The Pousette-Dart Band - PDB Live 1977

Original Artwork by Laurie Noel

Pousette-Dart Band

 PDB Live 1977
(1977-11-15 - Sigma Sound, Philadelphia, PA and 1977-05-01 - Fairleigh Dickinson U., Madison, NJ)
Soundboard recording, very good quality
mp3 @ 128 kbps

OK, here's yet another great, under-appreciated band, from the '70's, another one of my all-time favorites. Primarily an acoustic rock band with a vibrantly unique sound and feel, featuring stellar vocals, songs, arrangements, and guitar-work (acoustic, electric, slide, banjo, mandolin), The Pousette-Dart Band had a freshness and vitality in their sound and style that still shines brightly today. The Pousette-Dart Band, from Cambridge, MA, formed in 1973 when guitarist-singer-songwriter Jon Pousette-Dart teamed up with bassist John Troy and multi-instrumentalist (guitars, banjo, mandolin, etc.) John Curtis. They released 4 albums for Capitol from 1976-1980. Their first two albums, Pousette-Dart Band (1976) and Amnesia (1977), in particular, are just fantastic, with virtually every track a gem (In fact, when they released a 'Best of' CD, they basically just put the entire first 2 albums on it along with a few additional tracks). Although they never had any national hits or became widely-known around the country, they were very popular around Boston and throughout the Northeastern US, where they toured extensively. They combine many musical influences and play songs in a variety of styles (pop, rock, folk, country, even gospel, reggae, etc.), but always have catchy melodies and a surprisingly infectious feel and sound. They had one song, 'Amnesia', that was a semi-hit, but there are easily a half dozen or more other songs from each of the first 2 albums that could've/should've been hits or at least gotten radio airplay (another of their songs, 'Fall On Me' also received some attention in recent years when it was featured on an episode of 'Lost'). From the breezy pop songs of 'What Can I Say?' and 'County Line' to the soulful ballads like 'Dancer' and 'Fall On Me' to the goofy, off-kilter charm of 'Amnesia' and 'Smile On Me' to the International influences of 'Halo' and 'What You Need', these guys just made bright, fun, quirky quality song after song. Although they broke up in 1981, Jon Pousette-Dart continued in music releasing some solo albums and John Troy went on to play in various other bands. They got back together for a reunion in 1991, and in more recent years have reformed again and are currently touring. Despite their relentless touring, there is very little live music that survived from this band. Here I have pieced together 2 incomplete shows (the only live shows from this era I could find) to make a representation of a full set from 1977. The 11-15-77 Philadelphia show was initially issued by Capitol as a limited edition promo-only disc that was sent to Radio stations but was never made available to the public (although the version I had seems to be incomplete). The other show, from FDU-Madison, NJ may have been from a radio broadcast. In these shows, they play a good cross-section of songs from their first 2 albums, along with a few characteristically unique and quirky covers, including a bluegrass tune 'Fox on the Run', a Taj Majal blues-rocker 'Corinna', and even a country gospel track 'Top 40 of the Lord'. I apologize for the low bitrate files, but these were the only Live PDB tracks I could find. If you have any interest at all in great '70's pop-folk-rock, I urge you to check out these Pousette-Dart Band tracks. If you like them (and I don't see how you couldn't), check out their other music. Although all 4 of their original releases are out-of-print, the 'Best of' collection (which contains almost all of the 1st 2 albums - just missing 1 track from each [and BTW, both those 'missing' tracks are also great and included in the live show here, 'What You Need' and 'Who's That Knockin?', so you can still hear them]) is still available. In addition, if you want to check out all of PDB's music, Jon Pousette-Dart maintains a web site (http://www.pousette-dart.com) for himself and the band, and all the PDB albums and Jon's solo albums can be listened to via streaming. This was/is a great band whose music deserves to be heard and enjoyed by a wider audience. So, please check them out. Believe me, you'll be glad you did.

Tracklist:
01. What Can I Say
02. Fang's Rag
03. Winterness
04. Top 40 of the Lord
05. Who's That Knockin?
06. Smile On Me
07. Yaicha
08. Dancer
09. All Your Lonely Hours - What You Need
10. Halo
11. There's Been A Mistake
12. Freezing Hot
13. Fox On The Run
14. Corinna
15. Jam (incomplete)
16. Amnesia
17. County Line

Tracks 1-8 & 15 are from 11-15-77, Sigma Sound, Philadelphia
Tracks 9-17 (except 15) are from 05-01-77, Madison, NJ

New Link! (Updated 07/09/21)
Pousette-Dart_Band_Live_1977.rar

Update!: cool new cover art (above), obtained from RockItaly, from original artwork by Laurie Noel. Thanks to Laurie for allowing us to use her artwork here.

Poi Dog Pondering - Live Acoustic Tracks (2002-2008)

Poi Dog Pondering Acoustic Compilation (2002-2008)

Audience recordings, good quality
mp3@ 128-320 kbps

OK, Here's some more Poi Dog Pondering (although relatively few of you chose to check out the previous Poi posting), this time a collection of acoustic tracks, featuring a smaller, stripped-down version of the group, and showing somewhat different aspects of their music. Most of these are taken from a short mini-tour in 2008 that featured what was referred to as the Poi Dog Pondering Acoustical Quintette (AQ) from Jan10-20, 2008), and consisted of Frank Orrall, Susan Voelz, Dag Juhlin, Ted Cho, and Dave Max Crawford. Some other tracks are from other small groups listed as Frankie Orrall and Friends. Once again, all of these tracks come from Poi Superfan John B. Prentiss IV, and were compiled from his web site (http://jbpiv.com), so thanks again to John for making these available.

Tracklist
1. Building (2003-10-24 - Naperville, IL - Frankies Blue Room)
2. Everybody's Trying (AQ - 2008-01-20 - World Cafe - Philadelphia)
3. Collarbone (AQ - 2008-01-13 - Chicago - The Hideout)
4. Angelika Suspended (AQ - 2008-01-20 - World Cafe - Philadelphia)
5. God's Gallipoli (AQ - 2008-01-13 - Chicago - The Hideout)
6. Ancient Egyptians (2002-02-08 - Chicago - Martyr's)
7. Falling (AQ - 2008-01-20 - World Cafe - Philadelphia)
8. Sound of Water (2008-01-10 - Madison, WI)
9. Sugarbush Cushman (AQ - 2008-01-20 - World Cafe - Philadelphia)
10. The Wine Song (2007-01-20 - Chicago - Martyr's)
11. Diamonds and Buttermilk (2007-01-20 - Chicago - Martyr's)
12. Into The Mystic (AQ - 2008-01-13 - Chicago - The Hideout)
13. So Real (2002-02-08 - Chicago - Martyr's)
14. Here She Comes Now (AQ - 2008-01-20 - World Cafe - Philadelphia)
15. Beatles Medley (AQ - 2008-01-20 - World Cafe - Philadelphia)

All songs recorded by J.B. Prentiss IV and compiled from his web site (http://jbpiv.com)

New Link! (Updated 10/3/21)
Poi_Dog_Pondering_Live_Acoustic.rar

Poi Dog Pondering - Live Compilation (2002-2009)

Poi Dog Pondering

Live Compilation (2002-2009)

Audience recordings, varying quality but generally good to very good

mp3@ 128 to 320 kbps.

Poi Dog Pondering is a great, eclectic, one-of-a-kind band featuring diverse musical influences, ethnicities, and sounds all put together into a mesmerizing rockin' good time and dance party. This fiercely independent and original band does things very much their own way, blending all kinds of music, rock and soul, orchestral, acoustic, and electronic textures, Americana, folk, dance, and various International influences into a lively, fun mix. I first heard about these guys around 1990, when they were making a name for themselves (particularly around the Midwest) based primarily on their incredible live shows. I was fortunate enough to see them a couple times in the early '90's, and have been a fan ever since (This is one of those bands that anyone who ever sees them live becomes a fan, there just isn't any other option, at least back in those days - I can't vouch for the more recent lineups). They just had so much energy, enthusiasm, and just rollicking, good-time, quirky songs, their concerts were just such big, fun parties. They have always been a large group (ranging anywhere from 7 to 14 members) and their sound has always strongly featured violin, horns, percussion, whistles, etc., in addition to the more usual vocals and guitars. Originally formed in Hawaii in 1986, they moved to Austin, TX the following year, where they developed their style and a devoted following. Their first 2 albums (Poi Dog Pondering-1988 and Wishing Like A Mountain, Thinking Like The Sea-1990) are classics, as well as their 3rd, Volo Volo (1992), which, although has a more straight-forward, harder rock edge (at the urging of their record label), it still has the Poi style and magic, and it rocks! In 1992, they relocated again, this time to Chicago, where they became local legends around town, and continued doing things their own way. And they have been there ever since, continuing to perform and record old and new music, for over 25 years now. Over the years the lineup has changed quite a bit, and there have been various side treks through still other musical influences, including such divergent elements as new age and electronic house music, but the core style and sound of the group and key personnel have remained, lead as always by dynamic lead singer, songwriter, and spiritual guru Frank Orral, with Susan Voelz on violin and vocals, and El John Nelson on various percussion. Some other original members that left the group in the mid-nineties have come back to re-join over the last few years, including guitarist Ted Cho and multi-instrumentalist Dave Max Crawford (horns, keyboards, accordian, etc.). Their albums are all still available from their official web site (on their own label): http://www.poidogpondering.com/, and their most recent album, '7', was released in 2008. Unfortunately, there are very few live shows of their music available, particularly from those peak early '90's years. However, one of their devoted superfans, John B. Prentiss IV, has spent the last several years going to as many of their shows as possible, recording many of them, and he has a fan web site that features concert info, photos, and selected songs from many of those shows. Although he has not made any complete shows available, he does have over a hundred individual songs collected from various shows available for download. Although these songs are all from more recent shows 2002-2009, they still perform most of their old songs from the Austin days. Thus, from these, I have compiled some of my favorites (heavily weighted toward the older songs I know and love best) into an ersatz Poi Dog Pondering Concert Compilation. You can check out all the songs and info at John's Poi Dog Pondering fan web site at: http://jbpiv.com/. The overall quality of these audience recordings is pretty good, but not the greatest (abundant audience noise on some), but they still give a good representation of the overall sound and songs. So, thanks, JPBIV for all your work in making these available. Anyway, I just want more people to find and be aware of this wonderful band and their music. I hope those that are not already familiar with Poi Dog Pondering will check these out, enjoy them, and then get more of their music (Wishing Like a Mountain... is still one of my all-time favorite albums), or perhaps even see them live, if they ever get the chance.

Tracklist

1. Pulling Touch (2006-07-09 - Milwaukee - Summerfest)

2. The Hardest Thing (2006-07-09 - Milwaukee - Summerfest)

3. The Watermelon Song (2004-12-31 - Chicago - Park West)

4. Be The One (2009-04-10 - Marionette Park, IL - 115 Bourbon St)

5. Jack Ass Ginger (2006-07-09 - Milwaukee - Summerfest)

6. Complicated (2002-07-27 - Chicago - Metro)

7. Big Constellation/Shu Zula Za (2006-09-29 - Chicagp - Metro)

8. Postcard From A Dream (2003-10-09 - San Francisco - Great American Music Hall)

9. Everybody's Trying/Simple Song (2002-12-06 - Naperville, IL - Frankies Blue Room)

10. Jealous (2007-12-31 - Chicago - Double Door)

11. Lackluster (2007-12-31 - Chicago - Double Door)

12. I've Got My Body (2006-12-31 - Chicago - The Vic)

13. Living With The Dreaming Body (2003-10-13 - Seattle - Graceland)

14. Tabouche Est Tabou (2005-10-08 - Chicago - Symphony Center)

15. Fruitless (2004-07-15 - Austin, TX - Antone's)

16. Into The Mystic (Van Morrison) (2008-04-11 - Three Oaks, MI - Acorn Theater)

17. Sandra at the Beach (2002-07-27 - Chicago - Metro)

18. Thanksgiving (2005-11-25 - Chicago - Double Door)

19. Sticky (2006-12-31 - Chicago - The Vic)

20. Itchycoo Park (Small Faces) (2006-09-29 - Chicago - Metro)

21. Signed Sealed Delivered (Stevie Wonder) (2009-04-10 - Marionette Park, IL - 115 Bourbon St)

22. Wood Guitar (2004-07-15 - Austin, TX - Antone's)

23. Bury Me Deep/This is the Sea (2002-12-06 - Naperville, IL - Frankie's Bue Room)

All songs recorded by J.B. Prentiss IV and compiled from his web site (http://jbpiv.com)

New Link! (Updated 10/3/21)
Poi_Dog_Pondering_Live_Compilation_2002-2009.rar

Ozark Mtn Daredevils -1st Gig 'The Emergency Band' - 1971 Springfield, MO

Ozark Mountain Daredevils 'The Emergency Band'

Their 1st Gig 1971 - New Bijou Theater, Springfield, MO 

Soundboard Recording, Very Good Quality

mp3 @ 320 kbps

Wow! This is a great find for all fans of the Ozark Mtn Daredeveils! When I was searching for other available shows from 'The Daredevils', I came across this blog 'Tell it to the Devil's Lost Classics' that featured, not just a very early show from OMD, but their very first gig as a band, at the New Bijou Theater, Springfield MO in early 1971! How cool is that? How often do you get the chance to actually hear the very first gig from a classic band? In fact, at this stage they weren't actually even a band yet, just a group of guys that had recently started hangin' out and playing together. Steve Canaday, the owner of the New Bijou, needed a last-minute replacement for a band that had cancelled, and he had heard of this group of local musicians that had recently started playing together, so he gave them a call. They didn't have a name yet, but since they were being called in as an 'emergency' replacement, they dubbed themselves 'The Emergency Band'. As for the show itself, given the spontaneous nature of the circumstances, it's of remarkably good quality. They already had several of the songs that would make it onto their albums over the next few years, as well as several other new songs that never would be released. Even at this stage, they show much of the cross-genre styles and songs that would be their trademark and strength, ranging from country, pop, folk, and rock to jazz (There also are some extended jams or songs that go on a bit too long here, but that was probably because they were short on material and needed to fill the set). The recording quality is also amazingly good for this type of show, quite clean and clear throughout. After this they would become regulars at the New Bijou, until they made it big a couple years later. A true must-have for anyone that is a fan of this fine group. So, definitely check it out. I have no idea where they got this, but much thanks to the 'Tell It To The Devil' blog (now defunct).

Tracklist:
01. Fly Away Home
02. Walkin' Down the Road
03. Satisfied Mind
04. Rhythm of Joy
05. Throw Away The Cahins
06. Rain Bird
07. Wild Parrots
08. Road To Glory
09. Because I Love You
10. Running Away
11. You Know Like I Know
12. Season of the Witch (Donovan Cover)
13. Evening Skies

New Link! Updated 12/05/23
Ozark_Mtn_Daredevils_Emergency_Band_First_Gig.rar


As previously posted, OMD also has an official web site, where you can buy all their official CDs and merchandise at reasonable prices (http://www.ozarkdaredevils.com/). Many of the original lineup have gotten back together to do occasional shows and small tours over the years, and have even recently put out a new album (updated 2020).

Ozark Mountain Daredevils - 1977-12-12 - Tucson, AZ

Ozark Mountain Daredevils

December 12th, 1977
Lee Furr's Studios, Tucson, Arizona
PRE-FM recording, Excellent Quality
mp3 @ 320 kbps
(Plus Bonus tracks from March 4, 1976, FM broadcast, 192 kbps)

Here's another great underrated band from the '70's. The Ozark Mountain Daredevils' unique, quirky blend of rock, pop, country, folk, bluegrass, jazz, and comedy made them endlessly entertaining and just a heckuva lot of fun. With each of the members of the group writing their own songs, and with their diverse background and influences, as well as the multi-instrumental nature of most of the guys, this band could handle just about anything (and did), from the smooth pop melodies and vocals of Larry Lee to the down home folk of John Dillon to the country craziness of Steve Cash, they were quite versatile, yet had their own unique style and charm. Unfortunately, the pop world mainly knows of them through 'Jackie Blue', their one big hit. And not surprisingly, 'Jackie Blue' is one of their least interesting, most annoying, and far from representative songs. Check out all of their '70's albums, as they are all wonderful (particularly the 1st three). Here are a couple FM broadcasts of the boys around 1976-77, in excellent quality. Unfortunately there are not many live shows of these guys available, but this is a pretty good one. Although the band continued into the '80's and '90's (with varying lineups), the original '70's stuff was by far the best. Most of the original members have sporadically gotten back together for performances and tours over the years, and they have released some albums of new material in recent years.  But they were at their best in the Mid-Seventies. They maintain an official web site (http://www.ozarkdaredevils.com/) where you can still buy their CDs, DVDs, and merchandise. Check 'em out and enjoy this show.

Tracklist
1. Intro
2. Standin' On The Rock
3. Homemade Wine
4. You Know Like I Know
5. Chicken Train
6. Walkin' Down The Road
7. Rescue Me
8. Following The Way That I Feel
9. Crazy Lovin'
10. Keep On Churnin'
11. E.E. Lawson
12. Noah
13. If You Wanna Get To Heaven
Bonus tracks: March 4, 1976 FM Broadcast
14. Chicken Train Stomp
15. Noah
16. Jackie Blue
17. Better Days
18. If You Wanna Get To Heaven

New Link! (Updated 12/05/23)
Ozark_Mtn_Daredevils_1977-12-12-Tucson.rar