BoDeans - 1992-02-17 - Atlanta, GA (WestWood 1 radio show)

BoDeans
1992-02-17 (Broadcast date, recording date unknown)
Center Stage, Atlanta, GA
Pre-FM Broadcast recording (Westwood One In Concert 92-08), excellent quality
Available in both Lossless (FLAC) and mp3 (320 kbps) versions


Here's a short but very sweet radio show from the American Midwest 'roots-rockin' BoDeans, from 1992, which just may be around the period when they were at their very best, and certainly in their prime. This show came on the heels of 2 of their best albums (Home, 1989 and Black & White, 1991) and features primarily songs from those albums, including the seldom heard 'Brand New' from Home (one of my all-time favorites by them). And although they developed a seemingly 'more commercial' pop-rock sound on Black & White, exemplified in 'Paradise' and 'Good Things', mainstream success still eluded them. However, they finally did score a 'hit' after the song 'Closer to Free' from their next album, Go Slow Down (1993), was featured on the TV show Party of Five and became popular. Although the band has many songs that shoulda/coulda been 'hits', this was the only one to gain mainstream success. But the BoDeans have been chugging along as a great American Roots-Rock band for thirty years now, putting out many fine albums and great live shows. Certainly another in a long line of great, but largely unheralded rock bands. Although still around today, unfortunately Sam Llanas, co-founder and half of the driving spirit of the band (along with Kurt Neumann), abruptly quit the group in 2011 to go solo. But Kurt has added a couple new members and is continuing the fine tradition of the BoDeans, having released a new album, American Made, in 2012.  

Tracklist:
01.  Broadcast Intro
02.  Paradise
03.  Brand New
04.  Fadeaway
05. DJ Interjection
06.  Good Things
07.  Long Hard Day
08.  Still The Night - My Girl Lollipop
09.  Good Work
10.  Black, White and Blood Red

mp3: BoDeans_1992_WW1_Atlanta_mp3.rar

FLAC: BoDeans_1992_WW1_Atlanta_FLAC.rar

New Links (updated 01/15/25)
 

The Kinks - 1977-12-24 -Rainbow Theatre - London (full show)

The Kinks
1977-12-24
Rainbow Theatre, London, UK
FM Broadcast recording, very good quality
Available in both Lossless (FLAC) and mp3 (320 kbps) versions

Here's another great 1977 Kinks show that has also been previously featured here (another of the very first posts made on this blog @192 kbps). Now, once again, here is an updated, upgraded, and expanded version of this show. The recording previously presented was cut to fit a single CD. Here now is the full show, with additional songs 'Well Respected Man', 'Death of a Clown', 'Sunny Afternoon', and the outrageous 'Father Christmas', in very good quality. In addition, this show also features another great song from Sleepwalker that was not played at the previous two 1977 shows featured here, 'Jukebox Music', as well as a few other different songs from previous '77 shows, so there is plenty here to make this worth hearing and downloading. Enjoy this enhanced version of the show.

Tracks:
01. Broadcast introductions
02. Jukebox Music
03. Stage introductions
04. Sleepwalker
05. Life On The Road
06. Dialogue
07. Well Respected Man
08. Death Of A Clown
09. Sunny Afternoon
10. Waterloo Sunset
11. All Day And All Of The Night
12. Dialogue
13. Slum Kids
14. Celluloid Heroes
15. Get Back In Line
16. Dialogue
17. The Hard Way
18. Lola
19. Alcohol
20. Skin And Bone
21. Father Christmas
22. You Really Got Me

Link updated 08/02/2021
mp3: Kinks_1977-12-24_Rainbow-complete_mp3.rar

FLAC: Kinks_1977-12-24_Rainbow complete_FLAC

The Kinks - 1977-02-19 - Winterland - San Francisco

The Kinks
February 19th, 1977
Winterland, San Francisco, CA
PRE-FM Recording (KSAN Master Reel, except 3 tracks from FM broadcast), very good quality
Available in both Lossless (FLAC) and mp3 (320 kbps) versions
UPGRADE from previously offered version

Now that we're back to The Kinks in 1977, this is a good time to upgrade a couple of old posts from this period. Here is the 1977 Winterland show, which was the very next day after the Santa Monica show just featured. This show was actually one of the very first posts made on this blog 5 1/2 years ago. However, at that time I only had a lower quality version (192 kbps). Now, it is high time to upgrade this great show, so here is the full show in great quality (Pre-FM master recording), and now available in lossless and 320k mp3. The setlist is almost identical to the previous night's show, but still contains some interesting differences and new additions, as they added 'Victoria' as a 2nd encore, and also included 'The Hard Way' in the 'Schoolboys' section. In addition, Ray's voice stays strong through the whole show (his voice started giving out towards end of previous night's show) resulting in some stronger vocal performances on some of the later songs. Overall, just a great show, performance, and recording. So, if you only had the previous version, you will want this one, and if you didn't have it before, you definitely need it now.

Tracklist:
01. You Really Got Me (intro.) *
02. One Of the Survivors
03. Sleepwalker
04. Rush Hour Blues
05. You Make It All Worthwhile/Ordinary People/Everybody's A Star (Starmaker)
06. Lola (singalong)/Banana Boat Song
07. A Well Respected Man
08. Sunny Afternoon
09. Waterloo Sunset
10. Celluloid Heroes
11. Schooldays
12. Schooldays (reprise, instr.) The Hard Way
13. Education
14. Brother
15. Stormy Sky
16. Life Goes On
17. Full Moon
18. Lola
19. Alcohol
20. You Really Got Me/ All Day and All Of the Night
21. Life on the Road *
22. Victoria *

* = taken from FM broadcast

mp3: Kinks_1977-02-19_Winterland_mp3.rar

FLAC:Kinks_1977-02-19_Winterland_FLAC.part1.rar
           Kinks_1977-02-19_Winterland_FLAC.part2.rar

The Kinks - 1977-02-18 - Santa Monica, CA

The Kinks
1977-02-18 (late show)
Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica, CA
Broadcast recording, very good quality
mp3 @ 320 kbps

As noted previously, after leaving RCA records, and what was to be the last of their Musical Theater-type productions with Schoolboys in Disgrace, The Kinks signed with Arista Records, and were urged to go back to a stripped-down band and more of a straight-forward rock and pop sound. Whether it had anything to do with their record company, or it was just the direction Ray and the Band were moving anyway, is not clear, but from that point on the band dropped the horns and the elaborate concept musicals and went back to being a 5-piece rock band. And their next album, Sleepwalker (1977) was not only their best album in years, but I think, one of their very best albums ever. The songs were quirky and fun, and had a more direct rock and pop-rock feel, with great hooks and melodies (and at least 4 all-time 'classic' Kinks tracks, 'Jukebox Music', 'Life Goes On', 'Life on the Road', and 'Sleepwalker'). This was followed by another breakthrough album, Misfits (1978), featuring 'Misfits', 'A Rock and Roll Fantasy', and 'Live Life' among others. However, it still took awhile before the mainstream pop-rock audience would bring them back to real commercial success, as it wasn't until their next album, Low Budget (1979), with the hit single 'Superman', and much radio airplay for songs like 'Catch Me Now I'm Falling', 'Gallon of Gas', and 'Low Budget', that they once again became a superstar rock act again. This is an excellent show from the Sleepwalker tour, in very good quality. The show opens with selections from their previous 'musical theater' albums, Preservation, Soap Opera, and Schoolboys, as well as other earlier classics, and then gets into more of the songs from Sleepwalker. Thus, in addition to a wide variety of songs from throughout their career, this show features 6 songs from Sleepwalker (although the excellent 'Jukebox Music' was not played here). Anyway, hope you enjoy this show, as the rejuvenated Kinks show that they still were one of the best rock bands ever, in this beginning of their rock 'n roll comeback period.
 
Tracklist:
1. Show opening
2. One Of the Survivors
3. Sleepwalker
4. Rush Hour Blues
5. You Make It All Worthwhile
6. Ordinary People
7. Everybody's A Star(Starmaker)
8. Waterloo Sunset
9. A Well Respected Man
10. Sunny Afternoon
11. Celluloid Heroes
12. Schooldays
13. Education
14. Brother
15. Stormy Sky
16. Life Goes On
17. Full Moon
18. Lola
19. Alcohol
20. You Really Got Me/ All Day and All Of the Night
21. Life on the Road

Kinks_1977-02-18_Santa_Monica_(late)_mp3.rar

The Kinks - 1975-06-14 - London - A Soap Opera-Live

The Kinks
1975-06-14
New Victoria Theatre, London, UK
FM Broadcast recording, very good quality
mp3 @ 320 kbps

While we're covering The Kinks Musical Theater days, here is their other theatrical stage show from that Mid-70's period, A Soap Opera. However, unlike most of their other concept musicals, which told their story exclusively through the music, as a sort-of rock opera, this show is more of a direct Musical Theater Stage show, in that in addition to the songs there is also quite a bit of story and dialogue, like an actual musical play. Not surprisingly, this was not received well by The Kinks more rock-oriented fans. However, as musicals go, this was actually quite a good story that worked very well. And musically, although not as rockin' as most would like to see, it still had some excellent songs, including the Bonafide Kinks classics 'Everybody's A Star', 'Face in the Crowd', and 'You Can't Stop The Music'. And again, few recordings are available from this period, and many of the available recordings of shows from this tour only include the songs and eliminate much of the between song story and dialogue. I have tried to get the most complete version of the show I could find, to get the full experience, and this one is nearly complete as far as I can tell (it may be missing one more dialogue section between 'You Make It All Worthwhile' and 'Ducks on the Wall'), and chronicles the whole show (Note: Apparently 'Holiday Romance', which was included on the studio album, was not included in the live production, as it didn't really fit in with the story). By the way, video footage of the whole show, from a Granada TV special they recorded around this time, is available and can be seen on youtube, or downloaded from some video sites, in case you want to 'see' the show (and Ray's acting job), too. But anyway, here is the last piece of the The Kinks days as Music Hall performers in the Mid-70's, before they went fully back to rock mode in 1977 and beyond. Worth checking out. 

Tracklist
1. Everybody's A Star (Starmaker)
2. Everybody's A Star (Suite)
3. Dialogue
4. Ordinary People
5. Rush Hour Blues
6. Nine To Five
7. When Work Is Over
8. Have Another Drink
9. Underneath The Neon Sign
10. You Make It All Worthwhile
11. Ducks On the Wall
12. (A)Face In The Crowd
13. You Can't Stop The Music

New Link (Updated 05/22/23)
Kinks_1975-06-14_London_A_Soap_Opera-Live.rar

The Kinks - 1976-02-20 - Tulane U., New Orleans, LA

The Kinks
1976-02-20
Mc Allister Auditorium, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA
Audience recording, pretty good quality
mp3 @ 320 kbps


Here's some more Kinks, and, once again, I feature a tour or period that I haven't covered yet. This is from 1976, the Schoolboys in Disgrace tour, from which there are very few available recordings. As fans know, the mid-70's were what has become known as the musical theater years for the Kinks, as they expanded the band by adding horns and whatnot, and put all their efforts into elaborate concept theater pieces or 'rock operas'. These included Preservation (Acts 1&2, 1973-74), A Soap Opera (1975), and their final theater production, Schoolboys in Disgrace (1976). Interestingly, Schoolboys was actually a sort of prequel to the preservation story, as it followed the early days of the villain from Preservation, Mr Flash, and how his Schooldays experiences shaped him into the villain he became. Not surprisingly, though, this was the Kinks least popular period with fans, as the theatrical styles, stories, and production, left most of their 'rock' fans just shaking their heads in dismay. And although the albums did not do well during this period, their live shows were always great and something to see. In retrospect, however, all these shows and musical productions show immense creativity, imagination, and musical diversity, and really are impressive achievements that have begun to be better appreciated in more recent years. And Schoolboys, in particular, has remained a favorite of many from this period, as it was something of a transition from the Music Hall productions back to their rock roots. Schoolboys contained a number of quality rockers that seemed to signal their return to a more straight-forward rock style, most notably, 'The Hard Way', and one of my all-time favorite Kinks songs, the vastly under-appreciated classic 'No More Looking Back'. Plus, since Schoolboys was only a single album (as opposed to the epic Preservation, which was 3 discs in length), they could do the entire Schoolboys show, plus leave plenty of time to cover many of their classic songs in concert. So, the Schoolboys tour was in many ways a return to form for them. However, as most know, The Kinks were dropped by their label, RCA, after Schoolboys, and were signed by Arista Records, who strongly encouraged the group to go back to a more stripped-down band and stronger rock sound, which they did, and lead to a rejuvenation of the group and a return to prominence and commercial success, as well as a string of great albums, lead by Sleepwalker (1977), one of their very best. This show, from Tulane University in New Orleans, starts off with a rousing selection of previous hits before they get into the Schoolboys saga, which they play in its entirety. The recording, unfortunately, is not that great, but it is the best I have heard from this tour. So, here, once again, is the Kinks, with their production of Schoolboys in Disgrace.
   
Tracklist
1. Everybody's A Star (Starmaker)
2. Rush Hour Blues
3. Lola
4. Waterloo Sunset
5. You Really Got Me
6. All Day and All of the Night
7. Alcohol
8. Celluloid Heroes
9. Schooldays
10. Schooldays Overture
11. Announcement-Narration
12. Jack The Idiot Dunce
13. Education
14. The First Time We Fall In Love
15. I'm In Disgrace
16. Headmaster
17. The First Time We Fall In Love (Reprise)
18. The Hard Way
19. The Last Assembly
20. No More Looking Back
21. Introductions-Finale
22. Money Talks

Kinks_1976-02-20_Tulane_NewOrleans.rar
New Link (Updated 05/22/23)

Back Again

Ok, so I guess I took a decidedly unplanned break from the blog for the past few weeks. I just got really bogged down with other things (work, family, etc.) and just didn't have time to get the blog for quite awhile there. But I'm back now, and will try to get back to more regular posting. Well, this was an especially busy and hectic summer. I did have several projects or special things planned for the blog, but I just never quite got to them. I may still try to post them in the future, but now the timing is off, as they were more of summer kind of things. Oh well, I will carry on, as time permits. Saw several interesting shows over the summer and may provide some items and commentary on them in the near future. But for now, I will return to presenting some classic live shows for all to enjoy. It was great to see how many enjoyed the Jackson Browne shows I posted  last month. Not surprisingly, I have some more great shows from those classic 1970's concerts, from some other favoratie artists coming up, so stay tuned.