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 unreleased) 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 to their new recording studio in the basement of the Apple building (which was actually nowhere near ready and mobile recording gear had to be borrowed from EMI's 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 or editing 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, anyway, 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
(New Links - updated 11/13/23)

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 Beatles 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 Anniversary 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 re-sortings 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, compilations, 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 sound 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, remastered versions available on the commercial release.

FLAC - Beatles - Esher Demos - FLAC

mp3 - Beatles_Esher_Demos_(PC)_mp3.rar
New Link (Updated 9/30/21)

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 redundant 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, mediafire, 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

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.

Still Alive at Number 5

BB's 5th B-day

Well, believe it or not, but this week marks the 5th anniversary of this blog. That's right, BB Chronicles has been around for a full five years now. And in these days (especially the last year and a half), with the struggles, closures, shutdowns and changing rules and carriers for file sharing, where it has become very difficult to maintain any music-related blog with downloadable content, that this little endeavor has lasted 5 years is pretty amazing. I know that very few of the music blogs that I used to visit when I first started this project are still around today. So, I guess that is quite an accomplishment in itself.
Of course, this has been and will to continue to be a small, personal undertaking, where I try to provide insight, information, commentary, and (perhaps most importantly) links to unreleased music content for artists that I feel deserve to be heard and appreciated by more people. In that sense, I do believe that we have something at least a little bit special here. Over the last 5 years, I have made available here nearly 300 different concerts, shows, and other unreleased music, most of which are still available here, and much of which is not generally available from other sites or blogs (or is very difficult to find). Sure, there are many other sites that deal in much larger volumes, quantities and varieties of offerings, but generally with little to no information or commenary on what is being offered. I only present and post those things that I truly feel are worthwhile and that I hope others will enjoy. I never post anything that I have not listened to myself, and if there is any issue with the content or quality, I will surely let you know.  So, hopefully, this is a somewhat unique place to check out.

Once again, at this time I also feel obliged to thank and celebrate all the others out there who have made so much of this great music, which is not available for purchase anywhere, freely available to all who wish to download and enjoy it. I am only able to offer these downloads because others before me have made them available. So, to all the other bloggers, tapers, forum posters, and music fans that have collected these recordings and made them available over the internet, as well as to all the great artists and musicians out there that allow these recordings to be freely exchanged, I offer a huge and heartfelt Thank You.

As for the future of the blog, well, at least for the immediate future, it will continue pretty much as it has been, that is, on the same limited basis (one or two posts a week, tops). I very much enjoy doing it, but just have a very limited time I can devote to it. So, please be patient, as it may take me some time to get around to posting things, etc. But I will always strive to provide new and interesting content that is generally not available from the other usual music blogs. Frankly, though, I don't really know how long this will be able to continue, but I'll keep it going while I can. One disappointment has been that I had hoped that we could build a sort of community of followers that would comment on and discuss some of the music and artists that are presented here (like the active groups at Willard's Wormholes and some other sites), but, sadly, that has not happened here, with generally very few comments (this year so far averaging less than 1 comment per post) and virtually no discussion. So, I really would like to hear from you more, if possible.

Next up for the blog, in celebration and commemoration of this 5th anniversary, as well as to memorialize the loss of so many other excellent music sites and blogs, over the next few weeks I will be featuring some of the 'classic' bootlegs that every fan should have. These will include some of the greatest bootleg albums of all time. These are all downloads that I have not previously featured here simply because they were readily available elsewhere and were not needed to be posted here. However, in the meantime, with the demise of so many great sites, some of these are no longer so easy to find, and many of the 'newer' fans may not have them, so I will now offer some of them here. So, get ready. Most of you veterans and die-hard fans of these artists should already have these, but if not, here will be your chance once again to collect them.

Up first will be one of the all-time great unreleased albums, Neil Young's Chrome Dreams from 1976. so, stay tuned for more great music adventures, as we start our 6th year here at BB Chronicles.

The Guess Who - 1970-10-10 - Kansas State Fair (Late Show)

 The Guess Who
1970-10-10 (Late Show)
Kansas State Fair, Hutchinson, KS
Audience recording, Fair quality (from cassette)

NEW upgrade! Now available in Lossless (FLAC) as well as mp3 @ 320 kbps

I just recently obtained this vintage 1970 show from The Guess Who (thanks to mdm3 at G101 Forum!), and it is a great show and performance, so I wanted to pass it along here, since there are very few shows available from this period from this great band. This  show features the band near their peak, at the end of their US Tour to support possibly their best album, and their first without Randy Bachman, Share The Land, and they prominently feature their TWO new ace guitarists, Kurt Winter and Greg Leskiw. Burton Cummings (my choice as the greatest rock vocalist ever) is in full force mode here, and in full charge of HIS band now. Unfortunately, like most of the available GW shows, it is NOT a high quality recording, it's not very good at all really (I rated it 'fair'), with very limited dynamic range (old, low quality cassette source), uneven sound, and the usual audience-taped problems. However, it is certainly no worse than most of the other available recordings from this period, and actually quite a bit better than many. Although not 'good' sounding, it is eminently listenable, is relatively 'clear'-sounding compared to many murky, muddy-sounding recordings. Anyway, the performance, however, is well worth the listen, as this show contains many highlights and marvels. First, it is a much longer, fuller show than the previously offered 1970 show (1970-8-26 - Wash.DC), with several additional songs included here, such as the rarely played 'We're Coming to Dinner', 'Do You Miss Me Darlin'', and 'Hang On To Your Life', as well as a totally unexpected dose of country twang with a cover of 'Close Up the Honky Tonks' (as immortalized by Gram Parsons' Flying Burrito Brothers). The band is in great spirits and puts on a great show. They do even longer, extended versions of 'Money Bag/Humpty's Blues' and 'American Woman' than was their norm. The resulting Jam off of American Woman is particularly notable for it's extended solos and the jams emanating from the insertion of 'Do Wah Diddy' into the festivities (obligatory keyboard, guitar, drum, vocal, and even flute solos are abundant here, the drum solo alone goes on for 7 minutes) which is different from any other live version I have heard previously, and lasts a full 27 minutes. All this in addition to classics like the combined 'No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature', 'No Time', 'These Eyes', 'Hand Me Down World', and 'Undun', make for a very memorable show, just be forewarned that it is not a good recording, but still very much worth your time.

Tracklist
01 - Bus Rider
02 - Undun
03 - We're Coming To Dinner
04 - No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature
05 - Do You Miss Me Darlin'
06 - Comin' Down Off The Money Bag/Humpty's Blues/Money Bag ending
07 - Hang On To Your Life
08 - Close Up The Honky Tonks
09 - These Eyes
10 - Hand Me Down World
11 - American Woman/Solos/Do Wah Diddy/She Come Walkin' Jam
12 - No Time

New Updated links! (07/27/2021)
FLAC - Guess Who_1970-10-10_Hutchinson KS_FLAC.rar

mp3 - Guess_Who_1970-10-10_KS-late.rar