from that period, after the release of Slow Turning, when Hiatt was enjoying big success for the first time, and features half of the songs from each of these two albums. This does not appear to be the complete show, however, as it does not include 'Slow Turning', which was his hit song at the time and usually sung as an encore (hard to imagine it was not included in the set). Another excellent show from around this same time (1988-12-16, and which includes a couple more songs and 'Slow Turning') was recently posted at T.U.B.E., so be sure to get that one too right here.

Tracklist

01 Memphis In The Meantime

02 Drive South

03 Thank You Girl

04 Tip Of My Tongue

05 Tennessee Plates

06 Alone In The Dark

07 Ride Along

08 Is Anybody There?

09 Paper Thin

10 Thing Called Love

11 Have A Little Faith In Me

12 Icy Blue Heart

13 It'll Come To You

14 Your Dad Did

John Hiatt: Vocals, Guitar

Sonny Landreth: Lead Guitar

David Ranson: Bass

Ken Blevins: Drums

New Link! (Updated 04/23/20)
John_Hiatt_-_1989-01-04_-_Ottawa_ON.rar
 

Nick Lowe (solo acoustic) -1987-04-18 - San Diego

Nick Lowe (solo acoustic)
April 18, 1987
San Diego State University, San Diego, CA
Audience recording, Very Good Quality
mp3 @ 192 kbps



OK, Here's one more Nick Lowe show that I forgot I had, that fits in here nicely, that shows a different side of him and his music, and serves as somewhat of a transition between his pop and rock beginnings and his later years. This is a solo acoustic performance, just him and his guitar, as opeining act for his buddy, Elvis Costello, for Elvis's own short 1987 solo acoustic US tour. This show, from San Diego, in fact, is the opening set for the Costello show that I posted previously (Elvis Costello - 1987-04-18 - San Diego) Thus, if you put these 2 shows together, you can relive the entire concert. As part of Elvis's set for these shows, Nick also joined Elvis for a duet on Lowe's own '(What's So Funny About) Peace, Love, and Understanding?' (which was a hit for Elvis, not Nick). This solo show really brings out the strength of Nick's vocals and his songwriting skills, which are both just superb. At this time in Nick's career, however, this solo show was a relatively novel thing for him, as he had always performed with or been part of a band. But when Elvis asked him to open for him as a solo act, he took the opportunity and made the most of it. Elvis also asked Nick back to do the same thing when he did a longer solo tour in 1989. This, then was probably the beginning of what later became Nick's preferred style. For those that have followed Nick's more recent career, you know that as he got older (from about the late 1990's on), Nick re-invented himself as more of a crooner and balladeer. As rock critic Jim Farber observed "Lowe's recent albums, epitomized by the new At My Age, moved him out of the realms of ironic pop and animated rock and into the role of a worldly balladeer, specializing in grave vocals and graceful tunes. Lowe's four most recent solo albums (The Impossible Bird, 1994; Dig My Mood, 1998; The Convincer. 2001; and At My Age, 2007) mine the wealth of American roots music, drawing on vintage country, soul and R&B to create an elegant mix of his own." For examples of Nick's more recent shows and sound, you can check out a show from 2001 (10/14 - London) at T.U.B.E here and a 2007 solo concert (09/17 - Virginia) from NPR here, where you can listen to or download the show. But posted here is an excellent example of one of the 1987 shows that may have been the inspiration for his subsequent more mature style.

Tracklist
01. Without Love
02. From Now On
03. Talk
04. Cruel To Be Kind
05. When I Write The Book
06. Raining Raining
07. Talk (Huey Lewis Story)
08. Heart
09. The Rose Of England
10. Too Many Teardrops
11. Big, Big Love
12. So It Goes
13. I Knew The Bride
Time - 38:54

Note - first song fades in just before the first lyric.

New Link! (Updated 09/27/21)
Nick_Lowe_-_San_Diego_CA_-_04-18-87.rar

Nick Lowe and His Cowboy Outfit - 1985-10-19 - New York

Nick Lowe and His Cowboy Outfit (featuring Paul Carrack)
October 19, 1985
The Ritz Theatre, New York
FM Broadcast (WNEW-FM), Good Quality
mp3 @ 320

OK, so, here's the next stage in Nick Lowe's evolving recording and touring bands, Nick Lowe and His Cowboy Outfit, as recorded in an FM broadcast during their Rose of England Tour. Although essentially the same lineup as his previous 'Noise to Go' band (w/Paul Carrack, Martin Belmont, and Bobby Irwin), The Cowboy Outfit incarnation was characterized by a bit more of a roots rock sound, as exemplified by songs such as 'Seven Nights of Rock', 'Darling Angel Eyes', 'Half a Boy and Half a Man', and a reworked version of 'I Knew the Bride'. However, after two critically successful albums and tours, this would be the last for this form of the band. This fine 1985 show, although not nearly as good a recording (taken from on-air broadcast) as the previous Lowe shows I offered, presents a nice mixture of old and new Lowe songs. Shortly after this 1985 tour, Paul Carrack went on to join Mike Rutherford in Mike and the Mechanics. Interesting side note: a couple years earlier, Nick produced and he and this band backed up John Hiatt on side 2 of his 1983 album, Riding With the King, where they became good friends. Nick's Cowboy Outfit included a previously unreleased John Hiatt song, 'She Don't Love Nobody' on the Rose of England album (also included in this show). After the Cowboy Outfit wrapped up, Nick went on to be in John Hiatt's backing band for his breakthrough album, Bring the Family (1987), along with Ry Cooder and Jim Keltner. Nick also toured quite a bit with Elvis Costello in 1987 and 1989, opening for Elvis as a solo acoustic act for many of his shows (see previous Elvis posts). Although the Cowboy Outfit was no more, Nick continued to work with all these guys on his next couple solo albums. In fact, his next albums (Pinker and Prouder Then Ever, 1988, and Party of One, 1990) would be a reunion of sorts, as they included contributions from all his old pals from Rockpile and His Cowboy Outfit, and were also produced by Dave Edmunds. Maybe next up should be some John Hiatt and/or Mike and the Mechanics, huh, to continue this 'stream of consciousness' style posting?


Tracklist
1. Raging Eyes 2:37
2. She Don't love Nobody 3:43
3. Cracking Up 2:41
4. Marie Provost 2:58
5. One Woman Man 2:11
6. Saint Beneath The Paint 3:26
7. Your My Wildest Dream 3:06
8. Shake And Pop 4:03
9. Tempted 4:03
10. Cruel To Be Kind 3:43
11. Rose Of England 3:30
12. Darling Angel Eyes 2:41
13. Seven Nights of Rock 3:12
14. I Knew The Bride 3:10
15. I Need You 3:28
16. How Long 6:44
17. Half A Boy 2:59

New Link! (Updated 09/27/21)
Nick_Lowe-Cowboy_Outfit_1985-10-19_-_New_York_FM.rar

Nick Lowe and His Noise To Go - 1982-03-15 - London BBC

Nick Lowe and His Noise To Go

March 15, 1982

Hamersmith Palais, London, UK

BBC Rock Hour Broadcast

From BBC Transcription Discs, Very Good Quality

mp3 @ 256 kbps

Artwork Included

After the breakup of Rockpile (1981), for Nick Lowe's next band, he continued to work with guitarist Billy Bremner, and added guitarist Martin Belmont, drummer Bobby irwin, and keyboardist and vocalist extraordnaire Paul Carrack (formerly of Ace, Roxy Music, and fresh off his brief but successful stint with Squeeze). As with Rockpile, Lowe was perfectly comfortable sharing the the lead vocal duties with Carrack. This new band incarnation was dubbed 'Noise To Go'. However, with the addition of Carrack's keyboards and crooning vocal style, the music had a somewhat different sound, with more keyboards and ballads added to the pop and rockers. They still could rock out when needed, but overall, they had a bit less aggressive, softer sound. This band was predominantly used on Nick's next 2 solo albums, Nick The Knife (1982) and The Abominable Showman (1983). This band, much like with Rockpile, also served to back up Paul Carrack on his solo album of the time, Suburban Voodoo (1982). The same core band (but with Billy Bremner dropping out to join The Pretenders), and renamed 'Nick Lowe and His Cowboy Outfit', continued on for a couple more Lowe albums (Nick Lowe and His Cowboy Outfit, 1984, and The Rose of England, 1985) and tours. Presented here is a BBC Rock Hour show, taped March 15, 1982 during the 'Nick The Knife' Tour and broadcast on June 27th. This is an excellent representation of Nick's music at that time and a fine addition to any music collection. I also have a good FM broadcast of a later Cowboy Outfit show (1985) for those interested (coming up next).

Tracks:

01 RICHARD SKINNER INTRO

02 I LOVE THE SOUND OF BREAKING GLASS (Nick Lowe)

03 STICK IT WHERE THE SUN DON'T SHINE (Nick Lowe)

04 TEMPTED (Paul Carrack)

05 ALWAYS BETTER WITH YOU (Paul Carrack)

06 BURNING (Nick Lowe)

07 MARIE PROVOST (Nick Lowe)

08 CRUEL TO BE KIND (Nick Lowe)

09 LESSON IN LOVE (Paul Carrack)

10 LITTLE UNKIND (Paul Carrack)

11 WISH YOU WERE HERE (Nick Lowe/Paul Carrack)

12 SWITCHBOARD SUSAN (Mickey Jupp)

13 CRACKING UP (Nick Lowe)

14 I KNEW THE BRIDE (Nick Lowe/Dave Edmunds)

15 Nutted by Reality/Heart of the City (Nick Lowe/Rockpile)

16 RICHARD SKINNER GOODBYE

The Band:

Nick Lowe

Paul Carrack

Martin Belmont

Billy Bremner

Bobby Irwin

New Link! (Updated 09/14/18)
Nick_Lowe-Noise_To_Go_1982-03-15_BBC.rar

Rockpile - 1978-10-24 - New York, NY (FM broadcast)

Rockpile
1978-10-24
The Bottom Line, New York, NY
FM Broadcast (WNEW-FM), Excellent Quality
mp3 @ 320 kbps
Custom Artwork Included

Listening to the Ian Gomm stuff again made me think about Nick Lowe, Dave Edmunds, and Rockpile during that same time period, and how great they were. After Brinsley Schwarz broke up (1975), Nick Lowe began working on a solo career, as well as being an in-house producer for Stiff records (remember, he produced the first several Elvis Costello albums). At that time he also started playin' and hangin' out with Dave Edmunds (who produced the last Brinsley Schwarz album) in what became the band Rockpile. Lowe played and toured with Rockpile, but since Edmunds and Lowe both had solo contracts with different record companies, they could not release albums under the Rockpile name. Lowe released his first solo album, one of the greatest pop albums of all time, Jesus of Cool, in early 1978 (nervous record executives re-ordered the tracks and changed the title to Pure Pop For Now People for the US release), which contained wickedly funny, biting, and tuneful critiques of the music industry, people, and modern life, and some of Lowe's greatest songs ('So It Goes', 'They Called It Rock', 'Heart of the City', 'I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass', etc.), of which 2 ('They Called It Rock' and 'Heart of the City') were actually Rockpile songs. The group only released one album under the 'Rockpile' name (1980's Seconds of Peasure), but actually made several albums together as a group, including two Edmunds 'solo' albums (Tracks on Wax 4 and Repeat When Necessary, 1978, 1979) and Lowe's Labour of Lust (1979), as well as being the back-up band for solo albums by Carlene Carter (Mrs. Nick Lowe at that time) and Mickey Jupp, and miscellaneous other tracks on Edmunds and Lowe's other solo albums. Rockpile was just a great rock band, known for their rockabilly and power pop influences, and actually produced a lot of fine music in just a few years. By 1980, Edmunds was wrapping up his recording contract, and they were finally able to release an album under the Rockpile name. However, by the end of 1980, friction between Edmunds and Lowe lead to the breakup of Rockpile, and they went their separate ways. Lowe continued to work with Bremner and Willams on subsequent albums, but did not play with Edmunds again for many years. Presented here is an excellent Rockpile show from 1978, a crisp, clean FM broadcast from the Bottom Line in NY. I also threw in a few bonus tracks of different songs from other shows (also FM broadcasts) from around that same time, including a couple from a very similar show at the University of Maryland (11-03-78),and a couple from a radio show from the Netherlands in early 1979. Great Stuff. Check it Out (and be sure to check out their other solo albums, if you can). I'll have some more Nick Lowe stuff next week.

Tracklist
01. Down Down Down
02. So It Goes
03. I Knew The Bride
04. Deborah
05. I Love The Sound Of Breaking Glass
06. No More Mr. Nice Guy
07. Trouble Boys
08. It's My Own Business
09. Never Been In Love
10. So Fine
11. Promised Land
12. I Hear You Knockin
13. They Call It Rock
14. Ju Ju Man
15. Heart Of The City
16. Hear Comes The Weekend
Bonus Tracks:
17. You'll Never Get Me Up*
18. Let It Rock*
19. Back To Schooldays#
20. Mess of Blues#

Bonus Tracks: * 1978-11-03, University of Maryland, WHFS-FM Broadcast,
# 1979 Live in the Netherlands, FM Broadcast

Rockpile is:
Dave Edmunds, vocals, guitar
Nick Lowe, vocals, bass guitar
Billy Bremner, vocals, guitar
Terry Williams, drums

New Link! (Updated 08/01/21)
Rockpile_-_Bottom_Line_10-24-1978_NY.rar

Ian Gomm - 1979-11-21 - San Francisco

Ian Gomm

1979-11-21

Old Waldorf, San Francisco, CA

FM Broadcast Recording, Very Good Quality

mp3 @ 320 kbps

Artwork Included

I've always really liked this guy. Ian Gomm burst onto the music scene in 1978 with his brilliant solo album, Summer Holiday (rearranged and released as Gomm with the Wind in the US), a fantastic pop album that should have established him as a major talent. When the single 'Hold On' became a hit in the US, a back-up band and tour (as opening act for Dire Straits on their 1979-80 US Communique Tour) was hastily established. I was fortunate enough to see him on this tour, and I was mightily impressed. I thought he had the making of a major star in the singer-songwriter tradition. Unfortunately, he was apparently quickly forgotten. His follow-up album, What A Blow (1979) was much less successful, yet still quite solid, but Ian slowly faded away after that. Although mostly known as 'One-Hit Wonder' in the US, these first 2 albums (and especially Summer Holiday) are filled with great songs and arrangements ('24 Hour Service', 'Come On', 'Dirty Lies', 'Sad Affair', and several others are great songs that all could have been hits. Even the covers, such as his cool-groove version of the Beatle's 'You Can't Do That' are done in interesting and unique ways). Ian got his start as rhythm guitarist with the legendary British 'pub rock' group, Brinsley Schwarz (which also included Nick Lowe). After Brinsley Schwarz broke up in 1975, Ian started his solo career with Summer Holiday in 1978. Here then is a show from that 1979 tour with Dire Straits (and which may well have been his only tour of the US). Although his voice is a little rougher in this show than on his records or as I remember it, it's still great stuff. Check it out.

Tracklist

1. It Don't Help

2. 24 Hour Service

3. Dirty Lies

4. Come On

5. Sad Affair

6. Nobody's Fool

7. Slow Dancin'

8. Man on a Mountain

9. Chicken Run

10. Airplane

11. What A Blow

12. You Can't Do That

13. Hold On

14. Hey Bartender

15. Black & White/ Hooked On Love

16. What Makes A Man A Man

New Link! (Updated 06/18/21)
Ian_Gomm_-_1979-11-21_-_SF_Live_At_Old_Waldorf.rar

Thanks to PVAc to 44.1 kHz (digivinyltal.blogspot.com) for making this show available