Firefall - 1975-06-06 - The Other End, NY

Firefall
1975-06-06
The Other End, New York City, NY
(Firefall debut concerts)
Uncirculated Audience (David M.) Recording, Good Quality
Available in both lossless (FLAC) and mp3 (@ 320 kbps) versions

Remember the story of how Firefall got its record contract (from previous Chris Hillman post) by performing in place of an ill Chris Hillman, and being signed immediately? Well, here is the very show (actually, one of a few shows at the Other End in NY) where that happened. This is another of David M's personal uncirculated audience master recordings (actually, one of the very last I have to share), and a great document of this historic show. So, once again, so much thanks to David for making this available for sharing here on this blog. For further info, I'll just leave you with David's own comments he sent to me regarding this recording. 
David's comments: "We went to New York expecting to see Chris Hillman. When we got there it was explained that Chris Hillman had gone home sick, but his backup band had brought out it's other members, as they were a new group on their own, and would play. So this was Firefall's debut in New York. It just happened that there were some record execs there, saw the band, and gave them a contract. Some notable things about the show is the number of unreleased tunes they did, some old Burrito songs, and Roberts solo stuff. Just into the 2nd set we got "battery fatigue", so I've only included a few tunes, you may or may not want to use. The rest of the set was unusable. Too bad, too, because there was some good stuff there. I recorded this a few tables back from the stage; decent sound. Traded it a bit years ago, but pretty much uncirculated now."
So, here is Firefall, at the very beginning, nearly a full year before the release of their first album. But, you'll note that they play 7 of the 10 songs from that first album here (so they already had just about everything written), as well as a good half dozen other never released early Firefall songs. Great stuff, and a historic show. Enjoy.

First Set
01 - It Doesn't Matter
02 - Do What You Want
03 - Tell the Truth
04 - Wedding Song
05 - Falling in Love
06 - No Way Out
07 - You Never Know
08 - Deliver Me
09 - Sad Old Love Song
10 - She Made Me Lose My Blues
11 - Mexico
12 - Colorado
13 - Give

2nd set (partial)
14 - In My Own Small Way
15 - Livin Ain't Livin (variable speed problems due to dying recorder batteries)
16 - Cinderella (fragment)
Note: rest of set unusable due to recorder battery problems.

Rick Roberts - vocals, guitar
Larry Burnett - vocals, guitar
Jock Bartley - lead guitar, vocals
Mark Andes - bass
Michael Clarke - drums

Taken directly from a previously very limited-circulation audience master recording by David M. This version prepared exclusively for The BB Chronicles by BBKron (http://bbchron.blogspot.com)

mp3 version - Firefall - 1975-06-06 - NY link here

FLAC version - Firefall - 1975-06-06 - NY FLAC link here
New Link! (Updated 10/8/21)

Also, get this previously posted David M-recorded Firefall show from a year later, recently re-uploaded with new link

Chris Hillman and Friends - 1975-05-08 - Denver, CO

Chris Hillman and Friends
1975-05-08
Ebbets Field, Denver, CO
FM Broadcast (KDPI) recording, Very Good Quality
mp3 @ 320 kbps

Here's another fine show from what I refer to as Chris's 'Firefallin' Burrito Brothers' tour. This was a quite early show on this tour, which took place immediately after the Souther-Hillman-Furay Band called it quits. Chris called up friend and former FBB alum Rick Roberts, who had recently formed a new band, called Firefall, which was practicing and playing together but did not yet have a record deal or made public performances yet. So, Roberts, along with his Firefall mates guitarist Jock Bartley (who also earlier played with Gram Parsons), bassist Mark Andes (formerly of Spirit), and ex-Byrd-Burrito Michael Clarke joined Chris to form the temporary and hastily put together band later dubbed the Chris Hillman Band, but here only referred to as Chris Hillman and Friends, for this series of concert dates in the Spring-Summer of 1975. These shows became most famous, however, for being the launchpad for Firefall, as towards the end of these show dates, Chris became ill and couldn't perform, so Firefall just took over the full show, and were 'discovered and signed' by Atlantic record execs on the spot (more about that coming later). But in this show, earlier in the tour, Chris was definitely in charge, playing a mixture of tunes from his various bands, from the Byrds, Burritos, Manassas, and SHF Bands. This is a fairly short set (probably edited for the radio broadcast), but is of very good quality. Previously, I featured a much longer show (2 sets from Main Point-Bryn Mawr - recently re-uploaded!) from later in this tour. Thanks once again to Rocking-Byrd and his blog (rocking--byrd.blogspot.com) for this one, as well as so many other fine Byrds-related shows. More Firfeall to come.

tracklist
01 - Intro
02 - Safe At Home
03 - Down In The Churchyard
04 - Time Between
05 - High Fashion Queen
06 - Colorado
07 - Fallen Eagle
08 - Christine's Tune
09 - Follow Me Through
10 - Blue Morning
11 - Six Days On The Road
12 - Move Me Real Slow
13 - So You Want To Be A Rock 'N' Roll Star

Chris Hillman - guitar, mandolin, lead vocals
Rick Roberts - rhythm guitar, vocals
Jock Bartley - lead guitar
Mark Andes - bass
Michael Clarke - drums

New Link! Updated 07/16/21
Chris_Hillman_KDPI_Denver_May_8_1975.rar

Return of Some Favorites

Long Hard Climb (photo by Katrina Swift)

Climbing back up

Ok, so I have begun that long hard climb to try bring the blog back (by restoring deleted download links) to some semblance of its former self after the loss of all music downloads in the Megaupload fiasco. I am starting slow, and have re-uploaded some of the most popular downloads so far. I will continue to do so at a slow steady rate until most of what was here is restored. I doubt that all will be returned, however, but we'll see how it goes. Here is a list of what has been uploaded so far.You can check back here for updates on what has been recently uploaded and updated.

The Guess Who - 1974-05-06 - St. Louis
The Best (Emerson/Walsh/Entwhistle/Baxter) - 1990-09-26 - Yokahama
Jackson Browne - 1970 - The Criterion Demos
The Kinks - 1972-03-11 - Cleveland
The Kinks -  1996-06-15 - Oslo (Final Concert)
The Kinks - 1978-10-30 - Paris
Gene Clark & Carla Olson - 1987-03-06 - Santa Monica

Flying Burrito Brothers - High Lonesome - 1969-70
Chris Hillman Band (Firefall) - 1975-09-22 - Bryn Mawr
Jackson Browne - Song Traveler (Live Solo Acoustic Compilation)
Dan Fogelberg - 1979-04-18 - NY
Dan Fogelberg - 1984-05-29 - NY

The Band - Academy of Outtakes 1971-12-28-31
Genesis - 1982-10-02 - Milton Keynes (Reunion) 
The Kinks - 1969-11-27 - San Francisco (mp3) 
Steve Goodman & John Prine - 1980 Minneapolis 

Steely Dan - Lost Gaucho and Outtakes
Steely Dan - Katy Lied/Royal Scam Outtakes
Steely Dan - 1974-05-20 - London (remaster)
Steely Dan - 1974-03-20 - LA
The Band - The Complete Last Waltz 
The Kinks - 1974-11-27 - NY (mp3)
Fabulous Poodles - 1979-02-13 - Hempstead, NY
Fabulous Poodles - 1979-05-26 - London BBC
Genesis - 1982 Reunion Rehearsal 


In the wake of the megaupload upheaval, things are still very tentative. Although there are still several decent file-sharing sites active, they tend to be slow, overcrowded, or inaccessible (like filefactory!), and are much more jittery about potential copyright violations, and seem ready to delete accounts at the slightest provocation, without any warning or recourse.  So, although I only post unofficial stuff, who knows how long any re-uploads will survive. I am using mediafire, at least for now, as it has worked well so far. However, it has a 200mb file size limit, so for the larger shows (and especially any lossless stuff), it is a bit of a pain to have to split into several multiple files. So, I may wait a bit on re-upping the lossless stuff and look for another alternative site without the size limits. Anyway, if you haven't already gotten any of the above shows, by all means, get them now, they are all great. I will continue to upload more shows each week.

Richie Furay - Live at My Father's Place 1976 & 1978 - Roslyn, NY

Richie Furay Band
Live at My Father's Place (1976 & 1978)
1976-08-31 & 1978-04-18
My Father's Place, Roslyn, NY
FM Broadcast, good-very good quality
mp3 @ 320 kbps

I've featured shows from his various legendary bands (Buffalo Springfield, Poco, Souther-Hillman-Furay), as well as solo shows from most of his famous bandmates, but shows highlighting this iconic, but sadly, nearly-forgotten singer-songwriter by himself (or with his own band) are very scarce and much less well-known. But here he is, Richie Furay, with his trademark smooth tenor vocals, in 2 different shows (and with 2 different versions of the Richie Furay Band) from My Father's Place in New York in 1976 and 1978. Furay was a founding member of Buffalo Springfield in 1966 along with Neil Young and Stephen Stills, and after BS disintegrated within 2 turbulent years, Furay, inspired by Springfield's occasional forays into country-rock, was determined to put together a full-fledged country-rock band. So, in 1968 he formed Poco along with Jim Messina and Rusty Young. Furay lead Poco through 6 albums between 1969 and 1973 (and arguably their very best stuff), but then, frustrated with their lack of commercial success, left to form the Souther-Hillman-Furay Band 'supergroup' at the suggestion of David Geffen. But SHF was also short-lived and failed to live up to commercial expectations, and by mid-1975, also disbanded. Souther, Hillman, and Furay each then pursued various solo projects, with Richie releasing albums in 1976 (I've Got a Reason), 1978 (Dance a Little Light), 1979 (I Still Have Dreams), and 1982 (Seasons of Change) that were increasingly influenced by his recent coversion to evangelical christianity, and met with decreasing success. By 1983, Richie left the world of rock music and performing behind to become a full-time pastor of a small church in Colorado, where he still continues to thrive almost 30 years later. For despite being an important and influential singer-songwriter and a major part of what I consider to be three great bands, Richie had a frustrating career and never really achieved the kind of success he deserved (despite their legendary status, neither Buffalo Springfield nor Poco were commercially successful in their time - Buffalo Springfield had only one hit 'For What It's Worth', and Furay's Poco, despite putting out classic songs like 'Pickin Up the Pieces', 'You Better Think Twice', 'Kind Woman', 'C'mon', 'Bad Weather', 'A Good Feelin' To Know', and 'Let's Dance Tonight' never had a hit single or album). Richie did return for occasional forays into his rock n roll career, participating in a reunion of original Poco members for the album Legend in 1989 (and which yielded a successful single, 'Call It Love'), as well as other periodic shows guesting with Poco over the years (notably a live album and DVD in 2004). He also released a couple of christian devotional albums (1997, 2005). That must have re-kindled his interest in Music, because by 2006, he had formed a new band and released an album that marked his first return to country-rock style music in over 20 years (The Heartbeat of Love), and was followed by extensive touring, and then a live album. He then hooked back up with Poco in 2009 for several shows. Which all lead to a culmination of the long-awaited reunion of Buffalo Springfield in 2010 and shows in 2011. Unfortunately, additional Buffalo Springfield shows tentatively planned for 2012 never came to pass (Neil probably lost interest).
Presented here are a couple of shows from the RnR Hall of Famer from the tours for his first and second solo albums, in 1976 and 1978 respectively. But both shows also contain several songs from his other bands as well, with the 1978 show, in particular, being a wonderful review of many of his most famous songs. These both come from FM broadcasts, so the quality is pretty good. The compiler of these shows also added on an additional song from the Buffalo Springfield days at the end of each show to fill out the length. They don't quite fit in very well here (it would have made more sense to include something live from Poco or SHF), but I have kept them in, so you can choose for yourself whether to keep them or not. I received these shows a while back from David B., a reader of the blog who generously sent these to me, and I have not seen these available anywhere else, so much thanks David, these shows help fill a notable gap in Richie's illustrious career, and I am very happy to be able to share them.
 
Disc 1 - 1976-08-31:
1. Fallin' In Love
2. We'll See
3. I've Got a Reason
4. On the Line
5. Mighty Maker
6. Over and Over Again
7. Still Rolling Stones
8. You're The One I Love
9. Look at the Sun
10. Gettin' Through
11. Believe Me
12. Kind Woman
extra
13. Sad Memory (Buffalo Springfield demo)

Richie's Band 1976
Jay Truax - bass
John Mehler - drums
Tom Stipe - keyboards
Virgil Beckham - guitar
Alan McDougall - percussion

1976 show - Richie_Furay_-_My_Fathers_Place-1976.rar

Disc 2 - 1978-04-18:
1. Fallin' in Love
2. And Settlin' Down
3. Comin' Through
4. Ooh Dreamer
5. Dance A Litte Light
6. Believe Me
7. Sad Memory
8. A Child's Claim to Fame -You Better Think Twice - Pickin' Up the Pieces
9. Bad Weather - Just For Me and You - C'mon - Good Feeling to Know
10. Kind Woman
11. On the Way Home
12. Let's Dance Tonight
extra
13. Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing (Buffalo Springfield-Monterey Pop Fest-1967)

1978 Band
Charlie Crews - guitar
Billy Batstone - bass
Gabriel Katona - keyboards
John Mehler - drums

1978 show - Richie_Furay_-_My_Fathers_Place-1978.rar
New Links! Updated 06/09/21