Steely Dan - 1974-04-30 - Memphis (SBD)

Steely Dan

1974-04-30

Ellis Auditorium

Memphis, Tennessee

Soundboard Recording

320 kbps

Artwork Included

01. Bodisatva

02. Boston Rag

03. Do It Again

04. Brooklyn

05. King Of The World

06. Funky Scare Tactic Orch Blues

07. Rikki Don't Lose That Number

08. Pretzel Logic

09. Introductions

10. My Old School

11. Dirty Work

12. Reelin' In The Years

13. Show Biz Kids

14. This All Too Mobile Home

Steely Dan - 1974-04-30 - Memphis, TN (SBD)

Steely Dan's 1974 tour in support of the album Pretzel Logic would be their last live gigs for almost 2 decades.  These 1974 shows featured crisp playing by the entire group, which included such noted session musicians as Jeff "Skunk" Baxter and Danny Dias on guitar, as well as Jeff Porcaro on drums Becker also played guitar on this tour, which resulted in many songs featuring he and Baxter trading solos, adding to the band's live energy.  This soundboard recording from Memphis, on April 30, 1974, 46 years ago today, is an excellent example of just how good a live band Steely Dan was in their early days.  The show includes outstanding versions of such classics as Bodistava, Any Major Dude, Dirty Work, My Old School, Rikki, Reeling In The Years, and Do It Again.  Shame they took 20 years off from touring but at least you can relive some of that early energy by downloading this gem.

Peter Frampton - 1976-04-30 - Seattle, WA (Ex Aud)

Peter Frampton 

1976-04-30

Seattle Center Arena

Seattle, WA

Excellent Audience Recording

320 kbps

Artwork Included

01. Intro

02. All I Wanna Be (Is By Your Side)

03. Baby, I Love Your Way

04. Something's Happening

05. Doobie Wah

06. Lines on My Face

07. Show Me the Way

08. I Wanna Go to the Sun

09. (I'll Give You) Money

10. It's a Plain Shame

11. Do You Feel Like We Do > Instrumental

12. Shine On (Humble Pie) >

13. White Sugar

14. Jumpin' Jack Flash > Instrumental

Peter Frampton - 1976-04-30 - Seattle, WA (Ex Aud)

In the early 1970's former Humble Pie guitarist Peter Frampton released 4 solo albums, none of which garnered much critical acclaim or commercial success. No one could have been prepared, therefore, for what transpired when he released his 5th album on January 6, 1976, a 2 disc live recording. Frampton Comes Alive came from out of nowhere to take the music world by storm. With songs such as Baby I Love Your Way, Show Me the Way, and the mammoth 14 minute long, Do You Feel Like We Do, which featured Frampton's distinctive talk box guitar, Frampton Comes Alive climbed to the top of the Billboard Charts, sold over 6 million copies, and was voted album of the years by readers of Rolling Stone. The album was so popular that it was still in the #14 position in the charts by the end of 1977, almost 2 years after its release. Framptom Comes Alive virtually took on a life of its own. The album defined Frampton for the rest of his career, casting a shadow over all his future endeavors. More significantly, the disc came to define rock and roll in the mid 1970's. FM rock stations began to play more album oriented rock (AOR), as Frampton's album and other similar work came to be called. Other bands attempted to copy Frampton Comes Alive, but unfortunately the results were usually excessive, over produced, and downright boring. Other rebelled against the AOR sound and movements such as disco, punk and new wave emerged. All that, from 1 album. If you want to read more about the impact of Frampton Comes Alive and the dramatic changes in music in 1976, pick up the book, I Hate New Music, by Dave Thompson. Then, download this soundboard recording of Peter Frampton from April 30, 1976, 44 years ago today and just 4 months after the release of his game changing album.

Bruce Springsteen - 1976-04-29 - Memphis, TN (SBD)

Bruce Springsteen

& The E-Street Band

1976-04-29

Ellis Auditorium,

Memphis, Tennessee   

Soundboard recording

192 kbps

Artwork Included

CD 1:

01. Night

02. Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out

03. Spirit In The Night

04. It's My Life

05. Thunder Road

06. She's The One

07. Born To Run

08. Pretty Flamingo

09. Incident On 57th Street

CD 2:

01. Growin' Up

02. It's Hard To Be A Saint In The City

03. Backstreets

04. Jungleland

05. Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)

06. Raise Your Hand *

07. Knock On Wood *

08. Yum Yum Yum (I Want Some) *

09. 4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)

10. The Detroit Medley

Bonus Track

1976-04-07

Allen Theater

Cleveland OH

11. Frankie**

* Tracks 6-8: w/ Eddie Floyd singing lead

** Track 11: Location/date listed on artwork is wrong

Bruce Springsteen - 1976-04-29 - Memphis, TN (SBD) 

 

As we've discussed in numerous posts here at So Many Roads, 1975 was a breakthrough year for Bruce Springsteen. That year, he released Born To Run, played historic concerts at The Bottom Line in NY and The Roxy in Los Angeles, and made the covers of Time and Newsweek in the same week. Yet despite the critical acclaim, Bruce still had not yet graduated to playing arena and stadium size shows. When he went back out on the road in Spring 1976, his road crew referred to the 2 month run of shows as The Chicken Scratch tour. The nickname reflected the meandering route the tour took the south, midwest, and northeast US, hitting numerous small towns where the band had never before played, and often backtracking on itself to get to the next gig. This soundboard recording captures Bruce during that tour on April 29, 1976, 44 years ago today, in Memphis. A year earlier,  One side note - aftewr the show,  Bruce's made a visit to Graceland. Upon arrival,  he noticed a light on in the house, assumed it meant the King was home, and proceeded to jump the gates. Security intervened, had no idea who he was despite Bruce's efforts to explain he had been on the covers of Time and Newsweek, and politely escorted him to the street!

May's Theme At So Many Roads

For May 2020, our theme will be the 1990s and Beyond! That's right, every show we post in February will take place between 1990 and today. Given that the 1960s generation that spawned rock as we know it often lived by the motto "hope I die before I get old", its amazing how many of those acts continued to bring us amazing concerts in the last part of the 20th century and the early days of the 21st. In addition, we'll feature a host new artists emerged in the 1990s/2000s that follow in the great rock tradition established back in the 1960s. 

Enjoy the tunz!

Jerry Garcia (Old & In The Way) - 1974-04-28 - San Rafael, CA (SBD)

Jerry Garcia

& Old & in The Way

1974-04-28

Marin County Bluegrass Festival

Golden State College

San Rafael, CA

Soundboard Recording

320 kbps

Artwork Included

01. High Lonesome Sound

02. Pig In A Pen

03. Panama Red

04. Wild Horses

Encore:

05. The Hobo Song

Jerry Garcia (Old & In The Way) - 1974-04-28 - San Rafael, CA (SBD)

In early1973, Jerry Garcia plunged into a new side-project, a bluegrass group called Old and in the Way, The band featured Garcia on banjo and vocals, John Kahn on string bass, David Grisman on mandolin and vocals, and guitarist/singer Peter Rowan. Fiddler Richard Greene joined in April of 1973, but juggling his own band in LA, dropped out after a couple of months and was replaced first by John Hartford, and eventually by the legendary Vassar Clements. The band broke up due to fighting between Rowan and Grisman, but plans were in place for a comeback before Jerry’s tragic death in 1995. Old & In The Way would play 47 shows between January 1973 and April 1974.  This soundboard recording captures their last know show, at the Marin County Bluegrass Festival, on April 28, 1974, 46 years ago today!

Led Zeppelin - 1977-04-27 - Richfield, OH (SBD)

Led Zeppelin

1977-04-27

Richfield Coliseum

Richfield OH

Soundboard Recording

320 kbps

Artwork Included

01. The Song Remains The Same

02. The Rover/Sick Again

03. Nobody's Fault But Mine

04. In My Time Of Dying

05. Since I've Been Loving You

06. No Quarter

07. Ten Years Gone

08. The Battle Of Evermore

09. Going To California

10. Black Country Woman

11. Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp

12. White Summer

13. Black Mountain Side

14. Kashmir

15. Over The Top/Moby Dick

16. Guitar Solo

17. Achilles Last Stand

18. Stairway To Heaven

19. Rock And Roll

20. Trampled Underfoot

Led Zeppelin - 1977-04-27 - Cleveland, OH (SBD)

When Led Zeppelin launched their 1977 North American tour on April 1, they had gone 2 years without performing live. During that time, the band endured one of its most difficult periods. Robert Plant had sustained serious injuries in a car crash on August 5, 1975, forcing the cancellation of a world tour that was scheduled to begin just 10 days later. While recovering, he and Jimmy Page wrote songs for the band's next album, with Plant working from a wheelchair throughout the recording process. They entitled the disc, Presence, a name which symbolized that the band was still alive despite the troubles faced by their lead singer. While Presence, which was released in March 1976, went to #1 on the Billboard charts in the US, it did not sell as well as prior Led Zep albums and received lukewarm reviews. Only 2 tracks from the disc, Nobody's Fault But Mine and Achilles Last Stand, would make it into the 1977 tour set list. In addition, the tour was as troubled, if not more so, than the period that preceded it. according to Jack Calmes, the head of Showco the company that had provided lights, sound, staging, and logistics for the band's American tours since 1973, the whole tour seemed to be surrounded by an air of negativity. Calmes was quoted in an article by Steve Rosen as saying "There was an extraordinary amount of tension at the start of that tour ... It just got off to a negative start. It was definitely much darker than any [Led] Zeppelin tour ever before that time ... The kind of people they had around them had deepened into some really criminal types. I think Richard Cole and perhaps some of the band and everybody around the band was so far into drugs at that point, that the drugs turned on them. They still had their moments of greatness (but) some of the shows were grinding and not very inspired ... The Bindon brothers were the thugs that were friends of Peter Grant’s and were on this whole tour as security guards. And they kind of brought an element of darkness into this thing." Moreover, durng the tour, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant were plagued by personal issues and tragedy. For Page, his addiction to heroin had begun to impact his health. He had lost a tremendous amount of weight and in some video from the tour, looked like a skeleton. The addiction also affected his ability to play guitar. At a show on April 9 in Chicago, he had to leave the stage due to illness, resulting in the show being stopped after only an hour. While publicly the band announced Page had suffered from food poising, privately everyone suspected that heroin had played a role. For Plant, he still was coping with the after effects of his car accident. Then in July, after the 2nd show in Oakland, he received word that his 5 year old son, Karac, had died from a stomach virus. The band immediately cancelled the last 7 shows of the tour so that Plant could fly home to be with his family. Led Zeppelin would never play another show in the United States. This soundboard recording captures Led Zep during one one of the high points of that star crossed tour, in Richfield on April 27, 1977, 43 years ago today.

Lou Reed - 1978-04-26 - Cleveland, OH (SBD)

Lou Reed
1978-04-26
Cleveland Music Hall
Cleveland, OH
Soundbaord Recording
256 Kbps
Artwork Included

01. Gimme Some Good Times
02. Satellite Of Love
03. Leave Me Alone
04. I Wanna Be Black
05. Walk On The Wide Side
06. Coney Island Baby > Band Intro
07. Street Hassle
08. Sweet Jane
09. Rock 'n' Roll 

Lou Reed - 1978-04-26 - Cleveland, OH (SBD)

In 1978, in the midst of the punk rock revolution he helped inspire, Lou Reed released the album Street Hassle, a disc described as raw, wounded and unapologetic. Most of the early punk records could have been described in the same terms. Yet, at the time, Reed had little if any use for the punk scene. He was quoted as saying "I'm too literate to be into punk rock ... The whole CBGB's, new Max's thing that every one's into and what's going on in London—you don't seriously think I'm responsible for what's mostly rubbish?" Reed's comments show just how splintered rock and roll had become as the decade of the 1970s wound to a close. This soundboard recording captures Reed our tour in support of Street Hassle, in Clevekand, on April 26, 1978, 42 years ago today.

The Who - 1971-04-26 - London, UK (SBD)

The Who

1971-04-26

Young Vic Theatre

London UK

Soundboard Recording

320 kbps

Artwork Included

xx. Love Ain't For Keeping (missing)

xx. Pure And Easy (missing)

xx. Young Man Blues (missing)

xx. Time Is Passing (missing)

xx. Behind Blue Eyes (missing)

xx. I Don't Know Myself (missing)

01. Intro

02. Too Much Of Anything

03. Getting In Tune

04. Bargain

05. Pinball Wizard > See Me Feel Me > Baby Don't Ya Do It

06. Water

07. My Generation

08. Roadrunner

09. Naked Eye

10. Bony Moronie

11. Won't Get Fooled Again

The  Who - 1971-04-26 - London, UK (SBD)

In between their 2 double album rock operas, Tommy and Quadrophenia, The Who released a single disc with just 9 tracks. That album also was intended to be a rock opera, entitled Lifehouse, but the band simply could not make it work. Instead would become one of the most famous discs in rock history. Who's Next would climb to #4 on the Billboard charts soon after its release in August 1971, and rise all the way to the top spot in the UK. Critics also praised the album, with the Village Voice naming it record of the year and Robert Christgau grading it an A. The disc's legacy has grown through the years, with Rolling Stone, Time, VH1 and Guitar World all naming Who's Next as one of the greatest albums of all time. Its track list reads like the playlist of every classic rock station, with such tunes as Won't Get Fooled Again, Baba O'Riley, Bargain, Behind Blue Eyes, Going Mobile and Getting In Tune. This soundboard recording captures The Who testing out material from Who's Next at the Young Vic Theater in London, on April 26, 1971, 49 years ago today.  The band is believed to have played at least 6 shows at that venue between January and April 1971, but this is the only confirmed date.

Santana - 1971-04-25 - Paris, France (SBD)

Santana
1971-04-25
L'Olympia
Paris, France
Soundboard Recording
320 kbps
Artwork Included

01. Jungle Strut (fades in)                
02. Taboo                                   
03. Toussaint L'Overture                      
04. Evil Ways                                  
05. Soul Sacrifice                            
06. Samba Pa Ti                               
07. Black Magic Woman > Gypsy Queen           
08. Oye Como Va                              
09. Jingo > Percussions solo > Jingo (reprise)

Santana - 1971-04-25 - Paris, France (SBD) 

In 1970, Santana had an enormous commercial and critical success with the band's second album, Abraxas, which featured such soon to be classics as Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen and Oye Como Va. The album went to number 1, and drew widespread acclaim for its mix of Latin influences with traditional rock arrangements. Then in early 1971, the band added San Francisco teenage guitar prodigy Neil Schon to its lineup, giving the group two dynamic lead guitarists. They took that new line up on tour in Germany in April 1971. This soundboard recording captures Santana in Paris on April 25, 1971, 49 years ago today!

America - 1976-04-24 - Boston, MA (Ex Aud)

America
1976-04-24
Boston Garden
Boston, MA
Excellent Audience Recording
192 kbps
Artwork Included

CD 1:
01. Three Roses
02. Don't Cross The River
03. Muskrat Love
04. Riverside
05. Ventura Highway
06. I Need You
07. Tin Man
08. Baby, It's Up To You
09. Amber Cascades
10. Moon Song
11. Lonely People
12. Today's The Day
13. Old Virginia
14. Old Man Took

CD 2:
01. Daisy Jane
02. Jet Boy Blue
03. She's A Liar
04. Woman Tonight
05. Don't Let It Get You Down
06. Company
07. A Horse With No Name
08. Sister Golden Hair
09. Sandman

America - 1976-04-24 - Boston, MA (Ex Aud)

From 1974 to 1976, America, with George Martin of Beatles fame as their new producer, found themselves back at the top of the Billboard charts. In 1974, the singles Tin Man and Lonely People went to #4 and #5 respectively on the charts. Then in 1975, Sister Golden Hair became the band’s 2nd #1 single, (Horse with No Name had been the first in 1972). The 3 albums they released in that period, Holiday, Hearts and Hideaway, went to #3, #4 and #11, respectively, on the Billboard charts. This excellent audience recording captures America on tour during that renewed period of chart success, in Boston on April 24, 1976,  44 years ago today.

Tom Petty - 1977-04-23 - San Francisco, CA (FM)

Tom Petty 

&The Heartbreakers

1977-04-23

KSAN-FM Record Plant

San Francisco CA

FM Broadcast

320 kbps

Artwork Included

01. Surrender

02. Band Intros > American Girl

03, Fooled Again (I Don't Like it)

04. I Need To Know

05. Strangered In The Night

06. Dog On The Run

07. Route 66

Tom Petty - 1977-04-23 - San Francisco, CA (FM)

While Petty and the Heartbreakers released their first album in November 1976, it received little or no attention in the US.  In fact it didn't chart until 1978, hitting #55 on the Billboard Top 200.  So, when the band played the KSAN studios on April 23 1977, 43 years ago today, as captured in this FM broadcast, they were still looking for their big break. Their short 7 song set included only 3 tunes from their debut album, and while one of those was American Girl, surprisingly Breakdown, perhaps the best know tune from that disc, was not played.  They did. however, preview their second album, which wouldn't be released until May 1978, by playing I Need to Know! Download this one, therefore, to get a look at Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers at the outset, well before they became rock superstars.

Stephen Stills - 1972-04-22 - Dania, FL (SBD)

Stephen Stills 

& Manassas 

1972-04-22

Pirate's World Amusement Park

Dania, Florida

Soundboard Recording

320 kbps

Artwork Included

Electric Set 1

01. Rock & Roll Woman

02. Bound To Fall

03. Hot Burrito #2

04. It Doesn't Matter

05. So You Want To Be A Rock'n'Roll Star

06. Go Back Home

Acoustic Set

07. Change Partners

08. Know You Got To Run

09. Crossroads > Black Queen

10. 4 + 20

11. Do For The Others

12. Both Of Us (Bound To Lose) > Love The One You're With

13. He Was A Friend Of Mine

14. Fallen Eagle

15. Hide It So Deep

16. You're Still On My Mind

17. Don't Look At My Shadow

18. Sugar Babe

19. 49 Bye Byes > For What It's Worth

Electric Set 2

20. Song Of Love

21. Rock & Roll Crazies > Cuban Bluegrass

22. Jet Set (Sigh)

23. Anyway

24. Right Now

25. The Treasure

26. Carry On

Encore

27. Find The Cost Of Freedom

Stephen Stills - 1972-04-22 - Dania, FL (SBD)

In 1971, in the wake of one of the first (though most certainly not the last)  CSNY break up, Stephen Stills formed Manassas, recruiting an all-star cast including Chris Hillman, Al Perkins, Calvin "Fuzzy" Samuels, Paul Harris, Dallas Taylor, and Joe Lala. The band released their self- titled debut, a double album, on April 12, 1972. This soundboard recording captures Stills and Manassas on tour, just 10 days later on April 22, 1972, 48 years ago today. The album would climb to #4 on the Billboard charts in June. Ironically, Manassas would share space in the top 10 that week with Harvest from Neil Young and the self-titled debut record from Crosby & Nash. Maybe that chart success was a harbinger of the future. In yet another ironic twist, CSNY would reform in October 1973, soon after the 4 members appeared on stage together at, of all places, a Manassas concert!

Rolling Stones – 1979-04-22 – Ontario, Canada (SBD)

Rolling Stones

1979-04-22

CNIB Benefit Concert

Oshawa Civic Auditorium

Ontario, Canada

Soundboard Recording

320 kbps

Artwork Included

01. Introduction By Lorrimer And Belushi

02. Sweet Little Rock 'n Roller

03. F Her

04. Breathe On Me

05. Infekshun'

06. I Can Feel The Fire

07. Am I Grooving You

08. Seven Days

09. Before They Make Me Run

10. Prodigal Son

11. Let It Rock

12. Respectable

13. Star Star

14. Beast Of Burden

15. Just My Imagination

16. When The Whip Comes Down

17. Shattered

18. Miss You

19. Jumpin' Jack Flash

Rolling Stones – 1979-04-22 – Ontario, Canada (SBD)

On April 22, 1979, 41 years ago today, what began as a New Barbarians show featuring Kith Richards and Ron Wood, ended up as full scale Rolling Stones concert. After the New Barbarians ran through a few numbers, Mick Jagger joined Keith and Ron on stage for an acoustic version of Prodigal Son. After that number, Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts take the stage, and all 5 Stones launch into Let It Rock. That’s followed by 9 more classics, concluding with Jumpin Jack Flash. According to reports, Keith, Ron and even Mick were completely wasted for this performance. That hardly seemed to matter to the crowd, which went berserk the minute Jagger arrived on stage and kept up their intensity right through the very last note. The text files included with the download provide even more vivid details of what some felt was a historic night, and other felt was a musical disaster. Download this soundboard recording of the show and judge for yourself!

Marshall Tucker Band - 1975-04-22 - Hempstead, NY (FM)

Marshall Tucker Band

1975-04-22

Ultrasonic Studios

Hempstead NY

WLIR-FM Broadcast

320 kbps

Artwork Included

01. 24 Hours At A Time

02. This Old Cowboy

03. Band Introductions

04. Ramblin'

05. WLIR announcemnts

06. The Thrill Is Gone*

07. Stoop Down Baby*

*with Grinderswitch

Marshall Tucker Band - 1975-04-22 -  Hempstead, NY (FM) 

In several posts here at So Many Roads, we’ve discussed the Live From The Record Plant series of shows that KSAN-FM would broadcast each week during the early 1970s. Those programs, which originated from Sausalito CA, featured rock artists playing live before a small studio audience. Not to be outdone, the East Coast had a similar series of shows broadcast on WLIR-FM from Ultrasonic Studios in Hempstead NY. The roster for those broadcasts included Billy Joel, Lou Reed, Peter Frampton, Little Feat, The Band, Jackson Browne, The Doobie Brothers, and Hall and Oates, just to name a few. This WLIR-FM broadcast from the Ultrasonic Studios features the Marshall Tucker Band, on April 22, 1975, 45 years ago today. 

Joe Jackson - 1979-04-21 - Bottom Line, NY (FM)

Joe Jackson

1979-04-21

Eearly Show

The Bottom Line

New York, NY

WNEW-FM broadcast

320 Kbps

Artwork Included

01. WNEW intro

02. One More Time

03. Pretty Girls

04. Look Sharp

05. Sunday Papers

06. Baby Stick Around

07. WNEW Station I.D.

08. ...a slight problem with the drums...

09. It's Different For Girls

10. Fools In Love

11. Is She Really Going Out With Him?

12. Happy Loving Couples > band introductions

13. I'm The Man

14. Throw It Away

15. WNEW break

16. Come On

17. WNEW break

18. Ain't That A Shame

19. WNEW outro and credits

Joe Jackson - 1979-04-21 - Bottom Line, NY (FM) 

Joe Jackson’s debut album, Look Sharp was released in the UK in January 1979, and then in the US, in April of that same year. Propelled by the single Is She really Going Out With Him, which climbed to #21 on the Billboard Charts, the album did even one better, reaching the #20 position. Jackson arrived in the US for his first tour at just about the same time the album hit record stores. This FM broadcast captures him during that tour at his first concert in New York City at the legendary Bottom Line on April 21, 1979, 41 years ago today. 

Pink Floyd - 1975-04-21 - San Diego CA (SBD)

Pink Floyd

1975-04-21
San Diego Sports Arena
San Diego, CA, USA
Soundboard Recording
320 kbps
Artwork Included

01. Speak To Me
02. Breathe
03. On The Run
04. Time
05. Breathe (reprise)
06. The Great Gig In The Sky
07. Money
08. Us And Them
09. Shine On You Crazy Diamond (parts 6 - 9)
10. Echoes

Note: partial show

Pink Floyd - 1975-04-21 - San Diego CA (SBD)

After only playing only  27 shows in 1974, all in Europe, Pink Floyd launched a full scale North American tour in April 8, 1975 that ran all the way to June 28. The tour was unique in several respects. First, while the shows were often referred to as the Wish You Were Here tour, the album by that name would not be released until September of that year. The band did play both the Shine on You Crazy Diamond suite (all 9 parts) and Have A Cigar from that soon to be released disc, but they had not yet completed either the title track or Welcome To The Machine. Second, the opening 2 songs of each concert, Raving and Drooling and You've Got To Be Crazy, were actually early versions of Sheep and Dogs, two tunes which would not appear in final form until the release of their 1977 album, Animals. Finally, for the last part of the show, Pink Floyd played the entire Dark Side of The Moon album, the last time the band would do so with Roger Waters. This soundboard recording captures Pink Floyd near the start of the tour, in San Diego on April 21, 1975, 45 years ago today.

The Byrds - 1970-04-20 - Louisville (SBD)

The Byrds

1970-04-20

Louisville, Kentucky

Soundboard Recording

192 kbps

Artwork Included

01. Lover Of The Bayou

02. You Ain`t Going Nowhere

03. Old Blue (some equipment noise on this track)

04. You All Look Alike

05. My Back Pages

06. Baby What You Want Me To Do

07. He Was A Friend Of Mine

08. Willin'

09. Pickin' On Clarence (medley: Solider's Joy/Black Mountain Rag)

10. This Wheels On Fire

11. Jesus Is Just Alright

12. Chimes Of Freedom

13. Nashville West

14. Turn! Turn! Turn!

15. Mr.Tambourine Man

16. Eight Miles High

17. Outro

18. So You Want To Be A Rock 'N' Roll Star

19. Mr. Spaceman (fade out)

The Byrds - 1970-04-20 - Louisville (SBD)

While the Byrds may be best known for the songs they sung and recorded in their earliest days as a band, their finest live performances occurred long after all the original members, except Roger McGuinn, left the group. The quartet of McGuinn, Clarence White, Skip Battin and Gene Parsons, which came together in late 1969, not only formed the most stable and longest tenured of any Byrds line-up, but also turned into the band's best live ensemble.  Featuring McGuinn and White's dual lead guitar work, this version of The Byrds toured relentlessly between 1969 and 1972.  The positive response to their live shows led the band to decide to record a live album, so they taped 2 shows in New York on February 28 and March 1.  Those recordings would eventually form two sides of the 2 record set Untitled, which was released later that year, with the other two sides featuring new studio material.  Untitled would crack the Billboard Top 40 and was hailed as a return to form for the group.  This soundboard recording, from April 20, 1970, 4a half century ag0 today, captures The Byrds just 2 months after concerts recorded for Untitled.  Download this one to get a glimpse of The Byrds at the peak of their live performances.

Jerry Garcia (Great American String Band) - 1974-04-20 - Hollywood CA (SBD)

Jerry Garcia
& the Great American String Band
1974-04-20
Pilgrimage Theater
Hollywood, CA                                   
Soundboard Recording
320 kbps
Artwork Included

01.  Intro & tuneup
02.  Limehouse Blues
03.  Dawg's Bull
04.  My Plastic Banana
05.  Swing '42
06.  Coloured Aristocracy
07.  Rolling In My Sweet Baby's Arms*
08.  Dawg's Rag
09.  I'll Be A Gambler If You Deal The Cards
10.  Midnight At The Oasis*
11.  Sweet Georgia Brown*
12.  Will The Circle Be Unbroken*

*with Maria Muldaur on Vocals

Jerry Garcia (Great American String Band) - 1974-04-20 - Hollywood CA (SBD)

The Great American String played just 7 shows between April 20th and June 13th, 1974.  The group was an eclectic acoustic ensemble which featured Jerry Garcia on banjo and guitar, David Grisman, Richard Greene, Taj Mahal, Sandy Rothman, David Nichtern, and Buell Neidlinger. Although the band consisted of three Old and in the Way members (see our April 28 post for more on that Garcia venture), bluegrass was not a strong influence on their sound. Rather, they were more of a blues and swing jazz ensemble. One of the last gigs they played together was opening for the Grateful Dead at UC Santa Barbara.  This soundboard recording captures them in Hollywood on April 20, 1974, 46 years ago today. Maria Muldaur, who would provide backing vocals during the Jerry Garcia Bands 1978 winter tour, sits in and plays her 1973 top ten hit, Midnight at The Oasis!

Dire Straits - 1978-04-19 - Chester, UK (SBD)

Dire Straits

1978-04-19

Quaintway's Club

Chester, UK

Soundboard Recording

320 kbps

Artwork Included

01. Introduction

02. Down to the waterline

03. Six blade Knife

04. In the Gallery

05. Eastbound Train

06. Water of Love

07. Lions

08. Sultans of Swing

09. Wild West End

Dire Straits - 1978-04-19 - Chester, UK (SBD

When Dire Straits released their self-titled debut album in February 1978, the music industry barely paid attention. Fortunately for the band, Karin Berg, working at Warner Brothers in New York did. With her backing, the band was booked to tour as the opening act for the Talking Heads. The success of that tour led to a US recording contract with Warner, followed by the release of their debut album worldwide. The disc would reach the top 10 in every country in Europe, while climbing to #2 on the US charts. This soundboard recording captures the band before the made it big, in Chester on April 19, 1978, 42 years ago today.

Chicago - 1973-04-18 - Osaka, Japan (FM)

Chicago

1973-04-18

Festival Hall

Osaka, Japan

FM Broadcast

320 kbps

Artwork Included

01. Dialogue

02. State of the Union

03. Darlin' Dear

04. Improv and Jam

05. Saturday in the Park

06. Beginnings

07. Questions 67 & 68

08. 25 or 6 to 4

Chicago - 1973-04-18 - Osaka, Japan (FM) 

In July 1972, Chicago released the album Chicago V, which would become their first disc to hit #1 on the Billboard album charts, spending 9 weeks in the top spot. The single Saturday In The Park would climb to #3, their highest charting single to date. This soundboard recording captures the band on tour in Japan support of the album on April 18, 1973, 47 years ago today. Download this one to remember when Chicago could still rock, thanks to the guitar work of the late Terry Kath.

Van Morrison - 1973-04-18 - Los Angeles, CA (SBD)

Van Morrison

1973-04-18

Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert

Shrine Auditorium

Los Angeles, CA

Soundboard Recording

320 kbps

Artwork Included

01. I’ve Been Working

02. Caravan

03. Gloria

04. Flamingos Fly

05. Cypress Avenue

Van Morrison - 1973-04-18 - Los Angeles, CA (SBD)

In May 1973, Van Morrison launched a 3 month tour of the US and Europe, accompanied by with his legendary backing band, the Caledonia Soul Orchestra. Music historians often label these shows as among the finest of his long storied career. Even the fickle Morrison seems to agree, having said at the time that “I am getting more into performing. It's incredible. When I played Carnegie Hall in the fall something just happened. All of a sudden I felt like 'you're back into performing' and it just happened like that...A lot of times in the past I've done gigs and it was rough to get through them. But now the combination seems to be right and it's been clicking a lot.” The concert performances were described by writer Erik Hage as "sequences of a young soul lion whipping the crowd into a frenzy and then stopping on a dime—teasing out anticipation, rushing, receding, and coaxing every drop out of his band." The tour produced the album Its Too Late To Stop Now, which critics have hailed as one of the finest live discs ever recorded. Right before the tour launched, Van made an appearance on Don Kirschner's Rock Concert on April 18, 1973, 47 years ago today, as captured in this soundboard recording.  Of course, the show wasn't broadcast until November, long after the tour had ended and Van had disbanded the Caledonia Soul Orchestra!

Santana - 1976-04-17 - Beacon Theatre, NY, NY (SBD)

Santana

1976-04-17

Beacon Theatre

New York, NY

Soundboard Recording

320 kbps

Artwork Included

1st Set:

01. Gitano 07:03

02. Black Magic Woman > Gypsy Queen

03. Dance Sister Dance (Baila Mi Hermana)

04. Europa

05. Let It Shine

06. Oye Como Va

07. Samba Pa Ti

08. Savor > Toussaint 'L Overture

09. Let Me

10. Soul Sacrifice

11. Crowd > Band Chatter

12. Incident at Neshabur (Incomplete)

2nd Set

13. Soul Sacrifice

14. crowd noise

15. Incident At Neshabur > Evil Ways

Santana - 1976-04-17 - Beacon Theatre, NY,  NY (SBD)

In March 1976, Santana released its 7th studio album, entitled Amigos,  While Amigos did not yield any major singles, it still climbed to #10 on the Billboard album charts, the first Santana disc to do so since Caravanserai in 1972.  The band launched a world tour that same month that would run until December 31, encompassing 67 shows in North America and Europe. This soundboard recording captures Santana during the first leg of that tour, at the Beacon Theatre in New Yorrk City on April 17, 1976, 44 years ago today.

The Guess Who - 1975-04-15 - Winnipeg, Canada (FM)

The Guess Who 
1975-04-15
Winnipeg Playhouse Theater
Winnipeg, Canada
FM Broadcast
320 kbps
Artwork Included

CD 1:
01. Down And Out Woman
02. Dirty
03. Hand Me Down World
04. Albert Flasher
05. Diggin` Yourself
06. Star Baby
07. Those Show Biz Shoes
08. Straighten Out
09. Seems Like I Can't Live With You
10. Clap For The Wolfman

CD 2:
01. The Way We Were >Lauhging > These Eyes > Undun > Hang On To Your Life > American Woman
02. Roseanne
03. When the Band Was Singing
04. Long Gone
05. No Time
06. Dancing Fool
07. Instrumental Interlude
08. Orly > DJ Talking

The Guess Who - 1975-04-15 - Winnipeg, Canada (FM)

As the Guess Who took the stage in Winnipeg on April 15, 1975, 45 years ago today, the band was just a few months away from the decade long run with Burton Cummings at the helm. While the band had reached its commercial peak in 1969-1970, scoring 6 top 10 singles, including 2 #1's (American Woman and No Sugar Tonight), from 1971 to 1974 they had 4 studio albums and 11 singles reach the Billboard Top 100.  In addition, right before going on tour in April 1975, they had just finished recording the album Power In The Music which would be released in July and go to #87.  Despite that success, after a decade fronting the band, Cummings decided in October 1975 to try his hand as a solo artist. This FM broadcast, therefore, captures one of his last shows with the Guess Who prior to their brief reunion in 1983.

Fleetwood Mac - 1977-04-14 - Paris, France (SBD)

Fleetwood Mac

1977-04-14

Le Zenith

Paris, France

Soundboard Recording

320 kbps

Artwork Included

01. Station Man

02. The Chain

03. Dreams

04. Rhiannon

05. Oh Daddy

06. Never Going Back Again

07. Landslide

08. Over My Head

09. Gold Dust Woman

10. You Make Loving Fun

11. Go Your Own Way

12. Oh Well

13. I'm So Afraid

14. World Turning

15. Blue Letter

Fleetwood Mac - 1977-04-14 - Paris, France (SBD)

The year 1977 belonged to Fleetwood Mac. On February 4, the band released Rumours, an album about and fueled by the emotional tensions within the band as long term relationships between John & Christine McVie, Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham, and Mick Fleetwood and his wife Jenny, all came to an end. Rumours went to #1 on the Billboard charts, won the Grammy for album of the year, garnered critical acclaim, and has sold over 19 million copies, making it one of the top 10 bestselling albums of all time. The album also helped launch another new rock trend - a glossy, polished, highly produced sound that in many ways became synonymous with the album/radio oriented rock of the decade. The album has also stood the test of time, being ranked #25 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, while both Time Magazine and VH1 listed it among the 100 best albums ever. This soundboard recording captures the band on tour after the release of Rumours, in Paris on April 14, 1977, 43 years ago today.

Linda Ronstadt - 1975-04-13 - Berkeley, CA (FM)

Linda Ronstadt

1975-04-13

Berkeley Community Theater

Berkeley, CA

FM Broadcast

224 kbps

Artwork Included

01. Colorado

02. Silver Threads & Golden Needles

03. I Can't Help It If I'M Still In Love With You

04. Desperado

05. When Will I Be Loved

06. Long Long Time

07. You're No Good

08. Heatwave

09. Heart Like a Wheel

10. It Doesn't Matter Anymore

11. Hey Good Lookin'

Linda Ronstadt - 1975-04-13 - Berkeley, CA (FM)

Early on, despite being a favorite of critics, Linda Ronstadt had limited commercial success. That all changed in 1975. Her album, Heart Like A Wheel, went to number 1 on the Billboard charts, and spawned the number 1 single, You’re No Good, as well as the number #2 hit, When Will I Be Loved. The album went multi-platinum, selling over 2 million copies, and was nominated for a Grammy Award. In March, Rolling Stone featured Ronstadt on its cover, the first of 6 times her photo would grace the front of that publication. This FM broadcast captures Miss Linda on April 13, 1975 in Berkeley CA, 45 years ago today, just as Heart Like A wheel was propelling her to the position of  the Queen of Rock & Roll! 

Elvis Costello - 1979-04-12 - Bethlehem, PA (SBD)

Elvis Costello 

& the Attractions

1979-04-12

Grace Hall

Lehigh University

Bethlehem PA

Soundboard Recording

192 kbps

Artwork Included

01. I Stand Accused

02. Goon Squad

03. Two Little Hitlers

04. B Movie

05. Oliver's Army

06. Girls Talk

07. (I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea

08. Green Shirt

09. Opportunity

10. Tiny Steps

11. The Beat

12. Rhodette Song

13. High Fidelity slow version

14. Accidents Will Happen

15. Lipstick Vogue

16. Watching The Detectives

17. Big Boys

18. Radio Radio

Encore

19. Pump It Up

20. You Belong To Me

Elvis Costello - 1979-04-12 - Bethlehem, PA (SBD)

In January 1979, Elvis Costello released his 3rd album, Armed Forces, although during production the working title for the disc was Emotional Fascism. The disc continued Costello’s run of commercial and critical success. Armed Forces climbed to # 10 on the Billboard charts in the US, and did even better in the UK, reaching the #2 position. Famed critic Robert Christgau gave the album a grade of A-, while Rolling Stone wrote that it’s “an album that's a killer in several senses of the word.” In 2000, Q magazine placed Armed Forces at number 45 on its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever. Then, in 2003, the album was ranked number 482 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. This soundboard recording captures Costello on April 12, 1979, 41 years ago this very day years, in Bethlehem, PA on tour in support of Armed Forces. Download this one to hear Elvis at his angry best, as starting with his next album, he would begin experimenting with different genres beyond punk and new wave.