More All-time Classics

More All-Time Classics - Already Here

To close out the month and this brief look at some of the great, all-time classic bootlegs available out there, I thought it would be appropriate to make the point that, in addition to the great classics featured here over the past couple months, this blog already had many other shows and recordings that also could be included in any list of all-time classic bootlegs. Of course, ALL of the posts I have made here over the years contain great music, otherwise I wouldn't have posted them. However, there are a select group that I would consider to be in that lofty category of All-Time Classics. So, here again are the links to the original posts of some more of those that I would definitely put in that illustrious category.

The Kinks - 1969-11-27 - San Francisco - Fillmore West

The Kinks are, of course, one of the greatest rock bands of all time. There are many fine Kinks recordings and shows featured here, but this great show and rare high quality recording from the very peak years of the band is just a bit more CLASSIC than the rest. If you don't have this already, here's another chance.

The Who - This Old Lifehouse-Bootleg Reconstruction project

Likewise for The Who, many great shows and bootlegs available, but for me, the absolute highlights of their career involve the songs associated in one way or another with Pete's aborted Lifehouse project. And since no one else had put together a thorough compilation, I took on the task myself. And, not to pat myself on the back or anything (after all, Pete and The Who did all the real work), But I think my own compilation of Lifehouse-related songs by The Who constitutes an All-Time Classic, as these are just the best songs (from the best unreleased sources) available. So, again, if you haven't checked yet out this exclusive and classic BB Chronicles compilation, please do so now.

The Band - 1976-11-25 - The Complete Last Waltz

Here it is, the legendary farewell concert from The Band and all their all-star musical friends, presented in its complete, original, raw and unadorned concert form (distinctly different from all officially released cut and enhanced [studio overdubs] versions of the show). Already one of the most popular posts on the blog, this is indeed a classic show, and great warts and all, without any embellishments or enhancements. There are also several other great Band boots (most notably Academy of Outtakes-1971 and Across the Endless Highway-1973) available here, but it's hard to top the Complete Last Waltz.

 Steely Dan - The Lost Gaucho and Outtakes

Overall, probably the most popular download to ever appear on this blog, these classic outtakes and unreleased tracks from 'The Dan' are certainly a treasured rarity and a true classic bootleg. But for more from the Dan, and a classic live show from their early and very short-lived days as a live Rock band, you also cannot beat the Steely Dan - 1974-05-20 - Rainbow Theatre-London show  as another Steely Dan Classic.

Little Feat - Ultrasonic Ultra (1974-9-19&1973-4-10) Hempstead NY

Another all-time classic live show and recording, and this version made even better by combining 2 high quality radio shows from this period into one extended kick-ass live session (and my own compilation). Starting with The BEST quality audio recording (allegedly mixed and leaked as a bootleg by Lowell George himself), this is professional quality stuff from this great band in their prime.

Supertramp - 1975 BBC radio - London 

Also have to include this full-length show, high quality broadcast recording of Supertarmp in tis review of classic boots. this is a great-soundong recording of the band highlighting songs from Crime of the Century and Crisis? What Crisis? (their 2 best albums). I would also add to this their 1977-11-10 Queen Mary College-London show (also high quality broadcast recording), which adds several new songs from Fool's Overture, as well as some different songs from Crisis? to make a superb 2-disc live combo.

Well, there are plenty more great shows featured here (many more Neil Young, Kinks, Costello, genesis, etc.), but for now, that's a good selection of some of the Great All-Time Classics here. So, if you don't have any of these, your collection is seriously lacking and you better get them right now.

Anyway, hope you have enjoyed this look at some of the All-Time Classic Bootleg recordings. We will now go back to presenting some equally great, but perhaps less well-known or popular artists for a while now.
 
Disclaimer: Now, I know that I did not cover many other of the 'Greats' that have extensive bootleg recordings in this brief look at All-Time Classics (such as Dylan, Stones, Pink Floyd, Clapton, Hendrix, Zeppelin), but these are all artists that are either covered much better in other blogs or are just not among my all-time favorites, and thus I am not really qualified to present and/or categorize which are the most classic recordings by them (not that they aren't great, just not among my musical strengths and knowledgability).

Genesis - 1974-04-21 - PRRP-SAE-004 - Montreal, Canada

GENESIS
April 21, 1974
University Sports Centre, Montreal, Canada
PRRP-SAE-004 - 'A Classic Broadcast Revisited '
FM Broadcast recording (remastered), very good quality
Available in both Lossless (FLAC) and mp3 (320 kbps) versions

Here's another classic Genesis bootleg, this one generally considered to be the best available recording from the Selling England By The Pound Tour (1974). Thus, this is one of my favorite Genesis shows, since this was my favorite tour and featured so many of my favorite Genesis songs, including 'Watcher of the Skies', 'Cinema Show', 'I Know What I Like', 'Firth of Fifth', and the original full live epic odyssey of 'Supper's Ready' (If only they would have included the sensational but rarely played 'Can Utility and the Coastliners'). Anyway, here it is, another essential show from the classic progressive period and lineup of Genesis, truly wonderful, for those that don't already have this live masterpiece.

Tracklist
1-1. Watcher Of The Skies 8:54
1-2. Story Of Britannia 1:45
1-3. Dancing With The Moonlit Knight 8:51
1-4. Story Of Romeo and Juliet 1:59
1-5. The Cinema Show 11:18
1-6. I Know What I Like 6:29
1-7. Story Of Five Rivers 1:25
1-8. Firth Of Fifth 10:01
1-9. The Story Of Henry and Cynthia 1:52
1-10. The Musical Box 11:03
1-11. Horizons 2:13
2-1. The Battle Of Epping Forest 12:47
2-2. The Story Old Michael 3:02
2-3. Supper's Ready 24:37
2-4. CHOM-FM Radio Intro/Station Identification/Sign Off 0:48

Genesis
Peter Gabriel- Lead Vocals- Flute and Percussion
Tony Banks- Keyboards- 12 String and Backing Vocals
Mike Rutherford- Bass Guitars, Bass Pedals, Guitars and Backing Vocals
Steve Hackett- Lead Guitars and Effects
Phil Collins- Drums- Percussion and Backing Vocals

FLAC - Genesis - 1974-04-21 - PRRPSAE-04_Montreal

mp3 - Genesis_1974-04-21_PRRPSAE-004_Montreal_mp3.rar

Genesis - 1970-1972 - The Complete BBC Sessions

Genesis
The Complete BBC Sessions
1970-1972
FM Broadcast Recordings, very good quality
available in both Lossless (FLAC) and mp3 (320 kbps) versions

Previously, I have posted many fine Genesis bootleg recordings, but did not post some of the very best ones because they were readily available from other sites. But now, as stated previously, with the demise of so many music blogs and filesharing sites, they may not be so readily available. So, now I will present a couple more of the classic Genesis recordings as part of our continuing look at all-time classic boots. Although many recordings exist of live early Genesis (1970-1972), most available are of pretty poor quality. But this premier compilation of BBC recordings from those early years represents the very best quality live recordings from that time, are high quality FM and Pre-FM recordings, and feature a premier assortment of songs (including the rarely heard epic 'Twilight Alehouse') and performances from those early days of the group. Thus, this really is the best (and probably only) boot from those early days that you really need (and you do need it). So, again, for those that don't already have it, here's some early Genesis in their BBC sessions.
 
Tracklist
BBC Nightride, Feb. 22, 1970
Maida Vale Studios, London
1.01 Shepherd
1.02 Pacidy
1.03 Let Us Now Make Love
1.04 Stagnation
1.05 Looking For Someone
Sounds Of The Seventies
Kensington House, Shepherd's Bush, London
May 10, 1971
1.06 The Musical Box
1.07 Stagnation
Jan. 09, 1972
1.08 The Return Of The Giant Hogweed
1.09 Harold The Barrel
1.10 The Fountain Of Salmacis
1.11 Harlequin
1.12 Harold The Barrel (Mix #2)
In Concert, March 02, 1972
BBC Paris Studios, London (Pre-FM)
2.01 The Fountain Of Salmacis
2.02 The Musical Box
2.03 The Return Of The Giant Hogweed
Top Gear, Sept. 25, 1972
Kensington House, Shepherd's Bush, London
2.04 Twilight Alehouse
2.05 Watcher Of The Skies
2.06 Get'em Out By Friday

FLAC pt1- Genesis - Complete BBC Sessions - 1970-1972- part1
         pt2 - Genesis - Complete BBC Sessions - 1970-1972 - part2

mp3 - Genesis_Complete BBC Sessions 1970-1972_mp3.rar

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

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

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

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

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

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

New! Links Updated 07/22/16)
FLAC:
CD1 - Bruce Springsteen - 1978-12-15 - Winterland_SF_CD1
CD2 - Bruce Springsteen - 1978-12-15 - Winterland_SF_CD2
CD3 - Bruce Springsteen - 1978-12-15 - Winterland_SF_CD3

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

FLAC - DMB_Lillywhite sessions_FLAC

mp3 - DMB_Lillywhite_sessions_mp3.rar