Aimee Mann & Ted Leo (& Friends) - 2014-12-09 - The Return of The Aimee Mann Christmas Show - Boston, MA

Aimee Mann & Ted Leo
(& featuring guests Jonathan Coulton, Susanna Hoffs, and Bill Janovitz)
2014-12-09
"The Return of the Aimee Mann Christmas Show"
The Wilbur Theatre, Boston, MA
Audience recording, good quality
Available in both Lossless (FLAC) and mp3 (320 kbps) versions

After hosting a series of what became annual Musical-Variety Christmas Shows (with guest stars, music, comedy, sketches, videos, etc.) that ran from 2006 to 2011, Aimee Mann took a few years off from the holiday affairs, but then in 2014 came back with Ted Leo, her recent partner in the musical collaboration The Both, to host another round of the popular Christmas Shows, which was dubbed, naturally, 'The Return of the Aimee Mann Christmas Show'. In this recent incarnation of the show (which always have some kind of theme), Aimee and Ted  play Rock n' Roll detectives, that is, they are musician crime solvers, they travel around the world, rockin' and rollin' and solvin' murders, but for this show, Aimee doesn't want to have to solve any murders, just have a fun, festive holiday show. But, of course, then they hear that the Backstage Santa has just been murdered. Aimee just wants to carry on with the show, but Ted thinks they need to solve the murder, setting the stage for some onstage mayhem. The songs, of course, are the main thing, though, and they play numerous Holiday standards, as well as a few of their own catalog songs, and are joined by guests Jonathan Coulton, Susanna Hoffs, and Bill Janovitz (Buffalo Tom), for a few songs each. And if you are not interested in the in-between song banter and antics, these are tracked separately so can be edited out, if desired (Some of those antics lose a lot without the visuals as we don't know what is happening onstage causing the audience laughter, etc.). But, overall, an entertaining show. This is from the Boston performance of the show. Also, Aimee and Ted have continued on in 2015 with a new version of the Christmas Show, which has just wrapped up its series of performances (unfortunately, I have not yet found any recorded versions of the 2015 show, which is said to have featured Liz Phair as a guest artist). Enjoy, and Happy Holidays to all.

Tracklist:
01. Murder She Sang intro Video
02. Aimee's Intro
03. It's Christmas Time (Status Quo cover) (Aimme and Ted)
04. Murder announcement > Sleigh Ride snippet
05. Nothing Left to Do (Let's Make this Christmas Blue) (Aimee and Ted)
06. Winter Wonderland (Aimee and Ted)
07. Hazy Shade of Winter (Susanna lead vocal)
08. Jonathan's Intro
09. Jingle Bell Rock (Jonathan)
10. Christmas is Interesting (Jonathan)
11. Zombie Instructions . . .
12. Re: Your Brains (Jonathan)
13. What Are You Doing New Years Eve? (Aimee, Ted, Jonathan)
14. Eternal Flame (Susanna)
15. Aimee and Ted banter . . .
16. I'll Be Home for Christmas (Aimee)
17. Intro to . . .
18. The Ballad of the Christmas Donkey (Ted)
19. Mineral  (Bill Janovitz)
20. Reason Why  (Bill and Ted)
21. Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming  (Aimee, Ted, Susanna, Paul)
22. Intro to . . .
23. Nes Gadol Hayah Sham (Walk Like an Egyptian) (Susanna, Ted and Aimee)
24. You're a Mean One, Mr, Grinch (Aimee and Ted, Jonathan as The Narrator)
25. No Sir (Aimee and Ted (The Both))
26. Volunteers of America (Aimee and Ted (The Both))
27. Ted's banter about Jimmy John's
28. Bottled in Cork (Ted)
29. Save Me (Aimee)
30. Murder banter
31. There's a Murder Backstage (Baby It's Cold Outside) (Aimee and Ted)
32. Aimee and Ted interrogate suspects
33. Wonderful Christmastime interrogation (Aimee and Ted and all guests are interrogated)
34. Christmastime is Here (all)
35. Murder, She Sang outro

Aimee Mann - vocals, guitar, bass
Ted Leo - vocals, guitar
Jamie Edwards - keyboards, vocals
Paul Bryan - bass, guitar, vocals
Matt Mayhall - drums, percussion

With special guests:
Susanna Hoffs (The Bangles) - vocals, guitar
Jonathan Coulton - vocals, guitar
Bill Janovitz (Buffalo Tom) - vocals, guitar

New Links! Updated 09/29/23

mp3: 

Aimee Mann & Ted Leo_Return of Aimee's Christmas Show-2014-12-09-Boston.mp3.part1.rar

Aimee Mann & Ted Leo_Return of Aimee's Christmas Show-2014-12-09-Boston.mp3.part2.rar

FLAC
Aimee Mann & Ted Leo_Return of Aimee's Christmas Show-2014-12-09-Boston.FLAC.rar

The Smithereens - 2007 - World Cafe Live (2 radio shows), Philadelphia, PA

The Smithereens
2007-03-16 and 2007-12-21
World Cafe Live (2 radio shows)
Philadelphia, PA
FM Broadcast (webcast) Recordings (WXPN-NPR), very good quality
mp3 @320 kbps

Here's more from The Smithereens, from several years later (2007), two separate shows done at World Cafe in Philadelphia for WXPN and NPR radio, one in Spring (March 16), featuring songs from their Beatles cover album, Meet the Smithereens, and one in December (12-21), featuring songs from their Christmas album, Christmas with the Smithereens, as well as some older favorites at each show. I also threw in a couple bonus tracks from another 2007 show I had (07-22, Camden, NJ) to round out the show (and ends with the Who's 'Behind Blue Eyes', which foreshadows what their next cover project would be, The Smithereens Play Tommy, in 2009.  Some great stuff here, and even some holiday songs for the Christmas season.

Tracklist
01 Only A Memory.mp3
02 House We Used To Live In.mp3
03 Band Intros.mp3
04 Behind The Wall Of Sleep.mp3
05 Yesterday Girl.mp3
06 Interview.mp3
07 Don't Bother Me.mp3
08 I Wanna Be Your Man.mp3
09 Hold Me Tight.mp3
10 I Wanna Hold Your Hand.mp3
11 Waking Up On Christmas Morning.mp3
12 Santa Bring My Baby Back (To Me).mp3
13 Run Rudolph Run.mp3
14 Only A Memory.mp3
15 Interview.mp3
16 Top Of The Pops.mp3
17 Time And Time Again.mp3
18 Behind The Wall Of Sleep.mp3
19 Blood And Roses.mp3
Bonus tracks (2007-07-22 - Camden NJ)
20 A Girl Like You (with oldies medley)
21 Behind Blue Eyes

Tracks 01-10, World Cafe Live 2007-03-16
Tracks 10-19, World Cafe Live, 2007-12-22
Tracks 20-21, Camden, NJ, 2007-07-22


The Smithereens_2007_World Cafe radio shows.rar
New link! (10/27/21)

The Smithereens - Westwood One In Concert Radio Compilation (1989, 1990, & 1994 shows)

The Smithereens
Westwood One In Concert Radio Compilation
1989, 1990, and 1994 broadcasts (from shows #89-10, 90-06, 94-40)
Pre-FM and FM Broadcast recordings (#89-10 & 90-06, PFM; 94-40, Broadcast)
Available in both Lossless (FLAC - except tracks 17-19) and mp3 (320 kbps, all tracks) versions


Keeping with the theme of great underappreciated power pop bands, we move from the UK back to the US, and to New Jersey, for The Smithereens. The Smithereens first started around 1980, with Pat DiNizio (lead vocals, guitar, & primary songwriter), Jim Babjak (guitar, vocals), Mike Mesaro (bass, vocals), and Dennis Diken (drums), as a local band, releasing a couple of independent EPs through the mid-80's, but then burst on the national scene in 1986 with their first full-length LP, Especially For You, featuring the powerful singles 'Blood and Roses' and 'Behind the Wall of Sleep'. They followed this powerhouse debut with a couple more great albums, Green Thoughts (1988) and 11 (1989). Over the next several years the band was up and down, experimenting with some different styles and approaches, and then doing a series of theme cover albums (Meet The Smithereens-2007, B-Sides the Beatles-2008, The Smithereens Play Tommy-2009, and Christmas with The Smithereens-2007), but they have always been entertaining and a great band to see live. Their most recent studio album was 2011 (2011), and they continue to tour and perform regularly, and are certainly worth checking out if you get the chance.
This compilation comes from 3 separate Westwood One radio shows over the years 1989-1994. The first show (1989) has the best sound (PFM from radio discs) so the entire show from here is included. The second show, only the songs that were unique (not repeated) from the earlier show were included. The final show (1994) I only have in mp3 format, and is from a broadcast recording rather than Pre-FM, but still has good sound, and includes songs from their most recent album at that time, A Date with the Smithereens. All together, this compilation makes a really good full CD-length show covering a range of great material.

Tracklist:
01.  Drown In My Own Tears
02.  Green Thoughts
03.  Groovy Tuesday
04.  Something New
05.  Cigarette
06.  Behind The Wall Of Sleep
07.  Only A Memory
08.  Blood and Roses
09.  House We Used To Live In
10.  Room With A View
11.  Marie Elena
12.  Cut Flowers
13.  Blue Period
14.  William Wilson
15. A Girl Like You
16.  Blues Before And After
17.  War For My Mind
18. Everything I Have is Blue
19. Miles From Nowhere

Tracks 1-09, show#89-10, Coach House, San Capistrano, CA, broadcast, 5/1/89
Tracks 10-16, show#90-06, Coach House, Ventura, CA, broadcast 3/19/90
Tracks 17-19, show#94-40, San Diego State University, broadcast 9/26/94 (mp3-only)

mp3 - The Smithereens_WW1 radio compilation_1989-1994_mp3.rar
Links updated 10/27/21
FLAC (only tracks 1-16) - The Smithereens_WW1 radio compilation_1989-90_FLAC.rar

Thanks to draftervoi for the hi-quality digital FLAC versions of the 1st 2 shows.

Del Amitri - 1995-04-30 - Silm's, San Francisco, CA

Del Amitri
1995-04-30
Slim's, San Francisco, CA
FM Broadcast recording (KFOG-FM), very good quality
Mp3 @320 kbps

Here's one more show from the underrated power pop band Del Amitri. This one, a great full-length radio broadcast show (plus some bonus tracks) from around the height of their popularity, on the tour promoting their 4th album, Twisted (1995), which featured some of the band's best-known songs. Thus, this show features most of the songs from Twisted, as well as many songs from earlier albums, for a wonderful show. The bonus tracks add a few different songs from other shows from around that same time period, also with very good sound quality.

Tracklist:
1. Intro - Food For Songs
2. Just Like A Man
3. When I Want You
4. Start With Me
5. One Thing Left To Do
6. To Last A Lifetime
7. Hatful Of Rain
8. Roll To Me
9. Crashing Down
10. Come Together
11. Move Away Jimmy Blue
12. The Ones That You Love Lead You Nowhere
13. Always The Last To Know
14. Being Somebody Else
15. Improv
16. Driving With The Brakes On
17. Medicine
18. Here And Now
19. Ace Of Spades
20. Be My Downfall (with bits of Like a Virgin and Kiss This Thing Goodbye)
Bonus live tracks:
21. Tell Her This (1996-07-07 - Cleveland, FM)
22. It Might As Well Be You (1995-08-06 - Sigma Sound Studios, Philadelphia, PA, FM)
23. Scared To Live (1995-08-06 - Philadelphia)

Del Amitri_1995-04-30_San Francisco.part1.rar
Del Amitri_1995-04-30_San Francisco.part2.rar

Del Amitri - 1990-06-23 - Glastonbury Festival, Somerset, UK

Del Amitri
1990-06-23
Glastonbury Music Festival, Worthy Farm,
Pilton, Somerset, UK
FM Broadcast recording, very good quality
Mp3 @ 320 kbps

Here's more from Del Amitri, this time from a bit earlier in their career, at Glastonbury in 1990, fresh off the success of their breakthrough album, Waking Hours (1989). Here, they get their first taste of the big-time, as they feature many songs from that current album, as well as few lesser known gems. 

 Tracklist:
01 Opposite View
02 Hatful of Rain
03 When I Want You
04 As Soon As The Tide Comes In
05 Don't Cry No Tears
06 Nothing Ever Happens
07 You're Gone
08 Stone Cold Sober
09 Spit In The Rain
10 The Ones That You Love Lead You
11 The Return of Maggie Brown
12 Kiss This Thing Goodbye

Link Updated 10/31/21
Del Amitri_1990-06-23_Glastonbury.rar

Del Amitri - 1997-10-08 - Herisau, Switzerland

Del Amitri
1997-10-08
Unknown venue, Herisau, Switzerland
Audience(?) recording, very good quality
Mp3 @ 320 kbps

Here's another great UK Power Pop Band that never quite got the success they deserved, especially here in the US. Del Amitri, from Glasgow, Scotland, started in the mid-80's and are lead by their primary songwriters Justin Currie (vocals-bass) and Iain Harvie (lead guitar). Currie has a great pop-rock singing voice, and their catchy, melodic songs feature (at least to my ears), a more bluesy/rootsy sound/feel then alot of other pop-rock of that time. Their first major success came with their 2nd album, Waking Hours (1989), which reached #6 on the UK charts, and their single 'Kiss This Thing Goodbye' received major radio airplay (but only marginal chart success) in the US. Although the supporting band around Currie and Harvie changed multiple times through the nineties (keyboardist Andy Alston was the only stable member throughout), subsequent albums Change Everything (1992) and Twisted (1995) were hits in the UK, but barely cracked the Top 200 in the US, despite radio airplay for songs such as  'Always the Last to Know', 'Driving with the Brakes On', and even a Top 10 single with 'Roll to Me'.  After their next album, Some Other Sucker's Parade (1997), more upheavals in personnel, record labels, and mounting pressure forced a 5-yr gap before their last album, Can You Do Me Good? (2002) was released. And although it rose to #6 on the UK charts, disappointing record sales resulted in the dropping of the band from their label, and virtual dissolution of the band. Currie and Harvie worked on some solo projects for a few years, but then in 2013 announced a Del Amitri Reunion, and the band has been back to touring ever since. The reformation of the band was also followed by deluxe edition reissues of most their albums, including many B-sides, rarities, and previously unreleased tracks (Del Amitri was one of those bands that seemed to have as many or more songs that were not on their albums as were on them, through numerous extended singles, B-sides, and various non-album tracks), and there seems to be much greater appreciation for their music now than there was in their original heyday. Even if you are not familiar with them or their music, most likely there are several songs of theirs that you've heard (and probably liked), but just didn't know who it was by.  Here is a fine full-length concert from 1997 that features several songs from their most recent album (Some Other Sucker's Parade), but also provides a good cross-section of songs from throughout their career as a nice sampler of their music. Check 'em out.

Tracklist:
1. Intro
2. Some Other Sucker's Parade
3. Just Like a Man
4. Always the Last to Know
5. Cruel Light of Day
6. Not Where It's At
7. Paper Thin
8. Here and Now
9. What I Think She Sees
10. Roll to Me
11. Move Away Jimmy Blue
12. The Ones That You Love Lead You Nowhere
13. Hatful of Rain
14. Mother Nature's Writing
15. Start with Me
16. Stone Cold Sober
17. Medicine
18. Be My Downfall - Drowned on Dry Land
19. Driving with the Brakes On
20. Kiss This Thing Goodbye

Link updated 10/31/2021
Del Amitri_1997-10-08_Switzerland.rar

Pugwash - 2015-10-16 - Whelan's, Dublin, Ireland

Pugwash
2015-10-16
Whelan’s Pub, Dublin, Ireland
Audience recording, very good quality
Mp3 @ 320 kbps

Pugwash is a wonderful power pop band from Ireland lead by songwriter-vocalist-multi-instrumentalist Thomas Walsh. They are known for their melodic, retro-styled songs and harmonies reminiscent of classic 60's and 70's pop, but also sporting a contemporary flair. Although they have been around since 1999 and have released six critically-acclaimed studio albums and various compilations over the years, they have been virtually unknown in the US (until quite recently). None of their earlier albums have been released in the US, but, finally, in 2014, a new record deal ensured US and worldwide releases. So, in 2014, a new compilation album (A Rose in a Garden of Weeds) was their first release in the US, followed by their first US tour. Then, this year, in September 2015, their latest album, Play This Intimately (As If Among Friends) was released (to much acclaim). For those not familiar with the band, their main influences include XTC, ELO, Jeff Lynne, The Kinks, The Beach Boys, and, of course, The Beatles. And they have collaborated and performed with artists such as XTC's Andy Partridge and Dave Gregory, Jason Falkner, Michael Penn, Neil Hannon (The Divine Comedy), and Ben Folds.  Here is a very recent show in their native Dublin that features several songs from the new album, as well as selections from their catalog in a fun and informal Pub setting. Check 'em out.

Tracklist:
01 intro, tuning, stage nonsense
02 Kicking & Screaming
03 Kings & Queens
04 Keep Moving On
05 Hung Myself Out to Dry
06 Finer Things In Life
07 Apples
08 Be My Friend a While
09 Kids in America
10 There You Are
11 You Could Always Cry
12 selling albums from stage
13 Here
14 Answers On a Postcard
15 Anyone Who Asks
16 It's Nice to Be Nice
17 encore break
18 Take Me Away

Link updated 10/31/21
Pugwash_2015-10-16_Whelans_Dublin.rar

Jackson Browne - Golden Slumbers (Live-Rarities Fan Compilation) Volumes 1-5

Jackson Browne
Golden Slumbers Volumes 1-5 (Complete 6-CD fan compilation of rarities and live recordings)
Soundboard (and FM Broadcast) recordings, Excellent quality (overall)
Available in both Lossless (FLAC) and mp3 (320 kbps) versions
Artwork also included

Here's a real treat for fans of Jackson Browne, the complete Golden Slumbers fan compilation, which is an excellent rarities collection that I have been trying to get my hands on for several years now, previously to no avail. But thanks to a kindly reader of the blog from the Netherlands (Thanks CVE!), who generously sent me CD copies of the full set, I now have it and can share it here.  This is a great set that brings together many bits & pieces, duets, live performances, radio sessions, one-of-a-kind moments, and miscellaneous rarities from throughout Jackson's career, including many one-off performances from various charity and benefit shows and rare backing vocal stints with others. It also includes a couple full-length live shows. But the main thing that makes this set so great is the superb sound quality of the bulk of the recordings. This is just an excellent sounding collection, with top-notch sound and recording quality across the board (and actually, the one instance where the sound was not top-notch - for the 1976-03-02 Tulane show, a much better quality (PreFM) version has more recently come available, so I have substituted the higher quality version for the one originally included with this set - So, the quality has been upgraded here, to remain superb throughout). This was originally available as a 3-CD set back around 1996-1998, but then additional volumes were added in subsequent years, but has been very difficult to find. So, here is the complete set. Hopefully posting this won't be a problem, but it does contain several individual songs that have been commercially released, but mostly on fairly obscure or out of print charity albums, soundtracks, or albums of other artists. Anyway, I have been enjoying this very much recently, some very interesting performances, and hope you like it too. (Note: some of the info about the songs included is incomplete or not accurate. This is inherent in the original set. I started to try to make some corrections or updates to the information, but didn't make it past the first disc, as it was just too time-consuming and didn't seem worth it, so I apologize for the incomplete info about some of the songs) 

Tracklist:
Volume 1
1. I'm Alive 5:48 
2. World In Motion 3:57 
3. Sky Blue And Black 5:57 
4. The Load-Out 5:08 
5. Stay 3:25 
6. Golden Slumbers (With Jennifer Warnes) 4:45 
7. Redemption Song 4:00 
8. Tracks Of My Tears 3:09 
9. Wake Up, Little Susie (With Melissa Etheridge) 2:45 
10. On The Cradle (With Graham Nash) 3:41 
11. Take It Easy 2:27 
12. Our Lady Of The Well 2:47 
13. World In Motion (With Bonnie Raitt) 4:43 
14. The Rebel Jesus Skyline Gig (With The Chieftains) 5:43 
15. Cocaine 5:08 
16. Highway '61 (With Bonnie Raitt & Bruce Springsteen) 3:50 
17. Across The Borderline (With Bonnie Raitt & Bruce Springsteen) 6:03 
18. The Pretender 6:40
 Tracks 01-05: Dutch Radio Performance "Twee Meter Sessie Unplugged", 1994-06-18
 Track 06: From "For Our Children" Pediatric AIDS Benefit album, 1991
 Tracks 07-09: Live in Cleveland OH, 1995-09-02
 Track 10: Hungerthon Benefit, Los Angeles, 1988-11-12
 Tracks 11-13: Live at the Farm Aid Benefit, 1990-04-07
 Track 14: From "Bells of Dublin", Chieftains Christmas Album, 1991
 Tracks 15-17: Christic Institute Benefit Concert, Los Angeles, 1990-11-16
 Track 18: Live in Hamburg, 1993-10-28

Volume 2 (Duets & Rarities)
1. Rock Me On The Water (With Kathy Mattea)  
2. You're A Friend Of Mine (With Clarence Clemons)  
3. Doctor My Eyes 
4. Never Knew Her (With David Lindley)  
5. First Girl I Loved 
6. Unloved (With Jann Arden)  
7. Just Like You (With Keb' Mo')  
8. Tender Is The Night  
9. Somebody's Baby
10. El Salvador (With Joan Baez)  
11. If I Only Had A Brain (With Jewel & Ry Cooder)
12. We're Off To See The Wizard  
13. Fiona (With Lyle Lovett)  
14. The Crow On The Cradle (With Graham Nash) 
15. Before The Deluge  
16. Stay (With Bruce Springsteen & E-Street Band)  
17. The Pretender
Track 1:  AIDS Benefit, 1994
Track 2: 1985
Track 3: Alternate mix/edit, "My Girl" Soundtrack, 1994
Track 4: 1988
Track 5: Elektra's 40th Anniversary, 1990
Track 6: 1993
Track 7: 1996
Track 8: alternate mix, remaster
Track 9: "Fast Times a Ridgemont High" Soundtrack, 1982
Track 10: 1989
Tracks 11-12: Wizard of Oz Concert, AIDS Benefit, 1995
Track 13: 1996
Tracks 14-16:  No Nukes Benefit Concert, 1979
Track 17: Live BBC, 1994
 
Volume 3
1. The Fuse
2. Farther On
3. For Every Man
4. The Only Child
5. Late For The Sky
6. Fountain Of Sorrow
7. Something Fine
8. For A Dancer
9. Rock Me On The Water
10. Crystal Ball
11. All I Want For Christmas Is World Peace
12. I Can't Sit Down
13. Before The Deluge
Tracks 1-9 Live at the RAI, Amsterdam, December 9, 1976
Tracks 10-11 Woodstock, NY 12/12/93 "Christmas with Cockburn"
Tracks 12-13 Santa Cruz Civic 19/5/1987

Volume 4 (Bits & Pieces)
Disc 1
1. I've Been The One
2. For Everyman  (with David Lindley)
3. My Opening Farewell  (with Bonnie Raitt)
4. Angel From Montgomery  (with Bonnie Raitt, Bruce Hornsby, Bryan Adams, Kim Wilson)
5. Kisses Sweeter Than Wine 
6. Love Needs A Heart  (with Valerie Carter)
7. Lives In The Balance (with Crosby, Stills, Nash)
8. Barricades Of Heaven 
9. Two Of Me, Two Of You 
10. Let It Be Me  (with Timothy B. Schmitt)
11. Barricades Of Heaven  
12. Next Voice You Hear 
13. I'm Alive 
14. The Pretender 
15. Solo Pienso En Ti  [Enrique Urqujo y Los Problemas, Backing Vocals by Jackson Browne]
16. Pretty Girl Rules The World  (with David Lindley), Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, May 19, 1987]
 Track 1:  Lowell George Tribute - 1997
 Track 2:  Bread and Roses Festival: Greek Theater, Berkley, CA, October 1977
 Tracks 3-4: Bonnie Raitt Road Tested Tour, USA, 1995
 Track 5: Pete Seeger Tribute
 Track 6: 1996
 Tracks 8-9: FM Radio session
 Tracks 11-14: Solo acoustic session for FM 802, Osaka, Japan, April 6, 1998
 Track 16: Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, May 19, 1987

Disc 2
1. Intro
2. A Child In These Hills
3. Rock Me On The Water
4. Come All Ye Fair And Tender Ladies
5. Take It Easy
6. Our Lady Of The Well
7. For A Dancer
8. Ready Or Not
9. Fountain Of Sorrow
10. For Everyman
11. Walking Slow
12. Doctor My Eyes
13. These Days
14. The Road And The Sky
15. Before The Deluge
Tracks 1-15 - Recorded live at Tulane University, 1976-03-02, early show

Volume 5 (The Osaka Sessions)
1. Late For the Sky
2. Don't You Want to be There
3. Rock Me On the Water
4. These Days
5. Soldier of Plenty
6. Sky Blue and Black
7. Como Un Corazon (with Los Secretos)
8. Before the Deluge (with Paul Brady)
9. My Problem is You (Esperando Por Ti) (with Luis Conte)
10. In Te Shape of a Heart
11. Man of Consant Sorrow (with Sharron Shannon)
12. Take This Rain
13. Talk of the Sea (with Mick Bird)
14. Fire in the Village (Backing vocal for John Trudell)
15. Danza Da Lua En Santiago (Backing vocal for Carlos Nunez)
Tracks 1-4: Live in the FM802 Studio, Osaka, Japan, April 2002
Tracks 5-7: Live at the Royal Albert Hall, London, 1994-06-12
Track 8: National Stadium, Dublin, Ireland, 1994-06-27
Track 9: Spanish Rarity recording
Track 10: Koseinenkin Kaikan, Osaka, Japan, 1994-04-22
Tracks 11-12: Grand Opera House, Belfast Ireland, 1994-06-28
Tracks 13-15: Rare Tracks (contributions on recordings of others)

Mp3:
Jackson Browne_Golden Slumbers-Rarities_Vol1_mp3.rar
Jackson Browne_Golden Slumbers-Rarities_Vol2_mp3.rar
Jackson Browne_Golden Slumbers-Rarities_Vol3_mp3.rar
Jackson Browne_Golden Slumbers-Rarities_Vol4-1_mp3.rar
Jackson Browne_Golden Slumbers-Rarities_Vol4-2_mp3.rar
Jackson Browne_Golden Slumbers-Rarities_Vol5_mp3.rar
links updated (09/13/21)

FLAC

Jackson Browne_Golden Slumbers-Rarities_Vol1_FLAC.rar

Jackson Browne_Golden Slumbers-Rarities_Vol2_FLAC.rar 

Jackson Browne_Golden Slumbers-Rarities_Vol3_FLAC.rar

Jackson Browne_Golden Slumbers-Rarities_Vol4-1_FLAC.rar

Jackson Browne_Golden Slumbers-Rarities_Vol4-2_FLAC.rar

Jackson Browne_Golden Slumbers-Rarities_Vol5_FLAC.rar

Golden Smog - The Jayhawks - Soul Asylum - 2004-07-18 - Rock For Democracy, First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN

Golden Smog, Rock For Democracy 2004, Minneapolis, MN (photo by David Poe)

Golden Smog - The Jayhawks - Soul Asylum
2004-07-18
Rock For Democracy Show
First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN
Audience Recording, Good Quality
mp3 @ 320 kbps


 

 OK, so to wrap up this extended look at Golden Smog and the various related bands and their contributing members, here's a unique show from 2004 that featured not only the Smog, but representations of contributing bands The Jayhawks and Soul Asylum as well (sorry, no Jeff Tweedy or Wilco presence here that night). This was a Rock For Democracy 2004 Benefit Show, and it appears that the sets may have been something that were thrown together at the last minute, with little preparation or lead-time rehearsal (several starts and stops, some stage disorganization). But that's part of the fun of these types of shows. Most of the Smog's set are covers (which represents what the Smog was originally, a cover band), including songs from Bowie, Neil Young, Eddie & the Hot Ro0ds, Bad Company, and Alice Cooper, as well as their own 'Corvette' or 'The Dream is Never Over'. Overall, it is loose, a bit sloppy, but a fun night of bar-room music from the various components and characters involved in Golden Smog, and a fitting finale to this 'Summer of Golden Smog' here at the 'Chronicles.

Tracklist:
Dave Pirner and Dan Murphy of Soul Asylum
01. Intro
02. Black Gold
  joined by Tim O'Reagan and Marc Perlman
03. Crazy Mixed Up World
04. Lately
05. Outro

The Jayhawks (Gary Louris/Marc Perlman/Tim O'Reagan/Karen Grotberg)
06. Intro
07. One Man's Problem (aborted due to audience member climbing onstage)
08. One Man's Problem
09. Pray For Me
10. He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother (Tim-lead vocal)
11. Tailspin
12. Outro

Golden Smog (Gary Louris/Marc Perlman/Dan Murphy/Kraig Johnson/Peter Anderson)
13. intro
14. Starman (Gary- lead vocal)
15. That's When I Reach For My Revolver (Dan-lead vocal)
16. Powderfinger (Kraig-lead vocal)
17. Do Anything You Wanna Do (Dan-lead vocal)
18. The Dream Is Never Over (false starts) (Gary and Dave-lead vocals)
19. The Dream Is Never Over (Gary and Dave Pirner-lead vocals)
20. I'm Eighteen (false starts) (Dave- lead vocal)
21. I'm Eighteen (Dave- lead vocal)
22. Shooting Star (Dave-lead vocal)
23. Outro

Golden Smog_Jayhawks_Soul Asylum_2004-07-18_RFD-MinneapolisMN.rar
Link updated 2/5/2024

Soul Asylum - Grave Dancer's Union Demos & Outtakes

Soul Asylum
1992
Grave Dancers Union Demos & Outtakes
Soundboard recordings, good to very good quality
 Available in both lossless (FLAC) and mp3 (320 kbps) versions

Here's some more from Soul Asylum, this time some demos and outtakes from around the time of their breakthrough album, Grave Dancer's Union (1992). This includes some early demo versions of several songs from Grave Dancers, as well as 4 songs that appear to be unreleased outtakes from these sessions. The Grave Dancers demos material suffer from some tape issues that indicate these are several generation duplicates of the originals. However, the unreleased outtake tracks are clearly from a different source, and are in much better, and high quality sound. So, although the demo versions of the tracks from Grave Dancers are interesting to hear, the real gems here are the previously unreleased outtake tracks ('Easy to Avoid', 'Some Obsession', 'Straight Up', and 'Thick and Thin'), which are very good, and a fine addition to the Soul Asylum repertoire from this period.


Tracklist:
1.Get On Out
2.Runaway Train
3.Growing Into You
4.Easy To Avoid
5.99%
6.Black Gold
7.Some Obsession
8.Straight Up
9.Thick And Thin
10.New World 2

New updated link (02/05/24)
Soul Asylum_Grave Dancers Union Demos_mp3.rar

Soul Asylum_Grave Dancers Union Demos_FLAC.rar

Soul Asylum - 1995-06-23 - Glastonbury Festival, Somerset, UK

Soul Asylum
1995-06-23
Glastonbury Festival, Somerset, UK
FM Broadcast Recording, very good quality
mp3 @ 320 kbps

Still keeping with the Golden Smog-related theme, here is the other known band with member components that were part of Golden Smog, Soul Asylum. Guitarist Dan Murphy was one of the founders of Golden Smog, and has been with all its incarnations, Dave Pirner was also involved with Golden Smog in its early days, but their main band was Soul Asylum. Soul Asylum was formed in the early eighties by Pirner and Murphy, where they played around the Minneapolis Area, becoming known for their loud, frenetic mix of punk, hardcore, mainstream rock, and country. They had several independent releases through the mid-eighties, then released a couple albums on A&M in the late eighties, without getting much attention or recognition. After featuring more of their acoustic side in shows in the early '90's, their big breakthrough came in 1992, with the release of Grave Dancer's Union, which went triple-platinum and featured radio hits 'Runaway Train', 'Black Gold', and 'Somebody to Shove'. 'Runaway Train' also won a Grammy for best Rock Song. Their follow-up album, Let Your Dim Light Shine (1995) was also very successful, and produced a top-20 hit with 'Misery'. Although subsequent albums were much less successful, Soul Asylum continued on and off over the years (most recent album, Delayed Reaction - 2012) and are still performing today. Here is a radio show from them in their prime, their 1995 show at Glastonbury.  

Tracklist:
01. Did My Best
02. Runaway Train
03. Eyes of a Child
04. Get On Out
05. Misery
06. Just Like Anyone
07. Closer to the Stars
08. Shu Down
09. Hopes Up
10. Somebody to Shove
11. Crawl

Soul Asylum_1995-06-23_Glastonbury.rar
Link updated 2/5/24

The Jayhawks - 2011-09-13 - Fitzgerald Theater, St. Paul, MN

The Jayhawks

September 13th, 2011
Fitzgerald Theater, 
Saint Paul, MN

FM Broadcast Recording, very good quality
Mp3 @ 320 kbps

Here's more from The Jayhawks, this one from a bit more recent incarnation. As previously mentioned, after touring in 2003-2004, the band went on hiatus, with members each going their own way. during that time, around 2005-2006, Gary Louris re-teamed with former Jayhawk Mark Olson, as a duet, and toured, and eventually released an acoustic album together,  Ready for the Flood, in 2009. Also around this time the acclaimed 1995 version of the Jayhawks lineup reunited for some festival appearances, and announced that they had reunited as a band in 2009. this lead to touring in 2010, and releasing a new album, Mockingbird Time, and touring, in 2011. We have here a show from that Mockingbird Time tour, a fine quality radio broadcast, that consists of a rather short set that is unfortunately interrupted by some rather lame interview segments for the radio audience (fortunately these are separated in the tracks, so you can skip them or remove them if desired). The first half of the set is all new songs from mockingbird time, with the second half being older Jayhawks songs. Attention: For a longer set from this Jayhawks reunion period (and featuring many more older songs), there is a fine quality show also available as a free download (or stream) through the band's website (although only available @160 kbps). See below for link.

Tracklist:
1. Intro's
2. She Walks In So Many Ways
3. Closer to Your Side
4. Hide Your Colors
5. interview / bio /etc
6. Tiny Arrows
7. stage banter
8. High Water Blues
9, Guilder Annie
10. Interview
11. I'd Run Away
12. Anne Jane
13. Tampa to Tulsa
14. Red's Song
15. Blue
16. Outro's

The Jayhawks_2011-09-13_St.Paul.rar
Link updated 10/31/21

More Jayhawks show downloads available from the band's official website!

The reunited Jayhawks return to one of their old favorite local venues, First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN (06/10/2010):
http://www.jayhawksofficial.com/bootlegs_FirstAvenue2010.html (soundboard, 160 kbps)

Also available, 2 other classic earlier Jayhawks shows (from 1985 and  1990) here:
http://www.jayhawksofficial.com/bootlegs.html



 

The Jayhawks - 1998-12-31 - State Theatre, Minneapolis, MN

The Jayhawks
December 31, 1998
State Theatre, Minneapolis, MN
(Opening for Soul Asylum)
Soundboard recording, excellent quality
Available in both Lossless (FLAC) and mp3 (320 k) versions

Here's some more from The Jayhawks, from a few years later. This is a great quality soundboard recording from a New Year's Eve show from their hometown in support of their Sound of Lies (1997) album. So, this was after Mark Olson left, and Gary Louris (with new guitarist Kraig Johnson) took the band a bit more toward a rock-oriented direction (and less country). This is evident right from the start of this show, with a more hard-rock-edged performance of their biggest hit 'Waiting for the Sun' (compare this with the 1995 performance from the previously posted show to hear the difference). Overall, a very good show. Note: they were opening for fellow Minneapolis band and their good friends Soul Asylum here. However, I have not been able to find a recording of the Soul Asylum portion of this show, although it must exist somewhere. Anyone have or know where to get a recording of Soul Asylum's set?

Tracklist:
01. Waiting For The Sun
02. Nothing Left To Borrow
03. Man Who Loved Life
04. Think About It
05. Two Hearts
06. Someone Will
07. I'd Run Away
08. Driving Wheel
09. Blue
10. Young Queer
11. Expecting To Fly
12. Trouble
13. Ruby
14. Queen Of The World

mp3 - Jayhawks_1998-12-31_Minneapolis_mp3.rar
Link updated 10/31/21
FLAC - Jayhawks_1998-12-31_Minneapolis_FLAC.rar

The Jayhawks - 1995-04-08 - Tramps, New York, NY

The Jayhawks
April 8, 1995
Tramps, New York, NY
Soundboard recording, very good quality
mp3 @ 320 kbps

OK, I'm still on something of an alt.country kick ever since I 'discovered' Golden Smog earlier this year. So, here's some from another Golden Smog contributor band, The Jayhawks. I have to admit that I was really not familiar with much of their music previously, but I am making up for that now, and am really getting into their sound and style. The Jayhwks are a Minneapolis Area band that was first formed in 1985 by Mark Olson (guitar/voclas), Gary Louris (guitar/vocals), Marc Perlman (bass), and Norm Rodgers (drums), with Olson and Louris being the primary songwriters, and they are one of those bands that feature a strong roots, country-rock, alt.country, Americana (or whatever else you want to call it) feel. They changed drummers a few times in their early years, until Tim O'Reagan joined in 1995 and stayed, and Karen Grotberg was added in 1992 on keyboards and backing vocals. They had a couple independent releases in the eighties (The Jayhawks-1986, Blue Earth-1989), but made a big impact with their first major label release, Hollywood Town Hall in 1992, and the single 'Waiting for the Sun'. They followed that with another strong album, Tomorrow the Green Grass, in 1995. But just as they seemed to be hitting their stride, Olson left the band in late 1995 (to spend more time with, and eventually form band with, soon-to-be wife, Victoria Williams). Louris and Co. continued on, adding Kraig Johnson on guitar. This new version of the band released a couple more albums (Sound of Lies-1997 and Smile-2000) that had a less folksy/country feel and a bit more polished rock and pop influence, before returning to their more acoustic and folksy roots with Rainy Day Music (2003).  However, after subsequent touring in 2003 and 2004, the band went on indefinite hiatus as the members did various solo and other projects. In September 2008, the old 1995 lineup (with original member Mark Olson) reunited and stayed together on and off for various shows in 2009, before officially announcing the band was back together, resulting in a flurry of reissues, re-releases and compliations, and ultimately the release of a brand new album in 2011,  Mockingbird Time, which was hailed as one of the band's very best.
So, here today, I have an excellent recording of a show from their earlier incarnation, from 1995 in their prime (with Olson still in band) in support of their Tomorrow the Green Grass album. So, check out The Jayhawks from 20 years ago.

Tracklist:
01 Two Angels
02 I'd Run Away
03 Ten Little Kids
04 Take Me With You (When You Go)
05 Over My Shoulder
06 Clouds
07 Waiting For The Sun
08 Pray For Me
09 Red's Song
10 Blue
11 Baltimore Sun
12 Martin's Song
13 Two Hearts
14 Nothing Left To Borrow
15 See Him On The Street
16 Bad Time (Grand Funk Cover)
17 Miss Williams' Guitar
18 Sister Cry
19 Six Pack On The Dashboard
20 Ain't No End
21 Real Light
22 You Ain't Goin Nowhere (Dylan Cover)
23 If You Really Want Me To, I'll Go (Delbert McClinton Cover)
24 Get The Load Out
25 Wichita
26 Lights (Victoria Williams Cover)

Links updated 10/31/21
The Jayhawks_1995-04-08_NY.part1.rar
The Jayhawks_1995-04-08_NY.part2.rar

Wilco - 2003-09-04 - McDonald Theater, Eugene OR

Wilco
September 4, 2003
McDonald Theater, Eugene, OR
Soundboard recording, excellent quality
Available as both lossless (FLAC) and mp3 (320 kbps) versions

Here's some more from Wilco, this one a classic show from an earlier incarnation of the band, in 2003. This was an interesting period for the band, as they were coming off their most acclaimed and successful album, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002), yet it was also a period of turmoil and transition for the band. The making of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was wrought with tension and problems, with Tweedy pursuing a more experimental direction and sound, resulting in the the replacement of drummer Ken Coomer with Glenn Kotche, and guitarist Jay Bennet also leaving over mounting disagreements with Tweedy over the album and direction of the band. Then when the album was finished, it was rejected by their record company, resulting in them leaving and taking the album to another company before its ultimate release. So, this show came during that transition period, after Bennett left, but while rhythm guitarist Leroy Bach was still there, new addition sound and keyboard guy Mikael Jorgensen had arrived, but it was before the future additions of multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone and lead guitarist Nels Cline (in 2004) would complete the lineup that would remain for the next 10 years and beyond, as the current lineup.  Despite the turmoil in the band, this was a very productive period, and this particular show is considered a favorite among Wilco fans, both for the high sound quality of the soundboard recording, and the wonderful selection and performance of great songs at this show. Although this show was a few months before the band head to the studio to record their next album, A Ghost Is Born (2004), they previewed 5 new songs that would grace that album, as well as featuring songs from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and numerous songs from their previous albums in a great Wilco performance and show.
 
Tracklist:
01 Kingpin
02 I'm The Man Who Loves You
03 Poor Places
04 Reservations
05 I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
06 War On War
07 Should've Been In Love
08 Box Full Of Letters
09 At Least Thats What You Said
10 Jesus Etc.
11 Spiders (Kidsmoke)
12 One By One
13 California Stars
14 Handshake Drugs
15 Misunderstood
16 Far Far Away
17 Less Than You Think
18 Cars Cant Escape
19 How To Fight Loneliness
20 Not For The Season
21 I'm Always In Love
22 Casino Queen
23 Outtasite (Outta Mind)
24 Kicking Television
25 I'm A Wheel

Jeff Tweedy - lead vocals, rhythm and lead guitars
John Stirratt - bass, backing vocals
Leroy Bach - rhythym guitar, backing vocals
Glenn Kotche - drums, percussion
Mikael Jorgensen - samples, sound manipulation, keyboards

FLAC - Wilco_2003-09-04_Eugene OR_FLAC.rar

mp3 - Wilco_2003-09-04_Eugene OR_mp3.part1.rar
          Wilco_2003-09-04_Eugene OR_mp3.part2.rar
Links updated 11/3/21

Wilco - 2012-07-28 - Ommegang Brewery, Cooperstown, NY

WILCO
July 28, 2012
Ommegang Brewery, Cooperstown NY

Audience recording, very good quality
Lossless (FLAC) files (24-bit/48khz)

Sorry for the delays in posting, but been away alot recently and just been very busy. But here is some more Wilco, this time from the Whole Love tour in 2012, and this is one that has been a favorite for this tour among Wilco fans (according to comments in viachicago.org), so check it out. The Whole Love (2011) album was a particular favorite of mine and it's cool to hear many of those songs performed here live, in addition to the many classic songs from their catalog. So, check out some more from Wilco.

Tracklist:
01. Intro
02. Dawned On Me
03. War On War
04. I Might
05. Sunken Treasure
06. Either Way
07. Hummingbird
08. Impossible Germany
09. Born Alone
10. Not For The Seasons
11. What’s the World Got In Store
12. Handshake Drugs
13. The Whole Love
14. Kamera
15. Box Full of Letters
16. I’m Always In Love
17. Heavy Metal Drummer
18. I’m The Man Who Loves You
19. A  Shot In the Arm
20. (Encore Break)
21. Poor Places
22. Art of Almost
23. Standing O
24. (Encore Break)
25. Airline To Heaven
26. Hate It Here
27. I Can’t Stand It
28. Red Eyed and Blue
29. I Got You (At the End of the Century)
30. Outta Mind (Outta Sight)

Recorded with Edirol / Roland R-09HR digital recorder and Sony ECM-719 microphone.
www.yazcountry.com/rob/
Files acquired from the Live Wilco Archive: http://owlandbear.com/wilco-archive/



Note: These Lossless (FLAC) Files are 24-bit/48khz, higher quality than the standard 16-bit/44.1 khz sampling rate used for CDs (and basis for mp3s). Because of this, I did not convert them and  make them available as mp3s, as this is a bit trickier with 24-bit sources and I just didn't want to mess with them. However, not all players can handle 24-bit FLAC files (although Winamp can). They can be converted using Audacity or several other media players/converters, if needed, but will sound best as is. Because these are 24-bit, however, the downloads are larger in size than usual (both parts combined=1.2 GB).

Wilco_2012-07-28_Cooperstown_24-bit-FLAC.part1.rar
Wilco_2012-07-28_Cooperstown_24-bit-FLAC.part2.rar

Wilco - 2015-07-17 - Pitchfork Festival - Chicago, IL

Wilco
2015-07-17
Pitchfork Music Festival
Union Park, Chicago, IL
Audio taken from live webstream video, excellent quality
mp3 @ 320 kbps

In honor of Wilco's surprise release of their fine new album (and available for free download! see post below), Star Wars, let's feature some Wilco, shall we? Wilco, of course, lead by Jeff Tweedy's songwriting, vocals, and overall style, and featuring the crack musical chops of the rest of the band, may not have reached great commercial success, but are highly respected and critically acclaimed, and have an avid and knowledgeable fan base. I consider Wilco to be one of the premier American rock bands around, always doing something ineteresting, always worthwhile to listen to, and always putting on great live shows, and last year Jeff Tweedy and company celebrated their 20th year as a band.Wilco has released 9 studio albums over that time (including Star Wars, but not counting some collaborations and side projects, such as the Mermaid Ave collaborations with Billy Bragg and Tweedy's solo album, Tweedy), all of them very good and showing various forms of stylistic changes and growth as they began as an alt-country offshoot of Uncle Tupelo and developed into a more experimental, idiosyncratic, and alternative rock band of the highest order. Which albums are favorites depends on which period and style one is most attrcted to, with Being There (1996) considered the high point of the early more countryish style, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002) their most successful and acclaimed alt-rock, or some of their more eclectic gems, like Sky Blue Sky (2007) or The Whole Love (2011). Fortunately, it is very easy to hear live shows from Wilco, as their are many avenues available. The band has an open taping policy and actively encourages fans to trade and share audience recordings of their shows. The band also sells soundboard recordings of many shows as dowmnloads from their website store, and also features several entire live shows available for streaming at no charge. There also are several fan sites that feature many live shows available for free download and/or streaming. So, with all these opportunities to listen to Wilco shows (I'll list some of the best online resources below), I don't need to post much here, but I did want to post just a few things to get started with. So, here is a very recent show, where they premiered their new album in its entirety, the day after the album was released on the internet. So, this show featured the brand new album straight through, the first time these songs played live anywhere. This was at the Pitchfork Music Festival, which was in Wilco's own home town, Chicago, IL. In addition to the new album, the set featured many classic and favorite songs from the Wilco catalog for a wonderful show. Better yet, video of the entire show was streamed live on the web. This is audio taken from that live webstream. Hopefully, since this was broadcast, it is alright for me to make available here. So, anyway, enjoy this show (and if you look around, can probably find the video, too), and be sure to check out some of the other Wilco sites mentioned here.

OK, so here are some of the top Wilco resources to hear more of their great music and shows:

Wilco's official website: wilcoworld.net
official news and info, plus some entire shows for audio streaming, and many shows available for purchase in lossless and mp3 (Roadcase series) through their online store

Fan sites
For general info and discussion of Wilco, their music, and live shows: viachicago.org
For Streaming audio of many Wilco shows: sooutoftune.org

For downloading audience tapes of Wilco shows:
Live Wilco Archive: owlandbear.com/wilco-archive/
(hundreds of wilco shows available in lossless. However, only goes up to 2013 at present)
For some more recent (and classic) Wilco shows: nyctaper.com
(has several more recent shows from 2014 and 2015, as well older, classic shows

Pitchfork Festival set
Tracklist:
[Tracks 1-11: "Star Wars" album in entirety (live debut)]
1. EKG (on tape)
2. More... 
3. Random Name Generator 
4. The Joke Explained 
5. You Satellite 
6. Taste the Ceiling 
7. Pickled Ginger 
8. Where Do I Begin 
9. Cold Slope 
10. King of You 
11. Magnetized 

12. Handshake Drugs 
13. Camera 
14. I Am Trying to Break Your Heart  (minor skip at 1:38 due to transmission glitch)
15. Art of Almost 
16. Via Chicago 
17. Impossible Germany 
18. Red-Eyed and Blue 
19. I Got You (At the End of the Century) 
20. Outtasite (Outta Mind) 
21. Heavy Metal Drummer 
22. I'm the Man Who Loves You 


Wilco_2015-07-17_Pitchfork Festival.rar

Link updated 07/03/20

Wilco - Surprise New Album! - Free download available!

Wilco
New album - Star Wars
Available as a free download from band's website!

This just in - Wilco has released a surprise new album (no advanced word or announcement), and, for a limited time, they are making the album available as a free download from their website
(http://wilcoworld.net/). This is a very big deal, as a new Wilco album in itself is something to celebrate, and that it is being offered for free is a tremendous bonus. Apparently, this initially happened yesterday, but I just heard about it today, and have just downloaded the album. I haven't even had a chance to listen to it yet, but I assume it will be very much worth my (and your) time. Wilco's last album, The Whole Love, was released in September, 2011, and for my money, it was the very best album of that year. So, I have high hopes for this one, too. At the very least, it will be interesting, as Wilco always is. First, they went with the outrageous title of 'Star Wars' (and there is no corresponding song that would appear to be associated with that), and then have a still life-type painting of a cat on the cover. What? Anyway, if you haven't yet, be sure to take advantage of this great opportunity to get new music from Wilco for free. he physical (CD) form of the album doesn't release until around the third week of August, and I believe the free download will be available at least until first week of August, so be sure to get it now. I'll post more with some comments about the album after I have a chance to check it out thoroughly, and would like to hear back from some of you as well about what you think of it.

Get it now, at:
http://wilcoworld.net/

Steely Dan - The Lost Gaucho and Outtakes (corrected and enhanced version) - 1979

Steely Dan
The Lost Gaucho and Outtakes
(NEW upgraded version - phase-corrected and cleaned-up)
~1979
Studio outtakes, good to excellent sound quality
For this version, Phase-correction and audio touch-ups and clean-up work provided by Anthony Ochoa for the BB Chronicles

Now available in lossless (FLAC) and mp3 (320 kbps) versions!

My previous post of Steely Dan's Lost Gaucho and Outtakes has consistently been one of the most popular posts ever here at the 'Chronicles'. So naturally, as I was preparing many posts for upgrading (to lossless and/or improved, upgraded quality where possible) a month or so ago, and since previously these were posted only as mp3 files, I planned on including the Lost Gaucho in this upgrade group. Coincidentally, around this same time, I was contacted by an alert blog reader who had recently downloaded the files from here, and who happened to be an audio engineer, and he noticed that for the entire CD1 of the post, the left and right channels were completely (180 degree) out of phase with each other, which resulted in cancellation and loss of sound from some frequencies (particularly low end), and an overall loss of fidelity in the recordings. When I checked it out, he was absolutely right, and as I checked around for other (and Lossless) sources, I found that all the available sources I could find also had the same out-of-phase problem, so it appeared that these were the versions that have been around the trading circles for years. Fortunately, correcting this type of phase issue is quite simple to do, and it is surprising that it has not been fixed before now. Anyway, my new audio engineer blog friend, Anthony Ochoa, was interested in not only fixing the phase problem, but also going through the recordings and doing some EQ and clean-up work on them to bring them up to a higher sound quality. So, that is what he did, and his resulting work on CD1 (The Lost Gaucho) has restored these files to a much fuller, richer sound, almost to a commercial quality level. Unfortunately, the many sound problems on the other batch of outtakes on CD2 were not so easily fixed, as Anthony told me, the "warbling & mushy" sound was probably due to a transfer from "a lousy cassette tape that was poorly calibrated and poorly maintained, as was the deck used to play it back" resulting in some sound problems that can't be fixed. Nonetheless, Anthony also did go through the lesser quality CD2 files and performed some "clean-up work" on them to fix some gaps, fades, and erroneous noise.  Thus, CD1 now has greatly enhanced sound quality, while CD2 only has some minor enhancements, but nonetheless this is an overall upgraded and improved package, and is also now available in lossless as well as mp3. Generally, for my recent upgrades, I have not made new posts, just updated the old one, but for this exciting new enhanced and upgraded version, I thought a new post was warranted. Thanks to Anthony for taking time to make these improvements and make this available. For more info and background on the original recordings and sessions, see the original post here. Note: I am leaving the original post (and link) intact, so that those interested in the unaltered files can still get those. 


CD1: The Lost Gaucho (phase-corrected and equalized)
01 Kind Spirit
02 Were You Blind That Day
03 The Bear
04 The 2nd Arrangement
05 Talkin' About My Home
06 Time Out Of Mind
07 Kulee Baba
08 Gaucho (instr.)

CD2: Various Demos, Outtakes, & Alternate Versions (cleaned-up)
01 Gaucho
02 The Second Arrangement
03 Glamour Profession
04 Babylon Sisters
05 My Rival
06 Gaucho (piano demo)
07 Babylon Sisters
08 The Second Arrangement
09 Talkin' About My Home
10 I Can't Write Home About You
11 Kulee Baba


FLAC - Steely Dan_The Lost Gaucho and Outtakes(corrected-enhanced)_FLAC.rar

New Link! (08/26/21)
mp3 - Steely Dan_The Lost Gaucho and Outtakes(corrected-enhanced)_mp3.part1.rar
          Steely Dan_The Lost Gaucho and Outtakes(corrected-enhanced)_mp3.part2.rar

Golden Smog - 2006-09-19 - Vic Theatre, Chicago, IL

Golden Smog
2006-09-19
Vic Theater, Chicago, IL
 FM Broadcast recording, very good quality
Available in both lossless (FLAC) and mp3 (320 kbps) versions

Here's one more show from Golden Smog, this one from the later incarnation of the Smog which got back together in 2005, and recorded and released 2 more albums (Another Fine Day-2006 and Blood on the Slacks-2007). By this time Jeff Tweedy was only an occasional member of the band. Fortunately, this recording was one of those occasions, a broadcast recording from a Chicago show that featured Jeff along with the rest of the band performing songs from their new album, as well as their previous songs and select covers. So, here's another chance to check out  Golden Smog. One last note: I need to make a shout out to John at Ousterhout.net for making these files (and so many others) available in high quality. All these Golden Smog shows came from there, and he has many other unique and hard to find artists and shows. But for now, here's Golden Smog.

Tracklist:
01 Looking Forward to Seeing You
02 You Make It Easy
03 V
04 To Call My Own #
05 Easy To Be Hard
06 Can't Keep From Talking
07 Long Time Ago
08 Glad and Sorry
09 Ill Fated
10 5-22-02
11 Never Felt Before
12 Starman
13 Frying Pan Eyes

14 Hurricane
15 Won't Be Coming Home
16 Band Intro - Red Headed Stepchild
17 Beautiful Mind
18 If I Only Had A Car
19 Corvette
-- encores:
20 Radio King
21 Until You Came Along

Lineup:
Gary Louris - guitar, keyboards, vocals
Marc Perlman - bass
Dan Murphy - guitar, vocals
Kraig Johnson - guitar, vocals
Jeff Tweedy - guitar, vocals
Sim Cain - drums
? - horns
Blake Hurlbert - tambourine
Jim Boquist - guitar ?#

mp3 - Golden Smog_2006-09-19_Chicago_mp3.rar
link updated 2/5/2024

FLAC - Golden Smog_2006-09-19_Chicago_FLAC.rar

Golden Smog - 1996-04-18 - Carrboro, NC

Golden Smog
April 18, 1996
Cat's Cradle, Carrboro, NC
Soundboard/Audience matrix recording, good quality
Available in both lossless (FLAC) and mp3 (320 kbps) versions

Here's more from Golden Smog, this one a couple years earlier, on their first real tour, promoting their first full-length album, Down By the Old Mainstream. It features a mix of their original songs and some choice covers, including songs from Bowie, The Stones, Neil Young, Brian Wilson, Elvis Costello/Nick Lowe, and even Charlie Rich). If you are at all a fan of alt.country, country-rock, Wilco, The Jayhawks, or bands of that kind, you definitely need to check out Golden Smog. Great stuff that generally flew under the radar of most people (including me) for a long time.

Tracklist:
01 intro
02 V
03 Ill Fated
04 Glad and Sorry
05 Yesterday Cried
06 Walk Where He Walked
07 Signed D.C.* (Love)
08 Backstreet Girl* (Rolling Stones)
09 Nowhere Bound
10 (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding (Nick Lowe)
11 He's a Dick
12 Pecan Pie
13 Friend
14 Hanging on the Telephone (The Nerves, Blondie)
15 The Most Beautiful Girl* (Charlie Rich)
16 Won't Be Coming Home
17 Love and Mercy (Brian Wilson)
18 Red Headed Stepchild

19 Radio King*
20 She Don't Have to See You (To See Through You) (Bobby Patterson)
21 Five Years (David Bowie)
22 Powderfinger (Neil Young)
23 I Don't Care (??)

Gary Louris -- guitar, vocals
Jeff Tweedy -- guitar, bass, vocals
Dan Murphy -- guitar, vocals
Kraig Johnson -- guitar, vocals
Marc Perlman -- bass
Noah Levy -- drums
* Jesse Greene -- violin

FLAC - Golden Smog_1996-04-18_CarrboroNC_FLAC.rar

mp3 - Golden Smog_1996-04-18_CarrboroNC_mp3.rar
link updated 02/05/2024

Golden Smog - 1998-12-12 - First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN

Golden Smog
December 12th, 1998
First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN
Soundboard recording, very good quality
Available in both Lossless (FLAC) and mp3 (320kbps) versions



This band was something of a revelation for me. Although it has been around (on and off) for over 20 years, and is comprised of well-established musicians from some well-known other bands (Soul Asylum, The Jayhawks, Wilco, etc.), all of which I also like, I was completely unaware that this band existed until a couple months ago. Then after I got a chance to hear some of their music, I was even more surprised that I had never heard them before, because they are right up my alley, and I really enjoy their stuff. This band may just be something of a low-key side project for these guys, but they make some very entertaining, thoroughly enjoyable music. OK then, for others out there who also may not be aware of these guys, Golden Smog started way back around 1989 when a fluid assortment of musicians from various Minneapolis-area bands got together to hang out, jam, and have fun performing cover songs at area clubs. By 1992, the lineup had settled to include Dan Murphy and Dave Pimer (of Soul Asylum), Gary Louris and Marc Perlman (of The Jayhawks), Kraig Johnson (of Run Westy Run), and drummer Chris Mars (of The Replacements), with the band playing primarily alternative country-rock covers of a wide variety of songs, with a loose and ragged style. They even released an EP , entitled On Golden Smog (with band members using various pseudonyms) of some of their covers. As they went on, they started adding in some original songs as well. By 1995, Mars left, replaced by Noah Levy (of the Honeydogs), and Jeff Tweedy (of Wilco) also joined in, and they began work on their first-length album consisting of mostly original material, which was released in 1996 and titled Down by the Old Mainstream. Also around this time, they also started some touring outside of the Minneapolis area. After changing drummers again, now adding Jody Stephens (of Big Star), they released their 2nd full-length original album, Weird Tales, in 1998, and by now they really seemed like a full-fledged band, and what a fine album this is. After some years of inactivity, they got back together in 2005, releasing 2 more albums, Another Fine Day (2006) and Blood on the Slacks (2007). Although all of the members were full-time members of other (more famous) bands, the albums don't seem to be in any way second-rate or afterthoughts, but rather just have a different feel and style from their primary bands. I don't know of any plans for further Golden Smog albums, but I wouldn't be surprised to see or hear of some form of Golden Smog performing and recording again. This is a great-sounding recording from 1998, after Weird Tales was released, from one of the Minneapoils clubs where they started, First Avenue, with a wonderfully eclectic set featuring original songs from their albums and some entertaining and diverse covers (from Elvin Bishop to Neil Young to Split Enz). So great to hear a band like this, with its mix of well-known musicians, but no egos, very low-key, and just playing what they want, for the enjoyment of it.  I hope others find out about and enjoy these guys like I did.

Tracklist:
01 Looking Forward To Seeing You
02 Ill Fated
03 Won't Be Coming Home
04 Lost Love
05 Making Waves
06 White Shell Road
07 To Call My Own
08 Glad and Sorry
09 V
10 He's a Dick
11 Walk Where He Walked
12 Keys
13 I Can't Keep From Talking
14 Jennifer Save Me
15 Pecan Pie
16 Fooled Around and Fell in Love
17 All The Same To Me
18 If I Only Had a Car
19 Until You Came Along
- Encores
20 Radio King
21 Please Tell My Brother
22 Hurricane
23 Revolution Blues
24 Reflections on Me
25 I Got You
26 Spooky

lineup:
Gary Louris - vocals/guitar
Dan Murphy - vocals/guitar
Jeff Tweedy - vocals/guitar
Kraig Johnson - vocals/guitar
Marc Perlman - bass/guitar
Jessy Greene - violin
Jody Stephens - drums

mp3 - Golden Smog_1998-12-12_Minneapolis_mp3.part1.rar
Golden Smog_1998-12-12_Minneapolis_mp3.part2.rar
links updated 2/5/2024

FLAC - Golden Smog_1998-12-12_Minneapolis_FLAC.rar

They Might Be Giants - 1990-02-28 - Vienna, Austria

They Might Be Giants
1990-02-28
Vienna, Austria
FM Broadcast recording, very good quality
mp3 @ 320 kbps

Hers's one more from TMBG, still from their earlier days, but a couple year's later, around the time of the release of their third (and breakthrough) album, Flood. It's interesting to hear the Flood songs as they were originally performed live at the time, compared to the recent live versions of these same songs, as they are now performed, in the Flood Live album download (posted last month). This is a very good european FM broadcast recording.
 
Tracklist:
01. Intro
02. Lie Still, Little Bottle
03. Someone Keeps Moving My Chair
04. Youth Culture Killed My Dog
05. Kiss Me, Son Of God
06. Ana Ng
07. Your Racist Friend
08. Particle Man.
09. Lucky Ball and Chain
10. Whistling in the Dark
11. Istanbul (Not Constantinople)
12. (She Was A) Hotel Detective
13. Where Your Eyes Don't Go
14. Birdhouse in Your Soul
15. Cowtown
16. Nothing's Gonna Change My Clothes
17. DJ Outro

Link Updated 07/03/20
They Might be Giants_1990-02-28_Vienna.rar

They Might Be Giants - 1987-12-31 - New York, NY

They Might Be Giants
1987-12-31
Gusto House, New York, NY
Soundboard recording, good quality
mp3 @ 320 kbps

Here's more from the early days of They Might Be Giants. Here is a New Year's Eve set in a New York Club from 1987, featuring songs from their first 2 albums.

Tracklist::
1. Kiss Me, Son of God
2. Nothing's Gonna Change My Clothes
3. For Science
4. Cage and Aquarium
5. It's Not My Birthday
6. The World's Address
7. Auld Lang Syne
8. Piece of Dirt
9. Alienation's For the Rich
10. Why Does the Sun Shine?
11. My Funny Valentine
12. Lie Still, Little Bottle

Updated 07/03/20
They Might Be Giants - 1987-12-31 - New York.rar

They Might Be Giants - 1985 Demo Tape

They Might Be Giants
1985 Demo Tape (First recordings)
Soundboard recordings, very good quality
mp3 @ 320 kbps


Here's  more from TMBG, this time going back to the very beginning of the band. This is a collection of demo recordings that were never officially released commercially, but were sold by the band as a cassette tape at their early shows in 1985-1986. Most of the tracks would later appear (in re-recorded versions) on the band's first official album, They Might be Giants (pink album) later in 1986, a few others on their second album, Lincoln, in 1987, and a few more that did not make it on any album. It's interesting to hear these earlier versions of some familiar TMBG songs. In some cases, the versions of the songs were re-recorded with almost the exact same arrangemet, instrumentation, etc. as these early versions, while some songs were re-arranged or done quite differently. Anyway, here's a look back at the very early days of the band (a duo, really), and their convoluted oddities and original weirdness.

Tracklist
01. (Put Your Hand Inside the) Puppet Head
02. When It Rains It Snows
03. Number Three
04. Don't Let's Start
05. You'll Miss Me
06. I Hope that I Get Old Before I Die
07. The Biggest One
08. 32 Footsteps
09. Boat of Car
10. Cowtown
11. Chess Piece Face
12. Rabid Child
13. Youth Culture Killed My Dog
14. Alienation's for the Rich
15. The Day
16. (She Was a) Hotel Detective
17. Which Describes How You're Feeling
18. Toddler Hi-Way
19. Become a Robot
20. I'm Def
21. Hell Hotel
22. They Might Be Giants
23. Nothing's Going to Change My Clothes


They Might Be Giants_1985 Demo Tape.rar
Link updated 10/12/21

They Might Be Giants - Flood Live in Australia (2015)

Free live album downloads from They Might Be Giants


Here are some more free album downloads available directly from the artists.

They Might Be Giants are currently offering a free download of a professionally recorded complete live performance of their third album, Flood (1990), from a recent show in Australia, and is available through their website (www.theymightbegiants.com). They perform the entire album, but, for some reason, in exact reverse order of the original album. They Might Be Giants are, of course, the singing songwriting duo of John Flansburgh and John Linnell, along with various back-up musicians, who have been around since 1982, and are known for their delightfully daft oddball pop-rock ditties. Flood was one of the group's most popular albums, was their first major-label release, their breakthrough album, and took them from smaller cult status to more widespread appeal and acclaim. And they have been carrying on ever since, with their unique brand of weird, fun songs. They recently released a new album, Glean, and are also in the midst of an ambitious revival of their old answering-machine-based dial-a-song service, now updated for the internet age, where they will be making available a new song every week for all of 2015 (that's 52 different songs!) (at dialasong.com or by phone at 844-387-6962). Here is the link for the free Flood Live album (also of note, the download is high quality 320 kbps mp3 files).


http://www.theymightbegiants.com/flood-live-in-australia/

Also, still available from TMBG, is another Live album download of another performance of an old classic TMBG album, this time their eponymously titled first album, They Might be Giants, performed in 2013. This one has been available for quite awhile, but is still available for free download on their website, so check this one out, too. This one is also available as HQ (320 kbps) mp3 files (that's important, since many artists that offer free downloads generally have them only available in lower quality 128 or 192 kbps Mp3 rates). Anyway, here's the link for the First Album live download.

http://www.theymightbegiants.com/a-gift-for-you-tmbgs-first-album-live-a-free-download/

Also, TMBG are on tour right now, so if you like their stuff, check 'em out live if you get the chance.

Brian Doherty - Treat and Release

Free album download from Rock drummer Brian Doherty (from his website)

I got an email from rock drummer Brian Doherty recently. Brian has been a part of great bands such as  They Might Be Giants, The Silos, and XTC, as well as also having played with the likes of Ben Folds, Marshall Crenshaw, and Mike Viola. Blog readers should also remember that Brian was responsible for making the excellent live Silos compilation, Flipping the Bird, available to everyone. Well, Brian just wanted to let me (and you readers) know that his first original solo rock album is now available for download through his website. The album is called Treat + Release, with a basic rock trio set-up of Brian on drums and vocals, John Yates on bass, and Ted Novak on guitar, and also featuring various guest musicians on individual tracks, including Marshall Crenshaw on guitar for a couple tracks, and Mike Viola on assorted instruments and vocals (and sharing producing credit) on another track. Although the album has been available through iTunes and Amazon for some time now, for a limited time, Brian is offering the album as a free download through his website.  I listened to the album right before posting this, and it's pretty good, with interesting songs and a nice pop-rock sound and style. Certainly worth checking out. So, thanks to Brian for making this available and for letting us in on this share. While you're getting the download from Brian's website, be sure to check out the rest of his site, as he also has some drum tracks available in addition to his previous interesting blog posts about his experiences as a professional musician.  Anyway, here is the link to Brian's site to download the album  

http://briandohertydrummer.blogspot.com/p/treat-release.html